Warner Bros. has released the first official trailer for their upcoming Godzilla remake from director Gareth Edwards (Monsters) and starring Aaron Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins.
Set for a May 16, 2014 release, this rebirth of the Toho monster that was originally born out of a fear of nuclear war, but now the reasonings seem largely commercial, which makes me wonder just how well the film will resonate beyond the obvious fanboy-targeted audience.
The official synopsis describes it as a “spectacular adventure pitting the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence”, which suggests it’s just another film in a long line of assembly line features likely to place visual effects over substance.
However, while I wasn’t the biggest fan of Edwards’ Monsters, the low budget nature of that film taught him to focus a little more on story rather than effects. As a matter of fact, in my review of Monsters I ended it writing, “Give this guy a little more money and a script with a bit more meat on it and you may end up with something truly impressive.” Could this be it?
Edwards told USA Today, “To me, he’s like a force of nature, like the wrath of God or vengeance for the way we’ve behaved” and it’s implied there is a nuclear theme to this story as well. So, who knows, maybe they’ll get this right.
Give the trailer a watch below and let me know what you think.
