...See, I actually take a bit of umbrage with the mindset that the human drama in any given Godzilla movie is always pointless filler without any higher themes to be fast-forwarded through to get to more monster fights, or that the monster fights should always be the only thing going on at any given moment, or that Godzilla movies never have in-depth plots and are just brainless action wall-to-wall without any emotional connection, and that, crucially, these are the way they should be and aspiring to anything more or wanting anything more is wrong of them as films and me as an audience member, respectively, all of which it really feels like your review is asserting.
But... at the end of the day, I haven't actually seen the movie yet, so for now I reserve judgement. They a reasonable production time, after all, and aren't just pushing it through the sausage mill as fast as they can.
You make some good points, and its true that there have been Godzilla movies that feature more human emotion (especially the first one, which I think the 2014 one was seeking to harken back to) but I am talking about this particular movie, not the franchise as a whole. I generally try to approach and evaluate a movie as it is. I\'m not at all asserting that there\'s anything wrong with aspiring for a film that has more depth and emotional connection (there is some emotional connection present in the film but its definitely more with the monsters than the humans; and that\'s a rather stern judgement you make about me). What I am asserting, is to take the movie as it is, as what its seeking to be, which (as I view it) is a spectacle, dedicated to showcasing the classic kaiju in all their glory, not focusing on human drama.
But in the end, the best I can suggest, is to see it, and formulate your own opinion about it.
I was afraid I\'d end up saying bad things about you, and I\'m sorry. I really wanted to avoid that.
Like I said, I plan to see it for myself and come to my own conclusions about it. I get what you mean when you say that it\'s about the monster fights and spectacle more than the human drama, and on that note, it should be judged on how well it executes those things foremost. And that\'s fair.
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Mindset is key
I don't know what critics expected to see when going into this movie, but whatever it was, they obviously didn't get it. As for audiences, I'm confident I've got an idea what they expected, and the movie seemed to have delivered on that.
A lot of the criticisms of the movie, the bland characters, and the thin storyline are very valid, but neither are clearly meant to be the focus. There are a few twists, but they aren't dwelt on much, and if anything, the story is something of a side note. In a move actually reminisce of some of the classic films, its mostly just a device to set up giant monster scenes, and the human characters are mostly there to go "oh" and "ah" at the monsters, and provide the exposition. And by God(zilla) are the monsters awesome.
Clearly the real stars of the movie, when the monsters finally do come together for the big clashes, its something to behold. The designs are instantly recognizable, but also provide their own new take on the monsters. The fight scenes are suitably grand in scale, filed with roars, explosions, crashing buildings, and all the stuff people can expect from a giant monster movie. Now there is some shaky cam, but it was never a problem really to me (I'll admit I've got good eyes, and I don't have much trouble with it it general, so your milage may vary).
At times the movie can really slow down, especially when it decides to put attention on the human characters. Also, the environmental stuff can get preachy, but all things considered, that was a recurring theme across all the Godzilla movies, just taking on a different aspect (overall climate change is a bit more recognizable in America than nuclear danger).
As a final note, the soundtrack of this movie is really good, especially with the revived Akira Ifukube theme.
If one's going into this movie expecting a really in-depth story, or multi-faceted human characters, then they're going to be really disappointed. But that is clearly the wrong mindset to be in for this movie. If you want to see the classic giant monsters go at it on the big screen for the first time in decades, definitely check this out.