Kaka

Gareth Edwards wanted to revive this dramatic concept back in 2014, but the mass success of his Godzilla seems to have been broken by Hollywood dictates. Godzilla -1.0 has it a lot easier in this regard, having been made for a few bucks and in a far more Godzilla-friendly environment than the US dream factory. And the result is something the filmmakers have nothing to be ashamed of. Of course it's not the bombastic heavyweight eye-candy spectacle that the West boasts, but it has a wonderfully gripping post-WWII post-apocalyptic atmosphere, a sinister lizard that manages to wring the absolute most out of it, and even if the limit of the production budget is occasionally apparent in some shots, it works brilliantly. However, I couldn't get into the characters at all and the wistful emotional charge completely missed the mark for me. One of the few films that IMHO would have benefited from a black and white version.

I enjoyed Eva Green in the corset more, but otherwise I enjoyed everything else less. The first one was better. Still top-notch production values, big-movie ambitions and the right dynamics and visuals, but the second part doesn't stand out in any significant way and only serves as a necessary bridge for the finale. Sort of like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, a good second part, necessary for the great first and third.

The premise is estimated to be about 45 minutes of film material and the 113-minute running time is quite noticeable in some passages, but it is good for Chiwetel Ejiofor's directorial debut. The compelling story of a boy who manages to save the life of his family and village with a clever invention is filmed simply, with a few key and clearly delineated characters and their interactions and connections with each other, plus the misunderstanding of his father, the corruption of the government and the hard life in a poor country in the middle of Africa - as a necessary peppering of the plot. All the key points are sketched out decently and the narrative value is worthwhile, even if the film doesn't usually go completely in depth and rather just skims the surface and focuses primarily on one level.