I think it's time to make this official. Gareth Edwards' monster-sized reboot of the big green guy is the best cast Godzilla movie since Gojira roared from the depths back in 1954.
No, I'm not talking about Raymond Burr's tacked-on scenes in the U.S. version, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but the presence of well-established Japanese actors of the time like Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, and Fuyuki Murakami, as well as a stable of young up-and-comers. When you consider that sort of approach, Gareth's line-up for the new picture makes more sense.
Previously, there have been announcements for Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Johnson, and the beguiling possibility of the luminescent Juliette Binoche joining the cast. Now, add another solid if underrated player to the mix; David Strathairn, most likely to show up in some sort of scientist role although the word is he's going to be a 'military figure'. Either way, he's assured to do a better job of it than Matthew Broderick back in 1998.
Strathairn is a veteran of the screen with an equal number of big profile and small independent films to his credit, and he's even made an interesting transition to television via SyFy's Alphas where he plays Dr. Lee Rosen. An appearance in a big blockbuster isn't unheard of for this guy, but if this is indeed to be a more character-driven Godzilla film (the only other that has this distinction is Honda's original) then he's a good choice.
Here's hoping all of this potential comes together to make something special. It certainly would be nice to see the big G again in a film worthy of his origins.
Godzilla is currently predicted to stomp onto U.S. shores on May 16, 2014. Befitting such an outsized personality, he'll also be featured in 3D.
Comments