Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla is a 2014 American science fiction monster film directed by Gareth Edwards and a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. The film is set mostly in the present day, fifteen years after a discovery that leads to the awakening of two giant creatures, known as "MUTOs", who in turn awaken a much larger and more destructive, ancient alpha predator known as "Godzilla" whose existence has been kept secret by the U.S. government since 1954. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston. The screenplay is credited to Max Borenstein but includes contributions from David Callaham, David S. Goyer, Drew Pearce, and Frank Darabont.

The film is a co-production between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, with the latter also distributing the film worldwide, except in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. It is the 30th film of the Godzilla film series and the second Godzilla film to be completely filmed and produced by a Hollywood studio, the first being the 1998 film of the same name. The project initially began in 2004 and was originally intended to be an IMAX short film but was later transferred to Legendary for development as a feature film. Principal photography took place in the United States and Canada in 2013.

Godzilla was released worldwide in 2D, 3D and IMAX on May 15, 2014 to positive reviews from critics and fans and was an immediate box office success, earning a worldwide total of $529 million at the end of its theatrical run. The film's success has prompted Legendary to proceed with sequels with Gareth Edwards attached to direct a planned trilogy with the second film set to be released on June 8, 2018 and the third film targeted for a 2020 release date.

Synopsis

In 1954, a nuclear bomb is detonated at the moment a giant creature emerges from the ocean. In 1999, Project Monarch scientists Ishiro Serizawa and Vivienne Graham investigate a colossal skeleton unearthed in a collapsed mine in the Philippines. They find two spores; one dormant and one hatched that made a trail into the sea. In Japan, the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant experiences unusual seismic activity and Supervisor Joe Brody sends his wife Sandra and a team of technicians into the reactor. A tremor breaches the reactor, leaving Sandra and her team unable to escape while the plant collapses.

Actors