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Toho’s Godzilla franchise has been rebooted in American monster film based on the fictional Japanese kaiju Godzilla (ゴジラ), a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and powered by nuclear radiation. Originally created by Tomoyuki Tanaka (田中友幸), Eiji Tsuburaya (円谷英二), and Ishiro Honda (本多猪四郎) in 1954, Godzilla is now in the first film of Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures’ MonsterVerse, a cinematic universe that features new character designs and original scripts written by Max Borenstein and David Callaham.

Godzilla, lured to his death by a nuclear bomb in 1954, has never been seen since. Monarch scientist Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) visit a uranium mine in the Philippines in 1999 when a massive monster skeleton is discovered in a cavern, unearthed by the collapse of valley floor. Astounded by its size, they conclude that the skeleton belongs to something far older than Godzilla. They also discover two giant eggs, one of which is cracked open, suggesting that something has already hatched from it.

In Japan, nuclear plant engineer Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is alarmed by unexplained frequency patterns detected near the facility. He calls for an emergency meeting to shut down the reactor, but requires proof that the sensors are not malfunctioning. He tasks his wife Sandra ( Juliette Binoche), and her team with investigating the reactor, which is located five levels underground. A series of earthquakes strikes the plant, breaching the reactor. Joe is forced to seal the door to save the town from radiation exposure, trapping Sandra and her team on the other side.

Fifteen years after the destruction of nuclear plant, a U.S. Navy EOD officer Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the only son of Joe and Sandra Brody, returns home in San Francisco from a tour of duty to his son Sam (Carson Bolde), and his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen). Upon learning of his father’s arrest in Japan after Joe attempts to enter Jinjiro, a city under government quarantine due to radiation poisoning, Ford Brody must travel to Japan immediately.

Intent on uncovering the cause of the meltdown, Joe convinces Ford to accompany him to their former home to retrieve vital data. To their surprise, the entire area is uncontaminated. However, they are caught and taken to the nuclear reactor in the ruins of the nuclear plant, where a strange creature has attached itself to the reactor and fed off its energy for fifteen years.

Gareth Edwards’ GODZILLA is a surprisingly awe-inspiring reboot that we didn’t know we needed. The story is both engaging and convincing throughout its runtime, and the cast delivers superb performances, making us genuinely care about and root for their characters.

The new, radical design of Godzilla is more appealing and visually striking than its original counterpart, featuring a shorter neck that gives its overall body a slightly chubby appearance. I particularly enjoyed the sequences depicting Godzilla’s dorsal fins illuminating as he charges his atomic breath, before releasing a radioactive energy beam.

GODZILLA was theatrically released in the United States on 16 May 2014.