I think you have some valid points however I think the thing to consider is that this film really isn't a monster flick, at least not in the traditional sense. Godzilla is actually in IMO more like a classic western, he is the quiet anti-hero who comes along and does what's needed to save the day before riding off into the sunset. I will agree there's lack of fear instilled, however I don't think that's a detriment to the film. I think of it as more about a sense of build up to the enviable showdown, the gunfight on the main street as it were. Those type of stories tend to be a slow burn which is what happens with this film, it's not really meant to be a series of iconic battles with people screaming every which way.
That's an interesting way to look at it, and although I never thought of it that way myself, I'd still argue that it doesn't quite measure up in that respect as well.
As the quiet gunslinger, he didn't IMO receive a fitting buildup to his grand entrance. It was a very striking introduction (like I said, visuals and imagery were top-notch), but as others have pointed out, the payoffs fell very flat (or weren't there at all); often times, they weren't properly structured or given enough time to linger and/or breathe. I think that for a film like this to work, the supporting cast and their plight
has to be compelling. Otherwise, where is the significance of the hero's intervention? The supporting cast just wasn't very interesting here, at all. Cranston turned in an excellent performance, but his arc ended rather abruptly, and the rest of the cast were cardboard cutouts to the nth degree. Barring all of that, I can't recall a western whereby the gunslinger was as much of an afterthought as Godzilla was in this movie. I get what they were going for in this regard, but it could have been executed much better.
I'm all for slow-burn storytelling, but it has to be done well to resonate with me. Nolan is masterclass when it comes to this; he can do escalation, anticipation, and tension right up there with the best of them (just an example; please, nobody kill me), but here, Edwards doesn't seem to know how to seamlessly intertwine the drama with the looming presence of the titans in the movie. Every time Godzilla showed up, it was very sudden and anticlimactic. The way he was integrated also clashes somewhat with the internal logic of the film, which really sucked out most of the impact of his appearances. For me, it wasn't even his limited screen time that got to me; that's a very arbitrary complaint (Silence of the Lambs says hello) for me, it's just that there was no appropriate structure to most of his appearances - buildup, appearance, payoff, transition...it was all very flat and run-of-the-mill. That's not what I imagine when I think of the better westerns and their anti-heroes.
I'm starting to belabor my point so again, I'll stop for now until I can organize my thoughts more coherently. Whatever the case, there isn't any particular lens through which I can view this movie in an overall positive light. It was just very 'meh' for me.
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