Godzilla fans will have to contain their appetite for destruction until May 16 , when the latest remake of the 1954 Japanese post-nuclear monster epic Gojira hits the U.S. muliplexes. But until then the film’s studio, Warner Bros., and prduction company, Legendary Pictures — the tandem responsible for the recently concluded Dark Knight Batman trilogy — have snuck five scenes from the hoped-for blockbuster onto the web.
If you’re worried about spoilers, don’t be. These scenes are short and don’t give away much of the plot, such as it is. Basically, there’s this giant reptile , Godzilla, and he has to fight another massive, prehistoric beast.
In this case, the rival reptile is flying creature, not unlike Rodan — another monster in the original Toho Studios Godzilla series. But at least in these clips, the monster is referred to only as “Muto.” Watch the second clip below and the character “Admiral Stentz,” played by veteran character actor David Strathairn, explains exacty what “Muto” means.
The first clip, “Let Them Fight,” sets up what appears to be an epic throw-down between Godzilla and Muto, complete with Japanese actor Ken Watanabe counseling us — and by “us” we mean the human race — “The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around.”
Good to know. And though the clip does not actually feature any stomping and smashing by Godzilla and Muto, the third clip does feature some first-rate scenery chewing by Bryan Cranston, fresh off the conclusion of Breaking Bad , as he goes from manufacturing crystal meth to battling mutant Japanese monsters.
In 1998, Sony Pictures made the previous attempt at bringing Godzilla back to the screen , American-style. But that version put audiences to sleep, and grossing $379,014,294 worldwide and just $136,314,294 domestically, on a $130 million production budget, was considered a commercial and creative disappointment.
Check out these clips and see what you think. Does the new Godzilla remake stand a better chance than the last one?