Bryan Cranston: 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked

5 Awesome Performances

5. Joe Brody - Godzilla (2014)

Narrowly beating out his vocal work on Argo, Cranston's latest, surprisingly not leading role in Gareth Edwards' monster movie rebirth is a portrait of a sane, scientific man unravelling: his quest for truth punctuated by short, sharp emotional explosions that make the first act of the film gripping despite the slow build and conspicuous absence of the top-billed star. It's no accident that Cranston's ostracised scientist, who witnesses first hand the cost of scientific over-reaching and pays an unforgettable price as a result, is named Brody. As Gareth Edwards has already confirmed, his take on the monster movie relies heavily on the influential model offered by Steven Spielberg, and the central family's surname is the cherry on top of that particular nod. And just like Spielberg, Edwards relies on stark human elements to transmit the slow-burn best, using Joe's exposed nerve as the initial focal point for the narrative and inviting the audience to marvel at Cranston's performance as a man whose greatest enemy is not a physical monster, but the ghost of his own actions and those of the forces behind the perceived conspiracy. Godzilla suffers in the moments where neither Cranston or 'Zilla are on screen, which is testament to how well his all-too limited screen time works.