Star Wars Spin-Off: 10 Lessons Gareth Edwards Must Learn From Godzilla

10. The Lead Character

It's not something we often think about that much, but Godzilla really demonstrates how important the lead actor is in giving the audience a connection to a story. The first third makes this extremely apparent. When Bryan Cranston is leading things, his presence is infectious, and within a short amount of time he gets the audience invested in the action. But as soon as he leaves that investment is broken, forcing us to rely on the Ford Brody character for the rest of the film. Unfortunately he fails to carry the film in the same way Joe Brody did. His reserved display of emotions combined with a thinly written family dilemma make for an uninteresting lead character, which makes the amount of time spent with him an arduous task for some. Had Ford been a compelling character, Godzilla would be receiving much wider praise. The one thing to take away from this is how important it is to get that lead character right. For Star Wars, whether it be Boba Fett or Yoda, Gareth Edwards has the advantage of utilising a pre-existing character whose motivations are at least somewhat known within the mythology. It's just a matter of getting a script that does justice to that character, and then casting the right actor to bring them to life. As long as these two criteria are met, half of the entertainment value will generate itself. We're not done analysing Ford Brody yet. The negative reaction to his character also proves that...