Giant monsters are always a welcome addition to a movie year, and particularly when someone decides to take the genre seriously. Gareth Edwards pulled off a minor miracle with his no-budget movie "Monsters," and this film keeps has in common with that one is the solid emphasis on character over spectacle. Cranston plays a nuclear power expert who is involved in a disastrous incident in Japan that leads to a meltdown of a plant that kills thousands, including his wife. A decade later, his name disgraced, he realizes that a similar accident is about to happen again, and he and his step-kids (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen) get caught up in what turns out to be a series of giant monsters awakening, including the titular icon. The first trailer for the film was haunting and mysterious, and if Edwards can capture the awe of seeing these beasts walk the earth in his whole film, this might be something very special.