Last night Vulture‘s Kyle Buchanan filed a limited but interesting reaction to the first press screening of Gareth Edwards‘ Godzilla (Warner Bros., 5.16), to wit: the beast is camera-shy and doesn’t really show himself until the very end. “[If] you throw everything you can at the screen, you’ve got nowhere else to go,” Edwards told Buchanan after the screening. The goal, he said, is “not to frustrate the audience, but to tease them. It’s kind of like cinematic foreplay. [We’re trying] to incrementally build and build. So hopefully, you get the big climax at the end and it has the maximum power possible — and then it’s the end credits.”

The Godzilla review embargo prevented Buchanan from saying any more. The embargo lifts on 5.10 at 10pm Pacific. In fact the first reviews will be out a few hours before that, or a couple of hours after the big public premiere screening in Paris on Saturday, May 10th, which yours truly will attend and review from. It’s quite possible (though far from certain) that I’ll be the only American lone wolf on the Godzilla beat in Paris that evening. Johnny on the spot, can’t wait, bated breath, etc.