Sigh. I'm beginning to feel like I'm the only one who actually really likes this movie.
Anyway, this is what I think about each of the common issues I've seen:
Characters/Acting: I liked Ford and had nothing against him. He was what he was supposed to be. As for other characters like Elle, they just didn't get a big enough part in the movie to actually do much. But I don't know what was wrong with their acting...
Joe Brody's Death: It was sad and disappointing, and that was the point. But it wasn't so big an issue to me that it took away any enjoyment for the film. I could deal with it without counting it as a flaw. Or maybe I just wasn't as attached to Joe as everyone else seems to be. After all, I don't watch or have any interest in Breaking Bad.
Godzilla as a hero: I'm gonna flat out say that I'm happy they went with this. But that's just me. I liked him the way he was in this movie. I thought the force of nature concept was really cool. I'll admit that I would have definitely liked one or more military Vs Godzilla scenes, and the lack of it was slightly disappointing, but not a huge issue to me.
Godzilla's screentime: This was the only thing that bummed me out a bit. Just a COUPLE more minutes or scenes would have been fine. But this is the ONLY thing I count as something I dislike about the movie. And his limited screentime would have not been an issue at all, but the focus was on the MUTOs, so his small amount of time on the screen was disappointing. See, if the movie and the characters were focusing mainly on Godzilla, it wouldn't matter how many times he showed up or how long. It only matters because he didn't show up very much and he wasn't even really the focus.
The cutaways: I just don't grasp why this is such a big thing with everyone. Sure, it was disappointing the first time. But think about it; Gareth really built up the climax by doing this. If we had seen all the previous battles, the final one would have been cool, but not hugely exciting because we would have already seen it. Whereas when it got to the real battle, the one we were about to witness, I was so excited because we were seeing it for the first time. It made the climax spectacular, in my opinion. Not saying one other small battle would have been bad, but given how awesome the final battle and the climax was, the cutaways just don't bother me, and I'm surprised that everyone else still counts them as an issue.
That's everything, I think. So short answers:
What I liked: Almost everything.
What I disliked: The limited focus on Godzilla, and a little more screentime or at least one military battle would have been nice.
