by jamaal7 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:16 pm
I'm watching Edward's Monsters and I like the documentary feel of this film. The use of news clips, the signs stating the "Infected Zones" help to lend an it's-actually-happening kind of atmosphere to the story. It's only about 25 minutes into the film, so, it's been mostly human exposition.
Assessing the film on it's own merits is difficult because I'm comparing it to a film that hasn't even been made.
The score is evocative and movingly eerie. I wonder who Edwards will bring with him-if anyone-from Monsters to work on Godzilla.
I sense that we're going to get a genuine remake, an actual rebooting, but with big budget effects and major studio production values. A lot will depend on the amount time is devoted to special effects dominated scenes, human drama and how they are integrated.
I hope that Godzilla is not reduced to the role of a plot device, whose rampage lends a sense of urgency to the human story or theme being presented in the form of a kaiju eiga. Personally, I don't think Legendary will allow this to happen, especially after the Emmerich-Devlin debacle in 1998. While I want Edwards' Godzilla to be fun and exciting, as well as shocking and horror-inducing, it having a real story, and being well-written is just as important. I hope it is more than just a popcorn flick. Legendary needs to make money while appealing to the demographic realities of the movie industry, whatever that means. But, someone with talent and a vision can make a film that is thought provoking and fun to watch, a kind of thrill ride that you don't quite completely figure out.
I would like to leave the theater feeling somewhat ambiguous about some of the characters, especially Godzilla. While there needs to be resolution and story fulfillment, the characters and how they are portrayed should not be so cartoonish so that the only thing missing are signs saying, "Contentious Scientist" and "Reckless, But Funny Adventurer" and "Military Hawk Who Only Understands the Use of Force."
50 minutes into Monsters and I can see that Gareth Edwards is talented. It's apparent that he respects the genre and the character. I think he gets it. I hope Legendary will let him put his vision on film.
“Godzilla is a force. He is not something that can be stopped by human weapons. He is brutal and severe. My Godzilla will be the cruelest and fiercest in the history of the series.â€