TALKBACK: Godzilla (2014) - (OBVIOUS SPOILER DISCUSSION)

[Benjamin Haines]

[DannyBeane]

So did anyone else think Elizabeth Olsen was adorable?

[walshiam]

[lhb412]

[Jorzilla]

If you are trying to convince me of anything at this point you are wasting your time. Nothing you are saying is going to convince me that my position on this film is somehow wrong or illogical. I suggest you drop this quest of yours and move on like everyone else is trying to do.

[lhb412]

^You don't think Sally Hawkins is adorable?!

blasphemy.

[HannibalBarca]

Sally Hawkins, Elizabeth Olsen, and Juliette Binoche were all sadly wasted in thankless roles. Binoche, at least, was doomed by the script, but I can't imagine that no one had any good ideas for giving the other two at least a little more to do.

[Jorzilla]

I'm actually a little bit surprised more Social Justice Warriors (SJW) didn't raise a fuss about almost every single female in this movie being (almost) completely worthless and secondary to men in lead roles.

[Hybrid Gojira]

[HannibalBarca]

[lhb412]

"Social Justice Warriors" ? You mean, like, people with half a brain?

[Hybrid Gojira]

[lhb412]

It's totally a legit complaint. Edwards freakin' agrees! Said he didn't like the way the female roles were minimized in the finished film and said he'd like to do better in the sequel.

[Psycho Soldier]

Apart from Sally Hawkins being Watanabe's Mothra Twin (i.e. a tad redundant), I don't care too much about the portrayals of women here. The movie's dealing in the realm of stock characters (soldier coming home, obsessive scientists, etc.) who have nothing terribly offensive going on with them. That said, it'd be nice for the sequel makers to take a page from GxMG or GMK.

And on the topic of Godzilla's design, I like the facial shots of Godzilla. He looks like an old, angry dragon. It suits him well enough.

[Hybrid Gojira]

[lhb412]

[Hybrid Gojira]

[lhb412]

^The problem is the cumulative effect: three females roles in Godzilla '54, one dies to motivate the male hero's story, one waits around for her man to come rescue her, and the other barely does anything. Nothing wrong with any one of those characters, really, but the cumulative effect is you get quite a few stereotypes at once. I'm not crying 'sexism' as I'm sure it wasn't what they intended, just that women didn't get a fair shake in the story and that I hope they do better in the next one.

[Gojiraknight]

You really saw the difference between a star and a stand-in with this picture.

Elizabeth Olsen is oozing with charisma. Even with minimal screentime and nothing to do she was compelling.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson...well, we've been there ad infinitum.

How easy would it have been to just switch the two? Make her the returning soldier, him the worried nurse or doctor? Given giant monster movies don't really appeal to the female demo, this would've been a sensible route.

I also wonder why so many elite actors signed on for such miniscule roles. Had this been more like "Gojira", then I can understand why they wanted to be a part. But given it was a pretty standard superhero movie...maybe it was just the lure of the blockbuster.

[Jorzilla]

I genuinely do believe people were excited for this movie, the director and the buzz around the film. I'm interested in seeing an interview in 10+ years where we get more insight into where the original vision went through, and where the studio stepped in to make editing changes. As mentioned above, Gareth was disappointed by the portrayal of some of the characters in the final picture.

[HannibalBarca]

I'm curious as well as to why Sally Hawkins and David Strathairn signed on for what were, essentially, thankless roles as stock characters. Cranston and Binoche at least said that they really liked the parts that had been written for them, but I can't imagine that the role of, say, Dr. Graham (as it ended up in the final cut, anyway) would be something that would make an actor jump for joy.

[Gojilove]

Everyone praised the vision and the script. Thats why the more standard monster movie we got, was a tad confusing.

[HannibalBarca]

If nothing else, the disconnect between what was said about the movie, and the movie itself, has impressed upon me to never trust interviews ever again.

[jellydonut25]

Strathairn's character, though subtly so, was actually one of the best in the movie. In a movie where the lead had been better written and acted than Ford, people would be praising a supporting character like Admiral Stenz because he's actually quite a bit different from your standard monster-movie military commander.

[lhb412]

I think Strathairn was one of the highlights of the human cast, along with Watanabe and Cranston.

Really, Watanabe's was my favorite character. He was, after all, a Godzilla fan!