AVGN Godzilla For Beginners

[O.Supreme]

Long time fans remember the classic Godzillathon from Cinemassacre.

This time, James is far less silly, but tries to be informative. I don't agree with all his picks, but I respect his professionalism.

[lhb412]

I disagree with some of his choices, but I kind of agree with his strategy overall, and he explains in detail his reasoning for choosing what he does and he's well-informed.

It's a good video, and I'm glad that someone with such a big platform is providing quality information, because we all know how easy it is for some channel to knock together some ill-informed clickbaity piece in the same vein!

[jellydonut25]

I actually think his choices are not bad at all with ONE exception.
Given the way he structures this video, where he gives his "5 recommended films" and then honorable mentions and also throws in recommendations along the way (ie: "If you like Mothra vs. Godzilla a lot, you should move on to Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster"), I think he should have left Tokyo SOS for an honorable mention and put in place...something else. Whether that be a more campy 70s entry, or another Heisei entry (either Biollante or maybe even Destoroyah), or even just elevating one of his 'also-rans' to his top 5 and swapping them, I think he'd have had a more well-rounded list that would give viewers who might stick to the "THESE FIVE FIRST" recipe a better overall sample. I personally would sub in one of the 70s movies, as it's hard for me to imagine telling someone "here are the five movies that give you the best possible sampling of everything this series has to offer" and not include one of the 70s entries.

Gojira is obviously a good pick.
Mothra vs Godzilla is also a good pick because it represents the height of the 60s style in terms of its realization of the effects and such and based on which elements you respond to in it, you could be recommended to slide slightly back to KKvsG or forge ahead to GTTHM or even Monster Zero.
GvsKG is a really good pick from the Heisei era if you're just picking ONE because if you like the more grounded elements of the movie and the more serious take on Godzilla himself you can be recommended to slide back to the 80s movies. If you respond more to the schlock, you could propel on through the Heisei era.
GxMG is a solid pick from the Millennium era because in terms of giving you something that highlights the era, it hits a lot of the boxes. Good effects, harkens back to the original, has a decent enough human cast, and again depending what elements in it you respond to, you could be told to check out any of the other films of the era.

Then I'd throw probably Godzilla vs. Gigan in there as my 70s recommendation. Do you like the human plot? Then you might like Monster Zero, or GvsMG. Do you respond to the camp? You might like Megalon. Do you like the somewhat serious attempt but wish it had been given a better budget to do what it wanted more appropriately? The 60s are for you. Do you just like the monster fighting? You might really like the Mechagodzill a movies...it's a good barometer for the franchise.

Overall, it's not a BAD list at all, especially limiting oneself to just FIVE movies...but I think the way he presents it makes Tokyo SOS an odd choice to include.

[H-Man]

I've been a big fan of the AVGN series (and James' other output) since the first Bible Games episode but his early Godzilla-related stuff has always kinda turned me off for some reason. Ever since his Kongathon series in anticipation of Skull Island, where he reviewed both Toho Kong movies, I've started to appreciate these videos from him more. This is no exception, I think it's the best video he's done on the Godzilla series. It's very much in line with a few more impressive video essays he's produced lately. I think it was last month that he did a video on the "most faithful version of Dracula," and while I didn't totally agree with him, he explained his methodology in a way that I could totally understand and respect where he was coming from.

I don't agree with his five Godzilla choices either (I could go the rest of my life without seeing either Kiryu movie ever again) but I do agree that these are respectable choices for modern audiences that haven't seen any Japanese Godzilla movies. The only thing I really disagreed with in this video was his claim that the newer films have "better" special effects. I think that's arguable. I'd have said the FX are "more modern." In my experience, non-fans laugh at the '90s and 2000s special effects just as often as they do with the '60s films.

I also respect him for his use of the correct "Ghidorah" over "King guh-DOOR-uh."