Godzilla (2014) Part Three (NON-SPOILER DISCUSSION)

[Gman2887]

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

I wonder what Harry is going to say. He might be tough on it if they don't give him some free stuff.

[king_ghidorah]

Anyways, back from my trip to Japan.

I DID catch a special advanced screening of Godzilla at Kadena AB in Okinawa. Thanks to Mouth for sharing my early thoughts on here with everyone.

Spoilers? I'll try not to but it's always a touchy thing...

Not really much to add at the moment but I'd be happy to answer any questions you guys may have. I think this film will split the fandom rather evenly. I don't want to even remotely state this is a perfect film and the problems that a lot of reviews have stated are 100% spot on. Godzilla's screen time is roughly akin to that of Gamera's in G3. Which is ok but I feel like it was portrayed better in G3. When things cut away away from the action in the new Godzilla it feels more like a cock tease (blue balls anyone?) rather than the playful, artful seduction that a lot of reviews have stated. (There's really no way to avoid the sexual metaphors here....sorry). Some people might call that foreplay, but to me it feels kind of half-baked.... In my screening a lot of people loudly voiced their disapproval during these scenes and I think that this film could rub some people the wrong way in these moments and I don't think it's as competently done as some reviewers may have you think.

I know there's plenty of kaiju films that don't put the kaiju action until the film's climax but the way it's done here feels off to me. In Jaws I don't mind that we don't see the shark until the end of the film, Alien too for that matter, but in Godzilla it doesn't work nearly as well. You'll all have to see it and make up your own mind but for me it's the weakest element of the film.

Hitting on some other complaints:

The acting is decent, but the human plot is just sort of forgotten about but in that it feels very much like a Toho Godzilla film. The people just kind of exist to move the plot forward and I'm thankful that they did this instead of inserting lots of scenes about human characters which we don't care about in lieu of the monster action ala Kong 05. ( I know I just said that there isn't a lot of monster action...I should have been more specific...there's little GODZILLA action, I think the MUTOS have more screen time). I'm happy that they didn't make this a 3 hr. film padded out with an extra hour of character stuff. In a perfect world there'd be tons of scenes involving human characters that we all care about but as kaiju films and comics (IDW) have proven over the years that's a really hard element to get right. I'd say the human element is about on par, or a little below, that of Gamera 2...the weakest of the trilogy in terms of human characters.

The music is actually pretty damn catchy and I have found myself replaying the "theme" in my head the past few days....the same music that's on the film's website. I was very critical of the music before seeing the movie but it works great in the context of the film.

Also, I really caution you guys against watching any of the clips the studio is releasing. Godzilla doesn't have much screen time so between the trailers and the clips you've pretty much seen almost half his screen time.

What works:

-The MUTOS are pretty cool and they are sympathetic like others have mentioned. The kaiju all have personalities of sorts as well which is something that I felt was missing from Pac Rim last year.

-Again, I like the score a lot actually.

-The film LOOKS gorgeous and has come excellent "money shots."

-Cranston, Watanabe and Olsen all do great...and I actually think it's debatable who the main character is...I kind of feel like it could be argued that Serizawa is just as important as the Brody's.

-The mythology that this movie establishes is great, easy to understand, and opens the door to plenty of other kaiju in possible sequels.

-Godzilla is a good guy. While this will never be my favorite interpretation of the character I prefer it to the anti-hero that we've gotten since the Hesei series. I prefer my Godzilla mean, the villain, ala G 54/84 but if you're going to go another route then this is the way to go...he literally exists only to kill other kaiju in this universe. He's THE alpha predator and that's an easy concept to grasp for an audience. This Godzilla is very easy to understand...he's essentially Gamera from G3.

-The kaiju battles, while short, are excellent.

-Lastly, every scene that Godzilla is in steals the show. He's an incredible presence and I think it's my favorite interpretation of the character since 84.


Regarding the audience I saw it with...pretty packed house, I'd say maybe 600 people in the theatre. People were definitely getting restless towards the end but tons of people cheered and clapped during the last battle. After the movie ended there was a pretty loud ovation too which is always a good sign.

I think overall I'd give the movie a 7/10. Good, not great, and there's room for improvement in the sequel.

My wife, who saw it with me, preferred Pac Rim and I could almost agree with that if not for the last lackluster battle and the horrible stuff involving the scientists in that movie. The first third of Pac Rim is great (I troll when I state how much I hate the film...I just can't understand the insane amount of love it gets) and I even think the Hong Kong battle is better than the climax battle in Godzilla. Godzilla is a little more even though...starts great....pretty good in the middle and ends strong. The highs of Pac Rim, including the kaiju battles, might be a little higher but I think Godzilla is a better movie overall.

[jellydonut25]

For you to say you like the score is HUGE for me. You were even MORE critical of it than I was. Pretty sure you called it a bag of screeching cats or something at one point...I've never been near THAT critical of it, so to hear you say it's awesome in the movie kinda makes me SUPER excited.

[king_ghidorah]

[Gorjira54]

I have a question. i've heard people say the final battle is worth the price of admission. would you say thats true? And from other reviewers, they say all the clips we've seen of G only make up a small fraction of his screentime. Basically, we havent seen alot of him. And, do we see any of the previos battles before san fran?

[snowfall]

wait....the clips weve seen is already HALF his screentime? wtf! damnit.

people were saying it was only a very small fraction and we were in for alot more, this can't be true....man I seriously was doubting hed have that short of a screentime but for it to be already half?.......damnit.

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

This movie has so many conflicting reviews...

"They do a great job of not showing the good stuff in the ads..."

"You have already seen half the Godzilla scenes in the trailers..."

"Godzilla is barely in the movie..."

"Don't worry about it! Godzilla gets plenty of screen time..."

[king_ghidorah]

I might exaggerate slightly...when I say half of his screen time but I did feel like I had already seen a lot of the Godzilla footage in either trailer or pic form and I didn't even watch any of the clips.

His screen time may be equal to that of Monster Zero, but Godzilla is a longer movie and there's at least one battle shown early/part way through the film. in Godzilla you don't get that. It's pretty much like Godzilla and Rodan are transported to Planet X and then you're told that they won the battle.

You see a snippet of the Hawaii battle on TV and that's it. It feels odd because the reveal of Godzilla in the scene before really leads people to think that it's about to be on like Donkey Kong and then it cuts away to a tv screen...which then flash forwards to the aftermath of the battle the next day. There are some odd script/directorial choices in this film. It doesn't always work but I respect that they were trying to do something a little more old school instead of just a Michael Bay rehash.

*Edit. And I think what will be interesting to talk about after everyone has seen the movie is just how much of a good guy Godzilla is in the film....the ending...won't spoil it but Godzilla gets a Spider-man moment. We really haven't seen a Godzilla this heroic since the 70s.

[snowfall]

and ive been getting vibes this wasnt really "going back to his roots" as explained, if his roots were 90s godzilla then yes according to alot of people whoc alled him more hero, and how the story plays out from reviewers. Ill have to judge for myself. But man that is a bit dissapointing to hear.

[Gorjira54]

[Gorjira54]

[snowfall]

[Gorjira54]

[king_ghidorah]

[Jorzilla]

The only question I have is, as a kaiju fan: What Godzilla films/Kaiju movies does this feel the most like?

You keep mentioning Gamera. This is not really that concerning because they are great movies. I also re-watched the Gamera Trilogy so that it's fresh in my mind for this viewing. I just think that it's kind of funny that this Gamera comparison keeps cropping up. When I first heard that people were describing the design like that, my immediate reaction was to dismiss them, but on further analysis I can see how the skin texture, feet, arms, plate-like chest, etc. really do make this Godzilla look more Gamera-like.

Even the MUTO has brought brought comparison to Gyaos...and then:



I wonder if it was intentional or just these films somehow evolved Gamera using similar film-making/creative constraints/vision.



So with that out of the way, is there any GODZILLA movies that this reminds you of?

[Hybrid Gojira]

Cool review, but now this thread is dead to me. Gotta stay away til Thursday as the less I know the better. I'm also glad I stayed away from the leaked footage especially since that appears to be quite a bit of Godzilla's screen time.

[king_ghidorah]

I compare it to the Hesei Gamera movie because that's what it reminds me of the most but don't fret as the Hesei Gamera movies are some of my favorite movies of all time.

Regarding Godzilla movies...I'd say Biollante or almost any of the Hesei era movies. It's like a Hesei movie if they were good

[Gorjira54]

[king_ghidorah]

[Shin_Edda_Robo!!!!!]

I'd hardly called 85% mixed reviews. I'd say that's overall positive.

Who knows, I liked Cowboys and Aliens.

[Henry88]

‘Godzilla’ Writer Explains How Sequel’s Mothra Would Be Like The Joker
http://www.mtv.com/news/1823376/godzill ... the-joker/

[lhb412]

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

How about the writer replaces Mothra with Hedorah or King Ghidorah as "the Joker." Mothra lacks the tenacity to be a nasty monster.

[metal_bryan]