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

[MekaGojira3k]

I don't think the MUTO have killed another Godzilla. I think they've just killed another kaiju. Maybe I'm wrong and I'll see more details the second time around..

[Dorkzilla]

Serizawa did state that it wasn't "him". That it was something far more ancient.

If he meant to imply that it was another Godzilla, I don't think he would've said that.

[Gojilove]

[Benjamin Haines]

I saw this at 7pm last night and it is fantastic!

(spoilers abound)

It's a lot different in tone than I was expecting. Godzilla is outright portrayed as the hero here. I suppose technically he could be called an anti-hero since he inadvertently causes some death and destruction and the military views him as a threat, but still, his role in this story feels a lot more in line with Godzilla vs. Gigan than something like Godzilla 2000 or Final Wars, where Godzilla actively attacks cities when he's not saving the world from other monsters. This Godzilla rises from the depths for the sole purpose of taking out the MUTOs and then he returns to the ocean, just like the Godzilla of the '70s. I freaking LOVED that about this movie!

There really isn't anything about this take on the Big G that I didn't like, from his role in the story to his classic-style redesign to his behavior. They got Godzilla's character absolutely right. He's expressive, intelligent, ferocious, and determined.

The movie has a really breezy pace and its two-hour runtime flows fast and smooth, consistently escalating the tension, stakes, and action all the way to the end. I'd read beforehand that Godzilla doesn't actually appear until an hour into the movie but I was surprised even that much time had already passed when it got to the airport scene. The cast is solid and they do a great job of carrying the plot forward, keeping things intriguing while giving us people that are easy to relate to.

I'm so happy with how this movie turned out! It's a character-driven drama and yet it never loses sight of what the story is about. It accurately depicts how people would react to the existence of giant monsters in the real world while openly embracing plenty of pulpy sci-fi elements. It's as serious in its direction as G54 or G84 and yet Godzilla's role in the story is much closer to how he was in the '70s films. It's an original way of re-establishing Godzilla that stands strong on its own while also seamlessly setting the stage for future adventures. The film ends with Godzilla alive and victorious, lumbering back to the ocean as a crowd of people cheer for him and the live news headline reads 'King of the Monsters - Savior of Our City?' BRILLIANT! I am so thankful that Gareth Edwards and everyone else at Legendary/WB made the effort to take this project seriously and treat it with real respect for the character of Godzilla and the 60-year history of the series. I cannot wait to see where this franchise goes from here!

[angilas]

[MekaGojira3k]

I think the story is a great blend of the original, 60s, and 70s Godzilla. I think the acceptance of him as hero at the end is a little sudden (especially since all of those people standing near Godzilla before he wakes up are probably dead or horribly injured).

[Dorkzilla]

Also, I appreciated that they brought up the fact that nuclear weapons are MUCH more powerful today than they were back then.

[Hybrid Gojira]

[Henry88]

Box Office: ‘Godzilla’ Roars to $9.3 Million at Latenight Shows in U.S
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id ... la2012.htm
https://movies.yahoo.com/news/box-offic ... 32848.html

[Dorkzilla]

...Holy Skreeonk. In one night?

[Gojilove]

[Hybrid Gojira]

[jellydonut25]

Yeah, he specifically says it's "too old".

Except later they say Godzilla's part of a species that existed a bajillion years ago, before even dinosaurs. So, it wouldn't be "too old" to be a Godzilla fossil, just that SPECIFIC Godzilla.

[Stargodzilla]

So I am taking it that Muto evolved on this earth and not outer space? Also I wonder if there was more and different kind of Kaiju back in the time? Said they went underground..... Angulis?

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[Benjamin Haines]

[HannibalBarca]

[lhb412]

[HannibalBarca]

To be honest, the entire marketing effort really sold us a different movie than what ended up on the screen.

[Dorkzilla]

So are there no more positive reviews coming out? The score just continues to drop.

[jellydonut25]

Oh btw, having seen it again, I have to COMPLETELY DISAGREE with Jorzilla about the breath. I respect the rest of his opinions about the film and even agree with some of his crticisms...


...but the breath absolutely does NOT drain Godzilla. Look at the sequence of events:
He uses it.
He uses it AGAIN in very quick succession.
FemMUTO falls.
Godzilla looks like he's gonna finish her off.
HeMUTO swoops in and saves her, distracting Godzilla.
Godzilla and HeMUTO tussle.
FeMUTO gets up and goes after the boat.
Godzilla flings HeMUTO around in his mouth, flings him off, and HeMUTO swings back around, attempting to attack Godzilla from behind.
Godzilla smashes HeMUTO with his tail, and kills him.
Godzilla roars triumphantly.
The building, critically damaged by Godzilla's tail, and twice as big as Godzilla, collapses on him, threatening to crush him under its weight.

It's the GIGANTIC building falling on Godzilla that saps his strength, not the use of his breath. At the end, he collapses after he uses it a third time, not due to using his breath, but because he's exhausted in general. Just as an example: if I was on the brink of death and exhaustion, about to be killed by someone, and die from blood loss, and at the last second I punched the person in the throat with every ounce of strength I had left and it collapsed their throat and I won and lived and then I collapsed in exhaustion, would you say, "Boy, jelly's a pretty badass dude, except that PUNCHING really seems to tire him out and almost kill him." ?

[Gojilove]

[HannibalBarca]

I'm not upset about it; I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm just saying that a lot of the criticisms this movie is getting, especially with regards to Cranston and Godzilla not really being in the movie enough, are probably a function of the film's marketing, wherein Cranston especially was very prominently featured. There's also a bit of a tonal gap between the movie and its trailers, which promised us something of a darker film than what we ended up getting.