Box Office Discussion

[Benjamin Haines]

[Jorzilla]

Godzilla doesn't have to be an always-on analogy to nuclear non-proliferation. I would have liked this movie more if they had abandoned that element if they were going to mishandle it in the first place. You want Godzilla to be the hero, that's great. Make them embody some other flaw of humanity and ignore the nuclear stuff (which the Showa hero films more or less do). My contention is that movie DOES have this aspect (MORE than just the nature-return-balance) and Godzilla is not the monster that embodies these elements. Godzilla flat-out on screen kills monsters that embodies that symbolism. I will re-iterate this point again:



EDIT:

I would also like to point out, that despite your insistence that this movie is about "natures power" the only character to MENTIONS this theme AT ALL is Dr. Serizawa. This IS something that was talked up in the pre-release hype, but I contend that this film does not live up to that theme. Because I am a masochist, from memory, here's all of the elements of the movie that instead embody a more classic nuclear allegory:

- Uranium Mine.
- Janjira Nuclear Disaster
- Quarantine Zone
- Muto's eat radiation
- Nuclear submarine
- Nuclear reactor chomping
- Nuke train
- Bomb disposal
- YUKA MOUNTAIN NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP
- Nuke bait
- Nuke gift
- Nuke baby food
- City is about to be blown up by a nuke
- Nuclear disaster is narrowly adverted

Meanwhile, in the nature destroying mankind camp you have

- Tsunami/Hawaii scene. Godzilla IMMEDIATELY leaves as soon as the MUTO flies away
- Monster forecasting (I will allow that one, the monsters are on a warpath and basically they can only evacuate the city)
- Vegas being attacked. Destruction after math shown. All other destruction sequences related to the Female MUTOs escape literally play on monitors in the background.
- Golden Gate scene, in which everyone of importance in that sequence miraculously survives
- Final fight. Godzilla gets KO'ed twice in the movie. After waking up the second time he looks at Dr. Serizawa in the eye and then walks into the bay. This is actually the second time in the movie Godzilla looks directly at a cast member of the production. This point was rather amusing considering that Gareth Edwards also talked about how these monsters don't give a damn about humans and would basically ignore them. Something clearly changed during the production.

[HannibalBarca]

Does it make anyone else sort of uneasy, for the record, that in a Godzilla movie, of all things, a nuclear weapon is casually detonated at the end of the film, near a major population center, with seemingly zero negative effects? Not even fallout being spread inland by the prevailing winds? Short of Godzilla being easily killed by the military, there's not much else I can think of that's more out of line with the history and meaning of the Godzilla franchise.

[angilas]

[mr.negativity]

[Gojiraknight]

I doubt the cast/crew was being dishonest. I'm starting to think they really thought they were making a dark, somber, anti-nuclear film, when in reality it was a pretty standard Hollywood summer blockbuster.

Ironically, the audience wanted the former, not the latter.

[Mysterio]

I firmly believe that the reason Godzilla didn't get more screen time is that $160M budget. Now, I'm hopeful that they can reuse a lot of the CGI work they've done for this one... 3D models and textures and whatnot. I have no idea if the sequel would have a bigger or smaller budget but I am hopeful that by reusing some of the work that's already been done they can bring things home with a bigger screen presence Without having to pump another $50M into it.

[Jorzilla]

In addition to the budget, I think the studio had a heavier hand in this production until Gareth could prove himself. It's really no different than the tone shift in Batman Begins vs. Dark Knight. Batman Begin's was a 'budget' movie made by a director who had not been a major studio director. Godzilla really is the same way.

I don't know if this is necessarily the case, but I was concerned by Legendary choosing a fresh face for the directors helm since I knew that meant they could exert their studio vision on him. I don't know how much that was actually impacted the production, but if there's a more cerebral change in a sequel directed by Gareth, I would assume it's due to more of his vision coming through.

[william newell]

[Hybrid Gojira]

I didn't hate Man of Steel, but I did feel like I was watching Dragonball Z during the fight scenes.

As for Godzilla, my brother and sister both liked it. They're non-fans, so from that stand point I see this film as a win. It's probably a top 10 Godzilla film for me or perhaps a shade outside the top 10. The MUTOs really stole the show, especially the male. Godzilla had the bigger wow moments when he kills them, but I think the next film can improve by focusing more on Godzilla and abandoning the slow burn idea while providing more action/destruction.

You don't need a ton of action per se; the original Godzilla in 1954 had limited kaiju footage, but the focus of the movie is constantly on The Big G. AstroMonster has limited action scenes, but the characters are much better and entertaining. I'll be seeing this again once it hits the dollar cinema.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Gojiraknight]

The debate happening right now centers around whether the WB/Legendary Godzilla is really Godzilla, and has mainly been focusing on his nuclear origins or lack thereof. But I think we could narrow it down further.

In G'1954 - and consequently every Godzilla movie since - Godzilla was a mistake. He was a mistake brought on by human arrogance, a monster awakened or produced by nuclear weapons. Any good he achieves is happenstance.

In G'2014, Godzilla is purposeful. He is nature's method to re-establishing order. Like Gamera, as others have mentioned.

Does anyone else agree with this distinction? And if so, does this make the new Godzilla "less Godzilla"?

[Benjamin Haines]

[Gojiraknight]

No, by "purposeful" I mean his very reason for existing.

The Showa, Heisei and Millenium Godzillas were each freaks of nature. They weren't supposed to happen, but came about by mankind tampering with nature. They weren't there to restore balance to nature. They were the imbalance. That was the point, and why Honda said Godzilla "was the bomb". The bomb, and Godzilla, upset the balance of nature.

The WB Godzilla is the exact opposite. He is purposeful. He serves to restore balance. And thus, may be to some not the real Godzilla.

[Jorzilla]

[Jorzilla]

[Benjamin Haines]

[Jorzilla]

[Gwangi]

[Benjamin Haines]

[angilas]

Well since this is a box office discussion thread (not policing just reminding since I've also contributed to any derailment of purpose, and I think the discussion is interesting anyway), the official weekend numbers are in and it hit $197,902,72 overall, and pulled 419K over the weekend, or behind Snowpiercer and a little less than ASM2 as it fell about 7 spots to 18th place.

If people are still vacationing today maybe we'll be at 198K by nightfall and still make my 198.5 by the start of this weekend, though I doubt it. Regardless by this time next week we should be grossing in the top 150 all time domestic and the top 50 Imax films of all time (depending how fast Trans4mers overtakes us..but even if it does, unless POTA does we'll probably barely pass Superman Returns to get it before Guardians of the Galaxy premieres, next month, which would also put us in the top 9 Legendary films of all time, not accounting for inflation, which is a moot point since Superman Returns cost way more to make, and every film Legendary has made in that range has gotten a sequel).

[QBASS]

[Jorzilla]

[Jorzilla]

[Hybrid Gojira]

Wait, isn't Godzilla's origin in this film essentially the same as Dr. Yamame's hypothetical origin in Gojira? Am I missing something?

If you wanna be technical, sure there are some differences, but nothing that would make me think this wasn't Godzilla. Further, we know Godzilla feeds on radioactivity and essentially was used by the mutos as a host for their young because of this fact. What's the issue here?