Godzilla Movie Tournament

[jellydonut25]

Tough call and I would have liked to see both go further, but I gotta vote for Sea Monster. I think it's just slightly better. EVER. SO. SLIGHTLY.

[DannyBeane]

[Legion]

Both great, but I'm going with Son of Godzilla.

[Rody]

Agh, don't make me choose between these two wonderful films!!!

*Sigh*... Sea Monster has been a favorite of mine since childhood, but I really enjoy the intertwining storylines for the men and the monsters in Son of Godzilla; also, the superb Kamacuras & Kumonga props more than make up for the lackluster Godzilla & Minya suits.

Son of Godzilla gets my vote; but both movies are winners all the way for me.

[Hybrid Gojira]

SOG.

[Gman2887]

Sorry about the delay. I've been out of town most of the week.

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster takes the cake from Son of Godzilla after a hard fought battle. 10 to 7.

Game 14:
Godzilla '54 VS. Invasion of Astro-Monster

[DannyBeane]

G54 is the better film but Monster Zero is the one I am more likely to watch.

[Hybrid Gojira]

MZ is probably my favorite G film right now (tho my top 3 kinda rotate based on mood), so it's hard to vote against it. The original Godzilla is a better film, but it's weighty and not the same kind of fun MZ is...so I'm voting MZ.

I usually consider the original to be in a class all by itself since most of the movies after it are so vastly different in tone. The original is a masterpiece - none of the sequels reach the scope of the nuclear message despite often having the theme present. Further, the sequels became far more goofy and fun, which is what MZ does so well.

[Psycho Soldier]

Letting G54 into the tourney makes me uneasy, to be honest. Still, I'll set aside my misgivings for now. It's my favourite film in the series - I'm voting for it against Astro Monster.

[Gman2887]

[Enjoying An Egg]

With no small amount of guilt, I'm voting Monster Zero. Gojira is an untouchable film, the one that started it all, but as has been stated, MZ is a fantastic representation of the entire genre, a ridiculously fun film, and the one I'm more likely to watch most days.

It's kind of cruel that Gojira gets paired against one of the only two films that might actually defeat it (on this forum, the other being MvsG) right off the bat in the first round.

[jellydonut25]

I'm going with G54. I can honestly say that I enjoy it more. It's a movie I'm more often in the mood to watch. Despite how much I've grown to LOVE MZ over the years, I feel it sort of scratches one specific itch while the original gives me just a little bit more...maybe that's because KOTM is available to satisfy a more straight monster-movie itch on the same disc but I dunno...there's something about he original that while very weighty at times, I feel if you watch it in a more casual, cavalier way, can come across as pretty much just monster mashing fun...while MZ is always "just" a fun movie.

So yeah, G54 for me, but I won't be mad when MZ wins.

[Gentleman]

Sticking with '54, and it's not really close. I've never found the love of MZ, always comparing it to GTTHM and finding it lacking.

[DannyBeane]

[MekaGojira3k]

This is incredibly tough, normally I'd say G54, but I'm gonna give MZ a vote since I just enjoy myself so much when watching it.

[klen7]

I'll go G'54 for the same reason as Gentleman, which is i tend to compare Astro-Monster to GTTHM

[Reaper G]

Ugh, why did this one have to be in the first round?

Love MZ, but we wouldn't have it without G54, so the original gets my vote.

[Benjamin Haines]

These are both top-notch Godzilla films. I do enjoy watching G'54 more and it's one of only a handful of Godzilla movies that I'll take over Monster Zero. I could rattle off all the things I love about it but the fact is that MZ has just as many positives going for it. What gives G'54 the edge for me is that beautiful black-and-white aesthetic combined with its somber story and documentary-like feel, traits that set it apart from the only other black-and-white Godzilla movie and leave G'54 standing as something truly unique in the series.

I was wondering how this would play out when G'54 finally came into the tournament. Over the years I've seen a lot of fans put the film on a pedestal like it's an untouchable gold standard in terms of quality, sometimes for no other reason than the fact that it was the first Godzilla movie. I was a little worried that everybody would just vote for G'54 in every round almost out of obligation and it would sweep the entire tournament running on legacy alone, but that clearly isn't happening so I have no problem voting for it. If it does beat Monster Zero it certainly won't have been by a landslide.

[Jorzilla]

Godzilla 1954

[canofhumdingers]

Wow, what a tough match. Both films are fantastic in their own ways. I absolutely love all the space alien sci-fi elements of Monster Zero, especially the Controller. And Glen and Fuji make for a tremendously fun team of heroes. But then I also adore 1950's monster movies and Godzilla (either cut) is, for me, probably the quintessential 1950's monster movie. And, as others have mentioned, despite being the film that started the kaiju genre, it feels uniquely distinct from the series it spawned. My initial gut reaction was G'54 but it's a rather difficult call to make. I guess the fact that, while the specifics of human stories are rather different, I think GTTHM basically did the same thing as MZ but did it better (also a close call though) helps decide it for me.

G'54 gets my vote, by the narrowest of margins.

[H-Man]

In all previous matches I've voted for the movie I enjoy more and not necessarily the better of the two. So in keeping with that trend, my vote is for Monster Zero.

[XvGojira]

Got to go Monster Zero. Yeah the original is the original but Monster Zero is just plain fun. It's the first and best alien invasion story in a Godzilla movie. The Planet X-ian seem more of a threat than whatever the rock things were from DAM and were more interesting than the Planet of the Apes rip-off the vsMechaG aliens. To me it is sort of a zenith of sci-fi and Godzilla combination.

[Rody]

My first Godzilla movie ever versus the world's first (and still best) Godzilla movie ever.
I... I...... Abstain. I love these two wonderful films too much to choose one over the other; I mean, I typically rank G'54 just above MZ, but they're so different from each other that it's hard to compare and contrast. I really don't want to see either film voted out so early.

[Hybrid Gojira]

[canofhumdingers]

It does, but G'54 also has some incredible matte shots, some of the best in the whole series! There are some so good (aided by the black and white cinematography, no doubt) that I didn't even notice they were mattes until one of the various commentaries we've gotten from classic media or criterion pointed it out!