So, Bryan Cranston doesn't quite like Godzilla

I have seen just about every Godzilla movie known to exist at least once. I loved seeing him as a force of nature, a hero for children, a father, and a hero. I cried when he was dying in Destroyah. I cried when Destroyah killed Junior and I cried when Godzilla sacrificed himself to breathe new radioactive life into Junior.

I have seen alien cockroaches, alien monkeys, and time travelers from the future. I have seen tiny fairy priestesses. I've seen J-rock-esque mutants that would be at home in a Kamen Rider or Super Sentai series.

King Ghidorah remains one of my favorites. Along with Battra. But they all have aspects that make them unique and they all have their own back story.

I am happy to see that the beloved Toho Kaiju is going to continue and be seen by both long time fans like yours truely and new fans. I hope to some day introduce my Niece and Nephew to Godzilla. One day, I will get them to watch Godzilla and TRON with me.

Zilla was cringe worthy. If it had been labeled as anything else than a Godzilla movie, it would have been okay. The monster had an interesting concept/origin and back story. Once you see that it's just a giant fish eating lizard and not Godzilla. The story becomes tolerable. And the French guys were one of the best parts.

 

Actually, yes. Went to the store a few hours ago and saw that it was re-released on DVD. Sat down and watched it, and wow. Not only did it have a plot, but it had a meaning. Like a profound meaning when you look at the time it was made and the message it sent out.

 

The new Godzilla film is a faithful Godzilla film through and through. AND I LOVED IT.

That isn't a new thing. Many a Godzilla movies don't have Godzilla show up for quite a bit. Especially the good ones.

 

Well what I'm hearing is that most of the movie is just people describing what Godzilla is doing... is that common? It sounds really boring to me

 

Don't make too much of it... It doesn't come off as lame because it's old, it's cheesy because that's the intention

 

I like both, but have to disagree. As dumb as Pacific Rim was, it was over all more enjoyable than 2014's Godzilla. Specifically, the parts that weren't monster-fights...because hot damn does 2014 Godzilla have some of the best monster fights ever put on a big screen.

Pacific Rim has some terrible writing, and archetypical characters, sure, but at least I got Top Gun-esque cheesy dialogue and somewhat likeable characters (especially Ron Perlman and Charie Day's characters.) 2014 Godzilla however, for some reason, decides to give us the perspective of one of the most bland, uninteresting American soldier hero guys ever in Ford Brody (who only today did I realize was Kick-Ass, and he did far better in that role) instead of the much more interesting and mysterious Dr. Serizawa or the passionate-to-an-obsessive-degree Joe Brody, which really surprises me as both Ken Watanabe and Bryan Cranston are both far more popular actors. I just never cared about Ford and his family. They were dull beyond dull. Hell, I can't remember a single line any of the three said.

However, when 2014 Godzilla actually started SHOWING GODZILLA...it was amazing. They did the King of Monsters justice whenever he was actually on the screen. I love the new look, I love the sound effects, and I loved seeing him destroy monsters and structures alike. I just wish it wasn't that these amazing sequences were stuck with so much time focusing on Lieutenant Boring and his struggle to reach his family.

 

Listen, that's awesome critique, but I'm going to let you know that's a problem with every Godzilla movie. They really take a lot of time to just bring out the monsters, but gotta fill the time with something.

 

Yes, it is very cheesy, but I still liked it. The stuff that had to do with Godzilla got me interested because of what they set up and paid off with how devastating he is. And if this kind of cheesiness was the intention, it felt genuine. It's not the greatest acting, nor is the story concrete, but you can tell that the people here are putting all their effort to make this enjoyable. That's what I like in any kind of movie, those involved being genuine, even if it's a bit cheesy.

I do admit to digging too deep into movies at times. Even the conclusions I draw from Godzilla, I'll admit, are a stretch. Still, it's what I got out of it, and what made me enjoy the film.

Spoiler: What I got out of it

It's been said by the creators that Godzilla had always been a metaphor for nuclear weapons and the kind of devastation it leaves behind. While watching the movie, it seemed like any monster movie throughout the first 2/3. It wasn't until the very end that I saw something. Throughout it, I noted that they were obviously referencing Hiroshima and the destruction it left behind. It wasn't until that last third that something hit me, and it happened when they were discussing that oxygen bomb.

This was a metaphor for Japan's place in World War II; not only Hiroshima but Pearl Harbor as well. They were trying to understand why the US dropped the atomic bomb. Godzilla (the creature) was the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. It was an attack that left millions devistated. Humanity had to respond. And it did, but it broke up the scientist on the inside.

The creators were trying to get into that mindset and sort of legitimize why the counter attack happened. Serizawa, although he created it, didn't want it to be used by this because he knew it would lead to further destruction. In the end though, he agreed to it in order to protect his people. Through that scene, they were trying to say that "maybe this is what happened in the mind of the American scientists. They didn't want to drop the bomb, but they were lead to that decision because of the destruction brought to them." It's talking about the dangers of war in general, and that becomes a lot more clear with how melancholy the ending was.

Again, it can probably be said that I'm reading way too into this movie. A lot of people enjoy it as a fun monster film, and that's fine. I'm just explaining what I saw while watching it, which lead me to thoroughly enjoy the movie.

I will admit that the fights were a lot cooler in Pacific Rim. They were definately creative and exciting. I wouldn't say I hate Pacific Rim, but I don't really like it either. It's just neutral to me. Nothing stands out about it for me.

The reason I don't care for Pacific Rim too much is because for reasons I've stated earlier in this post. Nothing feels genuine about Pacific Rim. All I get from it is "Hey, this is cool, now look at this! Isn't this awesome!" While I will say I "ohh'd" and "ahh'd" at those moments, it all felt very hallow to me. It didn't feel like they were trying at all with that movie. The only time I did find any kind of spark was with Charlie Day's character; something in his actions showed that wanted bring some sort of life into what could've been a very bland character. I really have to ask that if they're going to make something that's hollow, why make it at all? It didn't have any soul to it, which was why I found it boring.

Godzilla on the other hand had some inspiration behind it. Yes, it's not all that great, and the action leaves a lot to be desired, but you can tell that they really tried with this movie. They knew the material that they were working, and instead of taking the easy way, they took the road less traveled and created something that had a heart.[DOUBLEPOST=1400399545][/DOUBLEPOST]

I see that a bit differently. It kind of goes back to horror stories and how they're shown on film. One philosophy of horror is that "show as little of the monster as possible. The human mind can create something much more terrifying than what's actually there, so let's have them fill it in themselves". It's very effective and works with a lot of classic horror films.

 

I like these type of films that don't show us the creatures or ghosts much at all. One of the most horrifying things about Cloverfield was the sound the creature made but you never properly saw it, just a limb or eye at a time. Once you start to see the monster it can be underwhelming, or at least not as fear inducing as simply not really knowing would've been. Just to see the absolute destruction it can inflict is scary enough.
Actually it's something good horror, monster and serial killer movies have in common. By just seeing or hearing the destruction they an cause without putting a face to them. Faceless enemies are the scariest and most intense.[DOUBLEPOST=1400406804][/DOUBLEPOST]

Exactly. It's no artwork, t's literally just a dumb dinosaur film. I never saw Godzilla before it, heard of it though, so i had no attachment or pre conceived notion except it was a giant lizard monster. So the 98 film was good with me. And actually the writing was no worse than the other monster films i'm going to guess, especially from the dub trailers i've seen.

 

I am 80% sure that he's just doing all of this on purpose. Or maybe he got took over by a bot or something.

 

No and no.

 

That's exactly what a bot would say!

 

Nope.

 

Well it was definitely enjoyable enough for me at the least but at the same time the bar was set so low that nothing they could have done would have screwed this up short of shitting all over the screen and sending out to theaters.

The action scenes were awesome and nothing is better then Atomic Breath flying all over the ****ing place, it's exactly what I wanted to see for the most part.

My main issue however is that the new monsters or "Muto's" whatever the hell you wanna call em were pretty ****ing lame.

I mean atleast in comparison to King Caesar, Ghidorra, Anguris, Gamera and my personal favorite Gigan the Muto's just looked really bland and uninspired. Maybe I take in too much Japanese **** on a daily basis but Toho seems a whole lot better at making crazy and memorable giant monsters then whatever Hollywood wants to pump out. Usually speaking of course.

And as a lot of people have said the human aspect DID sorta overstay its welcome. Don't get me wrong you always need the human aspect, it's the suspense that gets ya the most and whatnot. But I just think it was a little unbalanced this time around, they did a lot of cool shots and moments that are great for building up suspense like the class "glimpse of big thing followed aftermath of its destruction" thing and some cool cutaways from the monster straight to a human scene. Except I think it was done too much and the novelty sorta wore off, it got to the point that I really was asking "Will Godzilla do something already?" and of course his reveal was hype as **** but then after his screech they immediately cut away to something else AGAIN and it's like "well you already showed the ****er, what the hell are you trying to build up NOW?"

I'm just happy I get to see Godzilla again though, now let me see them top Final Wars in terms of ****yeahness and life will be grand.


ALSO GODZILLA SWIMMING IN FORMATION WITH A BUNCH OF AMERICAN NAVY SHIPS MADE ME WANT TO SHOVE MY FIST THROUGH MY FACE

 

I still don't believe you. A bot would never admit to being a bot.

 

maybe its because i just woke up a while ago and i'm still kinda groggy but i have no idea what you're talking about

 

Isn't it obvious? Amaury's a bot that responds just by looking relevant stuff up and posting it.

 

oh no that response is 100% amaury

 

This video basically sums up my thoughts on the film. Also there are spoilers so if you haven't seen the movie that's your problem if you watch it.

Honestly I'm okay with this. Just the sort of thing to expect in a Godzilla movie.

I see it more as Navy keeping close to Godzilla and him not giving enough of a shit about them being that close. In fact Godzilla is surprisingly apathetic to the military, doesn't even bother attacking them in the movie. And once the threat of the MUTOs is dealt with he just sort of leaves, without so much as destroying a building on the way out just because.

 

It's just the Patriotic militaristic image that I'm complaining about.