The Kaiju/Monsterverse Thread (Kong & Godzilla)

[The Joker]

[zDBZ]

^ From angles like in that GIF, this Goji design looks fantastic. In many others, he comes off pretty damn chunky.

[The Joker]

You know, whenever I think of Godzilla, especially the Toho Godzilla, and not the Roland Emmerich/Dean Devlin Zilla that stood in for Godzilla back in 1998, massive or chunky is pretty much comes to mind. Even in the original Gojira, Godzilla wasn't a beast I would describe as slim and trim. Nor was he evoked as such during the 1990's, or even in the Millennium set of films. Sure, some suits were less bulky than others, depending on what film we're discussing here, but Godzilla and the 'ol thunder thighs has been a re-occurring staple in his appearance.

Which leaves me perplexed why some Japanese fans are chiming in with comments like now, NOW, "Godzilla looks fat"?










Yeeeah .... I don't get that. 

[zDBZ]

You know, whenever I think of Godzilla, especially the Toho Godzilla, and not the Roland Emmerich/Dean Devlin Zilla that stood in for Godzilla back in 1998, massive or chunky is pretty much comes to mind. Even in the original Gojira, Godzilla wasn't a beast I would describe as slim and trim. Nor was he evoked as such during the 1990's, or even in the Millennium set of films. Sure, some suits were less bulky than others, depending on what film we're discussing here, but Godzilla and the 'ol thunder thighs has been a re-occurring staple in his appearance.

A common complaint against the later Heisei suits was indeed that Godzilla looked fat. Compared to the new design, I disagree.

Godzilla's never been svelt, I agree. But bulk can make a character look powerful, or flabby, depending on where it's placed and how it's shaped. I just don't know that that was so artfully done here.

[The Joker]

My Spoiler filled Review:


To start I have to say that I found Legendary's Godzilla film to be a very enjoyable film, and especially so as a hardcore Godzilla fan. Edwards, much to his credit, managed to pay homage to almost every part of Godzilla's 60 years of history. Which was greatly appreciated. Yes, from the disaster/horror aspects of the 1954 original classic, to the heroic Godzilla of the late Showa era, and also the occasionally helpful force of nature of the Heisei/Millennial era. Just simply nothing short of being simply outstanding!

[SPOILER] Can't say if I was truly surprised that Godzilla wasn't portrayed as being antagonistic in this film except towards the MUTOs. I kinda got that impression from some trailer footage, but nothing concrete of course. Though, yes, Godzilla definitely does cause significant collateral damage, Godzilla however, doesn't truly rampage in this film and consistently dives under the various naval vessels that attempt to block his path. Indeed, Godzilla's late appearance is due to him responding to the MUTOs, who share his origin as ancient creatures from prehistory (something of which is more elaborated upon in the Godzilla Awakening graphic novel. In one notable moment Godzilla ends up saving two buses full of school children by inadvertently shielding them from incoming military fire after the buses are caught on a bridge in his path.[/SPOILER]

I understand there is a consensus that are disappointed by how much screentime Godzilla gets (or lack thereof); but the one thing that this film does in spades, is buildup, buildup, BUILDUP. As when Godzilla actually does make his grand appearance, the scene is achieved so well that it literally made me grin more than a little, and I'm not known for being outwardly expressive a lot of the time.

[SPOILER] And yes, Godzilla does have his atomic ray and, and yes, his dorsal plates light up when he uses it. I have to say I quite enjoyed how it's introduced in the film where it's used in having only the tail spines glow at first, showing it takes some time to build and creating that extra bit of anticipation for anyone who understands the significance. However, every time it is used, Godzilla is clearly exhausted afterwards, which explains why it takes so long for the atomic breath to show up. But yes, it's used very effectively, and in the scene where Godzilla did his atomic ray fatality, the people in the screening I attended cheered. Pure Awesome moment.[/SPOILER]

With the portrayal of the military, for all intents and purposes, they are portrayed as being decent people, and the movie never goes out of its way to criticize the nuke strategy, [SPOILER]though unfortunately, they succeed in unintentionally making matters worse, despite the warnings of Ken Watanabe's Dr. Serizawa. Ultimately, this is highly appropriate for a Godzilla film, so I approve.

With the human characters, I was, *initially*, sad to see Cranston, and his dramatic line deliveries, go so soon, but in the end, I thought that decision worked out very well for the film itself. As I really appreciated that Watanabe's Serizawa was portrayed as a quiet, restrained, but very astute type of character. For me, Serizawa matches Godzilla as a balancing force of nature.[/SPOILER]


Overall quick assessment: The film looks very modern, but still feels like a big love letter to each of the Godzilla eras (Showa/Heisei/Millennium) in the Toho movies. The buildup, and there is ALOT of buildup, is definitely pretty tense and exciting, the destruction, of course, is impressive, very much a spectacle, and the whole thing is remarkably true to the Godzilla character. I don't really have anything to complain about.

YES. The KING of Kings has returned!

[zDBZ]

I knew well before any details were released that this was a film I was likely to nitpick. I nitpick every Godzilla movie; outside the Millennium era flicks, I still like 'em all. They're too much fun to stay mad at.

This movie was providing nitpicks before it ever aired: American heroes, the Big G's action wasn't going to be in Japan, I wasn't crazy about the monster design, etc. But the trailers did look good, and I was actually rather excited going in. By the end, I had new nitpicks: why does Japan seem to let the US government take care of everything, bad child actors, where does the name "Godzilla" come from if Serizawa names it "Gojira" and never calls it anything else, etc. But, like with every other film in the series, I could put that aside. Unfortunately for me, I didn't set them aside because I was having fun this time; I set them aside because there were much bigger problems. I thought this film was terrible.

It isn't devoid of talent by any means, and it has great moments, but as a whole, it's a terribly-paced film with its focus in the wrong place. And I'll start on that point, because I've read some commentary that basically amounts to "too much people time, not enough Godzilla time." I don't think that's the correct criticism. The real problem IMO is that Godzilla wasn't the central monster; the Mutos were. The Mutos are the monsters that drive the plot. It was their nest that Serizawa discovered, it was their feasting that destroyed the nuclear plant, and it's them that are causing the destruction to human society. This film could have easily been called Muto and been about mankind fighting them. So far as plot is concerned, Godzilla is just a deus ex machina to get rid of the Mutos. Now, some reviewers have noted that Godzilla is often late in appearing in the Toho films, and just turns up at the end to beat the bad guy but there is a big caveat to that: that always happened in a vs. movie, when Godzilla had been well-established as a character. This is supposed to be the big reintroduction for Godzilla. The film is simply titled Godzilla. The Mutos played little to no role in the advertising; this picture was marketed as Godzilla, King of the Monsters, rising up to wreck havoc upon humankind. I'm happy to see a vs. movie where Godzilla plays the role of hero or anti-hero, but I would rather the movie be sold as such.

On a character level, the Mutos have a better build-up than Godzilla and much more personality; well, that's bound to happen when you give the villain monsters a relationship involving the raising of children, and have them express emotions of grief and loss when the kids die. Given that the film clearly hoped to set Godzilla up as a hero in the end, the force of Nature called up to restore balance, I cannot believe that no one involved in crafting the story ever stopped to think that maybe they shouldn't offer the villains a more sympathetic moment than Godzilla himself.

On a thematic level, the Mutos - and Godzilla himself - seem very confused. If I recall correctly; the origin story for both monsters was - they're prehistoric beasts who've moved their habitats underground and underwater to be near their food source, and in the 50s, America and Russia found Godzilla and decided to bomb the crap out of him. It did sh*t, other than feed him, but he didn't react in any way; the Mutos were not bombed, and were not in fact discovered until 1999. And yet commentary by director Edwards before the film's release, and even some of Serizawa's lines, want to imply that the Mutos are somehow "man-made" monsters. Aside from the fact that Man's nuclear activity offers an enticing food source, I don't see how that's the case at all. Even if it were, that would invite a whole new thematic problem: the concept of a monster created by Man's reckless use of nuclear power is the whole idea behind Godzilla himself, and is not something that should be passed off to the villain.

And finally, on an aesthetic level, I though the Mutos were boring. They were black, smooth versions of the Cloverfield monster, with one possessing wings.

Godzilla himself is fine. My misgivings about the design aside, he was recogniseably the Big G, with a discernible personality, and he was given some great moments. His attitude toward human activity was interesting and amusing. I do wish the breath had made more than two appearances.

When I say that the film is badly paced, I mean that the beginning is rushed, and the middle drags. And I mean, it drags. The choice of when to cut away from the action to a human element, or vice versa, was rarely correct, and the action itself is not shot in such a way to create a sense of energy. At least not until the climax. The final third is where the film finally finds a good tempo, and a good balance between humans and monsters (and monsters). But it was too late in coming. And along with the uneven pace comes an uneven tone. The science in this picture is every bit as ludicrous as what you get in the Toho pictures, but outside the 54 original (which is the least silly in its science), every one of those movies takes care to set itself in a world that is clearly a science fiction/fantasy environment. This film wants to treat things as realistically as Christopher Nolan treated the Batman universe. My problems with Nolan's approach to the Dark Knight remain, but I can concede his technical skill at pacing a picture and maintaining a consistent tone. That level of talent is not present here; Edwards is hardly an incompetent director, and he is clearly a fan of the material, but he didn't shape it properly.

The human characters were not annoying. Brian Cranston was sympathetic and likable. Beyond him, I couldn't really get invested in any of them. This is nothing new for a Godzilla movie, but Serizawa seemed largely wasted.

The music did nothing for me; at times, it seemed at odds with what was going on. I would have dearly loved for Ifukube's theme to have reared its head.

The best part of the movie was the ending, and I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. The reawakening, the roar, the CNN headline; it all made for an amazing "F*CK YEAH!!!" moment. And there are great Easter eggs sprinkled throughout that reference Godzilla's past. But the rest of the film did not earn that ending, or prove itself as enjoyable as those little winks and nods. 5 out of 10.

[The Dark Knight]

Full agreement. To use the uncouth vocabulary of undesirables, frankly, I thought this film plain sucked. It was just so damn boring. I can't get over how Aaron Johnson got this role, or how he gets work at all. He's wooden as wooden can be. Why on Earth did they kill off Cranston? They had something relatively decent with him, but boom, he's killed off unceremoniously and the film begins to suffer big time. Godzilla had a cameo appearance, and the film should have been called MUTO. No joke, we pretty much see all his content in the trailers. I mean, seriously?

I'm all for tension and mystery, but the way Godzilla 2014 handled things was frustrating and annoying beyond belief. Building up something and then constantly cutting-away to television screens throughout the movie. The final fight didn't make up for anything, either. A relatively short, underwhelming thing shrouded by fog and darkness. If Godzilla didn't have his breath, well, he was a goner. Which I thought was a load of bull. He does a tail whip, but so what. A moment which lasts about 10 seconds, when two-thirds of the film is devoted to wooden, crappy characters who look up in fear. It's so repetitious.

How many times do we have to see Godzilla swim under navy ships? Or people look outside school buses, windows, etc. Once you reveal the character, he's revealed. I have zero desire to watch this ever again. It's all drumroll and no funky guitar solo. The military chats were just mind numbingly dull and effectively pointless, because they really amounted to nothing. We didn't see much of anything, or anything visually interesting to warrant such a build-up. My attention span is just fine. But I found this to be just a meandering piece of junk with some scraps of redemption giving it 4/10.

[johnnygobbs]

Damn it guys.  I knew I shouldn't have gone on this thread but can you please add 'spoilers'.

I now know that a lead character was killed-off. 

[BatmanFanatic93]

Damn it guys.  I knew I shouldn't have gone on this thread but can you please add 'spoilers'.

I now know that a lead character was killed-off. 

More than happy to gobbs.

Well i saw the movie on opening day & let me just say it was great hearing people say "GODZILLA!GODZILLLA!!" before the movie started cause it just show how excited these people too see Godzilla back & it just put a huge grin on my face when hearing & seeing them excited for the big G...however i wish i could the same for the movie.

Now there is some spoilers in my review/rant so be warned

Alright first let me just say guys that i'm all for updating godzilla for today standards & trying to make him real like how was protrayed in the 1954 film however there is a limit between realism & being awesome & that's where the film fails at alot.

1. I thought the characters were just boring for except for Bryan Cranston who i gotta say i wish was in the movie all the way through mainly cause he was the most interesting & the most sympathetic character out of the group & Ken Watanabe's Dr. Ishiro Serizawa was just....there....i mean yeah he was just there to explain the origins to both godzilla & the mutos (which i'll get to in abit) & how to get them to fight & that's it he really didn't add much to anything other than explanation

2.....Oh boy the origins of godzilla & the mutos...remember when i said "i'm all for updating godzilla for today standards & trying to make him real like how he was protrayed in the 1954 film however there is a limit between realism & being awesome" well i still stand by it but i gotta say i really didn't like the changes they did to godzilla's origin mainly cause they said godzilla was an anicent creature that was around before the dinosaur ages & fed off the earths cores radiation mainly to survive & if that's not enough that mutos were godzilla's natural prey/enemies Oh & the mutos how can i forget about them?Yeah like godzilla they were anicent creatures & like godzilla they fed off raidiation but since they didn't have godzilla's heat resistance hide to survive the earths core they targeted godzilla's spieces & fed off them by killing them & implanting their eggs inside the godzilla's dead carcasses so that their spieces can live forever...okay do i even have to explain what's wrong with this new origin for godzilla & how it goes against everything what the original Godzilla established in the 1954 film & in the later Showa(before he was changed from villian to hero) /Heisei/& Millennium films no?Good everyone should know what godzilla is & isn't & being a anicent creature isn't one of them not by a long shot.

3.The lack of monster fights & godzilla himself....Now i get what they were getting at in the film by having build up with godzilla having to fight the mutos & it was cool cause all the godzilla films had build up for godzilla's apperance & having him fight his foe in his films....but this was too far even for a G-fan like me why?Well during the part where the first muto attacks haiwii was just saying "He's coming...i know it he's coming" kinda like in the first TMNT movie where it just had that awesome build up for the turtles to appear well the same feeling applies here & they way they did it was awesome cause first we have the navy ships moved by godzilla's wave,the tidal wave hitting the city,his body behind the buildings,& then the airport...my god it was just awesome on how he made his entrance...AND THEN IT WAS RUINED BY THAT STUPID CUTAWAY WHERE WE JUST SEE THEM FIGHT ON THE TV!!!!!!!WHAT THE HELL?!??!?!?!?!?!  And it remains like this for the of the film except for the final battle which was FINALLY a real battle between the 3.


4.No Ifukube's theme....Okay besides godzilla's origin changed how can you not do a remake of Ifukube's theme for this reboot?I mean i can't tell you how many times i was waiting to hear ifukube's theme in this film even when godzilla appeared i was waiting for his theme to play cause the moment called for it even in the final battle...tch...I'm sorry guys but as much as i love godzilla i'm afraid this film didn't do much for me or even godzilla himself...too much was changed,the characters were boring except for Bryan Cranston,godzilla wasn't in it enough,too much cutaways,& where the hell was that giant centipede from the trailers?!I swear i thought that insectiod (my fan name for the monster) was gonna be godzilla's first foe to fight in the film then the mutos later on but anywayw my rating for this G-film is a 4.10 i was expecting more but got less than what i got. 

[The Dark Knight]

I saw this post on IMDb of all places, but it's right:

The MUTO had more story power than Godzilla himself. The movie's build up, from the Philippines to Japan to the western US, was mostly dedicated to the MUTO. Godzilla had no build up or background by comparison. He simply shows up in Hawaii and SF like a guest to a party. I didn't expect explosions every five minutes, just a movie whose content was about the supposed-main monster's namesake.