The Kaiju/Monsterverse Thread (Kong & Godzilla)

[BatmanFanatic93]

Hey guys today i wanna talk legendary pictures godzilla and problems with making godzilla more real.
Now from what i read in Gareth Edwards interviews online he said that he wants to take a realistic approach for godzilla like how nolan did for batman and follow the story from a solider point of view of the events but is that a good idea?I mean how could you make godzilla real?Godzilla is a 400 ft tall fire breathing dinosaur that was created from a atomic bomb in ww2 and fights other giant monsters ether to keep his territory from others or to protect his son baby godzilla plus the last time someone wanted to make godzilla more realistic this happenedand i think we don't need another one like him do we?Anyways if they do make godzilla realistic again for today's standards does that mean we're just gonna have godzilla alone in the possible sequels if the film is a hit and not have him fight his classic enemies like kong,ghidorah,destroyah or even spacegodzilla just the army?Cause Gareth Edwards says he wants to stay true to godzilla origins but wants to make him more real but i dunno what do you guys think?Is making godzilla real a good idea or bad one?Note i'm a huge godzilla fan and he is my number 1 hero on my list of heroes batman is 2nd and i don't wanna see another mutated tuna eating lizard running away from the army again.

[thecolorsblend]

I think Cloverfield is a strong argument that realism could be made to serve Godzilla if it's done right.

[BatmanFanatic93]

I think Cloverfield is a strong argument that realism could be made to serve Godzilla if it's done right.

Ehh probably but the movie should really explain why the monster attacked and where it came from or how it was created and not be focus on a couple of people with a shaky camera who only sees the monster for a split second y'know?

[thecolorsblend]

The "found footage" thing is just one way to do it. I don't like the nausea cam when it's over done (although I'm apparently in the minority view that doesn't think Cloverfield overdid it).

Anyway, point is that Cloverfield made it work by introducing the monster but not going into any detail about the creature's origins or, really, capabilities. More words rarely make a better explanation. So keep it simple.

[GBglide]

Have any of you seen "Gojira" (1954)?  It's meant to be a pretty serious Godzilla film, I'd love to see remake of that.

"Cloverfield", while being a decent film, was dissapointing. I learned nothing about the monster from that movie. I went online and read about the DVD extras, THAT told me something.

Ultimately the focus of "Cloverfield" was the people, which I really didn't care about. I felt kind of sorry when Marlena exploded, didn't care about most of the others, and after two hours of his inane comments and sh*tty camerawork I was actually happy when Hud died. 

[Silver Nemesis]

I love that scene in Godzilla: Final Wars where the original Japanese guy-in-a-rubber-suit Godzilla faces off against the CG American version. The real Godzilla casually annihilates the usurper without breaking a sweat.

As for the reboot, it's success for me depends on where it's set. Godzilla stories should be based in Japan, or at least in Asia. I know he's rampaged through other countries in some of the past films, but his activities should really be localised around Japan. Godzilla is an intrinsically Japanese character, just like James Bond is intrinsically British.

If you ever go to Japan you'll notice lots of earthquake signs decorated with images of a catfish. This is Namazu, a giant catfish that Japanese folklore blames for causing earthquakes. This notion of a giant animal being responsible for natural disasters is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture. I suppose that's where the whole Kaiju cinematic subgenre comes from. You'll find a similar fascination with giant monsters in Japanese comics and videogames.

Godzilla has additional cultural significance because he embodies the post-Hiroshima fear of atomic devastation. Neo-Tokyo, post-apocalyptic survival and the fear of nuclear war are all common themes in Japanese science fiction. And since Godzilla was literally spawned from an atomic blast, he is in many ways the purest distillation of all those concepts.

All of those cultural resonances are lost the moment you take Godzilla out of Japan and place him in a western context. He then just becomes another generic giant monster. In theory you could try connecting the basic idea of Godzilla with something pertinent to the fears in American society; for instance, the post-9/11 fear of terrorism. But that's already been done. The scenes of destruction in Cloverfield were heavily influenced by real footage of the World Trade Centre attack. So I don't think there's any value in doing it all again but with the Godzilla brand tacked on.

As far as the comparisons to Nolan's Batman films go, well that's just something every filmmaker says nowadays to try and generate buzz for their project. Likewise the word "reboot" has been popularised since Batman Begins came out. For some reason a reboot is considered more acceptable than a remake, even though they're essentially the same thing: taking a concept that's already been made into a movie and making it again. But I'll wait for more information on the Godzilla reboot before passing judgement. If they set it in Japan and try to reflect the tone of the 1954 original then it has the potential to be a good picture.

[riddler]

ironic timing for me, I just saw the 1998 film for the first time recently ... can't believe it's been 15 years, I remember all the hype about it, I think I saw it in pieces but finally saw it from start to finish for the first time. I guess it falls into the category of popcorn flick; heavily flawed, lacks logic (ie how on earth they keep losing the giant monster, Jean Reno's clan for some reason trying to help the americans.), had some bad jokes. Wasn't a bad film I guess, there's far worse out there and especially with the 3-d phenomenon and CGI, they could do wonders with modern effects.

I don't know about a realistic version though, godzilla is so far fetched and heavily parodied that it has a better chance bombing by taking itself too seriously than simply having fun with it.

[The Joker]

Zilla '98 absolutely has it's share of problems. As a Kaiju film, it's decent enough. But as a bona-fide Godzilla film, it ain't. And it's a film that obviously takes more of it's inspiration from Jurassic Park, and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, than it did the Godzilla franchise. But the marquee value was Godzilla, and we got what we got.

I'm very optimistic about the 2014 Legendary Pictures reboot. The take sounds interesting, and I think it has a good chance at succeeding if Gareth Edwards and company can achieve in making audiences, who would normally be dismissive of anything with Godzilla in the title, become atleast interested in the film due in large part to the serious/dramatic approach taken with it. Which can be tricky, but if the SDCC teaser gives any indication, it appears as if this will definately NOT be a repeat of what happened in 1998.

[Catwoman]

isn't realistic godzilla movie like the ultimate oxymoron?

[The Joker]

isn't realistic godzilla movie like the ultimate oxymoron?

Well, alot of people talk about Nolan's Bat-Trilogy as being realistic despite alot of UNrealistic stuff going on. It's really how the material explained and dealt with that ultimately lends the 'illusion' of realism. This new Godzilla film appears to be taking a similar approach.