Steve_Karl
Well-known member
I agree. This is not typical and well done.
They've taken a new spin on the audio also.
Godzilla (2014)
- Thread starter refocusedmedia
- Start date
I agree. This is not typical and well done.
They've taken a new spin on the audio also.
So you don't need a deep story. But you need a well written story, or no matter the amount of "fun" you pack it into it will still suck. I thought the same thing about Pacific Rim. It just needs to not suck and it will be a fun roller coaster giant monster versus big robots movie. But the bad writing made it just, well, suck. I put it in the same boat with Sucker Punch and John Carter. Super fun visuals that have all the life and fun sucked right out of them with bad writing.
I hope Godzilla will have a decent story.
If this film avoids the scene(s) of crowded urban streets with fleeing citizens being directed by police officers, interspersed with responding National Guard troops....it will meet the threshold of not being a typical film to me.
There's always a way to update stereotypical scenes and incorporate them in a re imagining as a fun creative homage to earlier works.
That poor Golden Gate Bridge. It must have a serious complex by now. Matched only by the Statue of Liberty, I suppose.
I like the spin on the nuclear testing.
The "loud buzz" REALLY needs to be retired.
But it looks much better than you'd expect.
I like the spin on the nuclear testing.
The "loud buzz" REALLY needs to be retired.
But it looks much better than you'd expect.
Finn Yarbrough
Well-known member
And the critics will argue, to doubt or to trust, if Gozilla will be what a good monster must.
Wesley Byram
Well-known member
Agreed. It's so overused that it's past the point of cliché and is bordering on self parody at this point.
The use of Ligeti is kinda cool, though. Combined with the voiceover, one could get the impression of Godzilla as some ancient, Lovecraftian cosmic horror.
Well I hope Godzilla looks more like the original Godzilla of the old films and not the modified demon looking one in 1998. To me as a kid the old Godzilla (man in a suit, and animatronics 1985) looked and sounded cool. But the glimpse I saw in the new trailer he appears to be more like the 1998 one 
Wesley Byram
Well-known member
Well I hope Godzilla looks more like the original Godzilla of the old films and not the modified demon looking one in 1998. To me as a kid the old Godzilla (man in a suit, and animatronics 1985) looked and sounded cool. But the glimpse I saw in the new trailer he appears to be more like the 1998 one
He looks like Big G to me:
Much closer than the Roland Emmerich 'Zilla IMHO.
KyleProhaska
Veteran
Please don't suck...please don't suck...
Darren Levine
Veteran
Gord.T
Still "Senior Member"
For Christ sakes. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt.
Let's hope they get it right.
http://youtu.be/bIcExdpsEcQ
I found this video of the original style Godzilla vs the 1998 version of Zilla. I wonder if someone will do another with the 2014 version. At least the 2014 looks more like the original
I found this video of the original style Godzilla vs the 1998 version of Zilla. I wonder if someone will do another with the 2014 version. At least the 2014 looks more like the original
Batutta
Major Contributor
Well I found this disappointing. The set pieces were very well done and overall the directorial approach felt exactly right, but I found the screenplay to be borderline inept. They made so many baffling story choices.
SPOILERS
To start, they saddled the audience with the least interesting character as the protagonist. The character with the most sense of purpose and dramatic motivation in the film is killed 3o minutes in. I would have even settled for the Japanese guy and his sidekick. But the boring kid we're left with does almost nothing of significance the whole movie. The only thing he should do, the only defining skill he has, defusing bombs, he never gets to do. In fact, if all of the human characters did absolutely nothing the film would have ended more of less the same. Now you're probably saying who cares, it's a Godzilla movie. I want to see Godzilla. Which would be fine if you ever got to see him for the first 90 minutes. They made the choice to tell a human story first and build the tension, which is fine by me, they just did it poorly. Also, I think they blew their wad a bit early with the central conceit of the film, that Godzilla is an apex predator and exists to keep the other monsters in check. I think it would have worked better if the humans spent most of the film fighting against Godzilla and preventing him from doing his job, destroying the other monsters. Then someone, preferably the hero, figures out that Godzilla is there to save them and gets people to stop attacking him. The way they told it, you know too early what is supposed to happen, so it's just waiting half the movie for the inevitable to occur. Disappointing because Gareth Edwards clearly has talent. His eye for framing the chaos from a human perspective is reminiscent of Spielberg at his best. His work with actors could be a little better. Some scenes in the early going with Cranston are a little overwrought. But I think with a better script he could do wonders. Anyway, certainly better than Emmerich's Godzilla, but that's slim praise.
SPOILERS
To start, they saddled the audience with the least interesting character as the protagonist. The character with the most sense of purpose and dramatic motivation in the film is killed 3o minutes in. I would have even settled for the Japanese guy and his sidekick. But the boring kid we're left with does almost nothing of significance the whole movie. The only thing he should do, the only defining skill he has, defusing bombs, he never gets to do. In fact, if all of the human characters did absolutely nothing the film would have ended more of less the same. Now you're probably saying who cares, it's a Godzilla movie. I want to see Godzilla. Which would be fine if you ever got to see him for the first 90 minutes. They made the choice to tell a human story first and build the tension, which is fine by me, they just did it poorly. Also, I think they blew their wad a bit early with the central conceit of the film, that Godzilla is an apex predator and exists to keep the other monsters in check. I think it would have worked better if the humans spent most of the film fighting against Godzilla and preventing him from doing his job, destroying the other monsters. Then someone, preferably the hero, figures out that Godzilla is there to save them and gets people to stop attacking him. The way they told it, you know too early what is supposed to happen, so it's just waiting half the movie for the inevitable to occur. Disappointing because Gareth Edwards clearly has talent. His eye for framing the chaos from a human perspective is reminiscent of Spielberg at his best. His work with actors could be a little better. Some scenes in the early going with Cranston are a little overwrought. But I think with a better script he could do wonders. Anyway, certainly better than Emmerich's Godzilla, but that's slim praise.
Last edited:
Batutta
Major Contributor
Done.
Batutta
Major Contributor
Someone liked his approach in that film, thought it could work for Godzilla and took a chance. Films are so expensive studios are probably looking for cheaper directors they think they can control. At least Monsters was in the same genre. The guy who directed the 750,000 budget romantic comedy SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED getting Jurassic Park 4 is the real head scratcher...Now that I think of it, my guess is that many of the scripts problems I had with this Godzilla came from the director probably wanting to do a Monsters style take on Godzilla, following ordinary character stories with Godzilla in the background. The early drafts probably reflected that approach, then the studio wanted a bigger Godzilla centric approach and brought in Frank Darabont to rewrite it, but the director fought for his version so they ended up with a compromise that serviced neither approach very well in my opinion. I'm guessing this based on the fact that Darabont didn't get any screen credit for his rewrite, so he either wasn't happy with the final version, or they only used some of what he did.
KyleProhaska
Veteran
I enjoyed the film a lot. It was just a fun popcorn movie with a bit more characterization than typical. The acting was average but not great. I actually liked Godzilla being saved for specific moments because when he shows up it's worth it. Some are complaining about it being too little, but I'll take it honestly over the mind-numbing mess that is the typical Transformers movie.
I enjoyed it and tried to take it on its own terms...it was hilarious hearing people cheer at the proper Godzilla fan moments. People clapped at the end...and I was smiling. Can't ask for a lot more than that really. Fun summer popcorn...nothing more, nothing less. 7/10.
I enjoyed it and tried to take it on its own terms...it was hilarious hearing people cheer at the proper Godzilla fan moments. People clapped at the end...and I was smiling. Can't ask for a lot more than that really. Fun summer popcorn...nothing more, nothing less. 7/10.