Godzilla (2014) - Part 10

[TheNextNolan22]

 

[TheNextNolan22]

 

[The Lizard]

STRICT embargo. Though, you might want to keep your eyes peeled at the Toho Kingdom Twitter just in case.

Toho Kingdom is actually more careful than most sites about not posting things that will get them in trouble with Legendary's legal department.

Now, SciFi Japan on the other hand...

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Toho Kingdom is actually more careful than most sites about not posting things that will get them in trouble with Legendary's legal department.

Now, SciFi Japan on the other hand...

Yup. Chris and the rest of the TK crew has worked too hard to all of a sudden just burn that bridge.

 

[AnneFan]

Seriously amazing. All out war and the humans can't do anything about it.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Are you expecting the reboot of Godzilla to feature an endless array of monster-on-monster fight scenes, where two nigh-invincible creatures slug each other with computer-generated punches until one of them finally goes down for the count? If so, you’d better wait for the fourth Transformers film, because Godzilla is so not that movie. In fact, though the press saw Godzilla for the first time today in Los Angeles, they didn’t actually see much of the titular monster, who remains an elusive presence in his very own film. Director Gareth Edwards wouldn’t have had it any other way.


“You throw everything you can at the screen, you’ve got nowhere else to go,” said Edwards after the screening, when Vulture asked him about his flat-out bold approach to the reboot: Edwards doesn’t show you Godzilla at all until an hour into the film, and though other monsters are introduced for the great big lizard to fight, you don’t actually see a fight play out in full until the very end of the movie. His goal, said Edwards, was “not to frustrate the audience, but to tease them. It’s kind of like cinematic foreplay.”

How will that go over in a multiplex more accustomed to orgiastic spectacle than foreplay? We’d love to tell you how it played today, but we’re under embargo; what we are allowed to tell you is how Edwards carefully calibrated his approach to the central creature, who is mostly seen in glimpses until the very end. “What we were trying to do when we designed the movie was to incrementally build and build,” said Edwards. “So hopefully, you get the big climax at the end and it has the maximum power possible — and then it’s the end credits.”

This reboot, then, is the sort of exercise in anticipation that recalls movies like Jaws, Alien, and Jurassic Park, and Edwards said it was the latter film in particular — which, like Godzilla, holds back the big Tyrannosaurus Rex reveal until an hour has passed — that served as his primary touchstone in several ways. “Jurassic Park has thirty visual effects shots in it, and it’s one of the classics,” he noted, explaining his judicious approach to CGI. (There’s plenty of effects work in the film, but it’s used mostly to convey the massive aftermath of those discreetly glimpsed monster battles, which wreck several cities.) Edwards said he tried to resist the temptation “to get seduced by the spectacle of it too much, because in my opinion, you can end up reaching a plateau” of CGI fatigue.


Let Godzilla's incredibly effective marketing campaign serve as your barometer, then: Those terrific trailers are mostly made of mood, serving some striking city visuals and terrified reaction shots with just a sliver of Godzilla himself, and the feature-length film pretty much sticks to that recipe, too. You won't have to wait much longer to see how it all comes together: Godzilla is out May 16.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/you-wont-see-much-godzilla-in-godzilla.html

 

[AnneFan]

This reboot, then, is the sort of exercise in anticipation that recalls movies like Jaws, Alien, and Jurassic Park, and Edwards said it was the latter film in particular — which, like Godzilla, holds back the big Tyrannosaurus Rex reveal until an hour has passed — that served as his primary touchstone in several ways. “Jurassic Park has thirty visual effects shots in it, and it’s one of the classics,” he noted, explaining his judicious approach to CGI.

Yep. There we go. I think this has the potential to be a very fine film indeed. This sounds exactly like the right approach. It's one of the key reasons why I love JP so much.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I expect WB/Legendary to stick to their guns, but man I wouldn't be surprised if the embargo was dropped a little bit earlier than intended. Some folks can't seem to hold it in.

 

[samsnee]

I think people will be disappointed if they don't get a full reveal of Godzilla until the end of the movie. I'm not saying the movie won't be good, but people want to see the big fella.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

For those that have seen the WonderCon footage, it's definitely early in the movie and it's full on shot.

 

[TheVileOne]

People already violating embargo.

 

[addison81]

People already complaining about the lack of Godzilla. How bout see the film first and see if it works.

 

[BrollySupersj]

I don't think he's going to be as abscent as the reviewers are saying. Perhaps they expected a lot more of him?

Going by the CD track listing, and that avpgalaxy review, there is plenty to go around.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I pretty much knew this as far back as San Diego Comic-Con 2013 when GE said Jaws, Alien, Gojira, and Jurassic Park are among his favorite films of all time and all 4 of those films used a "Less is more" approach. As long as it builds up to a satisfying third act, I don't mind it.

 

[KevanG]

They said minimum of Godzilla for the first hour to build story, mood and the MUTOs. Gah, this is going to be insane.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Zod forbid we have a blockbuster where it actually wants to have suspense and development before the big reveal. What a foreign concept!

 

[Breaker]

They said minimum of Godzilla for the first hour to build story, mood and the MUTOs. Gah, this is going to be insane.

Exactly, hopefully many people will understand this. The first hour is to build story, develop the characters, and help set up for the grand pay off to come once the hour mark hits. During the course of it all, we have to learn of Godzilla's origins and the story around the Mutos.

Expecting full on Godzilla action thirty or forty minutes, or earlier than an hour is ridiculous.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Some of the best films in the series like Godzilla vs Mothra, Terror of MechaGodzilla, and Gojira had very little Godzilla in it, but when he WAS there, it was effective.

 

[KevanG]

Final Wars has Godzilla at first then they freeze him for 3/4ths of the movie and it was still pretty good.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Really? A lot of aspects about the movie don't go over very well with the fandom.

Ross Cassidy (@MrRossCassidy) tweeted at 11:15 PM on Thu, May 01, 2014: Just caught a screening of #Godzilla it's even bigger and better than expected. Visually stunning and a Must see! @Legendary is legendary!

 

[Liam_H]

In the age of "I want it now" I wonder if GA will be put off by not having Godzilla in it as much. Hopefully the other aspects are compelling enough to minimize that.

 

[Sithborg]

I pretty much knew this as far back as San Diego Comic-Con 2013 when GE said Jaws, Alien, Gojira, and Jurassic Park are among his favorite films of all time and all 4 of those films used a "Less is more" approach. As long as it builds up to a satisfying third act, I don't mind it.

That, and the lack of monsters in Monsters.

Final Wars has Godzilla at first then they freeze him for 3/4ths of the movie and it was still pretty good.

I don't understand the hate for Final Wars. I enjoyed it. I get a feeling the lighter tone didn't exactly go over too well, as Godzilla had been a bit darker. Besides, the curb stomp of the tuna lover was what pretty much everyone demanded.

Still, really excited for this. My parents actually want to go see this with me.

 

[Hulk1968]

I'd be happy with a big build up and a HUGE fight towards the last half of the movie.
May 16th can't get here soon enough!

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I hope there's a more.....tolerant audience out there that will appreciate the build up to Goji's reveal. Here's hoping there's enough of a solid plot with interesting characters to keep us engaged (Cranston apparently acts the hell out of the first 35 minutes). Plus, we got the MUTOs.