Godzilla (2014) - - - - Part 13

[BATZARRO WWD]

This movie should be called Monster Strip-Tease. Every seat should come equipped with special thongs that you put money on to finally see some monsters fighting. When you reveal something you spent half an hour building up to, you don't go back and pretend it's still a secret. Not in a movie called Godzilla.

It's still better than 98 'Zilla, though. But...you know...not A LOT better. It's just the badness contents have shifted position.

 

[Sevprince]

My review

5/10
As sucky as 98 version was, I enjoyed it better. At least that movie had humans in it as annoying as some were.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

I liked it! It was Awesome to see Big G on Big Screen.

 

[The Dark Defender]

My review

5/10
As sucky as 98 version was, I enjoyed it better. At least that movie had humans in it as annoying as some were.

Um...both movies had humans in them. In fact the most common complaint about this film is too much humans.

Appreciate the adorable cat gif though.

 

[Lighthouse]

Saw this movie a second time and liked it a whole lot more. The human stuff still drags, but everything with Godzilla and/or the MUTOS is so, so good.

 

[Sevprince]

Um...both movies had humans in them. In fact the most common complaint about this film is too much humans.

Appreciate the adorable cat gif though.

I mean they didn't act like normal to me. They were like pod people and so wooden. It was odd watching them.

 

[nogolf33]

I liked it. Major disappointment was the father not being able to say "I told you so" to the military. Ken Wanatabe's character. That guy appeared clueless most of the time. I thought he was going to worship Godzilla when he saw him nearing San Francisco.

 

[Wildcard]

I still cant believe they Pacific Rim almost 50 million dollars more of budget. I know is GDT , but still its freaking Godzilla, WB should have had a little more faith in it. I think they realized too late that they bet on the wrong horse, the response to see Godzilla was huge, more than anyone expected. Would we have seen more Godzilla scenes with that higher budget? who knows, but seeing how much detail the creatures had, im sure it was very costly to have them on screen.

I doubt PR had anything to do with what they decided to do with the budget for Godzilla. Business wise, it's not a smart move to over-budget a movie...especially when it's a reboot & the first of a potential series. $160 million was just fine for this project, anymore & they would've been seriously overdoing it.

Spending more isn't wise. And PR had a different premise that involved multiple monsters in addition to giant robots fighting said monsters so it's understandable that it would be a bit higher in budget.

Though, with in retrospect as I think back to what I said, I feel like Pacific Rim kind of fell into that trap of having too high a budget for the first outing of what could be a series.

Every movie doesn't need to cost $200 million. Cloverfield achieved optimal effects that still hold up incredibly well for a budget of $25 million.

The only really bad decision i think was in the Human side, i would have killed off Johnson and kept Cranston even crazier through the whole thing. I think that was the major bad decision and would have improved the movie tremendously , but overall i loved the movie, and hopefully the studio learned its lesson, people really love Godzilla and want to see more of it

Or they could've just kept both & not killed either.

But, honestly, as far as I'm concerned the characters were cool. They weren't perfect, but they were likeable enough for me. Certainly better than the cast of the '98 movie where everyone was annoying & out of place except for Hank Azaria & Jean Reno.

 

[nogolf33]

Finally saw the movie today. I loved it! Like with Man of Steel and a few other films recently I just do not understand the completely over the top negative reactions from some. It wasn't perfect Godzilla's screentime could have been a little more but on the other hand it didn't feel like too little. Watanabe also was a little too OTT for the serious tone especially when he first says the name "Godzilla". The film could also have been a little more fun in places obviously it is going for seriousness but when you have this box of toys they should just have fun at times and luckily they did (Godzilla's tail smash and final MUTO takedown (HOLY HELL!).

As for Taylor-Johnson he definitely felt a little stiff but as he was playing a military guy who seems to hold himself well I can see he'd be a little emotionally distant. He certainly wasn't the godawful pile of s**t people are making out. If the character was meant to be a regular charming guy I'd say he was pretty bland but army guys are normally portrayed as emotionless in films we know Johnson can be more upbeat and happy in the Kick Ass films so he was obviously directed like it.

However, Edwards style made this just a wonderful movie to look at. Just the scale of the monster fight and the beasts in general. Godzilla and the MUTO's felt HUGE. Plus just the cinematography was wonderful to look at. Some imagery will stay with me for a while for example when Ford is on the boat at the end and there is one shot when everything is quiet and you see the MUTO in a spideresque stance looking at him. That shot was frightening. Edwards is a fine filmmaker and one to watch. The build up approach was logcial and personally for me, paid off. The second film would be different as we've seen him in his glory you cant hide him for another two hours.

But yeah really baffled by such mixed reviews.

Agreed with your well written comments!

 

[Schlosser85]

I can't believe someone actually said Ken Watanabe needs to stay away from cinema in this thread...it's like people calling Marion Cotillard a terrible actress for her death scene in TDKR and disregarding their overall excellent acting in various films.

 

[DA_Champion]

Interestingly, I'm pretty sure that this was the 2014 blockbuster the hype community was most excited about.

Lesson learned: don't take previews too seriously.

 

[Octoberist]

I can't believe someone actually said Ken Watanabe needs to stay away from cinema in this thread...it's like people calling Marion Cotillard a terrible actress for her death scene in TDKR and disregarding their overall excellent acting in various films.

People are insane.

 

[Jaspertian1105]

I doubt PR had anything to do with what they decided to do with the budget for Godzilla. Business wise, it's not a smart move to over-budget a movie...especially when it's a reboot & the first of a potential series. $160 million was just fine for this project, anymore & they would've been seriously overdoing it.

Spending more isn't wise. And PR had a different premise that involved multiple monsters in addition to giant robots fighting said monsters so it's understandable that it would be a bit higher in budget.

Though, with in retrospect as I think back to what I said, I feel like Pacific Rim kind of fell into that trap of having too high a budget for the first outing of what could be a series.

Every movie doesn't need to cost $200 million. Cloverfield achieved optimal effects that still hold up incredibly well for a budget of $25 million.



Or they could've just kept both & not killed either.

But, honestly, as far as I'm concerned the characters were cool. They weren't perfect, but they were likeable enough for me. Certainly better than the cast of the '98 movie where everyone was annoying & out of place except for Hank Azaria & Jean Reno.

Of course if both the son and the father survived would have been ideal, I wish their relationship improved through the course of the story, with Ford forgiving his father and Joe proving his theories to be true and becoming a major expert in the field of this animals.

Without a doubt everything in light years away from the 98' version, no one can even joke about it. Talk about miscasting in a movie, and lets not even talk about zilla. The Muto female would literally stomp him (or her) to death. Im amazed Emerich can still find job after that catastrophe

 

[Schlosser85]

Emmerich is one of the worst most hollow directors to keep getting work, right up there with Michael Bay.

 

[DA_Champion]

Im amazed Emerich can still find job after that catastrophe

Stargate 1994
budget 55 million
gross 197 million

Independence Day 1996
budget 75 million
gross 817 million

Godzilla 1998
budget 130 million
gross 379 million

The Patriot 2000
budget 110 million
gross 215 million

The Day After Tomorrow
budget 125 million
gross 544 million

10,000 BC 2008
budget 105 million
gross 270 million

2012, 2009
budget 200 million
gross 770 million

The new Godzilla franchise wishes that it could be as successful and extended as Emmerich's career.

 

[Schlosser85]

And every Emmerich movie is brain dead.

 

[Wildcard]

Of course if both the son and the father survived would have been ideal, I wish their relationship improved through the course of the story, with Ford forgiving his father and Joe proving his theories to be true and becoming a major expert in the field of this animals.

Without a doubt everything in light years away from the 98' version, no one can even joke about it. Talk about miscasting in a movie, and lets not even talk about zilla. The Muto female would literally stomp him (or her) to death. Im amazed Emerich can still find job after that catastrophe

I agree completely, but I do feel like Ford forgave Joe before he actually passed on completely, and I think Joe understood that. He wanted his son to see he wasn't crazy, and he did. But having them both survived would've only made the movie that much stronger.

And yes, absolutely. I went on YouTube earlier to watch some scenes from the '98 movie and it just doesn't compare. The action gets bland after a while because it's mostly the same thing throughout, and the monster isn't imposing.

In this movie, Godzilla is a spectacle, & lives up to what I think he should be. He's huge, he's legitimately dangerous, & he doesn't die from missiles. That was seriously the worst thing they could've ever done to the character.

Well, that and the baby Zillas. But, I will say that the animated series was pretty damn good and (somewhat) makes up for the terrible film it follows behind.

 

[Wildcard]

And every Emmerich movie is brain dead.

^ This right here. I'm not one to hate but Emmerich's movies are all just big action pieces & that's it.

Sorry, but there's more to a movie than just action. And even if a movie is a big action fest, there should still be some heart involved and something else more interesting to it.

Emmerich's movies do not offer anything beyond the action. Hence, brain dead filmography.

That's why it baffles me that people are so up in arms about how this movie was handled. They say they want character development & the like, but when it happens it's "boring, uninteresting, and bland."

It's truly a catch 22...there really is no pleasing some people. They're gonna complain no matter what route you take.

 

[Loki882]

It's an interesting balance, and a difficult one to pull off successfully. I'm willing to bet that a lot (but certainly not all) of the people who are complaining about "not enough Godzilla" would be complaining that the movie was "nothing but mindless action" if we'd gotten even a half hour of him fighting. "We came to see monster smashing stuff and fighting each other" only works to a point. I know because I've seen other such movies have such action scenes called "boring." If you see the same thing for too long, such as monsters hitting each other, then it does become boring after awhile. So yes, in many ways it is a no win scenario for filmmakers. They get criticized for having too much action but then get criticized for having too little at the same time. And before anyone says the old "there should be a balance" line, no one has yet been able to actually describe WHAT that balance should be convincingly. They talk about balance, but when you ask them to say what the optimum balance should be, they usually don't have a very good answer.

 

[Jaspertian1105]

Stargate 1994
budget 55 million
gross 197 million

Independence Day 1996
budget 75 million
gross 817 million

Godzilla 1998
budget 130 million
gross 379 million

The Patriot 2000
budget 110 million
gross 215 million

The Day After Tomorrow
budget 125 million
gross 544 million

10,000 BC 2008
budget 105 million
gross 270 million

2012, 2009
budget 200 million
gross 770 million

The new Godzilla franchise wishes that it could be as successful and extended as Emmerich's career.

I have to admit that i enjoyed Strargate, Independence Day and The Patriot. But the rest of his movies are really just not good. Did 2012 really had a 200 million budget? how is that even possible? he has a good track record overall but thats some serious money.

The new Godzilla is already successful, not only in box office (it could be better for sure), but still is good enough and is a good start for a future franchise. And is a better movie in all levels of production, not to mention its the most beautiful design of godzilla i have seen, couldn't ask for any better

 

[Jaspertian1105]

It's an interesting balance, and a difficult one to pull off successfully. I'm willing to bet that a lot (but certainly not all) of the people who are complaining about "not enough Godzilla" would be complaining that the movie was "nothing but mindless action" if we'd gotten even a half hour of him fighting. "We came to see monster smashing stuff and fighting each other" only works to a point. I know because I've seen other such movies have such action scenes called "boring." If you see the same thing for too long, such as monsters hitting each other, then it does become boring after awhile. So yes, in many ways it is a no win scenario for filmmakers. They get criticized for having too much action but then get criticized for having too little at the same time. And before anyone says the old "there should be a balance" line, no one has yet been able to actually describe WHAT that balance should be convincingly. They talk about balance, but when you ask them to say what the optimum balance should be, they usually don't have a very good answer.

Excellent points, its a really fine balance. The transformers franchise suffers the opposite critics (too much action/explosion/CGI), I think that is more of style of filmaking that Bay has, he shots really fast and loud with zero subtleties. I think Edwards was really close to that sweet spot, i would probably made the bridge scene and the day fight with the male MUTO longer.
I didn't mind the airport scene, i saw enough awesome and well constructed shots but i would have liked some more day shots, just to enjoy the amazing work of the artists even more

 

[Loki882]

That being said, part of this movie's problem is that the human characters except for Bryan Cranston weren't really interesting. Ken Watanabe and Elizabeth Olsen did good with what they were given to work with, but they were barely given anything. If you're going to play the "less is more" game, then what you are focusing on had better be interesting enough to overlook the fact that we're not seeing the giant monster a lot. The reason why people still love Jaws even though we hardly ever see the shark is because Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw are so good and their characters are so memorable. Those scenes of them just interacting on a boat are so good and you like these guys, so you don't miss the shark as much. It's the same with Alien. The crew of the Nostromo are so interesting/likeable that you almost forget that the Alien isn't seen at all for large chunks of the movie. John Carpenter's The Thing is the same way as well. The characters in this movie were so bland and uninteresting that the absence of Godzilla really did stick out. If these characters had been more interesting and their stories more compelling, then I'm quite sure that we wouldn't be hearing nearly as many complaints about the Big G's screentime. It wasn't a case of too little Godzilla, it was a case of poor character writing in the script.

 

[Loki882]

Excellent points, its a really fine balance. The transformers franchise suffers the opposite critics (too much action/explosion/CGI), I think that is more of style of filmaking that Bay has, he shots really fast and loud with zero subtleties. I think Edwards was really close to that sweet spot, i would probably made the bridge scene and the day fight with the male MUTO longer.
I didn't mind the airport scene, i saw enough awesome and well constructed shots but i would have liked some more day shots, just to enjoy the amazing work of the artists even more

My problem with the Bayformers movies is that the Transformers are reduced to guest stars in their own damn franchise. Unlike Godzilla, who is a rampaging force of nature, the individual Transformers are real characters and have their own unique backstories and motivations. If Bay would take the time to explore them properly, then those movies would have been really good. Instead we are forced to follow annoying human characters whole the Transformers are reduced to popping up every now and then simply for action scenes.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

^ This I will agree with a lot. Despite naming the family "Brody" in the film, Edwards did not seem to be able to breath these characters into three dimensional life the way that Speilberg did with his cast in JAWS. Does that make this a bad film? No. But the characters in the film needed just a bit more, well, character. It's a talented cast, but yes, too often (and especially with ATJ) they were not particularly interesting ciphers. Which was not my initial reaction to the early parts of the film. I was into Cranston's sorrow and descent into "crazy ass conspiracy guy" and the scenes of ATJ coming home and the film showing what the years had done to the relationship between father and son was moving and effective, but it certainly was not enough to coast dramatically on for the characters until the end of the film. That could have been better handled. Now it doesn't ruin the film in any way, but those aspects could have been optimized, so to speak.

 

[Loki882]

That's the thing, it's a GOOD film. However, it had the potential to be a GREAT film with a little more work. And the good news is that there was more than enough good here to make me want to see a sequel and the problems are ones that are easily identifiable and fixable. The fact that the vast majority of people seem to agree on what the problems were only proves that fact. Take this movie as a learning experience Gareth. Keep what worked and tweek what didn't. It's not that hard.