Oh, god, he's the Monsters guy? Huge disappointment. You're right that the film was nothing like Pacific Rim or Cloverfield, but its ambitions vastly outstripped its execution.
I loved Monsters. What did you find lacking? I know it was made on little budget and Evans did most of the work himself, but I enjoyed the fact that it was fairly low key and centered around the characters.
It also made me aware of Scoot McNairy, probably the greatest actor name ever.
Do you think having multiple monsters may diminish the symbolic effect of Godzilla? It looks from the tone of the trailer like they're trying to go the allegory-and-actual-meaning route in contrast to Pacific Rim's popcorn-movie route.
I agree with Magicware99 in that it depends on the approach. In the best Godzilla films, Big G is still a villain, and the humans only avoid catastrophy by pure luck (Godzilla kills the other guy and is too tired to keep stomping).
Whether or not Godzilla is a classic 'good' film or just a fun monster movie, I'll still enjoy myself. I think the biggest difference going for this movie are the human characters. In every Godzilla movie except the first, the human characters are largely ancillary and their story generally feels like a tacked on explanation for the monsters. If this film can capture a compelling human story in addition to Big G's awesome antics, then I think it'll be a success.
But I can sit through crappy Japanese sci-fi plots to get to the monster action, so I think I'll be okay regardless.
Oh, god, he's the Monsters guy? Huge disappointment. You're right that the film was nothing like Pacific Rim or Cloverfield, but its ambitions vastly outstripped its execution.
Well, the difference between Cloverfield and Monsters is 24.5 million dollars. Monsters was produced on shoestring ($500k) with two actors, no crew and the special effects were done on Gareth's laptop. So, while I agree it wasn't as good as its ambition, it was a pretty fine product considering the crap that the Asylum puts out for the same amount of money.
Oh, god, he's the Monsters guy? Huge disappointment. You're right that the film was nothing like Pacific Rim or Cloverfield, but its ambitions vastly outstripped its execution.
I loved Monsters. What did you find lacking? I know it was made on little budget and Evans did most of the work himself, but I enjoyed the fact that it was fairly low key and centered around the characters.
It also made me aware of Scoot McNairy, probably the greatest actor name ever.
I found the romance between the two... weird.
There's no particular reason for them to fall in love with one another; yet they do. And, in all honesty, I don't know how she would find him in any way likable after he loses their bloody visas (or was it passport? I forget). His mistake ****s them up big time, and ultimately leads to either her or both their deaths.
I loved Monsters. What did you find lacking? I know it was made on little budget and Evans did most of the work himself, but I enjoyed the fact that it was fairly low key and centered around the characters.
It wasn't the budget, it was the writing. Everything felt forced, nothing felt earned.
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Vive, vale. Siquid novisti rectius istis,
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
I loved Monsters. What did you find lacking? I know it was made on little budget and Evans did most of the work himself, but I enjoyed the fact that it was fairly low key and centered around the characters.
It wasn't the budget, it was the writing. Everything felt forced, nothing felt earned.
Oh, that's a fair criticism. The relationship between the main characters was terribly forced.
Oh man, this talk of Monsters and the way the characters were rather forced reminds me why I was ambivalent with him having being the director in the first place.
It's obvious that he has his own personal vision that is rather intriguing, but Godzilla's vision is already clear- He is a terrible force of nature who serves to punish humanity for their arrogance and mistakes. Any director that adheres to this fundamental premise and doesn't go into camp or makes Godzilla into a dumb animal will do well with characterizing Godzilla.
Add to that a good character story, and you're pretty much golden.
I do not think Gareth Edwards will do the characters well. Heck, the fact that the film's main character (presumably Lieut. Ford)'s father also happens to be another character who will presumably play a vital part in the film (the nuclear physicist) doesn't bode well with me.
I fully expect to see Lieut. Ford do something that makes absolutely no sense because of his father, or for him to have certain knowledge and do something merely because his father is a central figure.
It would have been much better (imo) if you had two characters that the film focuses on. One is a normal individual like you and me, who witnesses first-hand Godzilla and his destruction of San Francisco. Give him a family, or not, it doesn't really matter. All that matters is that we can sympathize with him and share his horror at watching his city be reduced to dust. But do not place him in improbable survival situation, because that's just plain dumb.
Another character is much higher up in power, maybe he's a nuclear physicist, maybe he's in the military. In any case, this man witnesses Godzilla's, and the other monsters', actions in a grand scale and needs to figure out a way to stop them.
Though, then again, I am reminded of how corny the 1954 original's characters are now. You have an professor of natural history (I think it was) who initially discovers Godzilla, and then that man's daughter also happened to once be the fiancee to an eccentric researcher whose life work is a weapon that ******* disintegrates your flesh off the bones. Then that researcher's research becomes the final weapon to kill Godzilla only because his former fiancee also happens to be in a relationship with someone who's high up in government and they together convince him to use his research to kill Godzilla.
Such a list of characters now would seem like it just came out of a soap opera or something.
Apparently, if you watch the train car getting destroyed in the first trailer, you can also make out the Pterodactyl-like beak.
And some of the toys for the movie have been spoiled, including one really good look at a stylized version of the enemy monster, which is being referred to online as Muto (based on the M.U.T.O. viral site):
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the design. It appears to be a wholly original monster, or at least a stylized version of a classic monter (or even a fusion of the two). It appears to be half-Rodan, half-Cloverfied.
And knowing Godzilla films, there is no guarantee that this is the final form of the monster.
Now we have a far better understanding of the nuclear physicist's motivation and his "You're hiding something!" speech in the trailers. Well, we could have pieced it together already in the previous trailers, but this one makes it explicit.
Japanese military accidentally/deliberately walks up a monster at a nuclear power-plant, which results in the destruction of the power-plant and the death of the Walter White's wife. Walter White knows something is up and becomes conspiracy guy.
A couple of years later, the monster that they woke up returns and starts destroying the ***** out of everything. In desperation people turn to Godzilla to kill the monster.
Or Godzilla also happens to come out of nowhere and the military decides to have the two monsters fight each other and so bait them both towards San Francisco or something.
Either way, sounds like one of those conventional Japanese Godzilla movies, except in CGI and with a big-ass budget.
Ya, I'm happy with that. I can't wait... Three more weeks!
Haven't been this excited for a film since TDKR... Hope it's not as big a disappointment as that one.
I'm really excited for it, too. You beat me to posting the trailer. From other trailers, I think they've known Godzilla exists for decades, but it was a closely kept secret, and he awakes to take on the new monster.
And can I mention how FANTASTIC the Big G looks in the still for the trailer.
The best news about the new movie, however, are new blu-ray releases of a bunch of the movies, including my favorites from the 90's and 2000's.
I'm really excited for it, too. You beat me to posting the trailer. From other trailers, I think they've known Godzilla exists for decades, but it was a closely kept secret, and he awakes to take on the new monster.
Ya, that's what I figure too.
My question is whether Godzilla is meant to be the unstoppable force of nature in this movie then, or an anti-hero.
Both are fine, but I would have preferred to have seen Godzilla, the unstoppable force of nature/wrath of God. Though I suppose it's actually impossible to get that and hope it resonates without having it deal with something that is part of the entire psyche of a nation.
So, early reviews are in an the movie is currently sitting at a respectable 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. That'll probably slip 10-15% when it releases in the US, as is usually the case (I guess the Brits like our films more than we do). Apparently (and unsurprisingly) the humans are the weakest element in the film, with most critics citing Aaron Taylor Johnson as the problem whenever he takes over the film from Bryan Cranston.
Considering the human element has never been particularly good in any Godzilla movie, this won't bother me. The fact that most critics say that the giant monster action in this film outdoes Pacific Rim makes me giddy with fanboy delight.
I just saw at the San Francisco Metreon. The moments with Godzilla felt fantastic. The theatre literally shook when he roared. It was an incredibly satisfying and visceral experience. I watched it in 3D. and I believe IMAX as well. Friend took me out, was pretty cool.
The acting by non-Cranston actors was mediocre. Cranston was very believable in my opinion. The monsters looked fantastic. The fights were great, and I wasn't as confused as I was watching Pacific Rim. The lighting, and the effects clouds, dirt clouds, dust, etc. have on hiding parts of the monsters and the film giving them an appropriately menacing feel is very nice. I've watched some of the older Godzilla movies due to my friend being really into them, with highlights such as Final Wars and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla(/sarcasm), and this obviously far outstrips them. The current technology and techniques put into the film really bring it to life imo. I would pay $10 for it as a movie, and $20 or more as a fan of giant monsters. 8.5/10, did what it strived to do and did it well, but obviously the acting wasn't inspiring. Landing Cranston for the role is a surprise and a triumph for the film, but one that is over too soon as for at least half of the film Aaron is the human focus.
Well, considering most of the Japanese Films have absolute B-movie human subplots, the fact that you didn't outright hate the human elements make me feel better. Thanks for the update!
I just saw at the San Francisco Metreon. The moments with Godzilla felt fantastic. The theatre literally shook when he roared. It was an incredibly satisfying and visceral experience. I watched it in 3D. and I believe IMAX as well. Friend took me out, was pretty cool.
The acting by non-Cranston actors was mediocre. Cranston was very believable in my opinion. The monsters looked fantastic. The fights were great, and I wasn't as confused as I was watching Pacific Rim. The lighting, and the effects clouds, dirt clouds, dust, etc. have on hiding parts of the monsters and the film giving them an appropriately menacing feel is very nice. I've watched some of the older Godzilla movies due to my friend being really into them, with highlights such as Final Wars and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla(/sarcasm), and this obviously far outstrips them. The current technology and techniques put into the film really bring it to life imo. I would pay $10 for it as a movie, and $20 or more as a fan of giant monsters. 8.5/10, did what it strived to do and did it well, but obviously the acting wasn't inspiring. Landing Cranston for the role is a surprise and a triumph for the film, but one that is over too soon as for at least half of the film Aaron is the human focus.
I just saw it, and I pretty much agree with all of this. It was top 10 as far as Godzilla movies are concerned, but it's well below Final Wars in terms of keeping my attention.
The second act was outright dull in many parts, and there are so many teases that it became frustrating. The climax was FANTASTIC, I just wish the rest of the movie had been as well.
It's very much a different movie than Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim went for the Japanese Kaiju style, while this movie is much more a classic monster/disaster film. It works, but it ends up being more like Cloverfield than Pacific Rim, with similar weaknesses (namely, not enough monster).
As Jay13x mentioned, the movie is boring in the later parts. Or, to be more accurate, there is no tension or any real atmosphere. So it's difficult to feel involved. Which is strange given the enormity of what is going on and the fact that you have GIANT monsters fighting each other. Heck, the very existence of giant monsters in the first place!
The movie essentially loses all of its energy whenever Ford becomes the main focus.
After Walter White dies, the only character who seems to actually show emotions is Ken Watanabe. But that the entire movie focuses on Ford after Walter White dies, that simply isn't relevant.
Elizabeth Olsen is a great actor. She needs to show up move often in movies. I think she'll be great as the Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron.
Ford is an incredibly boring character. You feel no sense of urgency or any fear or sense of what he sees going on around him. He just follows the nuclear bomb, which essentially acts as a Mcguffin, around, simply because he's an EOD expert.
He knows that his family in S.F. which was stated very early on in the film as the place where all the monsters will meet one another, but he doesn't panic? Nothing? No facial emotion whatsoever? Wtf?
He learns that his father was right after all? Oh. Same deadpan emotion.
When he finally meets his wife in the stadium? More deadpan emotion.
He's a terrible actor. Heck, this movie could have been leagues better if you just had an actor who can actually show some emotion. As much as this is a genre film and so the human characters may not matter, it just sucks to see someone so horrible take up the main after you see Walter White completely own every scene he shows up in...
Then he dies.
But, as reviews generally mentioned, Godzilla himself is incredible and awe-inspiring to look at. Every scene he shows up in is great. And the MUTOs themselves are a great villain.
But Godzilla's actual motivation/character is... weird. Godzilla doesn't seem to give a crap about the humans. None at all. They try to kill him for years with nukes, but he's cool with that. They shoot at him with missiles, but no worries. He intentionally dives under carriers so that it doesn't get destroyed by him. When he does cause damage, it's completely unintentional and/or collateral damage from fighting the MUTOs.
All he wants to do is squash the MUTOs. That's it.
The movie so clearly wants to establish Godzilla as some sort of protector. Which is fine in its own way, but the justification it gives for that is weird. "Restore balance"? What balance? How is the existence of the MUTOs disturbing any sort of balance? You could have just gone with "Godzilla doesn't want to see anything that can even come close to challenging him exist in the world" and that would have been just fine. It's explicit, obvious, and explains why he doesn't care about humans shooting at him. They literally cannot hurt him, and so he's not concerned. As it stands, Godzilla just seems to want to fight the MUTOs simply because they exist.
And wtf does Godzilla eat? The MUTOs feed on radiation and so cause damage because of that. Does Godzilla feed on radiation too, since the film suggests that those giant monsters generally did. If so, then why isn't he going around munching on nuclear power plants?
The movie could have been MUCH better with a tighter editing (a shorter run time of around 1hr 40min?), far greater focus on Godzilla, and a lead who can actually show emotions. It would have been great. As it is, you're pretty much waiting for Godzilla to show up on screen.
So, I ruminated a bit on the film while taking a shower and thought of something- What if Ford acted emotionally dead in the film because he was mentally scarred by his mother's death and his father (assuming here) essentially abandoning him in pursuit of the truth?
There are a number of hints that something is wrong with Ford in the film.
1)When he first arrives back at S.F., his commander asks him whether he has family in the area. Ford doesn't say "Yes" to that, he says "I hope so" (or something to that effect, I forget exactly). Now why would we say that? Maybe he has severe abandonment issues and constantly thinks that his family may disappear suddenly?
Maybe he thinks that everyone will abandon him at some point for one reason or another. That's why he doesn't show any camaraderie with the soldiers he works with and doesn't care at all that they die.
2) When Ford and his wife talk about Walter White and all his issues, there was the unspoken implication that there is something emotionally scarring Ford as well. But it's apparently something that Elle knows not to bring up, and so all we get is an awkward silence and then Ford apologizes.
3) Walter White tells Ford that you cannot run away from the past and must face reality when he decides to go back into the quarantine zone. This again implies that Ford is scarred and has some sort of issues from his mother's death.
4) We are shown at the start of the film that Walter White is incredibly driven by what he does, to the point that he loses focus on everything else. The man forgot his own birthday for Christ's sake! His decision led to his wife's death, and he is clearly tortured by it. What if he never actually took care of his son and instead just spent all his time being conspiracy guy? We are told that he moved back into Japan 6 years before the events of the film, but what has he been doing before that? We don't know.
5) But we do get a hint about the relationship between Walter White and Ford by looking at the relationship between Ford and his own son. It seems clear that this is the only relationship that he genuinely cares about. He is shown joking and playing with his son and just being a normal person. Yet to everyone else he comes off as a cold, affection-less machine. What if he resents his father for never giving him attention and the love he craved, and so is trying to make sure that his son never experiences that?
6) He helps a random Japanese kid who gets separated from his parents. Separated presumably because he showed interest in Ford's toy soldier and stumbled into the tram.
Couple of things here. Initially I thought that this scene was just a trash scene, but what if it's meant to reveal more about Ford's character?
He took the toy soldier from his ruined house and kept it with him all through the MUTO's emergence and rampage. So clearly it's special to him. Maybe it reminded him of happier days and his mother and such. So he wanted to keep it to remember those days?
As for the kid- This is also one of the few times we see Ford showing actual emotions and caring for someone. It happens to be a kid. Maybe the kid reminds him of himself being abandoned by his parents? Maybe it reminds him of his son? I dunno. Again though, I just think it's notable that he showed emotion here while showing it virtually no else else except with his own son.
I dunno. I just find his character's behavior so odd that I think it has to be deliberate. Now that I think back, I know Aaron Taylor-Johnson is capable of emotion and *****. He was funny in Kick-Ass. So perhaps the writers deliberately wrote Ford to act in that manner and left subtle hints for us to pick up on.
If so, then it's brilliant. If not, then I dunno what's up.
The movie could have been MUCH better with a tighter editing (a shorter run time of around 1hr 40min?), far greater focus on Godzilla, and a lead who can actually show emotions. It would have been great. As it is, you're pretty much waiting for Godzilla to show up on screen.
Agreed on all counts. Here's hoping for a fan edit in the future, because I find myself feeling way too often lately that movies are just too long. The average run time has crept back up over the last ten years, and the quality of films is starting to suffer for it.
And I think your thoughts on Ford are interesting.
Looking back he is definitely protective of and can better relate to children than other characters. And when the kid walks away from him and returns to his parents without a thank you, I had thought in the moment that the parents were just giant jerks, but it may be playing into that abandonment theme. Looking back, the abandonment theme runs strong through all the plots of the movie, and into almost every scene:
- Ford loses his mother and his father is assumed to be an absentee Dad
- Ford left his family for the military
- Ford returns only to leave them again for his father, but connects and emotes with his son in the process
- Ford loses his father
- Ford promises his wife that he'll be there for her but isn't
- The asian boy loses his parents, Ford instantly connects to him and feels responsible
- Asian kid ditches Ford without a word
- Ford's wife isn't in the family reunification records with FEMA
- Ford loses all his new military buddies
- The military abandons the civilians on the bridge, cutting them off from safety (enter the true hero of the film: The bus driver)
- Ford loses his Halo Jump buddies
- Ford is left wondering whether or not he lost his mother
When you think about it, Godzilla is the only guy to ever really come through for Ford.
I gotta disagree, I wasn't there just waiting for Godzilla to show up, this is more reminiscent of the original Godzilla film, you know, the one where he didn't show up for half the movie?
Seriously, it's like everyone wanted it to be "The Bryan Cranston" show, everyone keeps saying it lost energy after he left the film... It didn't...
Also, some of the people wanting longer fight scenes, and then using the film "Godzilla against Mecha-Godzilla" as a reference point? Oh, you mean the one where Godzilla has a 5 minute fight with Mechagodzilla, then runs away, and we get to see Mechagodzilla just destroying things at random? Really?!
I'm glad it wasn't the "disaster porn" movie everyone wanted it to be... I loved the film, it works. Nitpicking about one character in the entire film is meaningless, so what?
Did that ONE actor really detract your enjoyment of the film?
Did one actor's absence REALLY make all the difference? Really?!
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For a Godzilla movie, it was above average. I only see one movie a year in the theaters, and I'm not disappointed with this pick as my movie for the year.
The most important part (for me at least), Godzilla, felt like Godzilla, rather than that BS 1998 movie. Godzilla tanks ordinance rather than dodging them.
The last scene with TV in the background ("Godzilla, King of Monsters, [redacted]") should have been done without the [redacted]. Way, way too Anvilicious. Actually, everything after the climactic battle was too anvilicious.
I would have preferred Godzilla as pure antagonist, and the humans more terrified of him rather than looking like they want to give him a hug after his "death"
Graphics were too dark and muddy. Nearly all of the action was done in night scenes, and/or with thick smoke. At least in movies like Pacific Rim, even the night scenes were brightly lit.
I really didn't mind that the human actors couldn't act to save their lives. I was there to watch Godzilla.
I would have preferred more human vs Godzilla scenes, to highlight just how powerful Godzilla is. But other than automatic weapons fire and a couple of tanks/ships, it seemed almost as if the humans weren't even trying.
I gotta disagree, I wasn't there just waiting for Godzilla to show up, this is more reminiscent of the original Godzilla film, you know, the one where he didn't show up for half the movie?
That movie is also an hour and halfish long and the entire film is about Godzilla. This film is essentially about the MUTOs.
Seriously, it's like everyone wanted it to be "The Bryan Cranston" show, everyone keeps saying it lost energy after he left the film... It didn't...
Did that ONE actor really detract your enjoyment of the film?
Did one actor's absence REALLY make all the difference? Really?!
Personal opinions mate... I felt that the film lacked any sort of atmosphere whenever the MUTOs or Godzilla wasn't on the screen. Ford, the main character, just seems so indifferent to the fact that his wife and child are in the city that he knows the monsters are all headed towards. It creeped me out, honestly. I can't imagine a person acting so calmly as he did in the middle of everything he went through within the span of that film.
I'm curious why you think otherwise though.
And, no, I think Godzilla had a perfect amount of screen time. People who clamor for more Godzilla fail to see how brilliantly Gareth Edwards used him in the film. It's just that the human element dragged the film down. Ford acting like an actual human being alone would have raised the film up a whole another level.
And I think your thoughts on Ford are interesting.
It just doesn't make sense for the film to drop a bunch of hints about how messed up Ford is at the start of the film, only to just let it completely poof later on.
Actually, it can make perfect sense; a plot-hole. But I would like to believe that it isn't a plot-hole and instead is just too damned subtle for people to pick up on.
I loved Monsters. What did you find lacking? I know it was made on little budget and Evans did most of the work himself, but I enjoyed the fact that it was fairly low key and centered around the characters.
It also made me aware of Scoot McNairy, probably the greatest actor name ever.
I agree with Magicware99 in that it depends on the approach. In the best Godzilla films, Big G is still a villain, and the humans only avoid catastrophy by pure luck (Godzilla kills the other guy and is too tired to keep stomping).
Whether or not Godzilla is a classic 'good' film or just a fun monster movie, I'll still enjoy myself. I think the biggest difference going for this movie are the human characters. In every Godzilla movie except the first, the human characters are largely ancillary and their story generally feels like a tacked on explanation for the monsters. If this film can capture a compelling human story in addition to Big G's awesome antics, then I think it'll be a success.
But I can sit through crappy Japanese sci-fi plots to get to the monster action, so I think I'll be okay regardless.
A twist that shocks no one, I think
Well, the difference between Cloverfield and Monsters is 24.5 million dollars. Monsters was produced on shoestring ($500k) with two actors, no crew and the special effects were done on Gareth's laptop. So, while I agree it wasn't as good as its ambition, it was a pretty fine product considering the crap that the Asylum puts out for the same amount of money.
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I'm pretty sure the poster is an exaggeration at this point, have seen the Big G in the trailer.
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I found the romance between the two... weird.
There's no particular reason for them to fall in love with one another; yet they do. And, in all honesty, I don't know how she would find him in any way likable after he loses their bloody visas (or was it passport? I forget). His mistake ****s them up big time, and ultimately leads to either her or both their deaths.
It wasn't the budget, it was the writing. Everything felt forced, nothing felt earned.
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Oh, that's a fair criticism. The relationship between the main characters was terribly forced.
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It's obvious that he has his own personal vision that is rather intriguing, but Godzilla's vision is already clear- He is a terrible force of nature who serves to punish humanity for their arrogance and mistakes. Any director that adheres to this fundamental premise and doesn't go into camp or makes Godzilla into a dumb animal will do well with characterizing Godzilla.
Add to that a good character story, and you're pretty much golden.
I do not think Gareth Edwards will do the characters well. Heck, the fact that the film's main character (presumably Lieut. Ford)'s father also happens to be another character who will presumably play a vital part in the film (the nuclear physicist) doesn't bode well with me.
I fully expect to see Lieut. Ford do something that makes absolutely no sense because of his father, or for him to have certain knowledge and do something merely because his father is a central figure.
It would have been much better (imo) if you had two characters that the film focuses on. One is a normal individual like you and me, who witnesses first-hand Godzilla and his destruction of San Francisco. Give him a family, or not, it doesn't really matter. All that matters is that we can sympathize with him and share his horror at watching his city be reduced to dust. But do not place him in improbable survival situation, because that's just plain dumb.
Another character is much higher up in power, maybe he's a nuclear physicist, maybe he's in the military. In any case, this man witnesses Godzilla's, and the other monsters', actions in a grand scale and needs to figure out a way to stop them.
Though, then again, I am reminded of how corny the 1954 original's characters are now. You have an professor of natural history (I think it was) who initially discovers Godzilla, and then that man's daughter also happened to once be the fiancee to an eccentric researcher whose life work is a weapon that ******* disintegrates your flesh off the bones. Then that researcher's research becomes the final weapon to kill Godzilla only because his former fiancee also happens to be in a relationship with someone who's high up in government and they together convince him to use his research to kill Godzilla.
Such a list of characters now would seem like it just came out of a soap opera or something.
And some of the toys for the movie have been spoiled, including one really good look at a stylized version of the enemy monster, which is being referred to online as Muto (based on the M.U.T.O. viral site):
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the design. It appears to be a wholly original monster, or at least a stylized version of a classic monter (or even a fusion of the two). It appears to be half-Rodan, half-Cloverfied.
And knowing Godzilla films, there is no guarantee that this is the final form of the monster.
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Now we have a far better understanding of the nuclear physicist's motivation and his "You're hiding something!" speech in the trailers. Well, we could have pieced it together already in the previous trailers, but this one makes it explicit.
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This one makes the film's plot much clearer.
Japanese military accidentally/deliberately walks up a monster at a nuclear power-plant, which results in the destruction of the power-plant and the death of the Walter White's wife. Walter White knows something is up and becomes conspiracy guy.
A couple of years later, the monster that they woke up returns and starts destroying the ***** out of everything. In desperation people turn to Godzilla to kill the monster.
Or Godzilla also happens to come out of nowhere and the military decides to have the two monsters fight each other and so bait them both towards San Francisco or something.
Either way, sounds like one of those conventional Japanese Godzilla movies, except in CGI and with a big-ass budget.
Ya, I'm happy with that. I can't wait... Three more weeks!
Haven't been this excited for a film since TDKR... Hope it's not as big a disappointment as that one.
And can I mention how FANTASTIC the Big G looks in the still for the trailer.
The best news about the new movie, however, are new blu-ray releases of a bunch of the movies, including my favorites from the 90's and 2000's.
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Ya, that's what I figure too.
My question is whether Godzilla is meant to be the unstoppable force of nature in this movie then, or an anti-hero.
Both are fine, but I would have preferred to have seen Godzilla, the unstoppable force of nature/wrath of God. Though I suppose it's actually impossible to get that and hope it resonates without having it deal with something that is part of the entire psyche of a nation.
I agree. He looks and feels the part of a genuine monster.
Considering the human element has never been particularly good in any Godzilla movie, this won't bother me. The fact that most critics say that the giant monster action in this film outdoes Pacific Rim makes me giddy with fanboy delight.
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The acting by non-Cranston actors was mediocre. Cranston was very believable in my opinion. The monsters looked fantastic. The fights were great, and I wasn't as confused as I was watching Pacific Rim. The lighting, and the effects clouds, dirt clouds, dust, etc. have on hiding parts of the monsters and the film giving them an appropriately menacing feel is very nice. I've watched some of the older Godzilla movies due to my friend being really into them, with highlights such as Final Wars and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla(/sarcasm), and this obviously far outstrips them. The current technology and techniques put into the film really bring it to life imo. I would pay $10 for it as a movie, and $20 or more as a fan of giant monsters. 8.5/10, did what it strived to do and did it well, but obviously the acting wasn't inspiring. Landing Cranston for the role is a surprise and a triumph for the film, but one that is over too soon as for at least half of the film Aaron is the human focus.
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I just saw it, and I pretty much agree with all of this. It was top 10 as far as Godzilla movies are concerned, but it's well below Final Wars in terms of keeping my attention.
The second act was outright dull in many parts, and there are so many teases that it became frustrating. The climax was FANTASTIC, I just wish the rest of the movie had been as well.
It's very much a different movie than Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim went for the Japanese Kaiju style, while this movie is much more a classic monster/disaster film. It works, but it ends up being more like Cloverfield than Pacific Rim, with similar weaknesses (namely, not enough monster).
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The movie essentially loses all of its energy whenever Ford becomes the main focus.
After Walter White dies, the only character who seems to actually show emotions is Ken Watanabe. But that the entire movie focuses on Ford after Walter White dies, that simply isn't relevant.
Elizabeth Olsen is a great actor. She needs to show up move often in movies. I think she'll be great as the Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron.
Ford is an incredibly boring character. You feel no sense of urgency or any fear or sense of what he sees going on around him. He just follows the nuclear bomb, which essentially acts as a Mcguffin, around, simply because he's an EOD expert.
He knows that his family in S.F. which was stated very early on in the film as the place where all the monsters will meet one another, but he doesn't panic? Nothing? No facial emotion whatsoever? Wtf?
He learns that his father was right after all? Oh. Same deadpan emotion.
When he finally meets his wife in the stadium? More deadpan emotion.
He's a terrible actor. Heck, this movie could have been leagues better if you just had an actor who can actually show some emotion. As much as this is a genre film and so the human characters may not matter, it just sucks to see someone so horrible take up the main after you see Walter White completely own every scene he shows up in...
Then he dies.
But, as reviews generally mentioned, Godzilla himself is incredible and awe-inspiring to look at. Every scene he shows up in is great. And the MUTOs themselves are a great villain.
But Godzilla's actual motivation/character is... weird. Godzilla doesn't seem to give a crap about the humans. None at all. They try to kill him for years with nukes, but he's cool with that. They shoot at him with missiles, but no worries. He intentionally dives under carriers so that it doesn't get destroyed by him. When he does cause damage, it's completely unintentional and/or collateral damage from fighting the MUTOs.
All he wants to do is squash the MUTOs. That's it.
The movie so clearly wants to establish Godzilla as some sort of protector. Which is fine in its own way, but the justification it gives for that is weird. "Restore balance"? What balance? How is the existence of the MUTOs disturbing any sort of balance? You could have just gone with "Godzilla doesn't want to see anything that can even come close to challenging him exist in the world" and that would have been just fine. It's explicit, obvious, and explains why he doesn't care about humans shooting at him. They literally cannot hurt him, and so he's not concerned. As it stands, Godzilla just seems to want to fight the MUTOs simply because they exist.
And wtf does Godzilla eat? The MUTOs feed on radiation and so cause damage because of that. Does Godzilla feed on radiation too, since the film suggests that those giant monsters generally did. If so, then why isn't he going around munching on nuclear power plants?
The movie could have been MUCH better with a tighter editing (a shorter run time of around 1hr 40min?), far greater focus on Godzilla, and a lead who can actually show emotions. It would have been great. As it is, you're pretty much waiting for Godzilla to show up on screen.
So, I ruminated a bit on the film while taking a shower and thought of something- What if Ford acted emotionally dead in the film because he was mentally scarred by his mother's death and his father (assuming here) essentially abandoning him in pursuit of the truth?
There are a number of hints that something is wrong with Ford in the film.
1)When he first arrives back at S.F., his commander asks him whether he has family in the area. Ford doesn't say "Yes" to that, he says "I hope so" (or something to that effect, I forget exactly). Now why would we say that? Maybe he has severe abandonment issues and constantly thinks that his family may disappear suddenly?
Maybe he thinks that everyone will abandon him at some point for one reason or another. That's why he doesn't show any camaraderie with the soldiers he works with and doesn't care at all that they die.
2) When Ford and his wife talk about Walter White and all his issues, there was the unspoken implication that there is something emotionally scarring Ford as well. But it's apparently something that Elle knows not to bring up, and so all we get is an awkward silence and then Ford apologizes.
3) Walter White tells Ford that you cannot run away from the past and must face reality when he decides to go back into the quarantine zone. This again implies that Ford is scarred and has some sort of issues from his mother's death.
4) We are shown at the start of the film that Walter White is incredibly driven by what he does, to the point that he loses focus on everything else. The man forgot his own birthday for Christ's sake! His decision led to his wife's death, and he is clearly tortured by it. What if he never actually took care of his son and instead just spent all his time being conspiracy guy? We are told that he moved back into Japan 6 years before the events of the film, but what has he been doing before that? We don't know.
5) But we do get a hint about the relationship between Walter White and Ford by looking at the relationship between Ford and his own son. It seems clear that this is the only relationship that he genuinely cares about. He is shown joking and playing with his son and just being a normal person. Yet to everyone else he comes off as a cold, affection-less machine. What if he resents his father for never giving him attention and the love he craved, and so is trying to make sure that his son never experiences that?
6) He helps a random Japanese kid who gets separated from his parents. Separated presumably because he showed interest in Ford's toy soldier and stumbled into the tram.
Couple of things here. Initially I thought that this scene was just a trash scene, but what if it's meant to reveal more about Ford's character?
He took the toy soldier from his ruined house and kept it with him all through the MUTO's emergence and rampage. So clearly it's special to him. Maybe it reminded him of happier days and his mother and such. So he wanted to keep it to remember those days?
As for the kid- This is also one of the few times we see Ford showing actual emotions and caring for someone. It happens to be a kid. Maybe the kid reminds him of himself being abandoned by his parents? Maybe it reminds him of his son? I dunno. Again though, I just think it's notable that he showed emotion here while showing it virtually no else else except with his own son.
I dunno. I just find his character's behavior so odd that I think it has to be deliberate. Now that I think back, I know Aaron Taylor-Johnson is capable of emotion and *****. He was funny in Kick-Ass. So perhaps the writers deliberately wrote Ford to act in that manner and left subtle hints for us to pick up on.
If so, then it's brilliant. If not, then I dunno what's up.
Agreed on all counts. Here's hoping for a fan edit in the future, because I find myself feeling way too often lately that movies are just too long. The average run time has crept back up over the last ten years, and the quality of films is starting to suffer for it.
And I think your thoughts on Ford are interesting.
- Ford loses his mother and his father is assumed to be an absentee Dad
- Ford left his family for the military
- Ford returns only to leave them again for his father, but connects and emotes with his son in the process
- Ford loses his father
- Ford promises his wife that he'll be there for her but isn't
- The asian boy loses his parents, Ford instantly connects to him and feels responsible
- Asian kid ditches Ford without a word
- Ford's wife isn't in the family reunification records with FEMA
- Ford loses all his new military buddies
- The military abandons the civilians on the bridge, cutting them off from safety (enter the true hero of the film: The bus driver)
- Ford loses his Halo Jump buddies
- Ford is left wondering whether or not he lost his mother
When you think about it, Godzilla is the only guy to ever really come through for Ford.
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Seriously, it's like everyone wanted it to be "The Bryan Cranston" show, everyone keeps saying it lost energy after he left the film... It didn't...
Also, some of the people wanting longer fight scenes, and then using the film "Godzilla against Mecha-Godzilla" as a reference point? Oh, you mean the one where Godzilla has a 5 minute fight with Mechagodzilla, then runs away, and we get to see Mechagodzilla just destroying things at random? Really?!
I'm glad it wasn't the "disaster porn" movie everyone wanted it to be... I loved the film, it works. Nitpicking about one character in the entire film is meaningless, so what?
Did that ONE actor really detract your enjoyment of the film?
Did one actor's absence REALLY make all the difference? Really?!
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For a Godzilla movie, it was above average. I only see one movie a year in the theaters, and I'm not disappointed with this pick as my movie for the year.
The most important part (for me at least), Godzilla, felt like Godzilla, rather than that BS 1998 movie. Godzilla tanks ordinance rather than dodging them.
The last scene with TV in the background ("Godzilla, King of Monsters, [redacted]") should have been done without the [redacted]. Way, way too Anvilicious. Actually, everything after the climactic battle was too anvilicious.
I would have preferred Godzilla as pure antagonist, and the humans more terrified of him rather than looking like they want to give him a hug after his "death"
Graphics were too dark and muddy. Nearly all of the action was done in night scenes, and/or with thick smoke. At least in movies like Pacific Rim, even the night scenes were brightly lit.
I really didn't mind that the human actors couldn't act to save their lives. I was there to watch Godzilla.
I would have preferred more human vs Godzilla scenes, to highlight just how powerful Godzilla is. But other than automatic weapons fire and a couple of tanks/ships, it seemed almost as if the humans weren't even trying.
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That movie is also an hour and halfish long and the entire film is about Godzilla. This film is essentially about the MUTOs.
Personal opinions mate... I felt that the film lacked any sort of atmosphere whenever the MUTOs or Godzilla wasn't on the screen. Ford, the main character, just seems so indifferent to the fact that his wife and child are in the city that he knows the monsters are all headed towards. It creeped me out, honestly. I can't imagine a person acting so calmly as he did in the middle of everything he went through within the span of that film.
I'm curious why you think otherwise though.
And, no, I think Godzilla had a perfect amount of screen time. People who clamor for more Godzilla fail to see how brilliantly Gareth Edwards used him in the film. It's just that the human element dragged the film down. Ford acting like an actual human being alone would have raised the film up a whole another level.
It just doesn't make sense for the film to drop a bunch of hints about how messed up Ford is at the start of the film, only to just let it completely poof later on.
Actually, it can make perfect sense; a plot-hole. But I would like to believe that it isn't a plot-hole and instead is just too damned subtle for people to pick up on.