Yup! Godzilla movies in and of themselves have always been pretty divisive. The vast majority of them are great with a few... meh moments... and some OMG YES ONES!
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Godzilla |OT| Legendary
- Thread starter Snaku
- Start date
Yup! Godzilla movies in and of themselves have always been pretty divisive. The vast majority of them are great with a few... meh moments... and some OMG YES ONES!
Shouta
Member
I think there's a big disconnect with many people going to the film (critics included) from what they expected and what is intended. Many of the complaints seem to be squarely based on the characters, particularly in the emotional elements, and the slow pace. A slow burn/experience is what the two movies this was based off were known for and I think a lot of folks simply expected a monster bash like Pacific Rim or many of the Godzilla VS films.
Additionally, as a I mentioned a few pages back. Godzilla films are designed for Japanese tastes and often focused on the experience as a whole rather than zooming in on the details. Characters were vessels to experience the events and plot rather than being the center of it. I feel like this is actually a fairly standard Japanese thing with cinema and is part of the reason why so many characters in all of the Godzilla films are honestly really shallow, lol. You're expected to be a part of the experience rather than watch someone else' experience with it. A lot of our best films in our end of the world are ones that are the opposite, they aren't created for us to try and best insert ourselves into the world but to see and experience the story of another as they face it. That's why i think a lot of folks have complaints about the characters in this.
Granted, it's not like Japanese films are full of shallow characters but Godzilla films really focused on keeping character development more general and light for the purpose of experiencing it with the cast rather than viewing it. There are a few exceptions but it was mostly like that in the franchise. Heisei and Millennium Godzilla series had more in-depth characters but it was to a different extent than most people would expect.
At any rate, if you plan on seeing it try to see the characters and put yourself into the event rather than just look at how the characters act. Like mentally put yourself standing next to them and experience it that way. I haven't seen it yet but that's what I'm planning on doing with it.
Chaotic-Strike
Banned
It's a good film with flaws that keep it from being great. It's worth a watch in my opinion.
I mean, there's not even a hubris of man thing going on. Those old movies at least had a little bit of "we did this to ourselves this is all a metaphor for nuclear". This one was like "there's nothing we did to deserve this, there's nothing we can do to stop this, there's nothing we could've done to prepare for this". Which even could have been awesome, but the movie doesn't really sell existential dread because they keep giving the humans heroism and victories. The thing just isn't that cohesive. It's a very literal spectacle movie.
Actually this. Which like. Ok, I'll remember that next time I see a Godzilla out and about.
Rran
Member
After I saw this, I was so hoping
his tail would come down hard on the stadium, killing most everyone there, and then cut to the ending credits
An observation based purely on the trailers/ads, which reinforces this as a good way to view the film, is that the shots of the monsters are all from a human vantage point. I haven't seen any big crane or tracking shots of Godzilla or the MUTOs, only low angle views from the perspective of people on the ground. I don't know to what degree the film follows through with that - planning to see it tonight - but it has me hopeful that the idea is to make it easier to put oursevles in the shoes of people experiencing the events in the film. (Similar to Spielberg's War of the Worlds and the focus on grounded camera placement.)
There are shots from the air and buildings as well.
djplaeskool
Member
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Saw Godzilla last night, and absolutely loved it, whereas Pacific Rim I just thought was ok.
It's greatest strength is that it doesn't give in to the great temptation of the CG-era and show everything at all times, resulting in no real escalation in spectacle or sense of wonder and awe.
Godzilla is awesome.
It's greatest strength is that it doesn't give in to the great temptation of the CG-era and show everything at all times, resulting in no real escalation in spectacle or sense of wonder and awe.
Godzilla is awesome.
UltimaPooh
Member
It's like that most of the film
but at certain points and in the final fight it really opens up and it has this awesome feel of classic Godzilla fight scenes (where you see much of the city landscape and him and the other monster fighting and crashing into said buildings) and it mixes well with all of the computer effects to achieve it. It's breath taking.
Shouta
Member
Yeah, the trailers did that in spades and it gave some really nice updated shots that we never really got in the older Godzilla films, at least well anyway, lol.
Those can be a human vantage point still but it's mostly for flavor too I bet. =P
smokeymicpot
Beat EviLore at pool.
I love this ad for some reason.
MickeyPhree
Member
Question for the people who have seen it:
The trailers didn't give away all the money shots did they?
The trailers didn't give away all the money shots did they?
bananafactory
Banned
They gave away too much IMO. But there still some HOLY SHIT moments that they didn't show.
RabidTanooki
Member
On my phone so i cant quote but shouta nailed it with his post. The characters are merely vessels. We're supposed to experience godzilla for ourselves, not through the thoughts and emotions of a character.
UltimaPooh
Member
I haven't seen all the trailers but from the ones I saw. No.
chickdigger802
Banned
Was I the only one that thought
And for a godzilla flick, there is a surprisingly lack of explosions. Shit is falling out of sky and buildings are falling and other stuff, and their was the airpot but i somehow expected more lol. Godzilla usually causes fireball explosions just by stepping down D:
the eggs will hatch, and they go all zerg on the soldiers? Maybe they ran out of budget, or the director felt like the humans had enough to deal with already.
And for a godzilla flick, there is a surprisingly lack of explosions. Shit is falling out of sky and buildings are falling and other stuff, and their was the airpot but i somehow expected more lol. Godzilla usually causes fireball explosions just by stepping down D:
RobbieNick
Junior Member
No. Far from it. The last half hour is where most of the best stuff is in and there's barely any of that in the trailers.
Spaceman Spiff
Member
What exactly did Ford do to
?
blow up the MUTO nest
giancarlo123x
Banned
I love how nice and careful Godzilla is when walking around and what not. Such a nice monster and a bro.
It stays that way pretty much throughout. Lots of low angle or far away shots or from helicopter.
Train of Midnight
Banned
If only
Release the fuel from the tankers trucks which eventual flowed into fire which then caused an explosion
chickdigger802
Banned
Welp nevermind.
LOL
Kinda Easter Egg Spoiler being of movie
Did anyone see the butterfly cage. It said Mothra
No, and there's an uber money shot that had half the theater clapping when I went.
That ad is so Japanese and it's amazing, hahaha.
Spaceman Spiff
Member
djplaeskool
Member
Not in the least.
The last 20-30 minutes are god
zilla
A number of moments that prompted audience response.
I disctintly recall someone shouting "YO DAAAAMN" once. Was a fun experience.
XShadows69
Member
The sound design was amazing in this film. I'm fairly sure my cinema had Dolby Atom and you could hear things behind you pan into the front as they came into the shot. When Godzilla roared, the ground shook. It was amazing.
Man, I love how whenever Godzilla
shows up, there is just this sort of realization on you and the characters' part that sh*t just got real. Kind of this quiet moment of the calm before the storm. Huge credit to the direction and sound design.
or Muto
The airport scene is a perfect example. When the money shot of Godzilla hits, I accidentally said out loud "Oh...Shit..." and then there's that cutaway to the news report with the two are fighting and you feel somehow more connected to the destruction because you were just there, watching it happen live. So good.
Anton Sugar
Member
Eh, for the most part, the shots from the buildings are all POV. However, I'd say in the last third (very minor spoilers related to camera work)
Edwards gets a little more lax on his POV-fixation and gives us a couple of wide aerial shots/shots from the monsters' height.
EDIT: Beaten.
Anton Sugar
Member
Nah, they were definitely there, but not in your face due to the scale of the monsters. Remember, this iteration of Godzilla is MUCH bigger than the others (except for the most recent ones). There are a number of moments when
Godzilla or the MUTOs grasp onto a building or vehicles and there are explosions from the impact...they just look small, haha.
Oh hail naw.
It makes sense, too.
The MUTO are much more suited/built for scaling and climbing compared to G-man.
The Driver
Member
They did give away a LOT, but the arguably best moments, the whole MUTO/G fight hasn't been shown at all from what I've seen. Hell MUTOs have been pretty hidden too and they are in much more of the movie than Godzilla.
Shit, I'm having real trouble placing it, but I think it was in the
Chinatown showdown after Brody blows up the eggs I believe, there's a shot of some rubble and it pans to a destroyed Chinese dragon statue's head that I swear looked like old school King Ghidorah.
Chaotic-Strike
Banned
I love how they carried the series tradition of having the pagoda destroyed. You can at least tell they watched the old Godzilla movies in comparison to Emmerich.
Solid SOAP
Member
Seeing this tomorrow, cannot wait. It looks/sounds incredible.
Shit I missed that
I'm not sure if it's an Easter Egg or not, but I'm going to assume it is (because, well I would 
, but when
, but when
Cranston and Ford are in the deserted building, there's a close up shot of a cockroach...Megalon is a giant cockroach thing...Jet Jaguar is in Godzilla vs Megalon...extra points for Edwards here
None of the trailers spoil what in my opinion is THE money shot.
dat nuclear breath!!!
Had the whole crowd cheering and clapping, especially the
mouth to mouth
RobbieNick
Junior Member
Another Easter Egg is
young Ford's classroom having a poster with a giant moth on it that looks just like Mothra.
