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Godzilla |OT| Legendary
- Thread starter Snaku
- Start date
Mushroomer25
Member
I feel like the people complaining about pace, don't understand that they're actually seeing a case of it done properly. The issue most major films like this have - Pacific Rim included - is that they don't properly escalate to the full-scale action. They don't seem to realize that it is impossible to make two giant monsters beating the shit out of each other interesting for a full two hours. So, it's better to start the film out on the character perspective - then work your way to a climax, where you can make the most of the initial thrill of seeing the beasts go at it.
If you're asking why we don't see the first MUTO/Zilla fight, it's because that would take all of the interest out of the film's primary climax. But that's not to say Godzilla needs to be 90 minutes of exposition followed by 45 minutes of fighting. That's how you get Man of Steel. Fortunately, it doesn't do that. We get thrilling action - a tense nuclear reaction collapse, a destructive hatching, a tsunami, a bridge collapse - all leading into the final showdown. It makes for a film that is consistently entertaining, and still saves the best for last. The pace and structure is a model that every entry in the genre should admire.
If you're asking why we don't see the first MUTO/Zilla fight, it's because that would take all of the interest out of the film's primary climax. But that's not to say Godzilla needs to be 90 minutes of exposition followed by 45 minutes of fighting. That's how you get Man of Steel. Fortunately, it doesn't do that. We get thrilling action - a tense nuclear reaction collapse, a destructive hatching, a tsunami, a bridge collapse - all leading into the final showdown. It makes for a film that is consistently entertaining, and still saves the best for last. The pace and structure is a model that every entry in the genre should admire.
The Librarian
Banned
As a girl, one of the things I dislike about Hollywood movies is the way they treat their female characters most of the time. Not only are women often in supporting roles, but many times they're treated disrespectfully.
The reason why it didn't bother me so much with this film is because of the following:
1. The women were in supporting roles, but they were definitely treated with respect.
2. What I was looking for with this movie was a good Godzilla movie. Would it have been awesome if Ford or Joe were a girl? Sure, but, dammit, I got what I wanted! My inner kid was so happy.
3. The screenwriters were men. Boys are gonna write about boys.
HalfBakedProphet
Member
I didn't say he absorbed the blast, just the radiation.
Also, there is a difference between plotholes and finding things to nitpick. Not understanding something=/="plothole"
Its all about the benjamins, man.
The thing is, Man of Steel had plenty of action beats through the first hour of the film, too, so I don't think that's an apt comparison.
It's a logical inconsistency the film called specific attention to in multiple ways.
This isn't an issue of not understanding it, and there's no need to make it personal by insinuating anyone who found problems with the film to have not "paid attention" enough or being "nit picky."
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Sally Hawkins was totally wasted, lol. Wish they could have put her in the lead maybe, would have to be an improvement over the block of wood that was the lead in this one.
I forgot to mention that the entire theatre burst into applause when the credits started rolling. This was my first time seeing a movie on opening night and the experience was amazing.
Sequel hint?
Sequel hint?
Mushroomer25
Member
It's been a little while, but I remember most of the action being entirely condensed in the prologue sequence. Yes, you've also got the oil tanker - but that's not particularly thrilling. Especially compared to the comical orgy of action that is the last act.
Could easily have rolled her and Watanabe into one, but I find her such an endearing screen presence in everything that I'm glad she was there anyway.
Might go see this again next week. Liked it an awful lot.
The Librarian
Banned
Seeing it again tomorrow!
There's major potential for another Man of Steel derailment thread, but there were tons of action beats in the first 45 min.
- The opening on Krypton. Fights, space ships, explosions, chases, diving off of cliffs, etc.
- The oil tanker.
- The bus crash.
- The hurricane.
There are even little beats thrown in that could typically qualify as action in most films, like the droid Clark fights briefly in the ship, etc. I don't mean to argue, but I'm basically saying Man of Steel had plenty of action scenes throughout the movie. Arguably too many.
Leading up to this film, all I heard was the human parts were horrible, blah blah blah
The human parts were not weak and boring
I kept waiting for them to get weak and boring
I kept waiting for the dreaded second act and all the negative stuff I've been hearing about
And what do you know? I never experienced that
I enjoyed a great movie, and thats that. I feel bad for people who watched this film and did not enjoy it.
The human parts were not weak and boring
I kept waiting for them to get weak and boring
I kept waiting for the dreaded second act and all the negative stuff I've been hearing about
And what do you know? I never experienced that
I enjoyed a great movie, and thats that. I feel bad for people who watched this film and did not enjoy it.
I won't lie at first, that first atomic breath, though cool, looked like it did no impact or damage....... But when he shot it down the female muto's throat and her head came off.... I never saw people throw their hands up in the air in a theater like at a sporting event..... That was a site and experience to behold.
Mushroomer25
Member
Maybe we're just coming to different conclusions on what counts as an action scene. I didn't feel a hint of adrenaline during the tanker, crash, or the hurricane (which is more of a death sequence than action). Comparatively, the moments in Godzilla I'm highlighting have some noticeable tension, thrill, and spectacle.
I see what're saying but this movie has one of the same problems as the Transformers movies. They came to the title characters doing their thing. Not humans in a want to be Spielberg movie.
The opening on Krypton felt like it belonged either as its own movie, or in a completely different movie. It seemed like it was very much of a "all big summer action movies have shoot outs and explosions, so Superman has to have it too".
D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
Yes, but not in an overly showy way. They're there fucking shit up but the camera never stops to take it all in. If you're not looking you'll miss it.
The Librarian
Banned
I think what else this movie has working for it (and obviously this is a detriment in some people's opinion), for me, is how much restraint the movie shows with its action. In comparison to many present-day blockbusters which seem to want to cram as much action in a given movie as possible, even if all the fights are similar, Godzilla is very careful and deliberate.
Each action scene has weight and is distinct:
It's really refreshing. I find myself able to recall events more easily with this film than with any recent blockbuster.
Each action scene has weight and is distinct:
the male MUTO breaking out, the tsunami, the fight in the forest on the Hawaiian island, the Golden Gate bridge, and so on, until you get to the final fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs.
It's really refreshing. I find myself able to recall events more easily with this film than with any recent blockbuster.
HalfBakedProphet
Member
the MUTOs are the antagonists and Godzilla is more or less the hero. A majority of the destruction, out side of a few Godzilla scenes, is either directly or indirectly caused by the MUTO
I agree, which is why I never did
I want a new Godzilla fighting game like the PS2/GCN/XBox days with the new Godzilla design and the MUTO's playable.
Like the guy above me mentioned, once they're introduced they get a lot of screen time. I will say that I went into the movie expecting to not like them very much, but by the end I loved them.
I completely agree. I was actually cringing during the
Like the guy above me mentioned, once they're introduced they get a lot of screen time. I will say that I went into the movie expecting to not like them very much, but by the end I loved them.
I completely agree. I was actually cringing during the
final fight between Godzilla and the MUTO's because the hits felt like they had a real impact.
Mushroomer25
Member
But that's just the reality of making a story about Godzilla. He's a destructive force of nature that humanity characterizes as a savior. Making a Godzilla film without any human element would be like making Twister from the tornado's perspective. Wrecking shit is fun to watch for half an hour, but eventually you need a reason to care. Even if the human story isn't terrible compelling in this, it moves the audience from sequence to sequence - and provides a meaningful sense of scale.
Anton Sugar
Member
I felt bad for
BOTH sets of monsters--when Godzilla was getting tag-teamed by them both, and when the mama MUTO was crying out over her burnt nest.
Dat Godzilla-Brody sympathy eye contact and dat MUTO-Brody RAGE eye contact
Dat Godzilla-Brody sympathy eye contact and dat MUTO-Brody RAGE eye contact
Now I really liked the film, even I felt they played it safe in too many areas (though after the 98 film I can't blame them) but I agree that people accepted Godzilla far too easily.
What I would have like was for them to have some sort of character arc for the Big G. End this film with people still wanting him dead. By the next film as he continues to save our ass from more monsters have more people unsure what to think of him. Finally in the third have some people (but not all) ready to accept him as a protector of the earth.
Though granted, I bet the producers weren't counting on the film being an instant success, hence the ending the wraps up everything pretty neatly...
What I would have like was for them to have some sort of character arc for the Big G. End this film with people still wanting him dead. By the next film as he continues to save our ass from more monsters have more people unsure what to think of him. Finally in the third have some people (but not all) ready to accept him as a protector of the earth.
Though granted, I bet the producers weren't counting on the film being an instant success, hence the ending the wraps up everything pretty neatly...
Anton Sugar
Member
They had to set him up as a hero so he can have a The Dark Knight-esque fall from grace/sacrifice in the sequel.
The Librarian
Banned
Oh yeah. You can relate to every bite, scratch, broken bone...
Mhm. Definitely wasn't expecting the mini-twist in
feeling sympathy for the MUTOs.
tiny raptor
Member
The time is come. I'm going to watch it tonight. I'm gonna orgasm in my pants.
BuckRobotron
Member
Just got back from a 5pm 2D showing. Enjoyed it quite a bit. Movie is disaster-flick serious and smartly rations out glimpses of the titular monster until the latter third where you get rewarded for the build-up. Tremendously entertaining final battle, with the MUTOs being quite impressive as well.
As for the acting, everyone is solid enough, no Oscar expectations I'm sure. Though as is oft-stated, Cranston does class up the joint during his parts. The later 2/3 of the movie focus on different viewpoints of the monsters and mayhem. So having the son be a straightforward military/family man but otherwise blank slate works to keep this conduit clear.
Very different movie from Pacific Rim. Godzilla is essentially a modern serious disaster flick with gigantic monsters doing what earthquakes might do otherwise. Pacific Rim is more colorful, a robot-vs.kaiju comic book.
As for the acting, everyone is solid enough, no Oscar expectations I'm sure. Though as is oft-stated, Cranston does class up the joint during his parts. The later 2/3 of the movie focus on different viewpoints of the monsters and mayhem. So having the son be a straightforward military/family man but otherwise blank slate works to keep this conduit clear.
Very different movie from Pacific Rim. Godzilla is essentially a modern serious disaster flick with gigantic monsters doing what earthquakes might do otherwise. Pacific Rim is more colorful, a robot-vs.kaiju comic book.
I don't see that happening unless they have aliens brainwashing him again. Which I wouldn't mind, but is something that needs proper build up...
Going to go see it in about an hour. Having watched Godzilla, Vs King Ghidorah, Mothra: The Battle for Earth, Megaguarusodiuf, and Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, I have a pretty good idea of how the movie is going to go. Boring people, maybe one who is interesting, a lot of build up, big fight and destruction near the end.
And Hedorah, but that shit is on its own planet of weirdness.
And Hedorah, but that shit is on its own planet of weirdness.
The Librarian
Banned
I was thinking: I loved the MUTOs. Definitely a part of the better Godzilla monsters.
The Driver
Member
You know, you can take
the MUTOS out and replace them with Zilla (GINO/Godzilla 98' or whatever) and they basically have a similar arc lol. Not a bad thing, while it's terrible for the actual Godzilla character, I did feel really sorry for Godzilla 98 during it's death.
The Lone Courier
Member
Saw it yesterday and today may go again tomorrow. I really liked it, but
noticed a lot of scenes were cut from the trailer/teaser.Hopefully there is a directors cut in mind.
Yes, the MUTOs were awesome.
I loved the scene
where he makes a final decisive attack and spits that hot atomic fire straight down the female muto's throat.
Spine_Ripper
Member
What?!? Explain. All I saw was
the tank with a cacoon that said "MOTHRA" on it, and Ford in school was being taught something about butterflies...but that's it. I haven't heard anything about the fairies.
The Librarian
Banned
Because it's Godzilla. No, really. That's the answer. Godzilla is a force of nature.
How is it that this movie is very conspicuous in the presentation of its theme and yet still some people miss it? The movie goes out of its way and I mean really goes out of its way to explain that
humanity has fucked up with its progression (its use of nuclear weapons). We accidentally awaken these creatures by using them, so Godzilla awakes to kill them and restore balance, showing that no matter what we do, humanity is subservient to nature.
Things of this (ahem) nature actually happen in real life, too.
It's explicitly not about "humanity has fucked up with its progression (its use of nuclear weapons)." They say the weapons were attempts to kill the monsters, not the things that activated them or whatever.
And either way: Godzilla doesn't restore status quo. If nuclear weapons / power awakened the monsters, Godzilla's left the world still thoroughly armed with and powered by nukes, nobody has any intention to stop using nukes as a result of anything in this movie.
And either way: Godzilla doesn't restore status quo. If nuclear weapons / power awakened the monsters, Godzilla's left the world still thoroughly armed with and powered by nukes, nobody has any intention to stop using nukes as a result of anything in this movie.
Spaceman Spiff
Member
Yeah, he may be devoid of much of the allegorical significance and menace of the original, and while I didn't care for the cheesy and forced
"KING OF THE MONSTERS- SAVIOR OF OUR CITY"
He's an apex predator who in the end
stalks and battles his prey in a forest of skyscrapers
when Godzilla is out at sea being followed by the carrier battle group, I couldn't help but see a school of remoras clustered around a shark
only slightly less satisfaction from their deaths as the audience does.
dreamcastfan
Member
They weren't the fariries... I saw a a behind the scenes.. they were actually fire fighters
Really surprised how much I liked them myself.
Like, if this movie is in any way an allegory about the folly of fission, Godzilla is the antagonist. It was the Mutos providing the counterbalance to humanity's exploitation of E = mc^2. If Godzilla hadn't intervened, the Mutos would've eaten all the concentrations of enriched plutonium/uranium in the world and then starved.
The movie isn't about balance at all, unless "balance" means humans doing whatever the fuck they want totally unchecked.
The movie isn't about balance at all, unless "balance" means humans doing whatever the fuck they want totally unchecked.
The Librarian
Banned
As far as I remember, that's exactly how it happens:
Humanity's use of nuclear weapons in Japan awaken Godzilla, and humanity's attempts to kill Godzilla with nukes then awaken the MUTOs.
The presence of nukes isn't as important as knowing how/not to use the weapons. The balance is in humanity knowing to respect nature in its attempts to progress technologically and as a civilization. You don't go around exploding nuclear weapons and experimenting with dangerous forms of new technology on your planet without expecting any consequences.
I loved that bit. It was such a cheesy "Fuck yeah!" moment.
As a person that grew up loving Godzilla I found this movie to be good and must see in a theater.
The story is a typical Godzilla type one and the way they explain why these creatures are around and how they are still alive is pretty well done. I was kinda of surprised at this part. The "human" part of it was terrible as expected. The monster fights were good but the fights weren't long enough. When Godzilla is on screen they really nailed all those scenes he was in though. Putting this up against all the other Godzilla movies and I feel this is one of the best ones but it's not THE best if that makes any sense. The movie really left me wanting more and I guess that is a good thing because I want another movie really bad right now!
I really loved at the end when Godzilla burns the female monsters head off and holds the head up and roars like a fucking Gladiator! That part was so fucking awesome!
I really loved at the end when Godzilla burns the female monsters head off and holds the head up and roars like a fucking Gladiator! That part was so fucking awesome!