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[Ragnorok64]

Cranston

Spoiler

. Is the only human I could really bring myself to care about. The son was cardboard, his wife was useless and his kid, along with all the other children in the film, was annoying. They squandered their best acting resource when they killed him off.

 

[Herr K]

I need a large-ish image of Godzilla in the middle of a roar. Can anyone help me?

 

[Aselith]

I need a large-ish image of Godzilla in the middle of a roar. Can anyone help me?

 

[East Lake]

Just the uselessness of it all.

Spoiler

How hopeless it all is to stop these ancient forces of nature.

Spoiler

Well yeah but I still think you need something other than resignation there. I can understand it can be hard to think of characters in a Godzilla movie because they are almost inept by default against what they have to deal with, but Watanabe and the general are in a position to be the closest you can be to a force to deal with the monsters. It would seem if there are any two people who could make a difference it's these two and they still have to make decisions that matter. Like the general says he has to try something because there are still people on the bridge. I think both of these guys have to visibly give a shit.

 

[Matt_]

Spoiler

In a world of mutos, how much radiation would be left for godzilla? He had to kill them. If homeboy didn't torch the eggs with gas, godzilla would have used his breath.

Spoiler

how comes zilla doesnt do a muto and munch down on warheads and shit though

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

we've reached the critical mass of silly hyperbole.

How is my statement silly? The movie spends

Spoiler

almost an hour building up to seeing Godzilla, then uses the new "comedic moment with jarring tone/volume change right when you expect heavy action" trope that the MCU movies are so fond of abusing, then makes you wait almost ANOTHER hour before you see Godzilla fight something. The human drama in between doesn't work, especially since they kill of the best character in the film about 20 minutes in.

The only other ones I can think of that comes close to worse pacing is Transformers 2 or POTC 3.

Can you name any others that are worse? It's not hyperbole at all.

 

[Herr K]

Thank you.

 

[EatinOlives]

See, there was no "shoving" involved. It's Ford's perspective you should value; he's supposed to be the audiences view from the ground. Speaking of the military, they're handled a lot more intelligently here than in most blockbusters. They're willing to hear other options and they explain their motives and why they're doing what they're doing.

Spoiler

Aaron wanted to get back to SF, true, but he also contributed to the military's efforts by retrofitting the missile for them. He also got a ride. I mean, after he leaves Hawaii he's practically there! There's really no "boring odyssey"; after he survives the attack with the missile, the male MUTO grabs the missile, Godzilla shows up in the bay, and the finale begins.

The human element isn't just tied to Ford, it's tied to all the characters.

Spoiler

You have the family perspective with Ell and her son, you have the soldier aspect from Ford, and you have the leadership and "big view" aspect from Serizawa and Stenz.

You should watch the movie again. There isn't as much between Hawaii and SF as you're remembering.

Well yeah, I know the function of Ford as a character.

Spoiler

Yes, he was supposed to be the view from the ground, I don't disagree with that concept, but the execution of it makes Ford less "our eyes and ears" and more "the thing that steals the spotlight". I do remember his journey from Hawaii to SF. I'm not saying I don't. I'm saying I didn't care, I wasn't interested, and I honestly couldn't have cared less if he lived or died. And with the amount of silly close-calls he went through I knew he wasn't going to be killed off, so all the attempts at raising the risks for him fell flat.

Elle and her son, ugh. The kid was completely emotionless no matter what happened on the screen or how close he was to dying, and Elle's rections to pretty much everything, from Ford going missing to her seeing the monsters with her own eyes and running for the Subway, were deadpan reactions and just crappy acting/directing.

The human element should've been different. Their decision to follow a generic American soldier fell flat, as did the directing and acting. Maybe on paper it sounded better. Had the same human scenes been better directed maybe they wouldn't have felt so flat and emotionless.

Actually, let me bring to attention one shot from the human side of things that I really enjoyed.

Spoiler

It was the helicopter view of the downed plane that first shows a massive gridlock in a rural area, and slowly pans forward to show a giant fucking plane in the middle of the road as firefighters douse the flames. Cars in every direction, people driving off roads desperately, chatter being heard on the background of the disaster.* That is exactly the human element we needed to see in the film, how humanity is deconstructed and falls apart, how the system breaks down, the desperation of the military and their eventual crippling realization that they can do nothing to stop it, people huddled closely to TVs, their hands shaking, seeing nothing short of an apocalypse that no human organization on any scale can do anything about. NOT Ken Watanabe staring at the screen going "let them fight".

*(By the way, why show this shot when the bus scene at the golden gate shows everyone so nice and calm and collected? When the bus driver decided "fuck it" and drove through the restricted area, chaos should've broken out with everyone else following suit, the police losing control of the crowd and cars, while the military getting their asses handed to them. It should've focused on that rather than the bus escaping and yay the one boy the movie wants us to care about survived.)

 

[TheKaeptain]

Just saw it.
The first half I thought was pretty bad, but enjoyably so. I love

Spoiler

how the American Navy just lands in Japan and is all like "We're taking over now!"

They didn't land in Japan...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_installations#Japan

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

That was one of the most boring pieces of shit I have ever seen in theaters. All the actors were fine. There was just nothing going on. It seemed like a running fucking joke to cut away and not show us anything awesome.

I feel the opposite of you: the humans were pointless robots, and the constant teasing was fun.

 

[The Librarian]

Spoiler

Well yeah but I still think you need something other than resignation there. I can understand it can be hard to think of characters in a Godzilla movie because they are almost inept by default against what they have to deal with, but Watanabe and the general are in a position to be the closest you can be to a force to deal with the monsters. It would seem if there are any two people who could make a difference it's these two and they still have to make decisions that matter. Like the general says he has to try something because there are still people on the bridge. I think both of these guys have to visibly give a shit.

I think you're messing up/misremembering scenes.

Spoiler

The conversation you're talking about, with Serizawa and Stenz thinking about what to do, the reason why the conversation doesn't get heated is because Serizawa doesn't know what else to do. Serizawa brings up the point that a nuke probably won't work, and that they should rely on Godzilla. Stenz tells him it's no guarantee that Godzilla will, and they really have no other choice but to try the nuke; on the other if hand, if Serizawa has any suggestions, he'd be willing to hear him. Serizawa doesn't, thus the end of the conversation.

The part with the kids on the bridge, there's real concern in his voice. That really added to the scene.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

saw it last night. I have always been a fan of Godzilla more or less but never bothered to watch any of the films (I know, weird. but I did watch the cartoon series growing up)

I loved the first part of the film with Cranston. it really gave me a sense of a government cover-up that was waiting to have the lid blown off of. I loved the tone of the movie at that point.

but then

Spoiler

Cranston character dies

and they replace him with emotionally stunted son who is a jerk to his dad. and watanabe scientist talks more like a shaman and less like a scientist that barely explain things to me.

(I got how the MUTOs reproduce and such but it didn't explain to me the how of they came back, ditto for Godzilla. may have to watch the film again to see what I missed.

then there is the family (notice a pattern that I couldn't be bothered to remember any of the character's names? )they are flat and one-dimensional and cliche.

the movie felt disjointed. one movie with Cranston was mysterious and felt like we were going to dive into something far bigger that would truly threaten the whole world. the other half was bland blockbuster that had too much of what I didn't care for (humans) and not enough fighting action. terrible choice to have the first fight be televised and only for five seconds.

the Godzilla fight at the end was good but I just felt it was going in slow motion at times. just my nitpick, I know they are giant creatures but it's my nitpick.
however, to contradict myself I would have preferred to have seen more panic and fear from the human perspective instead of it focusing on the faceless Army soldiers and the nurse.

 

[crustikid]

Honestly how are you going to show character buildup in two hours if you've got a large ensemble cast and a plot that spans the globe. Oh, and some giant monsters thrashing about. Godzilla isn't a character driven film. It's about catastrophic disaster and what it does to people. It's not complex, and it doesn't have to be.

 

[Betty]

This was barely better than Pacific Rim, and I thought that was pretty terrible outside of the fight at the end. Godzilla himself looked and sounded great and the clashes were hugely enjoyable, but despite a fairly short running time this film just dragged the whole way through.

Cranston

Spoiler

. Is the only human I could really bring myself to care about. The son was cardboard, his wife was useless and his kid, along with all the other children in the film, was annoying. They squandered their best acting resource when they killed him off.

Completely agree, I never felt attachment to any of the other characters, except maybe Watanabe.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

-Was disappointed with where they went with the human element in the 2nd half.

Spoiler

They had this whole bad father/redemption/revenge thing going with Cranston, who was killing it, and it was pretty good stuff. They then proceeded to unceremoniously dump some cranes on him in favor of ooraah ooraah military meathead husband and some other rather poorly wrought stuff with the wife and kid. Not that this angle was particularly bad, in fact it was pretty serviceable and was mixed well with the Godzilla stuff happening, its just that it falls flat in the face of what Cranston was providing. You're trying to do this human drama against the backdrop of mega monsters, yet you kill off the best actor in the film and relegate Ken Watanabe to a few one liners and some anti-atomic sentiment rather than explaining his reasons for chasing Godzilla all those years. I'm assuming some they made a decision during re-writes that they needed a more time spent on the fresh faced actors and the military, because Cranston's death and the tonal changes were very abrupt.

What was left for Cranston to do? "SEE?! I TOLD YOU! NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME?" for the entire run time? His fate was sealed the moment you saw his reflection and he mentioned his wife was out there.

And Aaon Taylor Johnson was NOT an "oohra oohra" military meathead. His whimper at his father's side and his low key performance in action scenes contradict these claims. I thought he was great and as grounded as they needed to be.

 

[~Kinggi~]

Honestly how are you going to show character buildup in two hours if you've got a large ensemble cast and a plot that spans the globe. Oh, and some giant monsters thrashing about. Godzilla isn't a character driven film. It's about catastrophic disaster and what it does to people. It's not complex, and it doesn't have to be.

I think people felt this but didnt realize it, and those that are disappointed probably felt the time spent with the characters necessitated good characterization.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Well yeah, I know the function of Ford as a character.

Spoiler

Yes, he was supposed to be the view from the ground, I don't disagree with that concept, but the execution of it makes Ford less "our eyes and ears" and more "the thing that steals the spotlight". I do remember his journey from Hawaii to SF. I'm not saying I don't. I'm saying I didn't care, I wasn't interested, and I honestly couldn't have cared less if he lived or died. And with the amount of silly close-calls he went through I knew he wasn't going to be killed off, so all the attempts at raising the risks for him fell flat.

Elle and her son, ugh. The kid was completely emotionless no matter what happened on the screen or how close he was to dying, and Elle's rections to pretty much everything, from Ford going missing to her seeing the monsters with her own eyes and running for the Subway, were deadpan reactions and just crappy acting/directing.

The human element should've been different. Their decision to follow a generic American soldier fell flat, as did the directing and acting. Maybe on paper it sounded better. Had the same human scenes been better directed maybe they wouldn't have felt so flat and emotionless.

Actually, let me bring to attention one shot from the human side of things that I really enjoyed.

Spoiler

It was the helicopter view of the downed plane that first shows a massive gridlock in a rural area, and slowly pans forward to show a giant fucking plane in the middle of the road as firefighters douse the flames. Cars in every direction, people driving off roads desperately, chatter being heard on the background of the disaster.* That is exactly the human element we needed to see in the film, how humanity is deconstructed and falls apart, how the system breaks down, the desperation of the military and their eventual crippling realization that they can do nothing to stop it, people huddled closely to TVs, their hands shaking, seeing nothing short of an apocalypse that no human organization on any scale can do anything about. NOT Ken Watanabe staring at the screen going "let them fight".

Spoiler

*(By the way, why show this shot when the bus scene at the golden gate shows everyone so nice and calm and collected? When the bus driver decided "fuck it" and drove through the restricted area, chaos should've broken out with everyone else following suit, the police losing control of the crowd and cars, while the military getting their asses handed to them. It should've focused on that rather than the bus escaping and yay the one boy the movie wants us to care about survived.)

ugh, that's exactly what I wanted to type. thank you.
I would have greatly enjoyed more of what people actually do during natuiral disasters. PANIC THE FUCK OUT. not look all pretty on screen and

Spoiler

magically find their loved because of plot armor

 

[MrCunningham]

It's just people failing to articulate what it really was they didn't like about it. The general vibe im getting is the overall pacing spending significant time on story and characters people didnt relate with. Me personally thought the positives outweighed the negatives but even I came out of this with a 'good not great' attitude. Considering how much i liked the two leads in Monsters i was really actually expecting this to be a bit more on the human department.

There are certain expectations that some people would expect from a Godzilla movie that seems to be subdued in this movie. I had no issues with the first half of the movie and the plot points that it sets up, but in the second half, the movie seemed to focus too much of the aftermath of Godzilla and the MUTA and doesn't put enough focus on the monsters themselves. Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character didn't carry much weight at that point either, other than to be there for the "hero moment". .

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Can you name any others that are worse? It's not hyperbole at all.

I'm kinda shocked you're seriously trying to defend that statement

If you want to argue you didnt like the pacing and felt it was poorly done, fine. Opinions are opinions and you have every right to yours. But once you to try objectively arguing "WORST EVER" territory, it's silly by default.

 

[Jack Scofield]

I don't understand how anyone remembered the character names I this movie. I walked out of the film not knowing a single character. Did they even mention names more than once?

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Just noticed that when Godzilla

Spoiler

charges up his atomic breath the first time it causes lightning to crackle behind him.

Really cool touch.

 

[Oersted]

I agree mostly but I can't blame the actors. I think that while they wanted to tease Godzilla they were killing tension with a lot of the scenes in between. They gave Ken Watanabe almost nothing to do but stare into the screen. The military general or whoever is emotionless, just walking around telling his troops what the deal is. Little urgency in a lot of the military scenes. Even when Watanabe is telling the general he's a retard to try and nuke the monsters they just sort of politely disagree. Watanabe should have been going nuts like Cranston was, or they should have just ditched the monster duo experts and have Cranston fill that role. Then the monsters are fighting in the city and it looks like it's just a really busy day in the hospital. People watching the fight on tv as if it's the ellen show. There's a lot of stuff in there like that which is small but can take me out of the scene. They're coming to San Francisco in this flotilla of ships with Godzilla and the ships are so close they're almost on top of him. Maybe keep your distance cause he's a giant wild animal? I know it sounds like a nitpick but if you want the audience to be fearful it would make sense for the actors to be too.

Anyway I enjoyed it but I thought it could be a lot better.

Yeah. Noone seems really be bothered by those monsters, except when they are 50 feet away. They still worked at the offices, at the hospital... no panic or anything.

 

[il Diavolo]

Spoilers:

Spoiler

When Godzilla used his atomic breath into the MUTO's mouth. God damn.

 

[Antiochus]

This movie has elements that make it a decent disaster film. It has quite a few elements that make it good sci-fi horror/thriller flick. It has many elements that elevates it to one of the best "monster" films since the 1950's. Yet despite, or perhaps because, of those strengths, their sum never amounts a genuinely good film overall. Watching this gave multiple moments of awe and recognition of its grandeur, yet one can never escape a persistent current of emptiness and formality that rears its ugly face time to time. Many have said the core weakness of this film lies in its plodding length, pace, and overabundance of needless human drama. On the contrary, it can be argued that Godzilla 2014 suffers from Prometheus Syndrome, in that it needed at least an extra 20-30 minutes of length to fully articulate what its trying communicate in a more robust manner. Briefly speaking, the problem lies not so much in the cast being deadpan or unsympathetic (though Aaron Johnson was not the best choice, and plot elements with his child should have been taken out), but that they never received adequate development to flesh out their perspective and stakes in the game. A similar argument can be made regarding Godzilla and the Mutos. The film delivers them quickly, haphazardly, with nary an explanation and a demand we merely take them at face value and accept their existence willy nily. I think that is a demand that very few films have the privilege to make, and this one is definitely not it. Here's what should have been done. :

Spoiler

The existence of Godzilla is given short thrift, and exerts too much suspension of disbelief from the audience, and in an arrogant manner at that. To address this, there should be a 5-6 minute prologue BEFORE the title sequence, perhaps detailing the first encounter of the US military with Godzilla after a botched nuclear testing. This would establish the causality as to why the beast was awakened in a more visceral, relevant manner. Don't just say it's here because of what we did, but show what we did to cause it.

There should been an extra 10-12 minutes spent at the Janjira plant at the beginning to flesh out Cranston's perspective and relations with his son and wife. The collapse of the plant was too quick and emotionless. There should be some sequences devoted to his subsequent devastation and gradual descent into anger and paranoia. As it currently stands the film jumps too abruptly from the Cranston the calm scientist to Cranston the crank.

Mr. Edwards has spent no small effort to constructing a riveting post-apocalyptic set piece of the Janjira Quarantine Zone, yet he uses it cursorily, if at all. It maybe better to integrate the male Muto's escape to interact with that set piece more instead having it escape immediately.

It goes without saying Mr. Cranston should not have died so quickly, and the transfer of dramatic gravity from him to Aaron Johnson was handled terribly. If Cranston must die however, then to improve Johnson's part, it maybe better to abort the plot element of him having a wife and son, and instead just make Olson his girlfriend. Neither Johnson or Elizabeth Olson have the ability or willingness it seems to emote or empathize competently. By restricting their workload to just being a regular couple, it would serve their performances and audience tolerance better.

The buildup to the male Muto and Godzilla's fight in Hawaii has splendid, but immediately cutting it out was criminal. There should have been 3-5 minutes more dedicated to the fight, form the perspective of the airport passengers, instead of a bland child who adds nothing.

There should be more sequences devoted to the reactions of political/military leaders on the monsters and how they attempt to craft their strategies. The same goes for the global media.

The male Muto died too quickly and too ambiguously. Godzilla should have tore it literally apart to make it clearer the result.

 

[The Lone Courier]

Two funny little things I noticed during the

Spoiler

evacuation of San Francisco

1.

Spoiler

In the middle of an city wide evacuation there are still some people working in a tall office building

2.

Spoiler

Elle tells Sam to get on the bus and stay with her work friend. Then later when the bus is on the bridge Sam is abandoned by said work friend.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

I don't understand how anyone remembered the character names I this movie. I walked out of the film not knowing a single character. Did they even mention names more than once?

yea but how many pots did u smoke b4 hand? B honest.

 

[East Lake]

I think you're messing up/misremembering scenes.

Spoiler

The conversation you're talking about, with Serizawa and Stenz thinking about what to do, the reason why the conversation doesn't get heated is because Serizawa doesn't know what else to do. Serizawa brings up the point that a nuke probably won't work, and that they should rely on Godzilla. Stenz tells him it's no guarantee that Godzilla will, and they really have no other choice but to try the nuke; on the other if hand, if Serizawa has any suggestions, he'd be willing to hear him. Serizawa doesn't, thus the end of the conversation.

The part with the kids on the bridge, there's real concern in his voice. That really added to the scene.

Spoiler

I didn't mean to say it was the same scene, only meant that it was an example where that guy had a meaningful decision to make even in the face of perhaps total disaster. I don't remember him being that emotional about it but I can't remember exactly how each of his scenes went down. I just had a general feeling of monotony from him which I don't think is good. Doesn't the woman from monarch express some concern about the nuke idea at some point as well or am I thinking of something else?

I think if Serizawa had no better ideas then make him act like he's frustrated or something? Like he's frustrated that he has no better ideas and that the nuke is bad. I just think there desperately needs to be some energy in those scenes.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

The film that people wanted:

Spoiler

After the MUTO awakes, Cranston escapes to safety, but his son remains locked away. The next morning, Cranston and co dig through the rubble to find Kickass who is unaware of wtf just happened. This gives the audience the comforting story arc they want, where dad and son butt heads over the truth throughout the film but resolve their issues just before Cranston sets out to sacrifice himself while setting up the bomb. But bomb expert son comes and saves dad and after a hug, a monster squishes Kickass. Bryan Cranston goes Walter White... but remains useless to the overall plot but people sure love him.

Meanwhile, Ken Watanabe, who's father died during the Hiroshima attack as seen during the very dramatic flashback to add fluff to his story, discovered a weakspot on the monters after his years of research. He took this knowledge to the military, who were powerless against the monsters and only wanted to let them fight. Ken's infinite wisdom and new usefulness in this version proves to be an original use of character and makes the fans happy.

Nurse Brody, unhappy with her husband constantly being away, is weak to the charm and wit of the comical relief male nurse where she works. We constantly cut back to her laughing at dem jokes that lighten the tone of the film only to see her withdraw before showing us a flashback of her relationship with Kickass to develop their chemistry. Audience falls in love with them.

Quoting myself for a new audience. It really seems like most of you who were disappointed wanted your typical, cliched tropes.

 

[Oersted]

Quoting myself for a new audience. It really seems like most of you who were disappointed wanted your typical, cliched tropes.

You do realize that the plot heavily relied on cliches and tropes, and you are making shit up?

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

You do realize that the plot heavily relied on cliches and tropes, and you are making shit up?

Nothing typically seen in summer blockbusters. Where was the heated conflict between human characters? Where was the comic relief? How about the military leader/scientist/expert type who has all the answers?

What we got was a director unafraid to not abandon such safe tropes in favor of what we got and I love that. A more grounded and subtle character development than what you learn in English Lit. 101.

 

[crustikid]

Quoting myself for a new audience. It really seems like most of you who were disappointed wanted your typical, cliched tropes.

Hi guys

 

[EatinOlives]

Quoting myself for a new audience. It really seems like most of you who were disappointed wanted your typical, cliched tropes.

Why would you repost a weak strawman argument? I certainly didn't ask for any of what you said in your post.

 

[The Adder]

Anyone else notice how Ken's character was apparently 70 years old in the movie

Spoiler

(father dieing in 1945)

? Lol Ken doesnt look that old.

Or, as pointed out before, his father is a survivor of Hiroshima.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Why would you repost a weak strawman argument? I certainly didn't ask for any of what you said in your post.

I love this term because it's so overused when the argument is born of actual complaints people expressed ("where was the light-heartedness?", "The couple had no chemistry.", "Why couldn't Walter White/Ken get more to do with more screen time?!")

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I don't understand how anyone remembered the character names I this movie. I walked out of the film not knowing a single character. Did they even mention names more than once?

I couldn't remember them either.

Quoting myself for a new audience. It really seems like most of you who were disappointed wanted your typical, cliched tropes.

Cranston wasn't cliched at all. wanted more of him.

 

[Hellsing321]

I love this term because it's so overused when the argument is born of actual complaints people expressed ("where was the light-heartedness?", "The couple had no chemistry.", "Why couldn't Walter White/Ken get more to do with more screen time?!")

Find quotes of people saying these things then and respond to them directly.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I couldn't remember them either.



Cranston wasn't cliched at all. wanted more of him.

Nohe wasn't per se, but a father-son quarrel in a Spielbergian film is and it wouldn't have made sense.

 

[EatinOlives]

I love this term because it's so overused when the argument is born of actual complaints people expressed ("where was the light-heartedness?", "The couple had no chemistry.", "Why couldn't Walter White/Ken get more to do with more screen time?!")

No, it definitely applies. You generate a fictitious, obviously absurd "see this is what you want" scenario only tangentially related to the actual problems people have with the movie just to dismiss them all as silly.

I'm sorry you made a strawman argument, but don't get mad at the people calling you out on it.

 

[Trickster]

Just saw it in the cinema.

Liked it quite a lot. However I thought it was a waste that

Spoiler

bryan cranston died so early. I thought he would be the protagonist for the movie, other than godzilla ofc

Also, I couldnt help but feel bad for

Spoiler

the muto. Only time they were winning in any way was when they tag teamed godzilla, the rest of the time godzilla was completely dominating them

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Find quotes of people saying these things then and respond to them directly.

No. I posted the way I wanted, thanks.

 

[duckroll]

No. I posted the way I wanted, thanks.

On NeoGAF if you want to have a discussion and make an argument for something, address users directly and debate points. If you're not interested in doing that and want to do a strawman generalization thing which you think makes yourself look smarter, don't bother posting. Thanks.

 

[Oersted]

Nothing typically seen in summer blockbusters. Where was the heated conflict between human characters? Where was the comic relief? How about the military leader/scientist/expert type who has all the answers?

Since when is a heated conflict a trope?

Spoiler

-white male lead
-women need to be protected
-Women(and for the short moment a kid, another trope) motivator for male actions
-wife a nurse, man a soldier
- the school bus full of kids

 

[Bluth54]

I'm leaving in a few minutes to go see this, looking forward to it since I've been a big Godzilla fan ever since I was a little kid (I even went to several G-Fest Godzilla conventions when I was younger).

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

On NeoGAF if you want to have a discussion and make an argument for something, address users directly and debate points. If you're not interested in doing that and want to do a strawman generalization thing which you think makes yourself look smarter, don't bother posting. Thanks.

I'm sorry, but if those of us who enjoyed the film can be drive-by mocked for remembering character names, why can't a silly generalization of a collection of posters be used in mock-form? Since when does a mock strawman argument = no no?

 

[Wilbur]

Can someone who wanted more Cranston please post their view of how the narrative in the film goes down please, in this alternative version?

The reason we're able to be so close to the action is because it's military stuff. What do you propose the alternative to be instead of just "WALT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE"

 

[Toa TAK]

Can someone who wanted more Cranston please post their view of how the narrative in the film goes down please, in this alternative version?

The reason we're able to be so close to the action is because it's military stuff. What do you propose the alternative to be instead of just "WALT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE"

Walt should've been the military guy instead.

Bam.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Since when is a heated conflict a trope?

Spoiler

-white male lead
-women need to be protected
-Women(and for the short moment a kid, another trope) motivator for male actions
-wife a nurse, man a soldier
- the school bus full of kids

I'm talking about the Pacific Rim, "I'm better than you, rookie/newbie/foreigner" type conflict. Or the "why didn't you say something sooner?" type of relationship drama.

 

[duckroll]

I'm sorry, but if those of us who enjoyed the film can be drive-by mocked for remembering character names, why can't a silly generalization of a collection of posters be used in mock-form. Since when does a mock strawman argument = no no?

No one is being drive-by mocked. Even if they are, if you think someone is actually being insulted, the solution is to complain to a mod. Counter-trolling is not a solution. I do not wish to derail the thread any further, so don't bother replying to this again. I'm telling you to knock it off.

 

[Wilbur]

Walt should've been the military guy instead.

Bam.

So you would have changed all of Cranston's scenes to fit this? How would you have done this?

 

[Bobby Roberts]

So, having seen both Monsters and now Godzilla, I feel pretty safe in guessing that Gareth Edwards has never actually DIRECTED a single actor in his short career.

That said - I really liked this movie, whereas I thought Monsters was a vapid, emptyheaded, stilted, staid little turd of a movie. The major difference? When awe was needed? Awe was PROVIDED. It's been a really long time since Godzilla was able to do that. There were many an awesome moment in this film. And I mean "awesome" in the dictionary definition of the word, not just your run of the mill synonym for "Cool!" There are visuals in this thing that inspire awe. And they happen frequently.

It says something that Edwards' inability to get any of his actors to behave like human beings on a reliable level is only a minor inconvenience this time around.