Godzilla (2014)

[J epworth]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Hey mow, I still really liked cloverfield, and I'm looking forward to a sequel.

I really enjoyed Cloverfield as well, but still think it didn't quite deliver on that anticipation of the monster, probably cause the shaky cam did take away a bit for me. Not saying Cloverfield wasn't good, saying Godzilla delivers much better.

[djsFlames]

Tomorrow couldn't come too soon. But it's worth keeping in mind that this is Godzilla, and that the purpose of a giant monster film should be clear. If you're not there for destruction, scares, visual spectacle, and awesome monster fights, then you're in the wrong movie.

I've heard that this one aims at a bringing a little more plausibility than most, and has a more serious tone. Also there is a large build up to the actual reveal of the monsters (from what it sounds like), which excites me a LOT more than a film that shows its cards early and often. It builds up tension, and that makes the ride way more enjoyable. But we'll see, of course! It just sounds every bit like my kind of monster movie, and I couldn't be more excited.

[19Yzerman19]

Great review quote...

Didn't really make any sense, but it didn't matter because a monster basically used an ICBM for a dildo at one point and it was all I could do not to throw confetti in the air and run around my seat with joy.

http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/05/...-been/?_r=true

[AcGold]

Going to see it at 10. Hopefully its not guilty of every cliché

[dammage79]

It's guilty of every single cliche you can think of. Does that mean the movie sucked? Aw hell no!

This movie was great! Loved every minute of it including the cliches.

The animation was good and clean. You could actually see what was going on.
Actually, one part was epicley lame in terms of the animation but I won't go into it until the movie has worn on for a while.

One thing I found interesting:

Spoiler!

The Muto design looked remarkably like Cloverfield's monster and I think was a direct shot across the bow of Abrams' monster movie. i.e Nobody effs with monster movies, Godzilla rules all in this department. At least that's how I felt watching this movie

[Ozy_Flame]

Saw the movie tonight, and was quite disappointed. Aaron-Taylor Johnson ruined the movie for me (he should never be given the lead role on anything), the plot was too cliche with too many standard plot devices (and far too many coincidences to be believable), and not enough Bryan Cranston. The pace changed with about an hour left and it took a nose-dive into '97 Godzilla territory. But that is just my opinion.

The CGI was amazing though. I like how Godzilla was done. Remains true to the "old" look of Gojira from the 50's / 60's.

Much preferred Pacific Rim. At least it didn't take itself so seriously.

Sorry for the pseudo-rant.

[AcGold]

Thought it was.... ok. Pacing was bad, lead was not so good, action was good.

[Coach]

I also thought it was just ok. Not sure what everyone's fascination with the CGI is, it looked pretty mediocre to me. The close ups were great, but I thought the wide shots of the monsters, and Godzilla specifically, looked rough. I also was huge on the design of Godzilla. I thought the overall idea was great, but agree with some people that though he was too fat. I think it gave him an overly cartoony feel and made him look like he was just kind of blundering around rather than have the intent to go after the MUTO (until the end when it's obvioushe was attacking them).

The acting was pretty meh. I don't mind Johnson, but agree he's got a ways to go before being that "leading man". His voice is just too much like a teenager. I found Olsen to be pretty bland.

One story faux pas that bothered me a bit is when he finally got a hold of his wife, why did he tell her to hold on and I'll be right there? Why not say "Honey, it's time to get the f*** out of San Francisco.

Overall I enjoyed it. I'm not much of a Godzilla nerd so I don't know much about him, but I like the idea of him being a concious protector/guardian/balance of nature VS just a mindless Lizard trying to make his way around.

[AcGold]

one thing I disliked is how they kept getting snuck up on by the monsters. Anything that big with that amount of mass you would hear for miles away and you'd know exactly where it is. I disliked the constant hiding in the fog and hiding of the monsters.

Spoiler!

they should have killed off the son instead of the father, Cranston is an exponentially better actor and the movie would have been drastically better with him in it instead. When he was lying there dead I was just thinking wow they picked the wrong guy to get rid of

[Ashasx]

I thought it was very fun.

Spoiler!

I nerded out when his tail started glowing. I was worried his atomic breath wouldn't make it into the movie. Just awesome.

Besides that, it was disappointing that Cranston was killed off so soon. For the 30 minutes he was in the movie, he was amazing. Unfortunate because the previews made him seem like the main protagonist.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

As usual Cranston's performance blew me away, but everyone was quite good for what was given to them.

Blew you away? A touch of hyperbole, no? I mean he was good, but it's not like that was a role he could sink his teeth into. It was a pretty ordianry character that has been done countless times.


Enjoyed the movie, tons of fun. Glad I didn't read anything about the plot going in as I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a pretty basic monster invasion movie.

[trackercowe]

Killing off Ford instead of Cranston wouldn't have made any sense. Instead of the military, you're going to have a 60 year old scientist combating the monsters? Yeah that just doesn't work. You want to get rid of tired cliches, well that one is right there. You might as well have a wimpy, nerdy scientist out there in a Godzilla movie (oh wait they did that already).

Would I have liked it if they had found a way for him to live? Sure, but the character was not necessary to the second half of the movie, and was disposable. I liked the tragic element showing that people really do die. He didn't know anything about Godzilla or the MUTO's beyond what Ford gave the military, so what could he have done to help them or what purpose could he have served?

I also loved the surprise factor, as take your typical disaster movies where 99% of the time you can rightfully predict who will live and who will die. In Godzilla Cranston's death took everyone by surprise, but his character arc was finished in a way. Not a huge fan in how they handled his death, in how just ends up forgotten in a body bag, but at least they left out another cliche in watching characters die while being worked on by EMT's.

And yes I do think his performance was great it the time he was allotted. Cranston has a great screen presence, and often does stellar work in small performances (see Argo and Drive). Maybe it was because his character reminded me of Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) from Close Encounters, but I believed the conviction he had in finding out the truth of what happened. I loved the scene where he's stuck in the maintenance closet, and arguing his case to expose the truth (actually taken almost straight from Close Encounters). For me at least, the first 20 minutes were every bit as good as the last 20.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Spoiler!

the second I saw Cranston's name in the credits as "And Bryan Cranston", I knew he wasn't going to last or have limited screen time. The "And" is always killer a la Kurt Russell in Executive Decision and Drew Barrymore in Scream. There are many others as well, but those for some reason stick out for me.

[trackercowe]

^ Yeah I thought the exact same thing once I saw that. If Cranston was the star of the movie he would have got first billing. Oh and I think you mean Steven Seagal in Executive Decision, not Kurt Russell.

I could hear the people that were literally shocked though when Cranston died, and it's probably the second most common complaint I've heard about the movie. The first being how little screentime Godzilla had.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

^ Yeah I thought the exact same thing once I saw that. If Cranston was the star of the movie he would have got first billing. Oh and I think you mean Steven Seagal in Executive Decision, not Kurt Russell.

I could hear the people that were literally shocked though when Cranston died, and it's probably the second most common complaint I've heard about the movie. The first being how little screentime Godzilla had.

Yeah, Seagal, my bad.

[djsFlames]

Those saying there wasn't enough Godzilla don't know Gareth Edward's style (see Monsters), and perhaps don't realize what made movies like Jaws (build up to the full reveal and conflict at the end) and Jurassic Park (very little actual screen time for the mighty T-Rex, but the few appearances are so well placed and give it impact) greats. Today, too many monster flicks / CGI blockbusters show their cards too early and basically the 'goods' come at you like a shotgun shot to the face from start to finish. The problem with that is it numbs you to what you're seeing, and in turn there is little to no "wow" factor. Godzilla attempted to follow in the mould of the great pre-millenium monster films, and did a decent, but not perfect job of it. But truly FAR better than a large handful of what we've been given over the past number of years.

If there was more Godzilla early on, then his entrance wouldn't have been nearly as tremendous. The build up was well done IMO. Liked that the camera angles were from the point of view of bystanders, (with NO shaky cam) and made it so neat.. you know, rather than just panning out to watch the monsters fight for 20 minutes. Interesting cinematography and angles the whole way through.

The leads I thought were good and weren't over dramatic (minus Cranston, but that was his character), the others were fairly 'real' to the situation. If they start wailing their hands and screaming and yelling at what was happening it would be a little dumb and forced, I think they did it just right. Also, Aaron Taylor Johnson's character was in the army, while some may feel his performance was a bit wooden, he's likely been trained to keep his cool in such situations.. so if anything, it was fairly accurate. I still bought his feeling of being overwhelmed by the conclusion. Also you needed characters constantly in the midst of these creatures to see what was going on around them, but the focus most the time was on the creatures anyways. Would've loved more Cranston, but at least that was an unexpected twist.

All in all I absolutely loved it. Leaves us itching for more. And with the killing it's making at the box office, makes you wonder if a sequel is in store.

For those who didn't like it..judging by the consistent points many have made, you perhaps don't have an appreciation for the style/approach Edwards was going for. Which is fair, maybe you were looking for a different kind of monster movie. But I loved it and thought it gave a few tips of the hat to some of the classics with its build up approach, culminating in a truly awesome ending.

Will watch again!

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Killing off Ford instead of Cranston wouldn't have made any sense. Instead of the military, you're going to have a 60 year old scientist combating the monsters? Yeah that just doesn't work.

Yes it does, he knew the most about it by far. His son didn't even believe they existed. In the end Ford didn't really even do anything, his actions were irrelevant to the major plot progression and the same thing would have happened had he not been there; a fairly large storytelling sin.

[Igster]

I know someone in the credits...does that make me special?

She actually was doing some tattoo artistry before getting into the business and did the C in my Flames tattoo.

Spoiler!

[Max Cow Disease]

The girlfriend and I quite enjoyed the flick and I'll echo what many have said regarding the measured introduction of the monsters into the scenes. One of the movie's best characteristics in my mind is that it didn't spend too much time on any one segment, particularly toward the end. The viewer never has to spend too much time with either the Admiral/military, Ford on his mission, the monsters, Ford in corny scenes with his family, etc. Keeps everything somewhat fresh, and the limited number of monster viewings keeps them intense, and makes you look forward to them.

I loved the visuals on Godzilla, who was given just enough of a slightly "human" element to allow you to identify with the big misunderstood oaf. I also thought the movie's sound was excellent, particularly in a theatre environment. That bass heavy "sonic boom" effect worked perfectly to build and maintain the tension as the monsters were introduced.

Spoiler!

Gojira's "finisher" (so to speak) on the female MUTO was completely bad ass.

[trackercowe]

Trending towards possibly a 100 million opening weekend, which is huge considering most predictors had it around 70 million, while others thought it would be this years John Carter or Battleship. Without a doubt there should be a sequel now, and with likely a larger budget. This one only had a 160 million dollar budget, which is one of the reasons why Edwards filmed it in a similar way to his earlier film "Monsters", where you see less of the titular characters.