The Godzilla General Discussion & Speculation Thread

[GodzillaFan1990's]

Exactly. Legendary is not playing by japanese monster movie rules, they're essentially going the western super-hero movie route for all intents and purposes, only the super-hero is a giant irradiated reptile, and G'14 is the origins movie of the series. Like I've said, compare Tony's time as Iron Man in Iron Man 1 to 2 and 3: pretty big difference and 'Iron Man' gets more screen time as the series goes on: that's how things are going to be for the Legendary Godzilla films. It's the standard, and Godzilla got the right amount of screen time for the movie. Granted, it would have been nice to see the hawaii fight but Godzilla was still handled well and given appropriate screen time regardless.

I agree with you for the most part except the whole "hero" thing. This Godzilla is an anti-hero/force of nature trying to keep the planet in balance by staying as the top predator and such.

Let's be honest. This Godzilla is docile to humans who views them as nothing but mosquitoes and bees for the most part but if humans in the later sequels causes an imbalance to the earth. Godzilla will definitely start being antagonistic towards them.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

And what most of the Godzilla movies that has Godzilla only appearing for 10-15 minutes in total at max? Godzilla 2014 is no different from the rest of them.

The fact that I'm not bored to sleep with the majority of the TOHO movies when Godzilla isn't on screen and the fights aren't cut short makes TOHO's films a lot more different. TOHO's films usually revolve around Godzilla and have his presence in nearly every scene. Godzilla 2014 just revolves around some boring white soldier who is trying to get back to his family while some MUTO's are blocking his path. Godzilla was just the solution to the problem and nothing more. He's not really involved with anything in the movie.

Also yeah as LiquidG mentioned, TOHO's movies weren't dragged out for 2 hours. Godzilla coming out for 10-15 minutes in a hour and a half long movie isn't bad at all, especially when he isn't cut away from or obscured. You can't use Final Wars as a counterpoint, especially when it's one of the one least liked movies in the series.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

The fact that I'm not bored to sleep with the majority of the TOHO movies when Godzilla isn't on screen and the fights aren't cut short makes TOHO's films a lot more different. TOHO's films usually revolve around Godzilla and have his presence in nearly every scene. Godzilla 2014 just revolves around some boring white soldier who is trying to get back to his family while some MUTO's are blocking his path. Godzilla was just the solution to the problem and nothing more. He's not really involved with anything in the movie.

Also yeah as LiquidG mentioned, TOHO's movies weren't dragged out for 2 hours. Godzilla coming out for 10-15 minutes in a hour and a half long movie isn't bad at all, especially when he isn't cut away from or obscured. You can't use Final Wars as a counterpoint, especially when it's one of the one least liked movies in the series.

Well I was just pointing out Final Wars as an example none the less.

Also read my second last post and Xeno's. This was just the origin movie, it was for build-up to get ready for the sequels which was confirmed more Godzilla screentime.

As I said as well in an earlier post. I do agree with you the cutaway fights weren't needed.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Eh movies shoud be able to stand on their own. Edwards made the movie without the potential sequels in mind anyways.

[SomeknowmeasXeno]

Exactly. Legendary is not playing by japanese monster movie rules, they're essentially going the western super-hero movie route for all intents and purposes, only the super-hero is a giant irradiated reptile, and G'14 is the origins movie of the series. Like I've said, compare Tony's time as Iron Man in Iron Man 1 to 2 and 3: pretty big difference and 'Iron Man' gets more screen time as the series goes on: that's how things are going to be for the Legendary Godzilla films. It's the standard, and Godzilla got the right amount of screen time for the movie. Granted, it would have been nice to see the hawaii fight but Godzilla was still handled well and given appropriate screen time regardless.

I agree with you for the most part except the whole "hero" thing. This Godzilla is an anti-hero/force of nature trying to keep the planet in balance by staying as the top predator and such.

Yes Godzilla is a force of nature but this is the most heroic Godzilla we've ever gotten, the least antagonistic towards humanity at the very least. As heroic as late Showa Godzilla was, if humans antagonised him he'd still lash out despite the fact they couldn't really hurt him. Legendary has had humanity attack and try to kill him multiple times and not once did he retaliate. Hell, he tried to get away when they struck his gills and actually hurt him. He even goes under a battleship which he could have rammed through without consequence to him, and every other Godzilla would have rammed through that battleship. I also don't buy the territorial animal thing, and I side with what Serizawa says in the movie that Godzilla is 'fighting for balance' because Heisei was a territorial animal and would lash out at anything 'invading' his territory regardless of threat level: humanity is clearly in Godzilla's 'territory' and if he simply was a territorial animal he would have lashed out at us ages ago. There's something deeper going on with Legendary Godzilla, and I highly believe that when Legendary Mothra, and possibly Rodan, appear more will be revealed about Godzilla and his motivations. Remember, humanity has always been insignificant to every Godzilla: Legendary is the first that has no intention of harming us. Not that he hasn't, but just that he has no intention to. Something is driving Legendary to do what he does beyond animal instinct.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

Yes Godzilla is a force of nature but this is the most heroic Godzilla we've ever gotten, the least antagonistic towards humanity at the very least. As heroic as late Showa Godzilla was, if humans antagonised him he'd still lash out despite the fact they couldn't really hurt him. Legendary has had humanity attack and try to kill him multiple times and not once did he retaliate. Hell, he tried to get away when they struck his gills and actually hurt him. He even goes under a battleship which he could have rammed through without consequence to him, and every other Godzilla would have rammed through that battleship. I also don't buy the territorial animal thing, and I side with what Serizawa says in the movie that Godzilla is 'fighting for balance' because Heisei was a territorial animal and would lash out at anything 'invading' his territory regardless of threat level: humanity is clearly in Godzilla's 'territory' and if he simply was a territorial animal he would have lashed out as us ages ago. There's something deeper going on with Legendary Godzilla, and I highly believe that when Legendary Mothra, and possibly Rodan, appear more will be revealed about Godzilla and his motivations. Remember, humanity has always been insignificant to every Godzilla: Legendary is the first that has no intention of harming us. Not that he hasn't, but just that he has no intention to. Something is driving Legendary to do what he does beyond animal instinct.

I already said it before. If humans in the sequels does something that upsets the balance. It's for certain this Godzilla will suddenly begin getting antagonistic towards them which would lead to him to begin attacking cities and such.

It's like how in Gamera 2. It was said that Gamera is exclusively the guardian of earth and fears the humans may one day become its greatest enemy. Him accidentally killing 20,000 lives in Gamera 3 proved that as his main focus was trying to rid the Gyaos'.

Also as for him not attacking the humans that attacked him on the bridge. His main priority was ridding the M.U.T.O.'s that imbalanced the earth, to him humans and their attacks were nothing more then bees and mosquitoes.

[SomeknowmeasXeno]

Speaking of Gamera, I actually feel like Legendary has more in common with Gamera than any previous Godzillas: for all intents and purposes Legendary is a 'better Gamera' in the body of a Godzilla, in terms of characterisation anyway. Hmm... wonder if Legendary will befriend children...

[ernesth100]

Woah. Goddamn. The most peaceful threads in here are the Kong threads. All the Godzilla threada are....yikes.

[kamilleblu]

I'm usually satisfied enough with Toho's human characters. Most notably those from the Showa Era films. Rarely were individual characters ever truly developed, though that was normally compensated for by having an ensemble cast of interesting, varied personalities interacting regularly. It also didn't hurt that actors and actresses like Akira Takarada, Takashi Shimura, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata, Raymond Burr, Akiko Wakabayashi and Nick Adams were in these roles. And unlike Legendary's Godzilla, the films were shorter, weren't as stingy about showing the monsters, and usually less serious in tone.

[Underworld54]

Glad to see some of you guys coming around to my way of thinking.

[LiquidG]

Save for the fact Godzilla 2014 is over 2 hours long, compared to a typical toho film that runs from 80 to 100 minutes. I like Godzilla 2014 just fine, but it sucks ass as a introductory film.

It was the first movie in this series. They did it because it was for build-up and to get ready for the sequels not to mention basically an origins story as Xeno said. It's already confirmed Godzilla will be having more screentime in Godzilla 2.

Guess what else is 2 hours long too? Godzilla: Final Wars, had the same amount of screen as Godzilla did in this one.

Comparing G14 to Final Wars really isn't doing it any favors. Also a sequal's achievements doesn't automatically make its predecessors flaws disappear. The film was supposed to be the introduction to a new era of Godzilla, as it stands it's not a very good one, seeing how Godzilla's obviously going to be the most important Kaiju in this universe he should have gotten a solo debut or at least a film more focused on him than his enemies.

Like I said the film isn't bad, it's not as great as it could have been.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

Comparing G14 to Final Wars really isn't doing it any favors. Also a sequal's achievements doesn't automatically make its predecessors flaws disappear. The film was supposed to be the introduction to a new era of Godzilla, as it stands it's not a very good one, seeing how Godzilla's obviously going to be the most important Kaiju in this universe he should have gotten a solo debut or at least a film more focused on him than his enemies.

Like I said the film isn't bad, it's not as great as it could have been.

I suppose your right there. Can't really argue with that.

[morgoth]

I can't believe we are still discussing this....

You don't have to discuss it. I was having a rewatch and I posted my thoughts and others joined in with their thoughts. If you no longer care to discuss the movie then forget this thread even exists and just move on.

Maybe you should take your own advice, kiddo.

[Spuro]

The fact that I'm not bored to sleep with the majority of the TOHO movies when Godzilla isn't on screen and the fights aren't cut short makes TOHO's films a lot more different. TOHO's films usually revolve around Godzilla and have his presence in nearly every scene.

Monster Zero and Terror of Mechagodzilla beg to differ. One is an alien invasion movie with Godzilla in the background - no more important than Rodan and Ghidorah, even; while Terror of Mechagodzilla spends most of its time with neither Godzilla nor Mechagodzilla, but Titanosaurus. Both films are some of the most popular in the series.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Monster Zero and Terror of Mechagodzilla beg to differ. One is an alien invasion movie with Godzilla in the background - no more important than Rodan and Ghidorah, even; while Terror of Mechagodzilla spends most of its time with neither Godzilla nor Mechagodzilla, but Titanosaurus. Both films are some of the most popular in the series.

Yeah but those movies have situations and characters I care about.

[kamilleblu]

Also read my second last post and Xeno's. This was just the origin movie, it was for build-up to get ready for the sequels which was confirmed more Godzilla screentime.

Interview with Collider (March 12, 2014)

Interviewer: Is there an example you can give of an idea you came up with that didn’t make it into the film?

Gareth Edwards: No, because anything that I really liked that didn’t quite end up in this film, I keep it in my pocket if there’s ever a sequel.

Interviewer: Do you feel the pressure to keep the door open for one?

Gareth Edwards: I don’t want to assume that there’s a sequel at all, because it all depends on if people like the movie. The thing that was good about working with everybody on this film was that it was like, no, this should be a standalone movie, this is something that should exist on its own. I roll my eyes when I go to the cinema and they do something at the end for the sequel. I want a story that begins and ends, and you leave on a high. That’s all we cared about when we were making this; just this film. If this film is good, the others can come, but let’s just pay attention to this and not get sidetracked by other things.

Interviewer: So we don’t have to sit through the credits and wait for something in the end?

Gareth Edwards: There’s no … I don’t know what they call it. They have stupid terms for these things, like “button”? I know these terms now. There’s no “button” at the end of this film. I had a little campaign that we weren’t going to do that. It should just be a movie on its own. And if there’s another film ever, that should be on its own as well. All my favorite sequels and originals, films that got it right, exist on their own.

Deadline Announcing Godzilla 2 (May 18, 2014)

"Edwards has talked about what he would do with a sequel, saying he would use the same kind of restraint that he did for this one."

Increased Screen Time Announcement (July 2015)

Barnaby Legg: Oh, don’t worry. We know. All I can say is stay tuned! You’re going to get exactly what you’re hoping for.

Seems more like a response to criticism than something planned ahead of time. And what kind of origin story treats its star like a bit player?

[Godzilla2000Zero]

Also read my second last post and Xeno's. This was just the origin movie, it was for build-up to get ready for the sequels which was confirmed more Godzilla screentime.

Interview with Collider (March 12, 2014)

Interviewer: Is there an example you can give of an idea you came up with that didn’t make it into the film?

Gareth Edwards: No, because anything that I really liked that didn’t quite end up in this film, I keep it in my pocket if there’s ever a sequel.

Interviewer: Do you feel the pressure to keep the door open for one?

Gareth Edwards: I don’t want to assume that there’s a sequel at all, because it all depends on if people like the movie. The thing that was good about working with everybody on this film was that it was like, no, this should be a standalone movie, this is something that should exist on its own. I roll my eyes when I go to the cinema and they do something at the end for the sequel. I want a story that begins and ends, and you leave on a high. That’s all we cared about when we were making this; just this film. If this film is good, the others can come, but let’s just pay attention to this and not get sidetracked by other things.

Interviewer: So we don’t have to sit through the credits and wait for something in the end?

Gareth Edwards: There’s no … I don’t know what they call it. They have stupid terms for these things, like “button”? I know these terms now. There’s no “button” at the end of this film. I had a little campaign that we weren’t going to do that. It should just be a movie on its own. And if there’s another film ever, that should be on its own as well. All my favorite sequels and originals, films that got it right, exist on their own.

Deadline Announcing Godzilla 2 (May 18, 2014)

"Edwards has talked about what he would do with a sequel, saying he would use the same kind of restraint that he did for this one."

Increased Screen Time Announcement (July 2015)

Barnaby Legg: Oh, don’t worry. We know. All I can say is stay tuned! You’re going to get exactly what you’re hoping for.

Seems more like a response to criticism than something planned ahead of time. And what kind of origin story treats its star like a bit player?

Especially if said film would have been a failure.

[Ryguy]

So maybe it can in fact be a good thing that Gareth is outta there, then? If he had the same plans for Godzilla, restraining his screentime and all.

Recall that Gareth never actually really desired a sequel to begin with, even after the first was proven to be a success. He never seemed as enthusiastic about acquiring Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah as Tull.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Luckily Gareth is no longer attached then. Seriously if G14 was a sequel to another film a lot of the complaints would be moot. As the first film in a supposed series the film should have focused more on its titular star. Even just having Godzilla be partially responsible for the Janjira incident would have given him a bigger presence in the early going. Give him a bigger role in the overall narrative.

[Godzilla2000Zero]

Other words Underworld called it then.