How big a problem is the lack of Godzilla?

[Godzilla 2000]

Not sure how wanting to see more of Godzilla and the first 2 fights is that complicated of a thing to grasp. Maybe its just you.

What's complicated is how it actually hurts the film, you've never once explained how the lack of Godzilla is an actual flaw.

It's a flaw for me, personally, because I just wanted to see more of Godzilla. How do you know a few extra minutes of monster screentime would've hurt the movie?

Why cant we have a good human element AND good monster action?

[junkerde]

Not sure how wanting to see more of Godzilla and the first 2 fights is that complicated of a thing to grasp. Maybe its just you.

What's complicated is how it actually hurts the film, you've never once explained how the lack of Godzilla is an actual flaw.

It's a flaw for me, personally, because I just wanted to see more of Godzilla. How do you know a few extra minutes of monster screentime would've hurt the movie?

Why cant we have a good human element AND good monster action?

yeah this is what ive been saying. just because we say we wanted more godzilla doesnt MEAN we want a transformers fest. OBVIOUSLY there is a problem when his SCREENTIME has been brought up constantly by people, not just fans, but general audiences, it's the reason why we are having hte debate in the first place.

again I like to emphasize the people who are quick to say "wow you must be a pcific rim/micheal bay lover because you wanted more godzilla". More godzilla won't hurt, you can STILL have a good movie. If you thought his screentime was good enough, good for you, but dont ridicule us and accuse of us of just being micheal bay lovers because we wanted more of the big guy. cmon now.

[three]

Not sure how wanting to see more of Godzilla and the first 2 fights is that complicated of a thing to grasp. Maybe its just you.

What's complicated is how it actually hurts the film, you've never once explained how the lack of Godzilla is an actual flaw.

Quite a few people have said why it was a flaw. Here is one example:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainmen ... la/370998/

That is just one. There are plenty more.

not a bad article. the question i have is what exactly are people asking for? people wanted human driven plots and less focus on the monsters. they get it, it's not enough monster for them. alright, so we ask what they would have wanted.

an irrelevant amount of time, or some weird eyeshot that just doesn't gel with the movie's tone or style at all (i mean, you can probably suggest something better so...). i'm just not seeing why people can't waive that off as no big deal, really. i'm not saying that it shouldn't be a problem for them, or a complaint (along the lines of "i liked the movie, but i would have liked a bit more Godzilla and sooner"). instead it seems like we're getting "i liked the movie, and it's OK and all, but it was really hurt by that lack of a Godzilla appearance early on, ya know during an eyeshot or something". it seems really minimal and nitpicky.

[Godzilla 2000]

Am I selfish for thinking it'd be cool if the next movie had the strong human element of this movie and the monster action of Pacific Rim? That's my dream Godzilla movie.

I like to think I'm being pretty reasonable with this one, though.

[gatorzilla]

comingsoon.net had a great piece addressing this issue-

Why There's Just the Right Amount of Godzilla in Godzilla
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendw ... ?id=118479

[Godzilla 2000]

comingsoon.net had a great piece addressing this issue-

Why There's Just the Right Amount of Godzilla in Godzilla
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendw ... ?id=118479

That's great!

Still wanted more Godzilla though. But who knows, maybe I'll I wont notice it as much on my 2nd viewing.

[Shisa Caesar]

comingsoon.net had a great piece addressing this issue-

Why There's Just the Right Amount of Godzilla in Godzilla
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendw ... ?id=118479

LOL!! This is real funny.
First, let's stop with this "realistic" bs because this movie was as goofy as any of the previous godzilla flicks. Second, just because some folks are asking for more G in the flick it doesnt meant they want Pacific Rim. Sorry, but when you try to make a point with those two arguments you pretty much are not saying anything.

[three]

you mean "i think this movie is as goofy as..." not "it was". it isn't a fact that it is, and i happen to believe the film did a good job of being serious.

second, if people are asking for more Godzilla in the movie, the question is (and is pretty widely varied) how much Godzilla do we need? some say an eye opening in the ocean would have been great, to which i ask "what would be the point of 5 seconds? is it really that big of a deal?"

others wanted more of a fight scene, but that raises the question of "alright, so does that hurt the build up to the final fight?" which i would answer with an emphatic yes, because each time you were teased, you wanted (demanded) more and eventually got it for half an hour.

[Shisa Caesar]

you mean "i think this movie is as goofy as..." not "it was". it isn't a fact that it is, and i happen to believe the film did a good job of being serious.

The serious tone of the flick did not change the goofy story.
This movie's plot was goofy any of the other G flicks.

second, if people are asking for more Godzilla in the movie, the question is (and is pretty widely varied) how much Godzilla do we need? some say an eye opening in the ocean would have been great, to which i ask "what would be the point of 5 seconds? is it really that big of a deal?"

others wanted more of a fight scene, but that raises the question of "alright, so does that hurt the build up to the final fight?" which i would answer with an emphatic yes, because each time you were teased, you wanted (demanded) more and eventually got it for half an hour.

If Gareth cannot produced an escalation in the fights then he should not have been directing this movie.
This pretty much a standard for any flick that has action scenes in it. What was done here was, "And here we go fight one is about to-nope, nope, nope. See you next time."

[three]

well, the connotation goofy tends to carry leads me to think (potentially erroneously) that you have a negative impression of the film because it was "goofy", which i don't think it was (hence the disagreement). i don't know exactly what you meant in line two.


arguably, the escalation *was* the cutting away, which built tension and the hype leading into the final battle...

[Shisa Caesar]

well, the connotation goofy tends to carry leads me to think (potentially erroneously) that you have a negative impression of the film because it was "goofy", which i don't think it was (hence the disagreement). i don't know exactly what you meant in line two.

No, it think it was an average G-film. But this serious tone it has is being used to hide the fact that the story is shallow as many G-films. This story was no better than the better films in the series. This wasnt a more "realistic take" on what a monster attack would be like at all like that link says.

arguably, the escalation *was* the cutting away, which built tension and the hype leading into the final battle...

Sure, but not the type escalation some people were looking for.
The one where there is a build up on the battles rather than simply waiting for an actual battle.

[Gamera vs Rodan]

All stories are more about execution than content, the execution made the film believable. Taking things out of context and phrasing them a certain way can definitely make them seem less believable but that's a disservice to what the movie accomplished and isn't a strong argument tactic.

You guys know Darth Vader, for instance, had obscenely low amounts of screen-time in the original trilogy, right? There are countless examples of movies where if you actually used a stop-watch like you did with this film you'd realize one of your favorite elements, maybe even your absolute favorite element, was barely on-screen much. For me they made Godzilla into a presence that was beyond physical, Serizawa's stuff about Godzilla really put me in awe of the idea of Godzilla prior to him ever showing up.

To be fair, though, I have heard there will be a director's cut on DVD/BLU-RAY which should be obvious since scenes directly from the trailers weren't in the final film. It will be interesting to see how this changes peoples views, for me the film feels perfect but I'd still love to see what a director's cut can accomplish.

[Smuggers]

10 minutes on screen = POOPY MOVIE
14 minutes on screen = BETTER THAN GOJIRA THANK YOU EDWARDS

[Mahemium]

The lack of Goji screen time isn't a problem in itself, my issue is that the human characters are just boring and the way they're written is so uninspired that I find myself irritated when the focus is on them rather than the monsters. A manly man trying to reunite with his wife and child is a disaster movie cliche we've all seen a dozen times and it doesn't help that said manly man is as generic as they come. And the acting... let's just say when a digitally realised monster has more charisma and character than most of the cast(Cranston and Watanabe excepted), something has gone wrong.

I liked the movie, but the criticisms towards lack of of Goji screen time... I just don't think that would be a problem if other facets of the film were executed better.

[Gamera vs Rodan]

The lack of Goji screen time isn't a problem in itself, my issue is that the human characters are just boring and the way they're written is so uninspired that I find myself irritated when the focus is on them rather than the monsters. A manly man trying to reunite with his wife and child is a disaster movie cliche we've all seen a dozen times and it doesn't help that said manly man is as generic as they come. And the acting... let's just say when a digitally realised monster has more charisma and character than most of the cast(Cranston and Watanabe excepted), something has gone wrong.

I liked the movie, but the criticisms towards lack of of Goji screen time... I just don't think that would be a problem if other facets of the film were executed better.

I'd consider ATJ's lack of charisma or the fact that he's uninteresting a problem if the scenes he was in didn't have plenty of other things going for them and weren't simply asking me to like him. I mean, that's my main problem with these critiques, the film is full of action and most dialogue is strictly to drive the plot forward. Since all the action is excellent and the plot is interesting enough what does it matter that ATJ isn't a crazy character?

[fred25_ca]

I love the movie. It's not perfect but as a giant monster fan, it's hard for me to analyze it too much. My brain tend to just fry as soon as I see a monster on screen so my sense of criticism goes out of the window pretty fast. I'm that much of a monster lover.

But, whenever I see a fan say they wouldn't have wanted to see more of Godzilla (I'm talking more specifically about the possibility of the 1 minute fight or so at the airport we though we were about to get in the middle of the movie), I don't really believe them. Had the same movie came out with 1 small extra fight scene at the airport, the very same people would be defending how awesome it was (and I'd be among them). Why? Because when we love a movie this much (and I'm just as guilty of that), we tend to defend it no matter what. And let's face it, this isn't a horror movie. Not showing the main monster till the end isn't going to keep the big G more scary. Especially since they went the Gamera direction.

I think some people wouldn't have felt as cheated if they hadn't showed a full glorious shot of Godzilla at the airport before cutting. Had we had again a mere glimpse of his tail or something, the cut wouldn't have been as jarring and so frustrating for some. For me, it just left me wanting for more, and I got just that with the ending. So no complain here from me.

But if somebody asked me if I wanted more Godzilla, how can I possibly say no?

[three]

^ i think you have this a bit confused: if we *did* get more Godzilla, i don't think ANYONE on this forum would complain. the problem now is that people are fighting against complainers who are asking for more Godzilla when many felt the amount was just right for the film.

it's not that we don't like Godzilla, it's that we don't think these complaints are really grounded.

[fred25_ca]

^ i think you have this a bit confused: if we *did* get more Godzilla, i don't think ANYONE on this forum would complain. the problem now is that people are fighting against complainers who are asking for more Godzilla when many felt the amount was just right for the film.

it's not that we don't like Godzilla, it's that we don't think these complaints are really grounded.

Well, I'm with you anyway on this, so it doesn't really matter.
The fact we got any Godzilla at all (and that he was so awesome in it) should have been enough to make every fan happy. Even if that was only for the last half hour (and it wasn't, since we got to see many glimpses of him before that), that's still more than we had before the release of the movie. We got a faithful Godzilla on the big screen with modern Hollywood FX! And if people want more Godzilla (I know I do!), Isn't that what sequels are for anyway?

[three]

^ i think you have this a bit confused: if we *did* get more Godzilla, i don't think ANYONE on this forum would complain. the problem now is that people are fighting against complainers who are asking for more Godzilla when many felt the amount was just right for the film.

it's not that we don't like Godzilla, it's that we don't think these complaints are really grounded.

Well, I'm with you anyway on this, so it doesn't really matter.
The fact we got any Godzilla at all (and that he was so awesome in it) should have been enough to make every fan happy. Even if that was only for the last half hour (and it wasn't, since we got to see many glimpses of him before that), that's still more than we had before the release of the movie. We got a faithful Godzilla on the big screen with modern Hollywood FX! And if people want more Godzilla (I know I do!), Isn't that what sequels are for anyway?

the movie felt like half of an introduction, and half of a sequel set up.

[Shisa Caesar]

All stories are more about execution than content, the execution made the film believable. Taking things out of context and phrasing them a certain way can definitely make them seem less believable but that's a disservice to what the movie accomplished and isn't a strong argument tactic.

All stories are more about execution than content? You mean movies in general or just Gojira movies?
Anything i think you are wrong in both accounts. Sure, there are some Gojira movies that are shallow, like this ones, but there are a good amount that have something going for them.

And, no, the execution is not going to elevate a shallow story. It might entertain you if you turn your brain off but if bother to pay attention then you see the film for what it is. And i think the disservice here was selling this movie they way they did saying it was a more realistic take. If they would have said this film was straight up Showa Super Hero G it would everyone would be fine with it. Yes, i know they have to get the general public so they have to put out certain facade but give the fans a bit of an extra clue.

You guys know Darth Vader, for instance, had obscenely low amounts of screen-time in the original trilogy, right? There are countless examples of movies where if you actually used a stop-watch like you did with this film you'd realize one of your favorite elements, maybe even your absolute favorite element, was barely on-screen much. For me they made Godzilla into a presence that was beyond physical, Serizawa's stuff about Godzilla really put me in awe of the idea of Godzilla prior to him ever showing up.

DV wasnt the main baddy in SW, if anything it was Tarkin. And in really it was more the idea of the Empire, the Death Star.

To be fair, though, I have heard there will be a director's cut on DVD/BLU-RAY which should be obvious since scenes directly from the trailers weren't in the final film. It will be interesting to see how this changes peoples views, for me the film feels perfect but I'd still love to see what a director's cut can accomplish.

I dont know, i dont think the extra scene are going to fill all the gaps this story has.