Pissed about derision heaped on Toho by some critics...

[CommanderJoe]

I've noticed that in some critics reviews of the films, both positive and negative, that the original films that we love are being referred to as...

http://www.movieweb.com/movie/godzilla- ... eKOGRubwQO

or

http://www.lariat.org/AtTheMovies/new/godzila14.html

Also, some believe that 60 years of the franchise were only leading up to this point and that the previous entries in the various eras are some how less than the American reboot.

Feelings?

[Rodan]

Late '90s through modern efforts probably deserve to be sh*t on, much as I still enjoy most of them.

Derision cast toward the '60s films really betrays an artistic and social narrowness no professional critic should harbor. Not that they're all gems, but outright dismissal of their depth, goals or tone is way off base.

[SonofX51]

Some people just don't like cheesiness and prefer the drama side of things, as serious as possible. Obviously if you like drama and serious tone...Godzilla is most certainly not for you sans the original (2014 loses it's seriousness half way through and that's not a bad thing imo).

Heck, you'll notice a lot of the time some critics will only like serious drama flicks and not much else. So it's no surprise that when Godzilla is brought up they share their irkness for Toho films.

[Mr. Xeno]

Are you implying something, CommanderJoe?

[Carcosa]

Opinion are asshole, everyone got one. Some just love to spread their buttcheek to let everyone look at it.

[HannibalBarca]

At least the cheesiest moments of late Showa have charm, unlike the soulless outings that characterized later Heisei.

[20th Century Boy]

At least the cheesiest moments of late Showa have charm, unlike the soulless outings that characterized later Heisei.

I couldn't agree more, lol.

[BARAGONBREH]

I've noticed that in some critics reviews of the films, both positive and negative, that the original films that we love are being referred to as...

http://www.movieweb.com/movie/godzilla- ... eKOGRubwQO

or

http://www.lariat.org/AtTheMovies/new/godzila14.html

Also, some believe that 60 years of the franchise were only leading up to this point and that the previous entries in the various eras are some how less than the American reboot.

Feelings?

I think get the hell over it. There are a lot of bad Toho movies. This American Godzilla is better than all but one or at most two Toho Godzilla movies. I'm sorry, but acting like people are jerks for not sharing our particular love of men in costumes pretending to be giant monsters is just dumb.

[Terrier]

I read an article on a movie magazine today, it was pretty much spot-on, saying all the basic stuff on Godzilla's history. There is one little thing that bugged me, however; when it implied that G2K and the movies that followed were attempts to make Godzilla more mature. Wtf?
I got flashbacks of Wikipedia in Spanish from several years ago (haven't checked it up ever since), in wich it was obviously edited by a Gino apologist, and said stuff like the Millenium series being more similar to G98 by trying to be serious and other crap... I hope they didn't rely on wikipedia to write the article...

[cloverfan98]

Are there a lot of cheesy elements or some campy movies in the Godzilla series? Yes but how many other franchise can be said NOT to have those same things? Batman has had his camp and cheese, Alien has had the same, and for crying out loud one of the more critically acclaimed film series (at least seemingly more loved series in the US) ever the James Bond series has had such as many dumb moments as Godzilla. Moonraker anyone?

[HannibalBarca]

Are there a lot of cheesy elements or some campy movies in the Godzilla series? Yes but how many other franchise can be said NOT to have those same things? Batman has had his camp and cheese, Alien has had the same, and for crying out loud one of the more critically acclaimed film series (at least seemingly more loved series in the US) ever the James Bond series has had such as many dumb moments as Godzilla. Moonraker anyone?

Very true. Godzilla has an unfairly tarnished reputation. I guess a lot of that has to do with movies like Megalon and G'98 being the cultural touchstones for people outside of the Godzilla fandom. Maybe G'14 will rehabilitate Godzilla in the public consciousness the way Casino Royale did for James Bond.

Godzilla 1954, The Return of Godzilla, and Godzilla vs. Biollante still remain to this day more serious than most of the franchise (G 2014 included). And those three films are decades old.

Between the awful acting and the tortuously complicated plot, I've always thought Biollante made for an excellent unintentional comedy.

"Kiss you guys!"

[BARAGONBREH]

Which is skreeonk hilarious since this new movie was no more "dark and serious" than most of the Godzilla vs. (insert enemy monster name here) movies. Godzilla 1954, The Return of Godzilla, and Godzilla vs. Biollante still remain to this day the most "mature" entries of the franchise (G 2014 included). And those three films are decades old.

Lolno

[BARAGONBREH]

What is with this generationg and thinking dark = serious?

First off, I'm in my thirties.

Second, I don't think Godzilla 2014 was "dark". But I do think it was serious. People certainly desire a level of seriousness in their entertainment these days, but over-the-top, by-the-numbers "darkness" is silly, too, and I think most people know that.

On that same note, I get sick of people talking about the "darkness" of Terror of Mechagodzilla. That's actually the perfect example of the kind of thing you're trying to criticize. That movie is very dark, but laughably non-serious. Just throwing as many disturbing situations and as many flawed people on a screen as you can doesn't make a movie serious. It just means someone was trying pretty hard to be serious but couldn't, so they resorted to cliche "grim subject matter" as a lazy distraction to get people to think their work has meaning.

Thankfully, Godzilla 2014 didn't make the same mistake that ToM made. It was a film that was mostly serious, dealing with serious issues (primarily family struggle and large-scale catastrophe) without trying too hard to be "dark".

[Shisa Caesar]

Well, this movie was also sold by basically saying to forget all G films besides the first.
This is a view that exist because the movies are about a dude in a suit, people cant get passed a dude in a suit.
Computer graphics cool, dude in a suit nope.

[Showa Gyaos]

Well, this movie was also sold by basically saying to forget all G films besides the first.
This is a view that exist because the movies are about a dude in a suit, people cant get passed a dude in a suit.
Computer graphics cool, dude in a suit nope.

Yes and no. It seems to be a double standard with the diakaiju genera.

Human sized monsters like Alien and Predator are man in suits? Okay.

ID4 used real models and real fire for some shots instead of CGI? Okay.

Jurassic Park and Terminator 2&3 used both CGI and practical effects? Okay.

Godzilla uses all the above? Either make it all CGI or we won't go.

I think it might be this biased or misconception that only Hollywood can do practical effects well...even though this movie is made by Hollywood.

Unfortunately, I've tried convincing people to look past the suits and see the movie for its message and its special effects values. They refuse to do it, stubbornly and arrogantly. I don't think I've ever successfully convinced someone that there's more to it than just the SFX. So I stopped trying.

[Rodan]

^ Or even just have fun. Not every G movie had a message but they can be a lot of fun once you get past the fact it's a man in suit.

They can be a lot of fun because it's a man in a suit too.

[KaijuFiend]

Well, the Showa films certainly have their cheesy moments. I'm not surprised that people have trouble enjoying them. I enjoy the Mothra-loving hell out of them, but that's just me.

[BARAGONBREH]

Human sized monsters like Alien and Predator are man in suits? Okay.

ID4 used real models and real fire for some shots instead of CGI? Okay.

Jurassic Park and Terminator 2&3 used both CGI and practical effects? Okay.

Godzilla uses all the above? Either make it all CGI or we won't go.

I think it might be this biased or misconception that only Hollywood can do practical effects well...even though this movie is made by Hollywood.

It isn't the very fact that it's men in suits stomping around cardboard cities. It's the fact that it's so damn obvious that makes some people laugh at Toho Godzilla movies. By the time someone is about five years old, they can immediately identify that Godzilla is a guy in a costume.

[three]

i'm not diggin' it, either. i really do not understand how someone can look back at these films over time and not see something there. even outside the fandom, c'mon. you're telling me that there are no books in existence (for comparison's sake) that you can check out and find a little bright spot, or glimmer of hope, or subtle and well - done message hidden in? then how can you not do the same with film?

yea, i do call some of these movies cheesy, or campy. i also love them (strong words for strong feelings), not just because i grew up with them, but because much like an ice cream cone covered in jimmies there is a delicious and colorful art sprinkled all over something already pretty damn good. i guess it will suffice to say if they didn't understand what made these films likeable in the first place, they never will, and it's THEIR loss, not ours.