Kaiju Fan Confessions

[Spuro]

I think after the anime trilogy I've had enough of my fair share of bad "Captain Ahab" wannabe characters for a good decade. I'd prefer the Joe we got.

[NSZ]

For real, the Millennium Series was practically an Ahab Convention.

Katagiri, Kiriko, Admiral Tachibana, Akane, Gordon... Why anyone wants MORE of it is beyond me.

And now with Haruo on top of it all, I never wanna see this archetype ever again for as long as I live.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

I think after the anime trilogy I've had enough of my fair share of bad "Captain Ahab" wannabe characters for a good decade. I'd prefer the Joe we got.

MonsterVerse already has an Ahab character anyway.

[LSD Jellyfish]

For real, the Millennium Series was practically an Ahab Convention.

Katagiri, Kiriko, Admiral Tachibana, Akane, Gordon... Why anyone wants MORE of it is beyond me.

And now with Haruo on top of it all, I never wanna see this archetype ever again for as long as I live.

When I see people refer to Haruo as a Captain Ahab, I start to question if they watched the anime trilogy. Yes in the first one, he totally is, but by the end of the second, and consequentially again in the third film, he is a completely different character. And it`s not even like the first one is ashamed or trying to hide it. It`s an obvious allusion the trilogy makes, but then completely changes and develops on.

I won`t lie and I`ll be honest when I say I don`t get how being an Ahab is a criticism. It`s an archetypal character, and you could make the argument that any character who is mildly angry or wants revenge is one. Its the equivalent of saying,`The Terminator is a bad film because the Terminator is just another slasher villain`. I do agree that it gets a little tiresome when the characters are so similar, but there are discernible differences between all the aforementioned characters and roles in their story. Considering Godzilla is a dangerous creature who destroys many things I don`t see how its even possible to avoid having a character in some regard to that in the story.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

I for one think it would had been more tragic and great character development for Joe if it was Ford that died during the first M.U.T.O. attack. Imagine the emotion of him having to tell his daughter-in-law and grandson that his son and their husband/father is dead and in the process becoming more determine to stop the M.U.T.O.'s and saving his grandson while Joe and Serizawa has a bit of an rivalry of their views towards how the outcome should go.

Either that or again Joe joining Ford either surviving or dying until the third act/climax I would had really liked though at the same time there was more they could had done with Ford that was potentially missed IMO like I said.

Eh, dont know why but I'm personally not a fan of that. Too bittersweet, I guess.

As for your later ideas, the scriptwriters actually considered both of then but scrapped them because

1. if they kept Joe alive on the ship, he ends up as an extra exposition piece with Serizawa and Graham

2. he goes with Ford, the dramatic disaster story they're trying to tell becomes Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade with kaiju. Not a bad film idea by any means but not what they wanted.

And as has been explained, theres been too many godamned Ahabs in modern Godzilla.

Honestly, despite the calibre of Cranston and his emotional opening, I'm happy with him being vindicated and dying telling Ford to save his family. So I guess that's my confession lol.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

Eh, dont know why but I'm personally not a fan of that. Too bittersweet, I guess.

As for your later ideas, the scriptwriters actually considered both of then but scrapped them because

1. if they kept Joe alive on the ship, he ends up as an extra exposition piece with Serizawa and Graham

2. he goes with Ford, the dramatic disaster story they're trying to tell becomes Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade with kaiju. Not a bad film idea by any means but not what they wanted.

And as has been explained, theres been too many godamned Ahabs in modern Godzilla.

Honestly, despite the calibre of Cranston and his emotional opening, I'm happy with him being vindicated and dying telling Ford to save his family. So I guess that's my confession lol.

That's quite a shame that didn't happen IMO. Oh well can't have everything I guess.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Even though I hate the decision, I wonder how much people would moan less about it if the actor who played Brody was more charismatic and he was a better written character.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

Similarly, I wonder how many people would still be calling for Joe to have survived if he wasn't played by a post-Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Even though I hate the decision, I wonder how much people would moan less about it if the actor who played Brody was more charismatic and he was a better written character.

Uh yeah I'd imagine so.

[Godzillian]

Similarly, I wonder how many people would still be calling for Joe to have survived if he wasn't played by a post-Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston.

Breaking Bad doesn't matter, in the context of the film Joe is better written and better acted than Brody.

[G2000]

Similarly, I wonder how many people would still be calling for Joe to have survived if he wasn't played by a post-Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston.

Breaking Bad doesn't matter, in the context of the film Joe is better written and better acted than Brody.

I'd say it sort of did in the context of the film's release in 2014, especially for the GA. I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but they cast Cranston at the peak of his fame and used his image heavily in advertisements for the film. His role was definitely a big draw for audiences, and helped sway people who were on the fence; a common sentiment I saw at the time was "if they got Cranston it can't be that bad." So when he was killed off so quickly into the film, not only do you have the complaints dealing with the film itself, but you had a lot of audience members who felt that they were misled and/or that the filmmakers wasted a good performance on such a small role. So yeah, I think it's valid to say that Cranston being cast as Joe was the cause of a lot of complaints about Joe's death. Were he played by someone less prominent, the complaints would probably still be there, but far less widespread and prevalent among the GA.

[Maverick Centigrade]

I just realized Skullcrawlers are Lindwrums.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

I just realized Skullcrawlers are Lindwrums.

I'm adopting this as a headcanon that Skull Crawlers were the inspiration behind those legends alongside wyrms and tatselwurms. This was through isolated encounters where during the prehistoric and historic times they popped up at times across the world through the hollow earth.

[Terasawa]

There’s a new Godzilla movie out but I haven’t seen it and I’m only now starting to feel pressured to, but only because it probably won’t be playing much longer in my area.

[MosuraTwin]

I sing along to the Mothra prayer thing

I was under the impression this was obligatory.

[ROMG4]

I feel as If I don't fit in anymore with the general Godzilla fanbase

Not even here anymore

Not even when I left TK during 2017 (I was g2vd) did I feel this out of place

[Smuggers]

I feel as If I fit in anymore with the general Godzilla fanbase

Not even here anymore

Not even when I left TK during 2017 (I was g2vd) did I feel this out of place

Any particular reasons why? Do you feel like a lot of the stuff said here doesn't resonate with you?

[goji89]

I feel as If I don't fit in anymore with the general Godzilla fanbase

Not even here anymore

Not even when I left TK during 2017 (I was g2vd) did I feel this out of place

I remember g2vd......He was a cool cat. Man, wish he didn't leave.

*looks at promise ring*

[LSD Jellyfish]

There’s a new Godzilla movie out but I haven’t seen it and I’m only now starting to feel pressured to, but only because it probably won’t be playing much longer in my area.

You`re not missing much to be honest. There`s some fun fanservicey stuff but beyond that its a hollow and downright insulting film.

Whether its a good thing or a bad thing, I`ve spent the last few weeks watching a lot of other Toho films like the H-Man, the Human Vapor, Prophecies of Nostadamus and others, that have negatively impacted my viewings of KOTM because I realized how they all have a thematic point antithetical to KOTM.

I think at this point I feel strangely satisfied, because I`m no longer interested in seeing American incarnations of Godzilla films. As much as they try I don`t think anyone but Toho, or Japanese people in general can really capture Godzilla.

[Spuro]

We heard you the first few dozen times, LSD.