Military Speculation (nationality, battles, masers, Super-X)

[Mini-Godzilla]

Um...what? Mothra vs. Godzilla has some of the most thrilling military scenes in the entire series.

That's your uncle talking.

Don't argue with 'em. He'd rather the movies be 99.99% human drama and .01% Godzilla/monster action.

That's not true! That's impossible!

Well, I'm not like some fans that just watch these movies for the monsters, but that doesn't mean the monster scenes shouldn't be entertaining. I mean, why can't there both be compelling human drama and compelling monster scenes? And I don't get fans that want this movie to mostly focus on Godzilla and just ditch trying to give an interesting human story. That's how we get shit like Bayformers.

You must do what you feel is right, of course.

Hold your tongue! Talk like that 'round here just makes you an elitist snob. Because remember, the middle ground doesn't exist; you're either a high brow stuck-up elitist who only wants to see people talk or you're a jabbering idiot who only wants to watch monsters and explosions. It's important to remember that having standards for engaging human action is as as bad as wanting something to be effective at being viscerally entertaining and any statement made for having a personally preference for either puts you in one of the two camps.Shades of grey? That shits for rain-clouds, motherf*cker. It's BLACK or WHITE.

You were supposed to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!

>_> Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

Only a dork quotes the Star Wars movies.

[Gorosaurus Rex]

One thing I will give GMK is that the military battle scenes felt like they packed a punch. People died and when they did it felt realistic, almost like a warzone. Honestly, I think the first Transformers movie did a decent job of adding the military into the picture when it came to the final conflict. Wouldn't mind seeing something like that.

[Tyler]

Yeah, when it comes to human drama and monster action... what can't we have both? So that it can actually be a good movie? But I guess that would be asking for too much!

[JAGzilla]

Only a dork quotes the Star Wars movies.

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

But in the interest of staying on-topic, I'd also like to see the Navy slug it out with the monsters. It's pretty rare to see ships taking on kaiju, so that'd be something different from the standard jets and tanks. And after the US Navy's...unimpressive showing against Godzilla in MvsG, they deserve another chance. Maybe we could see some of their near-future weapons, like rail-guns and lasers, put to use.

Godzilla vs an aircraft carrier battle group would certainly be interesting.

[Legionmaster]

ITT: People claiming to be high-brow film snobs rattling off quotes from the Star Wars prequels :/

Somewhere back there there was a comment about masers, and I think that would be the best route to go. They're an icon of the series, and something just-not-quite scientifically feasible that American audiences dig. Plus, with snazzy effects, they would be super cool looking.

[bananaoil]

In regards to a naval battle, this movie can do what SpaceGodzilla did and swipe an entire sea battle from Biollante

And it doesn't surprise me that so many people here are wanting hours of pew pew over interesting characters.

[Legionmaster]

And it doesn't surprise me that so many people here are wanting hours of pew pew over interesting characters.

NO ONE in this thread has said ANYTHING along these lines. At all. There's a good reason not many people are fond of you, and it's comments like this.

[bananaoil]

NO ONE in this thread has said ANYTHING along these lines.

Then how do you explain the very existance of this thread? Jesus. Everyone's wanting elaborate Hollywood war scenes.

Oh, and I typically don't make broad generalizations on this board. And if you say I do, the burdon of proof is on you. No, the main reasons people don't like me is because I've made myself inaccessible to the general tween mentality here. When I used the screen name Benzilla, Toho Kingdom was a great site with typically decent conversation and mostly mature users. Now it's mostly anon gags and people getting into bitch fits because someone has a difference of opinion and then getting into an even bigger bitch fit when said person defends their opinion instead of backing down.

[Monster Master]

Then how do you explain the very existance of this thread? Jesus. Everyone's wanting elaborate Hollywood war scenes.

Why SHOULDN'T the fans want elaborate Hollywood war-style military battles in a Godzilla movie which is famous for military vs. Godzilla battles?

And for the rest of your post, you can stuff it. I've been around the G-forum scene much longer than you. Way, WAY back when Kaiju Phile forums were known as Rodan's Roost, when Goji Stomp was still around, when Maser City used to destroy shit, when Tokyo Monsters was the best damn website for Godzilla around, and when Toho Kingdom forums first launched. I've watched Maser City clash with everything from Monster Zero to Twisted Kaiju Theater. I was around for the huge April Fool's Joke between Rodan's Roost, Maser City, and Goji Stomp that had the entire fandom going "WTF!?"

So, as I said, you can stuff your little "I've been here THIS LONG!!!"

If you don't like how these forums are? Then take a page from GXG's playbook and leave. At least he could stay away until the forums, in his opinion, got better (with the banning of AH, no less).

Nobody will miss you.

[bananaoil]

I've been around the G-forum scene much longer than you. Way, WAY back when Kaiju Phile forums were known as Rodan's Roost, when Goji Stomp was still around, when Maser City used to destroy shit, when Tokyo Monsters was the best damn website for Godzilla around,and when Toho Kingdom forums first launched. I've watched Maser City clash with everything from Monster Zero to Twisted Kaiju Theater. I was around for the huge April Fool's Joke between Rodan's Roost, Maser City, and Goji Stomp that had the entire fandom going "WTF!?"

Errr, hate to burst your bubble there, child, but I've been participating in the G Forum scene since Netscape Communicator. I remember Monster Zero's elaborate King Kong vs. Godzila Apri Fools joke, for example.

So, as I said, you can stuff your little "I've been here THIS LONG!!!"

The point I'm making is that the climate on Toho Kingdom changed rather than me. But I'm fine with that. I'll gladly be the bane of your message board existence.

And as for your invitation to leave, no thanks.

Nobody will miss you.

I'll try not to cry.

[Monster Master]

Errr, hate to burst your bubble there, child, but I've been participating in the G Forum scene since Netscape Communicator. I remember Monster Zero's elaborate King Kong vs. Godzila Apri Fools joke, for example.

That's fine and dandy. But I'm still going to tell you to stuff it. Using the "I've been here THIS LONG!" argument is dumb as hell.

The point I'm making is that the climate on Toho Kingdom changed rather than me. But I'm fine with that. I'll gladly be the bane of your message board existence.

LOL. You? The bane of my message board existence? My TK arch rival? My nemesis? Yeeeeaaah. No. If that title would have to fall under anybody, it'd probably be Zone Fighter or Wataru, depending on the day.

Now please refrain from making me post statements reguarding an online nemesis, lawl. I'd rather have a nemesis in real life please.

[bananaoil]

Using the "I've been here THIS LONG!" argument is dumb as hell.

If I were using it to try to get some accolades, I would agree with you. But to repeat myself, I use it to point out that this site has changed, not me. That's all there is to it.

Now please refrain from making me post statements reguarding an online nemesis, lawl. I'd rather have a nemesis in real life please.

It was tongue-in-cheek. I sometimes forget that I should include " " so people won't get their panties in such a bunch.

As for military battles, I just hope they're both relevant to the plot and engaging. As long as they don't bog down the pace or drastically halt the character action then cool beans.

[Monster Master]

If I were using it to try to get some accolades, I would agree with you. But to repeat myself, I use it to point out that this site has changed, not me. That's all there is to it.

Well of course the site changed. EVERY website changes over time, especially message boards. Old members leave and new members come in. I can tell you this happened numerous times in the last decade. And you know what's funny about it?

It happens every time something major in the fandom is about to happen.

It happened in 2004 with Godzilla: Final Wars & Godzilla: Save The Earth
It happened in 2007 with Godzilla: Unleashed
It happened again in 2011 with 2012 Godzilla

And it will keep changing, going up and down, until the 2012 movie comes and goes. Just like it did with G:FW/G:STE and G:U.

As for military battles, I just hope they're both relevant to the plot and engaging. As long as they don't bog down the pace or drastically halt the character action then cool beans.

As long as the human characters aren't the main focus of the movie. I don't want to see some random romance twist thrown in. Gimme' the human characters trying to stop Godzilla.

[bananaoil]

As long as the human characters aren't the main focus of the movie. I don't want to see some random romance twist thrown in. Gimme' the human characters trying to stop Godzilla.

Now, when I say I want strong characters, that doesn't mean I'm wanting some hackneyed romance. The Emiko/Ogata/Serizawa love triangle worked so well because it was the catalyst to Serizawa's sacrifice.

In Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla Sara was struggling with the fact that her father was more or less resurrecting the original Godzilla instead of her mother.

It's stuff like that I'm in to. Strong characters who carry the plot because their actions directly correspond with the story and the movie's themes.

Incidentally, that's one reason I'm so fond of Godzilla vs. Gigan. The charming Scooby Doo gang makes that movie so fun because they're fresh and interesting pro-active characters.

What I don't want to happen is to have some talking heads simply following the monsters around. Conversely, I don't want a movie that's just the military fighting Godzilla.

I want both aspects to be integral to the plot.

[Mini-Godzilla]

I certainly don't want another Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, a movie that amounts to little more than War Hawk porn with almost no characterization. In 1954, Godzilla waltzed through the military with their puny phallic symbols and moved immediately into killing civilians. To me, that's far more compelling than a bunch of mindless explosions meant to impress the Republicans in the audience. Weren't these movies supposed to be antiwar statements, anyway?

[Godzilla 1995]

Weren't these movies supposed to be antiwar statements, anyway?

I think the original was meant to be an anti-nuclear weaponry film.

[Tyler]

The Godzilla series has always had a pacifist edge but military battle scenes are a staple of the series. They just do whatever's necessary to protect their country from giant monsters.

[Living Corpse]

The Godzilla series has always had a pacifist edge but military battle scenes are a staple of the series. They just do whatever's necessary to protect their country from giant monsters.

Or at the very least buy their people some more time to get out of there.

[Living Corpse]

Thought this would be an interesting topic. It seems with American giant monster films the answer is always "use bigger guns/find it's weakness" and the day is saved. Cloverfiled is honestly the only one I can think of where this was not the case (maybe) and it was a nice change of pace. So let's pretend this film ends like how so many of Toho's films end. Godzilla kills the bad/badder monster and the army is in ruins. They failed to kill him and Godzilla swims away only to raise again someday to destroy/protect again (sequel hook lolz).

If the movie ended like that do you think the general public would react negatively to seeing the military fail to destroy Godzilla or do you think they could accept it?

I'm not so sure. I think people are just so use to the films like ID4 and Transformers where the U.S. army saves the or helps saves the day that in a sense they think our country is invincible.

Thoughts?

[Cimmerian Dragon]

Actually, I think it would be expected to show the Army screwing things up spectacularly. That's the trendy way to go for a lot of movies targeting young adults these days. There are exceptions, like Michael Bay's films (*shudder*), but overall it seems that opinions get more intense over a film that "glorifies" military force than one which denounces it.