Godzilla: King of the Monsters - General Discussion

[Spuro]

The more I think about it, the more I kind of hate what they did with Rodan in this movie. He was so badass, but I hated that they turned him into a Starscream-like character.

Yeah same. I would have preferred if he disappeared for a while after getting beat by Ghidorah and we assume he's out of the fight for the movie, then just when we've forgotten about him, he zooms in out of nowhere during the final battle and tackles Ghidorah away from Godzilla just when things look really bad, like how Blue did in Jurassic World.

I've been saying this since a year ago, but people were always tearing my head off when I brought it up.

[KingKaiju]

The more I think about it, the more I kind of hate what they did with Rodan in this movie. He was so badass, but I hated that they turned him into a Starscream-like character.

Yeah same. I would have preferred if he disappeared for a while after getting beat by Ghidorah and we assume he's out of the fight for the movie, then just when we've forgotten about him, he zooms in out of nowhere during the final battle and tackles Ghidorah away from Godzilla just when things look really bad, like how Blue did in Jurassic World.

Forreal! Thinking about his character in the past, it bugs me that they turned him into a front-runner like this. I wouldn't have minded him fighting both Godzilla and Rodan, but for his own personal reasons and not because he's Ghidorah's little buddy.

[UltramanGoji]

The more I think about it, the more I kind of hate what they did with Rodan in this movie. He was so badass, but I hated that they turned him into a Starscream-like character.

Yeah same. I would have preferred if he disappeared for a while after getting beat by Ghidorah and we assume he's out of the fight for the movie, then just when we've forgotten about him, he zooms in out of nowhere during the final battle and tackles Ghidorah away from Godzilla just when things look really bad, like how Blue did in Jurassic World.

That just seems like a huge waste of the character. Why bother including him if he's not gonna do anything for most of the movie?

At least with Mothra there's an excuse for her to be out of the picture most of the time, but Rodan tagging out for most of the movie just seems dumb.

[KingKaiju]

The more I think about it, the more I kind of hate what they did with Rodan in this movie. He was so badass, but I hated that they turned him into a Starscream-like character.

Yeah same. I would have preferred if he disappeared for a while after getting beat by Ghidorah and we assume he's out of the fight for the movie, then just when we've forgotten about him, he zooms in out of nowhere during the final battle and tackles Ghidorah away from Godzilla just when things look really bad, like how Blue did in Jurassic World.

That just seems like a huge waste of the character. Why bother including him if he's not gonna do anything for most of the movie?

At least with Mothra there's an excuse for her to be out of the picture most of the time, but Rodan tagging out for most of the movie just seems dumb.

Monsters are territorial. I wouldn't mind him not being in most of the movie, so long as they gave him a purpose. He's off wrecking havoc elsewhere, while Mothra tries to assemble the monsters to take on Ghidorah. So she flies out to him, they fight, and he chases her back to Ghidorah where they realize that there's the bigger, badder, threat. But I guess by doing that the complaint might be that Godzilla couldn't handle Ghidorah on his own... Which he couldn't anyways.

[Spuro]

Yeah same. I would have preferred if he disappeared for a while after getting beat by Ghidorah and we assume he's out of the fight for the movie, then just when we've forgotten about him, he zooms in out of nowhere during the final battle and tackles Ghidorah away from Godzilla just when things look really bad, like how Blue did in Jurassic World.

That just seems like a huge waste of the character. Why bother including him if he's not gonna do anything for most of the movie?

At least with Mothra there's an excuse for her to be out of the picture most of the time, but Rodan tagging out for most of the movie just seems dumb.

Monsters are territorial. I wouldn't mind him not being in most of the movie, so long as they gave him a purpose. He's off wrecking havoc elsewhere, while Mothra tries to assemble the monsters to take on Ghidorah. So she flies out to him, they fight, and he chases her back to Ghidorah where they realize that there's the bigger, badder, threat. But I guess by doing that the complaint might be that Godzilla couldn't handle Ghidorah on his own... Which he couldn't anyways.

I mean, that was the point of the monster back in the 1964 movie. That's why they designed him with three heads: he was a team of monsters in one body, and it would take a similar team of monsters to defeat him.

[GuardianGhido]

That just seems like a huge waste of the character. Why bother including him if he's not gonna do anything for most of the movie?

At least with Mothra there's an excuse for her to be out of the picture most of the time, but Rodan tagging out for most of the movie just seems dumb.

Monsters are territorial. I wouldn't mind him not being in most of the movie, so long as they gave him a purpose. He's off wrecking havoc elsewhere, while Mothra tries to assemble the monsters to take on Ghidorah. So she flies out to him, they fight, and he chases her back to Ghidorah where they realize that there's the bigger, badder, threat. But I guess by doing that the complaint might be that Godzilla couldn't handle Ghidorah on his own... Which he couldn't anyways.

I mean, that was the point of the monster back in the 1964 movie. That's why they designed him with three heads: he was a team of monsters in one body, and it would take a similar team of monsters to defeat him.

Exactly. Ghidorah's too much of a threat (out of water at least) to take on alone and needs mutliple monsters or super forms to take down. I have an entire retool for the movie planned to make it more of a 3v1, but here's a part of my idea below:

This is a bit more ridiculous, but I'd have Rodan be literally and visibly brainwashed by KG who would hold his head steady with his tails and stare rigth into his eyes and sort of hypnotize him (Rodan's pupils dilating into pitch black eyes maybe) and during the Mothra vs Rodan fight, Mothra wouldn't take as much damage and would defeat Rodan quicker with a stinger stab but also undo the brainwashing with her antennae producing some kind of mystical light (Rodan's eyes would go back to normal before passing out).

Then Mothra and Godzilla double team Ghidorah who had the upper hand fighting Godzilla solo and temporarily swing the fight in their favor until KG starts to win again somehow. but then Rodan appears and the 3v1 fight starts with Ghidorah being practically curbstomped by three titans ganging up on him at once. After taking a beating Ghidorah finds the power lines and sucks the power of Boston and fries Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan (Mothra and Rodan moreso being aerial targets and being hit by several bolts of Wing-Lightning). Then the atmospheric drop happens and Mothra sacrifices herself but instead of the whole ORCA distraction thing, Rodan attacks KG and holds him off for a while, then as soon as KG is about to finish off Rodan, Fire Godzilla happens. Rest proceeds as normal.

This does however leave the ORCA thing as a plot hole and is overall quite crazy. But hey, I can dream can't I?

[Smuggers]

That just seems like a huge waste of the character. Why bother including him if he's not gonna do anything for most of the movie?

I mean, that's basically what happened anyway. Wouldn't be hard to come up with some contrived reason as to why.

[Ivo-goji]

Rehashing GTTHM, Monster Zero, and DAM's depictions of Rodan would have sucked. What they did instead was a great twist.

[UltramanGoji]

Rehashing GTTHM, Monster Zero, and DAM's depictions of Rodan would have sucked. What they did instead was a great twist.

Agreed. I'm glad we have a brand new kind of Rodan to go alongside the others. I think it's the best possibly way they could've handled him in a film that's already so crowded.

[MegaEvilSaurus666]

As the movie is, Rodan plays no major role in the movie's events, and looks more like an extra once that's considered. He has barely any more plot significance than Behemoth, despite being a part of the conflicts seen. He does no damage to Ghidorah. He does fight Mothra, but doesn't damage her or truly affect her death, which was caused by Ghidorah. He does nothing to change the events of the movie or the climax besides bowing at the end.

Dougherty disappointed me with Rodan's role in this film. He doesn't come across as much of a rogue (the rest of the titans do the same as he does), but rather an order following punk. Not once did I question his loyalties, since he is just following whichever is the alpha. After his defeat by Ghidorah, he does nothing solely on his own volition. In an interview, Dougherty claims that Rodan is sort of a sidekick character, but he wasn't remotely close to that until 1993. He had a "solo" film (not solo because there's two Rodan individuals), he fought Godzilla and was pretty even with him, and in contrast to this film, Godzilla and Mothra do not stand a chance without the inclusion of Rodan. Godzilla alone isn't a match for Ghidorah, but with Rodan's participation, the battle leans in their favor.

Rehashing GTTHM, Monster Zero, and DAM's depictions of Rodan would have sucked. What they did instead was a great twist.

No, it really wouldn't have sucked by any means. Rodan hasn't been depicted at all in 15 years. Rodan hasn't been depicted as you say in 51 years. With this "great twist," Rodan is the least impressive of the big four. With how threatening his design is, and for being the only creature who lives within a volcano, he's presented as the weakest one. Not saying that they'd need to rehash anything, but he could've been handled better, without losing his dignity.

[Spuro]

As the movie is, Rodan plays no major role in the movie's events, and looks more like an extra once that's considered. He has barely any more plot significance than Behemoth, despite being a part of the conflicts seen. He does no damage to Ghidorah. He does fight Mothra, but doesn't damage her or truly affect her death, which was caused by Ghidorah. He does nothing to change the events of the movie or the climax besides bowing at the end.

Dougherty disappointed me with Rodan's role in this film. He doesn't come across as much of a rogue (the rest of the titans do the same as he does), but rather an order following punk. Not once did I question his loyalties, since he is just following whichever is the alpha. After his defeat by Ghidorah, he does nothing solely on his own volition. In an interview, Dougherty claims that Rodan is sort of a sidekick character, but he wasn't remotely close to that until 1993. He had a "solo" film (not solo because there's two Rodan individuals), he fought Godzilla and was pretty even with him, and in contrast to this film, Godzilla and Mothra do not stand a chance without the inclusion of Rodan. Godzilla alone isn't a match for Ghidorah, but with Rodan's participation, the battle leans in their favor.

Rehashing GTTHM, Monster Zero, and DAM's depictions of Rodan would have sucked. What they did instead was a great twist.

No, it really wouldn't have sucked by any means. Rodan hasn't been depicted at all in 15 years. Rodan hasn't been depicted as you say in 51 years. With this "great twist," Rodan is the least impressive of the big four. With how threatening his design is, and for being the only creature who lives within a volcano, he's presented as the weakest one. Not saying that they'd need to rehash anything, but he could've been handled better, without losing his dignity.

Yep. While the Monsterverse has finally provided me with the Ghidorah I've been craving: a return of the powerful Showa Era monster, no Des, Grand or Keizer required, I guess I'll still have to wait for Rodan's true resurgence. I have my fingers crossed that GvK could give me that, but with how powerful they made Godzilla at this point, and with Rodan acting subservient to him, I doubt it.

Maybe a future Toho movie will revisit him and give him his due.

[Dracosaurian]

Eh. Count me among those who had no issue with Rodan siding with Ghidorah in this film. I like to see changes like that every now and then.

[Ivo-goji]

With how threatening his design is, and for being the only creature who lives within a volcano, he's presented as the weakest one.

And I'm never, ever going to care about that.

I'm glad the people who made the movie worried less about power levels and more about giving each kaiju a distinctive personality.

[gottatalktothefake]

With how threatening his design is, and for being the only creature who lives within a volcano, he's presented as the weakest one.

And I'm never, ever going to care about that.

I'm glad the people who made the movie worried less about power levels and more about giving each kaiju a distinctive personality.

This, it's something we haven't had in 5 years. I really hope Toho's world of Godzilla sees the kaiju with personality again since the MonsterVerse is probably ending.

[Gojira18]

With how threatening his design is, and for being the only creature who lives within a volcano, he's presented as the weakest one.

And I'm never, ever going to care about that.

I'm glad the people who made the movie worried less about power levels and more about giving each kaiju a distinctive personality.

As TeamFourStar put it: "Power Levels are bull****!"

[KingKaiju]

I don't really care for his "power level", I just thought his character should have been treated more in line with the way that Godzilla, Mothra, and apparently Kong (I think from the novelization) were treated, in that they were unaffected by Ghidorah's calls. I'm all for changes too, but Rodan's I've never really seen Rodan interpreted as a monster that would just willingly take second place, and always felt that that was a core characteristic of his. Overall, I enjoyed what they did with him, but that's just my one gripe. Hoping that since he survived, we get more of him in GvK. I also think one issue was that Dougherty would often talk about him and hype him up as the "ronin" and the "wildcard". It sounded like he was going to be the tie breaker, which I guess he was in a sense.

[daveblackeye15]

Well I really like this Rodan and I feel like it is the most distinguished Rodan in since...like forever. I mean he's not Godzilla's, or really anyone's buddy sidekick and he seems really savage so I like it.

[Dv-218]

Well I really like this Rodan and I feel like it is the most distinguished Rodan in since...like forever. I mean he's not Godzilla's, or really anyone's buddy sidekick and he seems really savage so I like it.

Percisely. At the end of the day, as unconventional as it seems, Rodan's character here is just a variation of what he was from the very beginning- an aggresive, hot heated Pterosaur who cares for his own well being more than what happens in the grand scheme of things.

[MegaEvilSaurus666]

With how threatening his design is, and for being the only creature who lives within a volcano, he's presented as the weakest one.

And I'm never, ever going to care about that.

I'm glad the people who made the movie worried less about power levels and more about giving each kaiju a distinctive personality.

We're not discussing "power levels" here. He's the weakest in that he means little to just about all circumstances in the film. His scenes were some of the most visually riveting (despite being almost entirely seen in the film's marketing), and yet had the least repercussions on the plot. You could cut him out of the film and get the same results. He's the weakest in that he is taken out by both Ghidorah and Mothra in short scuffles that we barely see. Now, I may be a bit harsh on the Mothra fight, but as it's taking place alongside two other conflicts (one of which is sort of unnecessarily focused on to the point of obscuring the monsters), it's simply hard to focus on. There's a lot to explore with Rodan, especially his volcanic ties, but he's just thrown in with little exposure prior. Again, "power levels" are the least of my concerns. Probably should've elaborated that he's the weakest written.

Had he been given more plot significance, I'd likely have a more positive opinion on his portrayal. Otherwise, he's not the "winged a-bomb" Dougherty described him as.

Having seen the movie again, my issues with it have become more defined. My favorite parts of it are as well, but it's still a disappointing film for me. It definitely could've benefitted from a longer runtime, I can say that for sure.

[GojiDog]

If they had done the 3v1, I personally would have felt like it was too similar to Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster.

I liked what they did with Rodan as they showed off his destructive power, and used him to highlight the social dynamics among the monsters.

Also we got Rodan Vs. Mothra for the first time ever. That's kind of amazing that they never really fought each other before this film. The closest we ever got was Mothra Larva webbing Rodan to get him to stop fighting Godzilla in Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster. So to finally see them clash in this movie was a bit of a treat for me.