Godzilla-WB/Legendary production, on DVD/Blu-ray Sept. 16, 2014

[Duke Togo]

He does have a point Duel, there is plenty of "silly human blabbering" in the other Godzilla movies.

There's more monster action in Godzilla than in Gojira.

[Gakken85]

It played out just like the other Godzilla movies.

Lots of silly science talk. A science guy in the command center with a military guy giving us locations. A silly human plot. A love interest, and a main character to follow around.

IT EVEN had the point where the main human has a little knowing nod with Godzilla. Nice touch.

I agree though, the main Hoo-man wasn't very good, but I've seen worse.

Pacific Rim isn't really a Kaiju movie. It's a Chogokin movie that fights Kaiju per Homage.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Gakken85

[Kanedas Bike]

It played out just like the other Godzilla movies.

Lots of silly science talk. A science guy in the command center with a military guy giving us locations. A silly human plot. A love interest, and a main character to follow around.

IT EVEN had the point where the main human has a little knowing nod with Godzilla. Nice touch.

I agree though, the main Hoo-man wasn't very good, but I've seen worse.

Pacific Rim isn't really a Kaiju movie. It's a Chogokin movie that fights Kaiju per Homage.

TRUTH

(although I take what you and Duke are saying about other Godzilla movies, because I wouldn't know)

-b.

[TangledThorns]

After a $93 million opening weekend a sequel looks to be already in the works. I think a different director for the sequel would be ideal. I think David Yates could direct a great Godzilla film.

Legendary no longer has a first-look deal with Warners -- it is now Universal's partner -- but the two companies will team on any further Godzilla movies, insiders say, adding that a sequel is already in the works.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-godzilla-opens-monstrous-705168

[skullmilitia]

I just thought it was funny that both Godzilla and the human dude felt the need to take a nap after the fight.

My only deal with the movies, was outside of Bryan Cranston, none of the characters were relate-able, and I honestly

didn't care for any of them, but Bryan Cranston's.

I take that back, I did love Ken Wantanabe in the movie, but he wasn't a character that was meant to have to much emotional impact.

It was cool to see news the next day that a 7 story Titanasaur had been found in Argentina in the real world. Apparently Godzilla

did have some friends in South America lol.

[Gakken85]

http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/godzilla-2-sequel-warner-bros-legendary-gareth-edwards/

Sequel confirmed.

[DuelGundam2099]

Just got back from seeing it and really enjoyed it, glad I was wrong about my doubts with Gareth Edwards. Also, Godzilla underused? Maybe in the first half, but the second half seemed to have the average amount of time Godzilla should be in a Godzilla movie. So uh.... *grumbles about agreeing with the majority for no reason*

[myk]

Kinda have to include the silly human blathering; without it a viewer would be better off playing King of the Monsters on the Neo Geo for a couple hours; the monster action would be arguably better and it wouldn't cost you $16...

[Black Valkyrie]

Saw the movie a few days ago, its good quite good but scary when it comes to Nuclear issues. Always felt happy and laughed when Gojira appeared. I like said before he looks cute for a monster.

[areaseven]

Might as well park this here.

[Mechleader]

Anyone notice the poster in the kids room? Was Gamera vs a dragon

[TangledThorns]

Might as well park this here.

That was pretty cool. I came here for the Macross but I was a fan of Godzilla years before I discovered anime, damn I'm old.

[Mechapilot77]

i REALLY enjoyed godzilla. i think it was the first proper american godzilla movie (even i hate the actual godzilla design details..fat neck, elephant feet etc.)

gakken hit the nail on the head with post #422. it is just like other godzilla movies but this one had a hollywood budget and production quality.

pac rim well...ya'll know how i feel about that disaster from that thread. its not comparable.

[reddsun1]

Saw it today. Good, but not great. Although I will say I want to see it again--another matinee--just to hunt for more easter eggs.

The human element of the story was a bit of a letdown. There were a fair share of what I felt were "wasted" moments that could have been much more powerful, served to draw the audience that much more to the characters; but came across as paint-by-numbers storytelling. Good enough to keep things moving until time to see another monster; but I couldn't help but think it could have been better in places.

By the end of it all, I was like: okay, so just why are we following Aaron Taylor-hey-I-don't-have-to-act-I'm-Kick-Ass-Johnson again? Hell, they coulda just used supermarionettes for the human cast and it wouldn't have detracted a helluva lot from the movie.

Now, I understand that living up to, much less surpassing the legacy of this character (Godzilla) is a tall order--about 300 ft tall, I'd say--and there's no way this 'mericuhn Godzilla is going to be able to be all things to all people. He's just so many things, to so many generations; and to try to somehow include facets from the varying incarnations, from 60 years of history is bound to exceed the expectations of some, while coming up short for others.

Still, it was a great popcorn flick. But as to picking an all-time fav? I'm sticking with the '54 original. The walking death-sentence; the manifestation of the atomic bomb; the (suprisingly) indifferent bringer of death and destruction for any and all who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; the true King of the monsters...

ed: and yeah--this Godzilla's still got stumpy godda*n feet.

Edited May 20, 2014 by reddsun1

[areaseven]

[Kanedas Bike]

*snip*

ed: and yeah--this Godzilla's still got stumpy godda*n feet.

Yeah, but

didn't he stomp on one of the MUTO's with them?

LOL

-b.

[renegadeleader1]

I hope this doesn't sound nitpicky as I really liked the movie, but I've found a odd continuity error in Godzilla concerning his awakening. I'm putting it in spoilers for people who haven't seen it.

In footage at the begining and from what Ken Watanabe's character Serizawa states Godzilla was awoken by a nuclear submarine(the USS Nautilus) that passed by during deep sea dive testing. He then proceeds to explain that Godzilla started attacking both Russian and US subs and that the nuclear bomb tests in 1954 were attempts to kill him. The problem as I see it is that the USS Nautilus the first nuclear submarine while built and launched in 54 never left the harbor or made way under nuclear power untill march of 55 and never entered the pacific untill 57. 57 was the same year the second nuclear sub USS seawolf entered service. The Russians didn't have a nuclear sub untill 58.

aside from that...

anybody think its odd that a nuclear bomb many times more powerful than the 54 weapons test goes off less than 20 miles from from San Fran and everybody seems completely oblivious to it?

[myk]

anybody think its odd that a nuclear bomb many times more powerful than the 54 weapons test goes off less than 20 miles from from San Fran and everybody seems completely oblivious to it?

Well, considering that Ken Watanabe's character was supposed to be the foremost "expert" on this entire kaiju/nuclear weapons/Area 51 conspiracy stuff, being a witness to these things for decades, yet in the entire movie his eyebrows are furrowed and he's constantly in surprise, shock and awe as to the unfolding events of the story, no, obliviousness in this movie does not surprise me...

[reddsun1]

Kanedas Bike: indeed, I did a bit of a double take when I saw that; what tha? did he just? Pshuh, 'studied the mechanics of animals fighting my a..'

But I'm guessing that was meant as a nod to the cheesier, kid-friendly-era Godzilla films.

renegadeleader1: regarding continuity, this is Hollywood we're talking about, eh? So what if a few historical details get muddled? 'Close enough' seems to be the rule of the day.

And as for that other little by-the-way moment at the end, I'd wager that's gonna make a convenient plot-point for the sequel.

Edited May 20, 2014 by reddsun1

[Kanedas Bike]

Kanedas Bike: indeed, I did a bit of a double take when I saw that; what tha? did he just? Pshuh, 'studied the mechanics of animals fighting my a..'

But I'm guessing that was meant as a nod to the cheesier, kid-friendly-era Godzilla films.

renegadeleader1: regarding continuity, this is Hollywood we're talking about, eh? So what if a few historical details get muddled? 'Close enough' seems to be the rule of the day.

And as for that other little by-the-way moment at the end, I'd wager that's gonna make a convenient plot-point for the sequel.

Regarding continuity and historical accuracy unless I know what is being said is verified I take 99% of whatever is in a "blockbuster" and throw it out the window, sometimes it's hard enough to suspend disbelief with the action that's going on but when you try to add factoids to the mix...no. thank. you.

Yeah, it was odd that there wasn't any news coverage of the explosion at the end (or if there was, I missed it) but for some reason I don't think that will play prominently in a sequel. It's too obvious, my guess/hope is they'll find another way to introduce new monsters.

But hey, this is Hollywood.

-b.

[the white drew carey]

I think David Yates could direct a great Godzilla film.

Ugh... no thank you. Yates' HP films were the worst of the bunch. Terrible pacing and awkward scene transitions...

[aerocombatpilot]

Just got back from seeing it and..it wasn't bad at all. Not enough of what I paid to see, but I never figured it was going to be another Pacific Rim. As far as the acting goes it wasn't bad for a Godzilla film, and I didn't want to see any of the main characters die, which is pretty good for me so, all in all it was pretty good for a "first" Godzilla film; but they CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN!!! Next time: MORE MONSTERS FIGHTING, PLEASE!!

[myk]

Just got back from seeing it and..it wasn't bad at all. Not enough of what I paid to see, but I never figured it was going to be another Pacific Rim. As far as the acting goes it wasn't bad for a Godzilla film, and I didn't want to see any of the main characters die, which is pretty good for me so, all in all it was pretty good for a "first" Godzilla film; but they CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN!!! Next time: MORE MONSTERS FIGHTING, PLEASE!!

Eh, I kept thinking that "Pacific Rim: Origins" may have been another possible title for this movie...

[anime52k8]

This movie was much better than Pacific Rim. Just saying.

[TangledThorns]

There is a lot of comparisons between this new Godzilla, Pacific Rim, 1998 Godzilla and Toho's Godzilla films. Really I think it should be compared to Cloverfield. To me that was a great monster movie filmed in a fresh way where the 'less is more' style worked because the monster was new. That doesn't work in the new film because we all know who Godzilla is. Also, the Cloverfield acting was way better and the characters were more relatable, especially for the younger crowd.

Godzilla was awesome but Hollywood better listen to the fans if they are to be successful with a sequel.

[Duke Togo]

"Listening to the fans" would likely have left us with another forgettable film a-la Pacific Rim, and they wouldn't be fast-tracking a sequel.

Godzilla has it's share of problems (Aaron Taylor-Johnson perhaps the greatest among them), but it's heart is in the right place and it got the essence of what we love about the Big G right.

[areaseven]

I'm kinda disappointed that Godzilla didn't do his signature drop kick or use his atomic breath for propulsion.

[Gakken85]

3 generations of Godzilla suit wearers.

Tsutomu Kitagawa on the left (millennium Era)

Haruo Nakajima in the middle. (Showa Era) 50's-80's

Kenpachiro Satsuma on the right (Heisei Era)80's-00's

Edited May 21, 2014 by Gakken85

[reddsun1]

OMFG, did anyone else notice? That mock Abrams tank in Cloverfield is the same one [one of them anyway] that was used in Godzilla! Sweartagod--that is the same tank that shows up on the Golden Gate in Godzilla. Looks like a dressed M60 Patton-era chassis to me...

After reflecting on it a bit, I suppose we shouldn't come down quite so hard on Taylor-Johnson's character. After all, he's meant to personify our men and women in uniform; and I don't suppose director Edwards would've wanted to show them in an unfavorable light, as somehow "weak." But there were some moments where I was like: Christ, he's mailing this performance in, ain't he?

ed: actually, we can come down so hard on Ford Brody. Was like watching a f'ing Gerry Anderson production.

Edited May 21, 2014 by reddsun1

[Kanedas Bike]

Comparisons of everything against everything else are funny. Why not compare this to Monsters which was also directed by Gareth Edwards?

Re: Cloverfield, I hated all the characters and couldn't wait for them to get squashed or eaten (except Hud the camera guy, he was hilarious).

Re: Kick-Ass, called that one earlier. But it wasn't his acting that made me raise an eyebrow, it was how indestructible he was.

-b.

[peter]

3 generations of Godzilla suit wearers.

Tsutomu Kitagawa on the left (millennium Era)

Haruo Nakajima in the middle. (Showa Era) 50's-80's

Kenpachiro Satsuma on the right (Heisei Era)80's-00's

that's an awesome picture, thanks for posting it

[Gakken85]

Cooler version a guy edited up for me.

[reddsun1]

Indeed, a very cool pic. The big kid in me would like to run up and give Mr. Nakajima a big hug. In a sense, he's like a childhood hero to me.

Did anybody spot Akira Takarada (he played Ogata in the original) in the new movie? I'll admit I wasn't sure which character was him when I went to see it.

Edited May 22, 2014 by reddsun1

[reddsun1]

Heh, those CG effects programmers don't know what hard work is. Now, H. Nakajima et al put in some work.

The prototype suit for the '54 suitmation version weighed over 200 lbs. The 2nd version--even after refinements--was still so heavy and stiff, it could stand on its own when not in use. It's said the actors inside literally passed out from exhaustion and heat multiple times during filming...

cap005.bmp

cap007.bmp

cap008.bmp

Edited May 22, 2014 by reddsun1

[areaseven]

Heh, those CG effects programmers don't know what hard work is. Now, H. Nakajima et al put in some work.

The prototype suit for the '54 suitmation version weighed over 200 lbs. The 2nd version--even after refinements--was still so heavy and stiff, it could stand on its own when not in use. It's said the actors inside literally passed out from exhaustion and heat multiple times during filming...

It's been said that a cup full of sweat had to be cleaned out of the inside of the suit after each filming.