Godzilla (2014)

[ChD]

Only now, after reading your posts, have I realized how falsely the movie was advertised.

[CloneWars]

Yah, the marketing campaign really misled me. I mean, before the trailers I had zero interest in a Godzilla film. I mean, their marketing campaign worked. They got butts into seats and this looks to have a massive OW. So, go WB marketing team. You might want to keep them on board. I actually think had the marketing not misled that I would have enjoyed the film more, but then again, I probably would not have seen the film if the marketing actually sold the film for what it really was.

[Mulder]

On a similar note, I didn't understand how at one point her son is in the bus with her colleague then next time, it is stuck on the Golden Gate and he seems to be all alone surrounded by kinds only.

 

 

I cringed when I saw that just after that Honolulu cocktease, Godzilla is alredy american human ally swimming along destroyers all the way to SF bay so he's pretty much the good guy from the get go after his first appearance, ugh. I also cringed when the "Destroyer of all worlds" takes its sweet time to dive beneath the military boats to avoid them instead of just tearing it down with its dorsal spines. It was like he care more about collateral damage than the Man Of Steel ever did but he's not supposed to be a benevolent superhero or mankind's friendly dog, not from the get-go, leave that for sequel...

 

And the marketing did a great job to lie about Godzilla being a menace. The "It will send us back to the stone age", the shelter door closing as we see Godzilla roaring like he's a threat even though in the movie the actual shot was Goodzilla about to beat down bad Muto's ass, false advertising all the way...

The destroyers were following Godzilla, and honestly besides the ending scene Godzilla wasn't on anyone's side. He destroyed the military on the San Francisco bridge for attacking him. 

[redfirebird2008]

Redfirebird, I don't blame them for citing you're nitpicking cause you are and it was made pretty clear from the trailers that GODZILLA would be fighting other monsters or monster, but who cares??? There was no false advertising here.. You're grasping and reaching..

 

The only non-Godzilla monster I recall seeing was in the Oppenheimer trailer and it didn't even look like the MUTO's in the film itself. Everything else in the marketing was centered on Godzilla and specifically hid the MUTO's. They intercut Cranston's dialogue discussing the MUTO's with footage of Godzilla roaring to make it look like Cranston was talking about Godzilla. "It's gonna send us back to the Stone Age." Insert Godzilla footage. Turns out he was talking about the MUTO's, lol. False advertising for sure, especially for anyone who strongly prefers Godzilla as originally portrayed (a villain to mankind).

[dashrendar44]

The destroyers were following Godzilla, and honestly besides the ending scene Godzilla wasn't on anyone's side. He destroyed the military on the San Francisco bridge for attacking him. 

 

Yeah, that didn't make any sense at this point since the US forces are following Godzilla to SF as their "ally" to defeat the Mutos and he pretty much didn't care about them swimming peacefully alongside. Then for no reason, they open fire on him as he was doing nothing harmful in the first place.(Also misleading marketing, the moment in that TV spot when the tail just rises out of the sea as it seems to unfurl above a US destroyer, I thought at one moment that Godzilla would sink or catch that destroyer with its tail to swing it into a Muto...None of that happened, he just avoids them and makes no harm). In fact, it's when they shot at him that he stumbles onto the Golden Gate bridge, he's the "victim".

Edited May 16, 2014 by dashrendar44

[redfirebird2008]

Oh no!!! GODZILLA wasn't portrayed as a villain in this.. The nerve of Edwards..

 

Yeah, he played it safe just like Toho for the last 40+ years. This film had the potential to be up there with the 54 movie and it just doesn't even try. Ultimately it's the formulaic "vs." format that we've seen over and over from Toho. He had the visual tone spot on. The Oppenheimer trailer was perfect. Just wish the story actually lined up with that. He should be the Destroyer of Worlds, not the "hero of our city."

[rukaio101]

Honestly, I'm kinda happier with the way Godzilla turned out. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they could've made a great movie with Godzilla as the out-and-out villain threatening humanity, but that sort of film has really been done a lot. Cloverfield, 1998 Godzilla, quite a few alien invasion films, etc etc. In comparison, the 2014 Godzilla was a much more original take, admittedly not for a Godzilla film but for a high-budget American blockbuster.

 

Also, Godzilla ends up a much more interesting character this way. Instead of the vague 'destroying humanity for the sake of it' monster we so often get, the Godzilla in the film has a more complex relationship with humanity. He's not out to get them, but he's by no means out to protect them. You get the feeling he considers them like ants who just aren't particularly worth stomping. When he's being escorted by battleships, you get the feeling it's less because he considers them allies and more because he can't be arsed to swat them away.

 

Also, any story that gives me more giant monster fights is alright in my book. 

[dashrendar44]

Oh no!!! GODZILLA wasn't portrayed as a villain in this.. The nerve of Edwards..

Do you have even watched the original Godzilla instead of trying to act like a smartass?

 

Edwards sold it as a direct homage to Gojira 54's tone and plot except to the fact that Gojira 54 was not the fricking superhero saving the day alongside mankind...

[redfirebird2008]

 

Also, Godzilla ends up a much more interesting character this way. Instead of the vague 'destroying humanity for the sake of it' monster we so often get

 

Nothing vague about it. What makes the original film a classic is the obvious parallel to the atomic bomb and its effect on Japan. That's why including the Oppenheimer quote got me so excited that they were returning to the character's roots, but instead they just went with the later, formulaic version of the character.

 

Now that I know what to expect (ie nowhere near the 54 version), I just hope they include Godzilla more in the sequel. The monster fight was well done in the film. Just need more of the big guy if that's the route they are going with this franchise.

Edited May 16, 2014 by redfirebird2008

[rukaio101]

Nothing vague about it. What makes the original film a classic is the obvious parallel to the atomic bomb and its affect on Japan. That's why including the Oppenheimer quote got me so excited that they were returning to the character's roots, but instead they just went with the later, formulaic version of the character.

It's true that part of what makes the original a classic is the parallel to the atomic bomb, but that film was released less than 10 years after Hiroshima. Since then, the world has largely moved on and plenty of other films have aped the original Godzilla's style. Doing a closer remake to the original just wouldn't hold as much weight or be as effective or enjoyable nowadays. The 2014 Godzilla does something new (for American blockbusters) and I'm happier it did.

[Kevin Bacon]

I never really thought of Godzilla as actively working with humans. Yeah, he dived to avoid the battleships but it seemed like something practical to do, like, "eh, I don't really feel like plowing through that with my body, easier to just dive". And I'm pretty sure the open fire on Godzilla was the battleships panicking when they were being tipped over by the waves he was creating, and then everyone else eventually joined in. I had more issue with the one school bus with a major character conveniently getting off the bridge, just before 'Zilla crushed it.

 

Through the rest of the movie, he doesn't really have any issue with doing insane amounts of property damage that still probably results in lives being lost, but his goal is to kill the Mutos and he isn't really worried about anything else. It makes sense that he wouldn't really fuck with the humans unless they got in his way. Hell, I actually like that they didn't go the typical route where the military senselessly attacks the threat and makes it worse for everyone when the scientist was telling them not to. While the city stands up and cheers for Godzilla when he gets up and the news calls him a hero (and I feel like it's worth noting that there's a question mark following the "savior of our city" bit), he doesn't really care, he just goes back about his business now that he's met his kill quota. He's like.... Stone Cold Godzilla; arrive, raise hell, leave.

 

 

Though I do understand the disappointment that comes with them not using Godzilla as advertised. I honestly thought going in that Godzilla would spent the early part of the movie terrorizing the city like in the trailers and the other monsters would show up later, at which point he becomes an anti-hero and saves the day. Not that that makes a hell of a lot of sense (why does GZ change his mind about destroying humanity after killing the monsters), but it would allow for the best of both worlds and fit the advertising as opposed to what they went with.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Seth Rollins

[Deep Wang]

The only non-Godzilla monster I recall seeing was in the Oppenheimer trailer and it didn't even look like the MUTO's in the film itself. Everything else in the marketing was centered on Godzilla and specifically hid the MUTO's. They intercut Cranston's dialogue discussing the MUTO's with footage of Godzilla roaring to make it look like Cranston was talking about Godzilla. "It's gonna send us back to the Stone Age." Insert Godzilla footage. Turns out he was talking about the MUTO's, lol. False advertising for sure, especially for anyone who strongly prefers Godzilla as originally portrayed (a villain to mankind).

 

Actually the MUTO hadn't appeared yet.  He was simply referring to the EMP blast that was incoming.

[cookie]

Yeah, that didn't make any sense at this point since the US forces are following Godzilla to SF as their "ally" to defeat the Mutos and he pretty much didn't care about them swimming peacefully alongside. Then for no reason, they open fire on him as he was doing nothing harmful in the first place.

The admiral's plan was to lure all three monsters (Godzilla and the two MUTOs) to one spot where they'd nuke all of them at once, hence what the warhead was for. They didn't attack Godzilla while following him 'cause that would jinx the whole thing. When one of the MUTOs stole the warhead the plans changed and the military tried to stop Godzilla from entering San Francisco, then the flying MUTO appeared and took out their warships with EMP, so as a last resort they decided to listen to Watanabe's advice and let the monsters fight.

Edited May 16, 2014 by C00k13zilla

[redfirebird2008]

Actually the MUTO hadn't appeared yet.  He was simply referring to the EMP blast that was incoming.

 

Didn't that come from the MUTO's cocoon?

[cookie]

Didn't that come from the MUTO's cocoon?

At that point Cranston didn't know it came from a MUTO cocoon though.

[Deep Wang]

At that point Cranston didn't know it came from a MUTO cocoon though.

They knew where it was coming from, it was right there. But, I dont remember anyone referring to that as a cocoon, MUTO or other wise. It was just a giant thing emitting a pulse.

[redfirebird2008]

They knew where it was coming from, it was right there. But, I dont remember anyone referring to that as a cocoon, MUTO or other wise. It was just a giant thing emitting a pulse.

 

But anyway, the point I was making is that his dialogue in that scene isn't referring to Godzilla. The trailers make you think it is.

[cookie]

They knew where it was coming from, it was right there. But, I dont remember anyone referring to that as a cocoon, MUTO or other wise. It was just a giant thing emitting a pulse.

You're right, my memory is a bit dim on that scene.

[Kevin Bacon]

I don't know, the trailers to me just showed that there was some sort of chemical disaster that killed Cranston's wife and he was trying to get to the bottom of it, and he was saying that whatever caused the disaster was going to send us back to the stone age. Granted, it was implied that Godzilla is what caused it, but I didn't get the impression that Cranston knew about Godzilla.

[redfirebird2008]

I don't know, the trailers to me just showed that there was some sort of chemical disaster that killed Cranston's wife and he was trying to get to the bottom of it, and he was saying that whatever caused the disaster was going to send us back to the stone age. Granted, it was implied that Godzilla is what caused it, but I didn't get the impression that Cranston knew about Godzilla.

 

No of course not. His character was trying to investigate the situation, but his dialogue was used in a way to make us think it was a "Godzilla attacks mankind" story. It really isn't.