Thought it was glorious. I’m not the type to sit there plot busting a blockbuster action flick about giant monsters, but there were some things that even I found a little wonky. That aside it was still fantastic, those just kept it from being like ‘holy shit so fucking good.’
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]kevinm1 wrote:
[quote]csulli wrote:
Slight spoiler, but omfg sickest monster K.O. EVER. If you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about.[/quote]
True however it also creates a huge plot hole since what does the MOTU use for sustenance? [/quote]
You might like to eat steak, but what would happen if someone shoved 100 lbs of it down your throat?
Also, if you’re looking for plot holes in a movie about 300’ tall monsters, I think you walked in the wrong theater.[/quote]
That was an atomic breath level response my friend.
Why are people so butthurt that there wasn’t 2 hours of purely Godzilla? Jaws only had brief glimpses of the shark, it builds suspense and makes the payoffs that much more exhilarating!
[quote]kevinm1 wrote:
[quote]csulli wrote:
Slight spoiler, but omfg sickest monster K.O. EVER. If you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about.[/quote]
True however it also creates a huge plot hole since what does the MOTU use for sustenance? [/quote]
Spoiler obviously-
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Someone else put it rather interestingly on another forum-
You may enjoy eating a hamburger. Now imagine hamburgers being thrown at you at 1,200 mph.
But more pertinently, Godzilla’s breath has traditionally been described as radioactive FIRE. Not just radiation. So basically it’s some sort of fire-attack that he creates, and so the MUTO would be getting smashed by fire, not radiation.
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Why are people so butthurt that there wasn’t 2 hours of purely Godzilla? Jaws only had brief glimpses of the shark, it builds suspense and makes the payoffs that much more exhilarating!
[/quote]
I think it’s because the human element “sucked”, while in Jaws you had very good human characters to string it all along. Plus the film hypes the shark up expertly. The shark is always the central focus. In Godzilla the MUTOs are the central focus.
I don’t think Jaws could have been anywhere as good if it didn’t have characters like Quint in it. He and his story essentially makes the last act of the film work. Its seemingly unnatural characteristics and Quint’s story essentially transforms the shark from being just a man-eating animal to a figurative demon of sorts.
We don’t get something like that in Godzilla. It’s as if Edwards expects everyone to know Godzilla for who he is and so doesn’t spend time building up hype for him. Instead he just creates a back-story and lets the screen do the talking. It works in certain scenes like the fight at the end, but in general Godzilla just comes off as really passive.
THIS WILL HAVE SPOILERS
[quote]magick wrote:
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Why are people so butthurt that there wasn’t 2 hours of purely Godzilla? Jaws only had brief glimpses of the shark, it builds suspense and makes the payoffs that much more exhilarating!
[/quote]
I think it’s because the human element “sucked”, while in Jaws you had very good human characters to string it all along.
I don’t think Jaws could have been anywhere as good if it didn’t have characters like Quint in it. He and his story essentially makes the last act of the film work. Its seemingly unnatural characteristics and Quint’s story essentially transforms the shark from being just a man-eating animal to a figurative demon of sorts.
We don’t get something like that in Godzilla. It’s as if Edwards expects everyone to know Godzilla for who he is and so doesn’t spend time building up hype for him. Instead he just creates a back-story and lets the screen do the talking. It works in certain scenes like the fight at the end, but in generally Godzilla just comes off as really passive.[/quote]
I would argue that we do get that with the Cranston character and the entire first act. We see the trauma he has gone through, his drive to find the real answers. Killing him off was entirely stupid though, he has no arc then. None of the characters have arcs, so I do agree with human element leaving something to be desired but it did not detract from the movie, nor did it exemplify it into classic territory like Jaws. Your example with Quint and Jaws is perfect, it connects the human element and the final monster battle perfectly in that movie. That’s why I was truly pissed that Cranston - who was most definitely the protagonist in the first acts - was offed pointlessly when he should have been throughout the movie to really connect us to what is happening.
I truly loved how passive Godzilla was. He’s just this massive force of nature that no one has any control over. Just washes in like a wave and smashes the utter fuck out of monsters, people, and buildings then leaves again. He is nature. One of my favourite shots in the entire movie was when the U.S. navy actually has a number of escort ships around him lol, thinking they are arrogant enough to be able to steer or direct the beast.
Overall I do agree with your points, and that’s why I don’t think it’s a great movie. However, for me it was good.
Woops you edited your post.
No matter, I agree with the central focus point entirely. That’s why the first acts and drive feel so disconnected from the final act for sure.
MORE SPOILERS AHEAD.
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
I would argue that we do get that with the Cranston character and the entire first act. We see the trauma he has gone through, his drive to find the real answers. Killing him off was entirely stupid though, he has no arc then. None of the characters have arcs, so I do agree with human element leaving something to be desired but it did not detract from the movie,[/quote]
You’re right. Walter White was fucking terrific in the film. I think that’s why the human element felt so off. The first 20-30 (or however long Walter White is in the film) felt like a grand human drama. I genuinely felt sadness while seeing Walter White sealing his wife in, and his speech to Ford about why he MUST go into the quarantine zone just screams “incredible actor doing incredible things right now on the screen”.
… But then he dies. Out of the fucking blue. And Ford becomes the main character and he’s the complete opposite. No emotion whatsoever (though I’ve actually come to the conclusion that may be intentional by the film writers, in which case it’s brilliant but perhaps a bit too subtle). The complete 180 in the human emotions and the characters themselves just cause the movie to shift in a manner that left me feeling no atmosphere and out of the zone every time Ford is the focus of the film.
So, in a sense, Walter White detracted from the entire feel of the film. He was simply so awesome that no one character in the rest of the film could match him.
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
I truly loved how passive Godzilla was. He’s just this massive force of nature that no one has any control over. Just washes in like a wave and smashes the utter fuck out of monsters, people, and buildings then leaves again. He is nature. One of my favourite shots in the entire movie was when the U.S. navy actually has a number of escort ships around him lol, thinking they are arrogant enough to be able to steer or direct the beast.
[/quote]
Ya. You’re actually right about this. I was grinning like a child when Godzilla got hit by those missiles from the warships and those tanks shooting at him and he simply DOESN’T CARE. They’re so beneath him that they’re not even worth a response, and right then and there you realize just how powerful Godzilla is.
I was initially put off by how little Godzilla cared about the humans. But you’ve changed my mind. The very fact that he doesn’t care about the humans shows just how insignificant we are to him. He does what he wants, and in this particular film that is squash the MUTOs. If there is a future film about him squashing humans, then it is indisputable nothing we have can stop him.
Spoooooilers
[quote]magick wrote:
You’re right. Walter White was fucking terrific in the film. I think that’s why the human element felt so off. The first 20-30 (or however long Walter White is in the film) felt like a grand human drama. I genuinely felt sadness while seeing Walter White sealing his wife in, and his speech to Ford about why he MUST go into the quarantine zone just screams “incredible actor doing incredible things right now on the screen”.
… But then he dies. Out of the fucking blue. And Ford becomes the main character and he’s the complete opposite. No emotion whatsoever (though I’ve actually come to the conclusion that may be intentional by the film writers, in which case it’s brilliant but perhaps a bit too subtle). The complete 180 in the human emotions and the characters themselves just cause the movie to shift in a manner that left me feeling no atmosphere and out of the zone every time Ford is the focus of the film.
So, in a sense, Walter White detracted from the entire feel of the film. He was simply so awesome that no one character in the rest of the film could match him.
Ya. You’re actually right about this. I was grinning like a child when Godzilla got hit by those missiles from the warships and those tanks shooting at him and he simply DOESN’T CARE. They’re so beneath him that they’re not even worth a response, and right then and there you realize just how powerful Godzilla is.
I was initially put off by how little Godzilla cared about the humans. But you’ve changed my mind. The very fact that he doesn’t care about the humans shows just how insignificant we are to him. He does what he wants, and in this particular film that is squash the MUTOs. If there is a future film about him squashing humans, then it is indisputable nothing we have can stop him.[/quote]
See when Cranston was thrown from that bridge I got that gut wrenching feeling that the movie was ruined haha. It most definitely feels like a movie of two halves. The first half was this incredible build up with some actual real emotional depth. Then, as soon as it hits Hawaii it becomes the geek fest. I truly loved both bits though.
Its a true shame they could not put those two together at the same time.
loved Godzilla but too much human and not enough monster for my taste. the Easter eggs throughout the movie were cool though.
hope that they do a sequel and give the big guy at least 50% face time.
how can you not love a movie character that as soon as you hear the roar you know who it is?
I agree that the guy who was named Ford I believe wasn’t that great as kind of the main character guy. Cranston was great, but this guy really didn’t show much emotion through the movie.
[quote]kevinm1 wrote:
[quote]csulli wrote:
Slight spoiler, but omfg sickest monster K.O. EVER. If you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about.[/quote]
True however it also creates a huge plot hole since what does the MOTU use for sustenance? [/quote]
Lol no. I’m not sure about everyone else’s weird food analogies, but it seemed pretty easy to understand to me. I don’t know exactly what the explanation behind his breath attack is, but you can’t fucking see radiation dude. So obviously there was something besides just radiation coming out of there, otherwise there would have been zero physical effect… I’m sure it was something radioactive, but it was also evidently very, very, very hot and the other monster couldn’t take it.
If you want me to use an analogy like everyone else let’s use one closer to the source material lol. These things feed off radiation. There’s a big difference between that and having a bunch of molten uranium poured down your throat.
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Spoooooilers
[quote]magick wrote:
You’re right. Walter White was fucking terrific in the film. I think that’s why the human element felt so off. The first 20-30 (or however long Walter White is in the film) felt like a grand human drama. I genuinely felt sadness while seeing Walter White sealing his wife in, and his speech to Ford about why he MUST go into the quarantine zone just screams “incredible actor doing incredible things right now on the screen”.
… But then he dies. Out of the fucking blue. And Ford becomes the main character and he’s the complete opposite. No emotion whatsoever (though I’ve actually come to the conclusion that may be intentional by the film writers, in which case it’s brilliant but perhaps a bit too subtle). The complete 180 in the human emotions and the characters themselves just cause the movie to shift in a manner that left me feeling no atmosphere and out of the zone every time Ford is the focus of the film.
So, in a sense, Walter White detracted from the entire feel of the film. He was simply so awesome that no one character in the rest of the film could match him.
Ya. You’re actually right about this. I was grinning like a child when Godzilla got hit by those missiles from the warships and those tanks shooting at him and he simply DOESN’T CARE. They’re so beneath him that they’re not even worth a response, and right then and there you realize just how powerful Godzilla is.
I was initially put off by how little Godzilla cared about the humans. But you’ve changed my mind. The very fact that he doesn’t care about the humans shows just how insignificant we are to him. He does what he wants, and in this particular film that is squash the MUTOs. If there is a future film about him squashing humans, then it is indisputable nothing we have can stop him.[/quote]
See when Cranston was thrown from that bridge I got that gut wrenching feeling that the movie was ruined haha. It most definitely feels like a movie of two halves. The first half was this incredible build up with some actual real emotional depth. Then, as soon as it hits Hawaii it becomes the geek fest. I truly loved both bits though.
Its a true shame they could not put those two together at the same time. [/quote]
Agree with both posts. I was totally immersed in the movie during the 1st act because of they did so much to build up Mr White’s character and building so much tension before the unveiling the first MUTO.
I understand their intention was to depict the monsters as forces of nature. But such an approach would need a focus on human drama, and that only works when you care for the fate of the characters. After Mr White fucking got shot and Jesse drove off into the night crying like a little girl… oops i mean fell off the bridge, the “human drama” was reduced to a bunch of stock characters i really didn’t give a shit about. The middle of the movie was like one long boring filler before the final smackdown, which was awesome in itself.
I would have liked it much more if they had prolonged the first 1st 1/3 of they movie with more character developement and went all out MONSTER BRAWL once godzilla emerged, with characters i cared about put in actual precarious situations, not just running around avoiding being crushed by debris.
Forgot to mention that when Godzilla actually appeared for the first time a large portion of the theatre stood up and clapped, then gave another standing ovation at the end of the movie. I’ll definitely see it again in the theatre. Has anyone seen it in Imax?
[quote]magick wrote:
-The main lead (Ford) is boring. You feel no sense of urgency or atmosphere from him at all, and it detracts from the film whenever he’s the focus on the screen.
But, then, I got to thinking, what if it’s deliberate? I don’t want to post spoilers so early so I’ll wait a couple of days before I post my thought on how his character may be deliberately written that way.[/quote]
Mind posting why? I’m pretty sure the actor can act much better than that but the character was so boring that I thought it must’ve been deliberate as well, I just don’t know why.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Forgot to mention that when Godzilla actually appeared for the first time a large portion of the theatre stood up and clapped, then gave another standing ovation at the end of the movie. I’ll definitely see it again in the theatre. Has anyone seen it in Imax? [/quote]
Ya, I saw it in IMAX 3d.
Was good, definitely better than Man of Steel or Star Trek: Into Darkness in the same format. Normally the 3d glasses dim the picture for me but this time it was still bright and vibrant.
Sound was most definitely the best part. That extended roar of Godzilla when he confronts the female MUTO in SF was incredible.
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Forgot to mention that when Godzilla actually appeared for the first time a large portion of the theatre stood up and clapped, then gave another standing ovation at the end of the movie. I’ll definitely see it again in the theatre. Has anyone seen it in Imax? [/quote]
Ya, I saw it in IMAX 3d.
Was good, definitely better than Man of Steel or Star Trek: Into Darkness in the same format. Normally the 3d glasses dim the picture for me but this time it was still bright and vibrant.
Sound was most definitely the best part. That extended roar of Godzilla when he confronts the female MUTO in SF was incredible.[/quote]
Might have to IMAX it then. Speaking of MOS, did anyone else think the amount of destruction and property damage Supes and Zod created was significantly more than three giant monsters did?
[quote]Mizery wrote:
Mind posting why? I’m pretty sure the actor can act much better than that but the character was so boring that I thought it must’ve been deliberate as well, I just don’t know why.[/quote]
Sure. At this point we’re throwing spoilers all over the place so I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore =P It’s something I wrote on another forum so I’ll just copy/paste it here.
SPOILERS-
So, I ruminated a bit on the film while taking a shower and thought of something- What if Ford acted emotionally dead in the film because he was mentally scarred by his mother’s death and his father (assuming here) essentially abandoning him in pursuit of the truth?
There are a number of hints that something is wrong with Ford in the film.
1)When he first arrives back at S.F., his commander asks him whether he has family in the area. Ford doesn’t say “Yes” to that, he says “I hope so” (or something to that effect, I forget exactly). Now why would he say that instead of “yes”? We see in the very next scene that he has a happy family. Maybe he has severe abandonment issues and constantly thinks that his family may disappear suddenly?
Maybe he thinks that everyone will abandon him at some point for one reason or another. That’s why he doesn’t show any camaraderie with the soldiers he works with and doesn’t care at all that they die.
-
When Ford and his wife talk about Walter White and all his issues, there was the unspoken implication that there is something emotionally scarring Ford as well. But it’s apparently something that Elle knows not to bring up, and so all we get is an awkward silence and then Ford apologizes.
-
Walter White tells Ford that you cannot run away from the past and must face reality when he decides to go back into the quarantine zone. This again implies that Ford is scarred and has some sort of issues from his mother’s death.
-
We are shown at the start of the film that Walter White is incredibly driven by what he does, to the point that he loses focus on everything else. The man forgot his own birthday for Christ’s sake! His decision led to his wife’s death, and he is clearly tortured by it. What if he never actually took care of his son and instead just spent all his time being conspiracy guy? We are told that he moved back into Japan 6 years before the events of the film, but what has he been doing before that? We don’t know.
-
But we do get a hint about the relationship between Walter White and Ford by looking at the relationship between Ford and his own son. It seems clear that this is the only relationship that he genuinely cares about. He is shown joking and playing with his son and just being a normal person. Yet to everyone else he comes off as a cold, affection-less machine. What if he resents his father for never giving him attention and the love he craved, and so is trying to make sure that his son never experiences that?
-
He helps a random Japanese kid who gets separated from his parents. Separated presumably because he showed interest in Ford’s toy soldier and stumbled into the tram.
Couple of things here. Initially I thought that this scene was just a trash scene, but what if it’s meant to reveal more about Ford’s character?
He took the toy soldier from his ruined house and kept it with him all through the MUTO’s emergence and rampage. So clearly it’s special to him. Maybe it reminded him of happier days and his mother and such. So he wanted to keep it to remember those days?
As for the kid- This is also one of the few times we see Ford showing actual emotions and caring for someone. It happens to be a kid. Maybe the kid reminds him of himself being abandoned by his parents? Maybe it reminds him of his son? I dunno. Again though, I just think it’s notable that he showed emotion here while showing it virtually no else else except with his own son.
I dunno. I just find his character’s behavior so odd that I think it has to be deliberate. Now that I think back, I know Aaron Taylor-Johnson is capable of emotion and *****. He was funny in Kick-Ass. So perhaps the writers deliberately wrote Ford to act in that manner and left subtle hints for us to pick up on.
If so, then it’s brilliant. If not, then I dunno what’s up.
[quote]csulli wrote:
Slight spoiler, but omfg sickest monster K.O. EVER. If you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about.[/quote]
You just revitalized my interest in seeing the film lol. Btw I bet you could take 10 Godzillas disguised as wild dogs.
[quote]csulli wrote:
[quote]kevinm1 wrote:
[quote]csulli wrote:
Slight spoiler, but omfg sickest monster K.O. EVER. If you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about.[/quote]
True however it also creates a huge plot hole since what does the MOTU use for sustenance? [/quote]
Lol no. I’m not sure about everyone else’s weird food analogies, but it seemed pretty easy to understand to me. I don’t know exactly what the explanation behind his breath attack is, but you can’t fucking see radiation dude. So obviously there was something besides just radiation coming out of there, otherwise there would have been zero physical effect… I’m sure it was something radioactive, but it was also evidently very, very, very hot and the other monster couldn’t take it.
If you want me to use an analogy like everyone else let’s use one closer to the source material lol. These things feed off radiation. There’s a big difference between that and having a bunch of molten uranium poured down your throat.[/quote]
said they needed radiation but never said if they needed the actual contaminates or just the rays and sub-atomic particles. I would lean toward the rays and particles.
MOTU’s could be feeding by osmosis on alpha or beta radiation as primary food source and gamma as secondary or vice versa. since all traces of radiation at the site had disappeared it meant that they were changing the half-life of the isotopes. if not, with all the radioactive material they ingested, they would have been a walking Chernobyl and SF would be a dead zone.
Godzilla could be using extreme levels of Gamma radiation or all three as his “breath”. it could even be neutron radiation or something similar to cosmic radiation. he is, after all, the ultimate Apex predator.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the movie I am hopeful that now you’re NOT expecting to see much monster fighting because you’d then be surprised.
I mean I heard that from initial reviews then saw the movie and anyone who thinks it needed more fighting might find goddamned Transformers 4 more up their alley.
I mean it’s like the original Star Wars compared to the prequels…not as much stuff blowing up with the pew pew pews but if you’re calling Star Wars boring then you’d best watch Japanese cartoons.
I also like that this new Godzilla movie doesn’t have a lot of frenetic editing and not a lot of close-ups. There are times that the camera is rather far from the action so that you can suck in all the scale and destruction. I love that.