Escape to the Movies: Godzilla - Breaking Kaiju

[Almack]

I cant say I'm surprised with bob's review. He is clearly a lover of the campier 60s-70s godzilla movies and is probably still burnt out on the more serious types of movies that were once campy i.e the dark knight trilogy (though godzilla started out serious then got campy and is now returning to serious). idk i just seems like bob really just wanted pacific rim with godzilla instead of gypsy danger. And speaking of pacific rim bob as much as you may or may not want to admit it that film suffered from similar issues but you didn't seem to care at the time so what changed? I would actually contest that yes the slow build works better than in pacific rim since after the hong kong battle the battle at the breach just didnt seem that great compared to it.

 

[thejboy88]

Bob seemed to dislike this movie far more than I thought he would. Though I will agree that the stuff when Godzilla shows up is indeed the highlight of the film.

 

[Mr. Q]

I saw the movie last night and, after some heavy contemplation, I would say this was OK but could have been a lot better. I will agree that this movie spent waaaaaay too much time with the humans and very little on Godzilla and the M.U.T.O.'s. Bryan Cranston's role in the film was definitely too short. I wish we had gotten to know more about Ken Watanabe's character and his history with Godzilla. It's safe to say that the wrong movie was made; instead of focusing mostly on Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen, the filmmaker should have stayed with Cranston and Watanabe while offering more giant monster battles. But this is what you get when your director's skill level is between mediocre and piss-poor. -_-

I'm not gonna fault Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen for their weak performances. I'd say the blame has to be shouldered on director Gareth Edwards and the lackluster script. If your director and script are that woefully inept, then your actor's performance is gonna suffer because of it. Hopefully, we'll see a better performance from both of them in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Overall, I'm not gonna rush out to see this movie again. As for those who want to, I suggest you wait until DVD/Blu-ray or cable. That way, you can fast-forward to the good stuff and skip the boring crap.

Or, you can wait until someone on YouTube posts the best parts. ^^;

 

[Epic_Bubble]

Unless there is some guy that screams " Run is Godzilla!" then this movie be a let down in almost every single aspect. But what do you expect Hollywood is kinda ruining every single nostalgia piece simple by making it too well to American.

 

[Keji Goto]

I almost want to spoil the film for myself if the vast majority of it is so awful.

There really isn't anything to spoil and no serious twists or anything like that.

Is it that predictable of a Man hunts Wife during the Apocalypse?
I might wait until it gets released on DvD and someone inevitably releases the Fan-Edited version which cuts out all 100% human scenes.

To me, in a Monster film, the core ideal should be Monster(s) being monsters. Any human characters exist in the film to be tormented and to show how hellish the environment is. Them having character is a bonus.

I suppose we do have The Host for a Monster Movie with 3D characters.

It's not that predictable but towards the end it gets a little ridiculous how Ford somehow keeps getting involved with every military operation involving Godzilla and the M.U.T.O.s despite not even being with the branch he's enlisted with. He wants to get back to his family but he wants to help out even more and it just so happens that everything going down is right where his family is. Two birds one one stone kind of situation.

This movie is about the human characters first, then the M.U.T.O.s, and finally Godzilla last as he is the only one who can truly stop the M.U.T.O.s apparently.

I didn't feel like Aaron Tyler Johnson's acting was that bad in it, just that the script never gave him much to work with and kept dragging him along because he's the main character for some reason. Ford just isn't an interesting character and obvious motivations to do what he does. Cranston on the other hand got a lot to work with in breathing life into his character and working into his strengths as an actor. Everyone else is basically there to explain what is happening (The military is doing this, Godzilla is gonna that, the M.U.T.O. are currently there, you get the idea) while what you want to see happening keeps getting cut away in favor of something far less interesting and in some cases incredibly pointless to the over all movie.

 

[harryhenry]

I cant say I'm surprised with bob's review. He is clearly a lover of the campier 60s-70s godzilla movies and is probably still burnt out on the more serious types of movies that were once campy i.e the dark knight trilogy (though godzilla started out serious then got campy and is now returning to serious). idk i just seems like bob really just wanted pacific rim with godzilla instead of gypsy danger. And speaking of pacific rim bob as much as you may or may not want to admit it that film suffered from similar issues but you didn't seem to care at the time so what changed? I would actually contest that yes the slow build works better than in pacific rim since after the hong kong battle the battle at the breach just didnt seem that great compared to it.

I don't think he was complaning about it being dark. He was complaning more about the boring human characters rather thean the film being dark and gritty.

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

Am I the only one hoping for a Kingdom of Heaven-style director's cut of this?

 

[walsfeo]

I think you're fair in this review, especially since you make the comparison to Jaws so we understand where you're coming from.

Also, I'm hearing a lot about this old-guard critics vs. geek critics a lot from you lately. Has this become an actual problem?

Yeah! The context about why something done poorly in this movie vs. where and why it was done right in another movie is what makes a well crafted professional review so much better than me saying "It was slow and sucked". Good on ya Bob.

Bob, what did you think of the plumper Godzilla? Even in the bits I've seen he looks good sometimes and kinda goofy others.

 

[Bombiz]

I kinda wanna see just to see Godzilla, as I've never been to a cinema to actually see a Godzilla film. This is going to be a painful fence sitting affair until I come up with a decision.

I was going to take my daughter to this to have bonding "See, honey? This is a monster movie dad grew up with" moment. Overdrawn build up with no satisfying payoff? Pass.

I'd say it had a very satisfying pay off.

Now THAT... that's what I was worried about when it came to this movie. I don't mind that the film puts a focus on its human characters and their perspective, or that Godzilla isn't in the film that long, because that's pretty standard for a 'Godzilla' film. The problem seems to be that the stuff we're supposed to pay attention to and get invested in in the interim just isn't interesting period.

this is pretty much my main problem with them movie. it focuses way too much on bland human characters and kills off all of the good ones. like bob said the Japaneses scientist should have been the main human character of the movie with the solider being a side character.

 

[longjones]

What? Do you think Batman should be like, some kinda..."ninja" or something, with a smaller, more mobile and lightweight costume that allows for speed, flexibility, maneuverability and cunning, as opposed to "I'm here to beat down everyone in the room" body armor? Pssh! Where ever would you get an idea like that.

No. But I don't think that armor should depict a naked man.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Say it ain't so, Bob. Say it ain't so...

Why do movies feel they need to focus on the humans in these types of movies? It's the same thing that killed the Transformers movies. That is not what people go to these types of movies for. Humans should be the supporting B role in the stories, not front and center. Sigh...

Still going to go see this at least once, but I fear my expectations have been extremely lowered.

 

[tdylan]

I cant say I'm surprised with bob's review. He is clearly a lover of the campier 60s-70s godzilla movies and is probably still burnt out on the more serious types of movies that were once campy i.e the dark knight trilogy (though godzilla started out serious then got campy and is now returning to serious). And yes I too get tired of old guard film critics neigh saying all the time when it comes to the current state of hollywood blockbusters. idk i just seems like bob really just wanted pacific rim with godzilla instead of gypsy danger. And speaking of pacific rim bob as much as you may or may not want to admit it thoughs werent the strongest of human leads either but i remember you giving it a glowing review making it your number 1 movie of the year. Though i can agree that yes the script handles the humans a little clunkly Elizabeth Olsen isnt really given much to do nor Serizawa for that matter.

I think Pacific Rim knew what it was/wanted to be and it embraced it. How do you have a movie called "Godzilla," that barely features Godzilla? To Bob's credit, as he said, that worked for Jaws, but the reason it worked was because we didn't keep cutting to the police chief trying to get back to his wife and child while other people on the boats were hunting Jaws. Also, the only reason we got the Jaws movie that we did was because they couldn't make the shark swim correctly, or something to that effect, so they had no choice but to use it/show it less. Godzilla doesn't have that excuse. Based on the review, how little Godzilla is apparently in it, and how little he is seen, why even call it "Godzilla?" Why not call it "Kaiju Rising," or some other such nonsense, and make us say "man! Could you imagine if they made a Godzill movie with those effects?"

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

My impression was always that the Navy was sailing in formation with Godzilla, not the other way around. Perhaps more specifically, they were following him since he happened to be going in the same direction as them anyway. That said though, I do agree over-all. I'm not quite as "movie critic" as Bob, so my review would be a lot more lenient, but I will note that basically in any scene where he joined-up with the military, there were several cases where I completely forgot which guy was the main hero because all of the army dudes looked and sounded so generically similar. I even forgot his name once or twice, and probably would have forgotten it completely if it wasn't for a couple of scenes that seemed to intent on drilling his name into my skull that it's like they realized that he's so generic and characterless that people might have forgotten.

Also, am I the only one who noticed how the movie pulled a psych on everyone watching it? The entire first portion of the movie takes place in Japan, to the point where a character in the States gets called over TO Japan, so you think "Holy crap, is this a major Hollywood movie that takes place on Earth and actually isn't centered around the US?" And then the movie yells, "PSYCH! Had ya going there, right? No, we're totally contriving a reason to move this thing to American shores." Don't get me wrong, it's not like it was a total surprise. They wouldn't have cast a family for him if they weren't going to be somehow relevant to the plot later on, but like Bob said, they were so bland and uninteresting that I honestly kinda forgot about them while Blandface and Malcom's dad were exploring the quarantine zone in Japan.

 

[MatParker116]

Would this movie have worked better if Ken Watanabe is to Godzilla what the fairies were to Mothra?

 

[Trishbot]

What? Do you think Batman should be like, some kinda..."ninja" or something, with a smaller, more mobile and lightweight costume that allows for speed, flexibility, maneuverability and cunning, as opposed to "I'm here to beat down everyone in the room" body armor? Pssh! Where ever would you get an idea like that.

No. But I don't think that armor should depict a naked man.

That's because it's not really armor.

That's all Affleck under there. Sort of like how more agile characters like Spider-man and Captain America don't run around in 100 lbs of kevlar.

OT: Who would imagine that the best part of a Godzilla film is Godzilla, and that when Godzilla isn't around we're all waiting for Godzilla to show back up again.

I'll give it this: no way can it be worse than the LAST Hollywood Godzilla film.

 

[xaszatm]

I think you're fair in this review, especially since you make the comparison to Jaws so we understand where you're coming from.

Also, I'm hearing a lot about this old-guard critics vs. geek critics a lot from you lately. Has this become an actual problem?

If you disagree with Bob you are racist, sexist, homophobic, ignorant, bible bashing non thinker. So yeah Bob's lashing out at those who get paid far, far more than him in his profession that think he's full of shit that is everyone that is not him.

Uh, have anything intelligent to discuss in these topics? Or are you just here to bash and hate with no rhyme or reason? At least tell us why you disagree.

OT: Yeah, this film was largely disappointing. If it wasn't for that last fight, I'd say not go...but that last fight is really, really awesome. Still, if you don't care for the big screen, see it on DVD or wait for a matinee showing.

 

[themilo504]

I think a lot of people predicted this was going to happen, Is it at least better than the 1998 Godzilla movie?

 

[HBaskerville]

Also, I'm hearing a lot about this old-guard critics vs. geek critics a lot from you lately. Has this become an actual problem?

No. This is a phoney thing that some of the self proclaimed "geek critics" have been trotting out lately. Seems like maybe they are feeling a need to justify their opinions/nostaligia for some of the drek out there.

Not sure why they are feeling the need to defend themselves since I can't think of any critics that carry any weight on what people will actually go and see since the old days of Siskel and Ebert. Back then a review could effect viewership, but who out there really bases their decisions on what an blogger has to say? That time has passed.