Which Godzilla do you prefer? Protector or destroyer?

[Werewolf]

Just to get it out of the way, yes, I know Godzilla started out as a serious movie and an allegory for nuclear destruction.

I still prefer the mid 60s and early 70s Godzilla movies where he was the good guy or at least the protector of the Earth. I just think they are more fun. The modern Godzilla movies have had fantastic suits and effects but I still miss Godzilla being the good guy. The 98 American Godzilla movie was terrible but I liked the animated series that followed it. Other than keeping the 98 design, it was a lot like the "kiddie" Godzilla movies where big G protected the earth from alien invasion and other giant monsters. The Hanna Barbara Godzilla toon, has maybe not aged all that well, but I really liked it as a kid and that Godzilla was also clearly the good guy. I still have my original Godzilla plush toy from the cartoon.

[Mikey]

My favorite Godzilla movie is King Kong vs Godzilla so I pick Ziller as a bad guy.

That movie is also my favorite Godzilla suit

[torgospizza]

Godzilla as destroyer, but Gamera as a friend to all children.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

Godzilla as protector, for sure! My favorite movie is Godzilla versus Megalon. Loved that movie

[Timothy2251]

I always pegged Godzilla as a protector for Japan, only because Japan was HIS to destroy and not any upstart's like Megalon or Ghidrah. Sort of how you'd protect your mouthy kid brother from getting beat up, but it was OK for you, and ONLY you, to clock him one if he got out of line.

[Werewolf]

That movie is also my favorite Godzilla suit

That is a great looking suit.

[Confessional]

I always thought destroying humanity was pretty much solid Gojira hero-material.

Whoops!, there goes Tokyo and my cynicism. :P

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Destroyer. Squash them humans! Woooo!

60 year old spoiler alert: I saw the original when I was 2 or so. I can remember crying for a week 'cos they killed him in the end.

Don C.

[DaBillmann]

I prefer the Godzilla who was up from the depths and thrity stories high, breathing fire, his head in the sky.

[DaBillmann]

Hmmmm....

Destroyer. Squash them humans! Woooo!



Don C.

Yeah! Stupid humans!

[enyawd72]

Just to get it out of the way, yes, I know Godzilla started out as a serious movie and an allegory for nuclear destruction.

I wrote a paper about this in high school...we were studying WWII and it occurred to me that Godzilla owed his existence to Adolf Hitler. No Hitler, no WWII, no atomic bomb at Hiroshima, no Godzilla. What's even crazier when you think about it is all the Godzilla fans, and how much enjoyment he has brought to millions of people all over the world, not to mention his positive financial impact on Japan.

[MIB41]

For the sake of selling him in a major motion picture, I hope the treatment hits closer to the original film. To me he should be something feared. Not a bubbly, fat Lizard that comes bouncing into town like the local sheriff. It needs to be serious. If they even hint at the old 60's camp of the series, this film is DOA. And he has to be more than just a glorious CGI effect. So the story will have to be especially strong to give him distinction in an age of giant robots and creatures already populating Hollywood. So substance over style is definitely needed here.

[Random Axe]

I always prefer an intelligent Godzilla. A destroyer doesn't need to be smart, just big. I like a Godzilla with a purpose not just a bunch of random buildings and bridges getting knocked down. If they portray him/her (I have no idea Zilla's gender) as cunning, I think it's going to be a pretty good film. I like giant monster movies and thought Cloverfield was awesome, so take that for what it's worth.

[ctc]

>Not a bubbly, fat Lizard that comes bouncing into town like the local sheriff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGNhLZuD6a8

>If they even hint at the old 60's camp of the series, this film is DOA.

I dunno.... I think they COULD do a 60's style one, but they'd have to be willing to go all the way with the weird. I think for a big budget film they'd get all self-conscious and half-*** it. THAT'S where the problem comes from. "Okay, it's a giant atomic lizard, but we want to make it BELIEVABLE.... so he's a hermaphrodite, and there are baby velociraptors, and he hides ninjalike between the buildings...." If you're gonna do something over the top then by all means BE over the top!

>I like a Godzilla with a purpose not just a bunch of random buildings and bridges getting knocked down.

That's an interesting point. I find a lot of newer monster movies.... indeed, all films of the nerdly arts.... have this HORRIBLE habit of wanting to add depth and detail to their stories, and all they end up doing is padding the film with really pointless stuff. (WHY is there a car chase in King Kong?) You get a lot of what I call "indulgence." Stuff like detailed, sweeping character arcs that are pretty blah, don't add anything to our knowledge or percetion of the character, waste a LOT of time (The new Kong was FIVE DAYS LONG!) and dilute the actual point. (Show me a monster smashing something, fer Horque's Sake!)

The old stuff catches a lot of flak these days for being simplistic, but a lot of them really weren't. They told a good solid story in a short priod of time that didn't have too many distraction, extraneous bits, or stuff that led to inevitable plot holes or lost threads. If yopu look at a lot of the original Godzilla films they had a story that could be summed up in two or three lines. Nothing wrong with that. We don't need to know Dr Generic's life history 'cos it has little to do with what we want to see; how Giodzilla squishes them durned aliens. Even the ORIGINAL, complicated love plot and all can still be summated in a few lines. And it doesn't take away from the plot, the action or the sadness at the end. (Especially if you're like me and root for the monsters.)

Don C.