Godzilla Spoilerish Review

[madmarva]

I liked the movie. Great special effects. But it follows such a direct outline of the old Godzilla films that it doesn't offer much new other than the upgraded special effects. But that's kinda what there is to expect from a remake.

I've not seen Host, but I liked Cloverfield and Pacific Rim better, but I'm not a huge Godzilla fan to begin with.

[4NDR01D]

How does it compare to other recent monster movies such as the Host, Cloverfield, Pacific Rim?

[Godzilla]

I enjoyed it well enough. I was with it until Cranston died and then the human story seemed very plodding to me. The MUTOs were great, but Godzilla was barely a guest star in his own movie.

Luckily there was nothing embarrassing about it. It's a decent film, but as a fan I was hoping for more.

[Bruce Banner]

Big G's doing well, and the sequel has been confirmed.

From Deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: After opening to $103M internationally — the biggest opening of 2014 so far — and grossing $93M domestic stateside this weekend, it should come as no surprise that Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.‘ are already developing a sequel to the monster hit. It was confirmed to Deadline this morning that a Godzilla sequel is underway. The beast is currently stomping across international markets to take No. 1 spots in most territories.

Related: BOX OFFICE: ‘Godzilla’ Monster Hit at $93M+

The picture was directed by Gareth Edwards, a young British director who grew up on Star Wars and Steven Spielberg films. Godzilla has been made into features before over its 60-year history. The first being in 1954 when the Toho character appeared to be nothing more than a man in a rubber suit, but still fascinated both Japanese and American audiences. It was also made into a film in 1998 by Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich but had no where near the opening of this current one. In 1998, the film which starred Matthew Broderick, opened to $44M and went onto gross $136.3M. Worldwide, it grossed $379M. This one could double that.

Edwards has talked about what he would do with a sequel, saying he would use the same kind of restraint that he did for this one. He learned well from watching Spielberg films as the monster was only talked about for the first part of this film. And, of course, there were those reaction shots that added to the suspense. Edwards was given the chance by Legendary’s Thomas Tull who put faith in him to pull this off, having previously done Monsters which only grossed $2.6M in total. Tull has played coy in the media on the subject of a sequel, waiting for Godzilla‘s monster opening to confirm sequel plans. As Dan Fellman (WBros. head of domestic distribution) pointed out, they made more in one night (probably one late night run at 7 PM) than Edwards’ movie did in its entire run. Legendary’s Jon Jashni developed this along with Brian Rogers and Mary Parent. Max Borenstein scripted from a story by David Callaham. Alex Garcia at Legendary was instrumental in the development of this film working, closely with both the director and writer.

It should be noted that there is an ongoing legal dispute over payments/credit on Godzilla winding its way through the courts with filmmakers Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Doug Davison who brought the property to Legendary.

The marketing on this film was excellent, with Legendary Pictures in-house team of Emily Castel, Barnaby Legg, Matthew Marolda and Peter Stone working closely with Warner Bros. and those folks who cut the trailer and did the key art and outdoor, namely vendors Trailer Park and Ignition. The promotional spots — really thought the Fiat one was great — were overseen by Gene Garlock who worked with all the Legendary team as well. Kudos all around.

Godzilla surprised everyone right out of the gate in late nights Thursday with a $9.3M haul and continued to rake in the bucks through the weekend. It is the highest IMAX opener so far this year with $14.1M (or 15%) of the domestic gross and IMAX screens brought in 51% of the international gross.

So everyone wants to know: Will Mothra be in the sequel?

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

[Goblin19]

Liked it just enough. The human story is a bit weak, but they stayed true to the Godzilla story without being cheesy.

[superherocrazy]

I took my 11 year daughter with me and we both loved the film. It reminded me of the old Godzilla I grew up with. I know some may think it was slow paced and needed more Godzilla shots but if you were entertained then it was money well spent. I never take stock in what other people say about a film or I would never go to the movies. Everyone has an opinion, right or wrong, and you have to decide for yourself. So go see the film and see what you think. I know me and my daughter are looking forward to the sequel.

[Brown Bear]

Saw the movie tonight, loved it.

[kingdom warrior]

Megalon had Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy!!

LOL!!!

[thunderbolt]

Megalon had Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy!!

[kingdom warrior]

I dug it, went in there with no expectations and enjoyed it. I don't look for flaws in the movie. Human driven story is part of the Kaiju story telling.
The Monsters were always the fillers to the story. Late 60's early 70's Godzilla movies had no plot and story and lead to just being Monster driven, Godzilla vs Megalon anyone?

Caught some of the easter eggs with Mothra and I dug that the two Muto's looked like modern Gyaos creatures....Godzilla was bad *** when he was on screen and the audience roared when he started kicking azz.....I dug it and can't wait for sequels.....

[spacecaps]

I just want to see some really cool and really realistic battles between giant monsters that's not corny or kitschy. Preferably without a bazillion edits, and not at night time, and not in the rain.

How do you feel about monsters fighting in giant clouds of dust?

[spacecaps]

The human portion of the film definitely took a nosedive once Cranston was gone.

I completely agree that the trailers/commercials are selling another movie entirely. The tone and such from the trailers are not at all how the movie itself are carried out. So I suspect a lot of people went in expecting one thing and came out of it having seen another. If you're a big Godzilla fan, that might be okay, but I think others will feel differently.

Well said. How this movie was packaged vs the final product were too totally different things. Not being a Godzilla fan, the one draw for me to this movie was Cranston and when he was gone, the movie came off the rails.

[4NDR01D]

I just want to see some really cool and really realistic battles between giant monsters that's not corny or kitschy. Preferably without a bazillion edits, and not at night time, and not in the rain.

[ODBJBG]

The human portion of the film definitely took a nosedive once Cranston was gone.

I think the intent was indeed to make a 60's style Godzilla romp, while obviously having a bit more realism to the effect. I think they could have done a bit more fighting, but still fairly solid overall.

Of course, I completely agree that the trailers/commercials are selling another movie entirely. The tone and such from the trailers are not at all how the movie itself are carried out. So I suspect a lot of people went in expecting one thing and came out of it having seen another. If you're a big Godzilla fan, that might be okay, but I think others will feel differently.

I'm off to see it tomorrow, can anyone recommend 3D vs. standard viewing?

There's nothing 3D about the 3D version. Save the money.

[Confessional]

I'm off to see it tomorrow, can anyone recommend 3D vs. standard viewing?