Inside Godzilla

4.12.14

I think it is safe to say that every Godzilla fan is hyped for Godzilla 2014. The trailers are exception and Toho is happy, so we are happy. Before I make a few remarks let’s take a look at the extended trailer. Here’s the latest trailer, “Nature has order” followed by the extended and official trailer and the Japanese trailer.

Here are my immediate thoughts and concerns about the new movie:

• Based on new movie clips Godzilla is like a black bear in appearance and movement.
• Godzilla is big! That’s a good thing. He is overpowering dominating the frame reflecting his nature and significance.
• Godzilla’s roar is brilliant and feels authentic as the air passes through such a massive throat.
• Godzilla’s head is small but probably more realistic. The toys don’t look very good. They also indicate his feet are more like that of an elephant.
• Gareth Edwards has set the right tone.
• The time was right for Godzilla given the state of special effects.
• Including an opposing monster was a good movie that makes it easy the introduction of another kaiju in the next movie.
• Godzilla 2014 gets the lingering bitter taste of Godzilla 1998 out of our mouths once and for all. The movie is already a success!
• I have my concerns about focusing upon a single man and his family but it may be done correctly without overshadowing Godzilla.
• The suggestive/foreshadowing imagery (e.g., Mt. Fuji like mountain, M.U.T.O. like origami)is a nice touch.
• Godzilla will fight a “Rodan-like” flying M.U.T.O. creature and also what appeared to be another multi-legged kaiju.
• Expect spectacular visuals and surreal scenes. The submarine upside down sticking out of the ground is such an example (see below).
• Some Japanese have called Godzilla fat. And they are right. But previous incarnations of Godzilla (e.g., Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 1993) demand he go on a diet.
• The fan art has been fanomenal!

Here are some behind the scene clips.

The early reviews are mixed but I think overall positive. The disappointment is not in Godzilla but in the human element which concerned me. Here are the early reviews:

Film.com: “The best thing about this new ‘Godzilla’ is that it spares no expense or effort to deliver big, burly IMAX-ified action. Godzilla and diverse other radioactive giant creatures feud, flail at and fight each other and lay waste to huge cities as part of their combat here, and it’s all amazingly shot. The worst thing about this new ‘Godzilla’ is how that’s the best thing about it.”

Variety: “Edwards seems to have miscalculated our investment in his cast […] simultaneously underestimating how satisfying some good old-fashioned monster-on-MUTO action can be.”

The Wrap: “Director Gareth Edwards (Monsters) gets the money shots right, but neither he nor screenwriter Max Borenstein (working from a story by David Callaham) make the human characters interesting enough to get us through two mostly Godzilla-free acts.”

Time: “We have an iconic monster, but what’s he to do? And: How can we get audiences to care about the humans fleeing from him? The final film doesn’t answer those questions, doesn’t fill the two-hour running time. It’s a concept lacking a magnetic story, a package without a product.”

Hitfix: “For better or for worse, depending on how you like the end result, Edwards has made a film that stands apart from how pretty much anyone else would have handled this, and I like that he remembered how important “awe” is to something that hopes to be “awesome.””

The Telegraph: “‘Godzilla’ 2014 embodies a roughly equivalent present-day fear: that the planet, exhausted by its ill-treatment at humankind’s hands, is about to start wiping the slate clean. Tsunamis, earthquakes, rising tides, nuclear meltdowns: these are the very recognizable threats posed by this new monster. The result is a summer blockbuster that’s not just thrilling, but that orchestrates its thrills with such rare diligence, you want to yelp with glee.”

Cinema Blend: “‘Godzilla’ is everything you want out of a summer movie. It’s got a world and story so big that it demands to be seen on the biggest screen.”

The Hollywood Reporter: “Superbly made but burdened by some dull human characters enacted by an interesting international cast who can’t do much with them, this new ‘Godzilla’ is smart, self-aware, eye-popping and arguably in need of a double shot of cheeky wit.”

For more follow the reviews on RottenTomatoes.com.