Legendary Pictures' GODZILLA - !!SPOILERS!!

[MaulFan]

Some of the greatest discoveries or achievements in history were found by accident.

It's one reason I hate CGI. As realistic and amazing as CGI can look now, I feel like the fact it allows directors to do anything they want ruins a bit of the creativity, when you're hit with road blocks, that's when you really dig down and find ways to work around it and those situations often result in better things.

Look at Star Wars, people rip the prequels apart, I often think George Lucas had too much freedom with CGI where if he had the restraints he had on the original trilogy, things would have been different.

That's not to say every CGI using film is crap or uninspired, just saying, it's a tool and some filmmakers don't know how to treat it right and not rely on it. Edwards has a background doing CGI himself, which is why he did his own work on Monsters, but he also understands making movies without it and approaches things looking at the quality of the film and then worries about the CGI to execute things after. I feel like many directors know they have money and CGI and start dreaming up things based on having CGI available.

People rip into Michael Bay, myself included, for lacking substance in movies like Transformers, where movies like The Rock and Armageddon actually had some well executed human stories. I feel like CGI has catered to much to the spectacle side of his imagination and he's almost forgotten the value in the other parts.

Pacific Rim too, just looking at the fights and visuals, the CGI left GDT like a kid in a candy shop and he went after a lot of cool spectacle but the rest of the film lacked a bit.

 

[crows]

CGI isn't the end all for creatures in movies, it still takes time and money to add, so basically, you either inflate your film with CGI and dial back on the quality of everything else or you get a good cast and use the CGI when necessary.

Yes, JAWS did a lot becaue of issues with the shark, but many people and even Spielberg will say the movie is better because of it and had the shark worked everytime they wanted it to, you'd have gotten a lesser movie (Deep Blue Sea ).

You think they wanted to limit Hulk's screen time as much as it was in Avengers or any of the Hulk movies? No, but being an all CGI character, there's only so much they can do on top of the rest of the CGI work they need to do.

Same with Godzilla, when CGI is used, it's going to be so heavy that I'm sure budget only allows you to do so much.

Building up the reveal and suspense isn't a marketing gimmick for the film, Edwards is just a director who takes a liking to the Spielberg type approach to films and it's refreshing to see someone is capable of doing such movies.

You'll still have Michael Bay and such around for those films, but those who appreciate good storytelling and patiently waiting for a big finish to a film, people like Edwards will be around. Everyone wins.

Oh! but here lies the dilemma.... This conversation started because I said that some of the reviews were saying how the human aspect is lame, and it is not interesting enough to carry the movie.

so yeah, I have never said I wanted Bay (Except for Power Rangers because he is perfect to make that movie) I appreciate good storytelling and that's why I have some concerns about this,
that's exactly why......... because it sounds like the storytelling and the character development is not as strong as it should be Sounds like he wants to be like Spielberg but we should see if he succeeds or not

just saying

 

[jye4ever]

Oh! but here lies the dilemma.... This conversation started because I said that some of the reviews were saying how the human aspect is lame, and it is not interesting enough to carry the movie.

so yeah, I have never said I wanted Bay (Except for Power Rangers because he is perfect to make that movie) I appreciate good storytelling and that's why I have some concerns about this,
that's exactly why......... because it sounds like the storytelling and the character development is not as strong as it should be Sounds like he wants to be like Spielberg but we should see if he succeeds or not

just saying

... ...

 

[MaulFan]

Oh! but here lies the dilemma.... This conversation started because I said that some of the reviews were saying how the human aspect is lame, and it is not interesting enough to carry the movie.

so yeah, I have never said I wanted Bay (Except for Power Rangers because he is perfect to make that movie) I appreciate good storytelling and that's why I have some concerns about this,
that's exactly why......... because it sounds like the storytelling and the character development is not as strong as it should be Sounds like he wants to be like Spielberg but we should see if he succeeds or not

just saying

You were also speaking disappointedly about the way Godzilla was handled going off the reviews. As you've said, just have to wait and see. I remember fans and critics ripping into The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises and Avengers and they're some of my favorite movies.

I've already heard fans talking concern about ATJ's acting based on clips, and so far, I've liked what I've seen out of him.

The box office will speak to how well the human aspect works, it won't make money just on people wanting to see the last 30 minutes, they'll find an online bootleg first for that.

 

[Rotfish]

That's all I expect and hope for in Godzilla. I don't expect any of the humans to be considered one of the greatest characters in cinema, but these days, movies like AVP and half the horror genre are just full of people you couldn't care less about and in a lot of cases, end up waiting for them to get killed off or go away.

Even if Aaron Taylor Johnson doesn't turn in a great acting performance, if he's good enough that you care about what happens to him, same for the other main cast members, then they did something better than a lot of other films today.

Agreed. And for the record, I dug the characters in Pacific Rim. Most of them were clichéd to hell, but they were likeable and entertaining. If the characters in Godzilla are even better (and they certainly look like it), I'm satisfied on that end.

 

[crows]

Agreed. And for the record, I dug the characters in Pacific Rim. Most of them were clichéd to hell, but they were likeable and entertaining. If the characters in Godzilla are even better (and they certainly look like it), I'm satisfied on that end.

I love the characters in Pacific Rim... I know, the irony.

 

[Rotfish]

They were cartoon characters, but nowhere in the "rulebook" of filmmaking does it say you can't feel anything for caricatures.

Even I could tell from the trailers that ATJ would be bland and Elizabeth Olsen would be... well, equally bland (or just written to be generic background noise), but Cranston and Watanabe will more than make up for that. Seems to me like the flaw some reviewers see in this movie is simply the difference in quality between the two pairs of characters. I guess I'll see on Thursday night. Either way, the film looks to be at least an 8/10 and that's more than I can say for most of the Big G's movies. Lord knows I'll be buying merchandise up the yin-yang for this too.

 

[Rorywan]

I have to say for the record that I think Aaron TJ is a terrible actor. I'm hoping he is surrounded by enough coolness that he doesn't ruin this for me. But I did think he looked pretty poor even in the quick trailer shots. It's just about his camera awareness, he always seems to look like he is avoiding looking at it which in turn creates an unconvincing performance. He is surrounded by some great performers here so maybe it will all even out.

 

[Rotfish]

I did like ATJ in Savages. Almost more than Taylor Kitsch, whose acting felt forced by comparison (never quite got the hype for that guy). I think the potential issue with Goji is that he's just written too generically. A great actor may be able to make bad dialogue sound good, but... come on now, the writers need to share some responsibility on the development of the character himself.

 

[ironwez20]

After playing titanfall Michael bay would be the perfect director for a franchise like that. It's a paper thin story and is just mech on mech fighting. That'd be his magnum opus . But anyway.......

 

[crows]

I did like ATJ in Savages. Almost more than Taylor Kitsch, whose acting felt forced by comparison (never quite got the hype for that guy). I think the potential issue with Goji is that he's just written too generically. A great actor may be able to make bad dialogue sound good, but... come on now, the writers need to share some responsibility on the development of the character himself.

I liked him a lot on Kickass but to be honest I have not seen him on anything else besides that.

 

[Hologram AI]

I have to say for the record that I think Aaron TJ is a terrible actor. I'm hoping he is surrounded by enough coolness that he doesn't ruin this for me. But I did think he looked pretty poor even in the quick trailer shots. It's just about his camera awareness, he always seems to look like he is avoiding looking at it which in turn creates an unconvincing performance. He is surrounded by some great performers here so maybe it will all even out.

It seems in this case that Aaron overshadows Cranston after the first act, which is disappointing to read. Seems like this movie will be like Pacific Rim with a bigger fan base and a better human aspect overall, which isn't saying much. To be honest, all I want to see is Godzilla wrecking **** left and right. Was the same case with Pacific Rim. Terrible human side of the story but really what you're watching the movie for is to see robots beating the crap out of giant monsters.

It's unfortunate that the human side of the movie is lacking but with a movie like Godzilla it won't really deteriorate my enjoyment overall with the main appeal being Godzilla. Would have been a bonus had the writing been better for the human characters but it won't be anything devasting.

I liked him a lot on Kickass but to be honest I have not seen him on anything else besides that.

I don't think he's done anything out of Kickass that was big. He has Godzilla than Avengers which are bringing him some attention.

 

[Rotfish]

Highly recommend Savages for those who haven't seen it. Give the man a good character and he can deliver. Great performance by Benicio del Toro as well.

 

[jye4ever]

Some of you guys worry too much.

 

[MaulFan]

I think the problem with ATJ and even Olsen from a reveiw stand point will be the fact that their characters aren't emotionally invested in the creatures, just themselves. Cranston and Watanabe are emotionally invested in the creatures and what they do, and i think both will deliver solid performances reflecting that. There's nothing deep, nor does there need to be, to ATJ's character, he's just a soldier who loves his family and is doing what he can to stop the monsters and protect them. How can you compare acting that out to a guy who had to close the door and effectively sentence his wife to death and living with guilt and suspicion for 15 years over it and a guy who's spent 15 years studying these creatures.

Cranston and Watanabe are the equivalent of Dr. Yamane and Serizawa, with ATJ and Olsen serving as Ogata and Emiko from Gojira. If you look at Gojira, it's the same thing, while relevant to the story, it's the 2 doctors who really bring the full weight of the story, and the lovers are just a component of the plot but neither's performance really brings anything to the impact of the film.

 

[crows]

I think the problem with ATJ and even Olsen from a reveiw stand point will be the fact that their characters aren't emotionally invested in the creatures, just themselves. Cranston and Watanabe are emotionally invested in the creatures and what they do, and i think both will deliver solid performances reflecting that. There's nothing deep, nor does there need to be, to ATJ's character, he's just a soldier who loves his family and is doing what he can to stop the monsters and protect them. How can you compare acting that out to a guy who had to close the door and effectively sentence his wife to death and living with guilt and suspicion for 15 years over it and a guy who's spent 15 years studying these creatures.

Cranston and Watanabe are the equivalent of Dr. Yamane and Serizawa, with ATJ and Olsen serving as Ogata and Emiko from Gojira. If you look at Gojira, it's the same thing, while relevant to the story, it's the 2 doctors who really bring the full weight of the story, and the lovers are just a component of the plot but neither's performance really brings anything to the impact of the film.

That's an excellent point.

 

[MaulFan]

You do have to wonder, is ATJ really bad, or is it that he's not up to Cranston's level, because frankly, I think he could be really good and enjoyable and just fall short in comparison, but for me, just because one performance outshines another in a movie, doesn't mean there's no value in the lesser, but I feel like some reviewers see a couple solid performances and expect identical from everyone. It's very rare to get solid performances from every actor in a cast of the same caliber.

 

[Kuzeh]

A little OT, my buddy, who is a HUGE Godzilla fan got married and his wedding theme was Godzilla. We organized a little scene to incorporate to our video for the Godzilla Alert contest... We had a blast making this!
It's a little rough but was put together rather quickly!!

 

[MaulFan]

Edwards speaking to the build up approach at 4:57.

 

[Biojex]

Watch Cranston, Watanabe and ATJ have a boat drinking scene waiting for Godzilla.

Quint should cameo saying, "We delivered the bomb..."