Godzilla '14: Good, But Sadly Disappointing (Spoilers, Duh)

[Scisca]

thismeintiel said:

DevilRising said:
As a lifelong G-fan, yeah, it was OKAY at best. It was a better movie overall than the 98 film, but that's not saying a WHOLE lot. "Godzilla" was in the movie for all of what felt like 12-15 minutes, which is ridiculous. They spent WAY too much time trying to focus on/build up the human characters that, really, no one is going to see this movie for. People want to see the title character: "Godzilla". They even gave far more attention/focus to the stupid bug/parasite MUTO things.

Like I said, it wasn't a bad film. Like Pacific Rim, I'm STILL not a fan of American cinematography practices being used/overused, such as shaky cam, extreme close-ups, fast-cutting (ie looking like a music video), all during action/fight scenes. They really need to learn something from the actual Japanese monster movies, or Hong Kong kung fu films. The cinematography in those movies, is how action scenes are supposed to be filmed.....so you can actually SEE the action unfolding. But I digress.

It was an OKAY movie. I didn't come away disappointed, but at the same time, it didn't exceed my already fairly low expectations either. My main problem, AS a lifelong Godzilla fan, is that this movie will no doubt make a lot of money, which will mean Hollywood will want to turn it into a franchise, which on it's own will already suck, because I just get sick of them turning everything into a trilogy/franchise. But what's worse, is that if this is a huge success financially, Toho will most likely just use it as further excuse to not bother making their OWN, ACTUAL Godzilla film (miniatures, suitmation, etc.), anytime soon. And that is what any diehard Godzilla fan wants to see. Me personally? I do not want to see CGI be the future of this monster. Nor do I want it to be "taken over" by Hollywood. It belongs to Toho, it belongs to Japan, and it needs to be made the way they've always been made. The "Suitmation" special effects techniques were invented for daikaiju films, and it does them far greater justice than CGI ever will. Why? Because it just looks better. More organic. And the monsters and monster fights almost ALWAYS look better. Hollywood has come to rely on CGI for everything (and I mean everything, even blood and bullet wounds, which is hilariously awful). That needs to stop.

So yup. I thought it was worth seeing. But I wouldn't give it high praise, myself. I still want Toho to get off their fat asses and eventually make a real Godzilla movie themselves again. They don't have to pump them out every year like they were. I'd be perfectly happy to get a new one every 5-10 years. So long as they're GOOD.

@ bold

OMG, you are 100% RIGHT!  That's what disappointed me about the Expendable movies.  They are supposed to be a throw back to the 80's and 90's action flicks, yet use CGI FOR EVERYTHING!  All the blood and bullet wounds are CG.  A lot of the explosions are CG.  Even a freaking dude being caught on fire is in CG.  The CG motorcycle being launched at the CG helicopter in the second one looked laughable, at best.  This also makes me look at the new Turtles movie and laugh.  There is nothing there that couldn't be done with guys in suits, especially with all the advances in that tech we have today.  It could look even better and more realistic than the 90's Turtles movie, without the fake looking CGI.

Having said that, I don't mind CG for huge creatures and things that just aren't practical with practical effects.  I don't mind Godzilla in CG, for example.  Though, I do agree with you that I would love to see Toho make another Godzilla using the more advanced suits we can make, now.  Sadly, I think they will switch over to CG, as well.

I absolutely agree with you. Star Wars is the best example for it. CG Chewie doesn't look anything like the old guy in a suit. It doesn't look realistic at all. The legendary Mos Eisley scene would look like crap and be totally forgetable if done using CGI. The way it was made - it became legendary. The new trilogy would have been much better, had Lucas not gone with CGI everywhere. I'm affraid Disney is gonna go the same rout, which is sad. The same goes for LotR and Hobbit. Too much CGI hurts movies. Stuff that can't be made well "old school" and would look awkward, like huge monsters, dinosaurs, etc. are ok. I don't mind Godzilla being CGI, as it looks better this way. But when possible the old school ways give much better and realistic effects.

Just compare the incredible original Jabba and the flat, plastic CGI one...

 

@Gatito - thanks for the support :) Guess Americans can't even see such stuff anymore :P I find it very annoying though and  believe me, such a point of view is "mainstream" over here. I bet that it's like that in whole Europe.