The latest version of the venerable Godzilla is starting to look really good, read on for more info and the trailers released so far!
If you’re reading this blog then you likely already know who Godzilla is and have probably seen at least some of the films. I grew up loving Godzilla movies as a kid, and all of the spin-offs or crossovers. My personal favorite were the Ultraman vs. Godzilla match-ups! I loved Ultraman as I kid. He was like, the Power Rangers if a Power Ranger was a giant, there was only one, but still just as silly.
Oh my, look at those fierce warriors!
….
Yeah, so we’ve come a long way since then in the effects department, haha. Despite the sometimes extremely campy effects, Godzilla has always had a compelling story: giant monster comes to wreak havoc on mankind for our abuses against the environment, typically in the form of the threat posed by nuclear weapons (but not always that, specifically). Our high tech tools and weapons are rendered impotent to the might of nature personified and many a building are toppled in the ensuing struggle.
There’s been twists on that theme and sometimes Godzilla is our ally, sometimes our enemy but the idea of Kaiju running rampant has always been fun!
Godzilla has appeared in well over 30 films, countless comics, books, etc. and is in the upper pantheon of nerd culture and has inspired countless other shows/books/movies/etc. over the 50+ years he’s been stomping around causing mayhem.
However, many of the efforts to bring the big guy over to theaters in the western world have been pretty hit or miss…mostly miss. Such as the pretty awful version from the 90’s with Mathew Broderick.
More recently we had the 2014 Godzilla which was pretty decent and had the right tone of a seemingly futile and desperate battle where the humans were largely helpless observers, but my gripe with it was that the action was all occurring off-screen for the most part. It was more about the people, less about the monsters and that’s not why I go to a monster movie.
But unlike those, Godzilla: King of the Monsters looks to be hitting the right buttons. Time will tell of course, but I am optimistic. Check out the trailers:
They’ve already revealed that it won’t just be Godzilla, but also Mothra as what seems to be an ally, Rodan (who has been both ally and enemy to Godzilla) and the mighty Ghidorah, Godzilla’s nemesis!
I’m holding out hope that we also get to see Anguirus, Godzilla’s little buddy, but that may be wishing for too much!
So we’ll see, but it is looking pretty awesome so far! If you want a good warm-up to Godzilla if you’re not a fan, track down the recent Shin Godzilla which is a modern Japenese Godzilla but done in the style of the originals and was a huge hit there.
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The original is still my fave in many ways. Has to be the Japanese version, tho, not the re-cut that was done for the US release. Apparently I’m some sort of Godzilla hipster 😉
I had pretty much the same issue with the 2014 one. My description was something along the lines of “They put too much effort into trying to add human interest to the story. We don’t watch these movies for human interest, we watch them for monster interest.” Also, their plan at the end was basically equivalent to trying to kill a bear by throwing steaks at it. The few bits that were focused on the monsters were pretty cool, tho.
Yeah, the original is quite dated but still has that magic.
And I agree totally, the 2014 Godzilla was a well filmed movie but the focus was off. Show me the monsters!
That’s what Pacific Rim got right, it was all about the monsters and the plot was purposely self-deprecating and tongue in cheek, which made it even better!
The technical effects of that first one really show its age, but the pacing and structure is perfect, and they did an amazing job of showing the raw power and menace of Godzilla. I also like that, rather than having a bunch of abilities that each get used exactly once (one of the few flaws in Pacific Rim, IMO), he just has two schticks here, smashing things and breathing fire, and he uses them both all the time.
Totally agree with you about Pacific Rim on those points.
Yeah, true, lol. When they unleash “blazing sword” in Pacific rim at the end you’re like, why the hell haven’t you been using that the entire time, lol?