"Godzilla (2014) - a review" Topic

I just posted a review of the new Godzilla flick on my blog, Dawn of the Lead: link

Here's the final verdict for those who can't be bothered:
"Godzilla is a nice catastrophe movie, and an awesome giant monster movie. It avoids most pitfalls of the genre and offers a wonderful audiovisual experience. If you go in expecting plenty of character development and an intricate plot, you'll be sorely disappointed – then again, if that's what you're looking for, why on earth would you go see Godzilla? If – like me – you go in expecting to see cities levelled and monsters brawling against each other and the military, you're in for a treat. Godzilla takes second place in my giant monster top 3, behind Pacific Rim but ahead of Cloverfield."

Isn't it Godzilla, nom-nom-nom? ;-)

Just saw it tonight. Was a bit disappointed. Started out very promising, with some engaging characters and a conspiracy sub-plot. They were hastily killed off to make way for shallow, hoo-rah-ing gun-waving.

But, at least Weta did a good job keeping Godzie looking like a guy in a rubber suit.

Could've used more Godzilla.

Yep, would have liked to see more Godzilla and less people but overall not a bad movie (and I'm somone who doesn't like going to the theaters).

I'd heard it needed more Godzilla… but I did like the guy's previous giant monster movie, he did a good job in not revealing the critters too soon.

Then again… if Cloverfield and Pacific Rim are in your 'giant monster top 3'… meh, your Kaiju taste is suspect.

I left thinking "Uhh ". Just left me wondering what was the point. It was clueless. Did they actually watch any Godzilla movies from the last 50 years. Either Godzilla is evil and cant be stopped or he saves the day. You can have one but not the other. This movie really had neither. Also they killed off the best character and the only one who could act. I could have turned out a better script in 15 minutes by tossing ideas back and forth with my old child hood friends. When you have one of the best actors out there and one of the great classical movie monsters and you dump a load like this.

Pacific Rim beat this movie by a mile. Better actors. Better monsters except for Godzilla. Plus it had giant mechs. With Pacific Rim I was interested in seeing more. Godzilla no way.

I thought it was average. G didn't seem much like G to me for some reason. Second half of the movie seemed a bit drawn out and predictable.

Doug let me say first off that I'm a HUGE Godzilla fan and I enjoyed this film a lot.

I also liked Pacific Rim but the King of the Monsters rules over all IMHO.

For myself I didn't find anything wrong about this film but then I'm part of the target audience.

I like it but it wasn't a Godzilla movie. It was a better version of Monsters and Cloverfield.

And why is it always the "one man's story" in movies now.

I saw it this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved Pacific Rim, but this was a better movie (though not by much)
When we came out of PR i was thinking, why didn`t they do this or they could have done that.. and that the hell is a strength of 50 diesel engines anyway.. But with Godzilla i just came out thinking WOW….

In some ways, I thought it was a lot like Cloverfield – we see the kaiju from the perspective of ordinary people, who are just trying to get away and survive. Seemed that every monster scene was at night or heavily overcast – as tho the CG artists were afraid to show us exactly what the beasties look like.

Overall, thought it was good, not great. If they hadn't killed off the A list actors, could have been an A list movie (duh!). Still beats Pacific Rim in terms of acting – PR created a cool world but was pretty horrible in that regard.

Fact 1: Many people have seen the trailors, and know who the A-list actors are without having yet seen the film.

Fact 2: Some of you have just said the A-list actors are killed.

Thanks for the -poor etiquette.

Er, a thread named "Godzilla – a review" might very well have spoilers. Common sense, methinks.

Just got back from seeing it. I enjoyed it, and like others have said, it could have used more Godzilla. Honestly, Pacific Rim kind of spoiled me with giant monsters (& mechs) fighting. I think in its absence, I wouldn't be wanting a bit more from the new Godzilla movie.

Both me and my mate enjoyed the heck out of it. I felt it was a pretty good Godzilla film.

A lot of people complain about not enough monster but I felt it was pretty spot on for the series. The old movies often had long build up's before you see the "big G".

I give the movie a B+. Godzilla was great but the other two monsters, while unique opponents for Big G, just didn't have enough personality, except maybe when momma bear realized the babies were… Toast.
I could definitely have seen another five minutes of Godzilla, though.
Definite add on to my DVD collection.
Next year: Godzilla vs Cloverfield.
Then Godzilla vs The Avengers!
I had that comic book…

it is good they did not show godzilla too much. the more you see a giant monster, the more you're like, "meh." keeping him hidden away made it way more exciting when he did appear and kick hinder.

i really super liked the new monsters, they are awesome designs. they are great nemesis types for godzilla, looking very evil. when the male muto broke out in the beginning i nearly pooped myself with joy. :-)

When you say 'broke out in the beginning', you mean about an hour into the movie right? I dunno, for a giant monster movie I just wanted more fricking MONSTERS! Sure, Godzilla himself was *great*…for the ten minutes or so of actual screen time he had. He needed and deserved a LOT more than he got (and yes, I have seen and loved the original Godzilla movies – all of them). I can honestly say I haven't been this disappointed in a movie for a loooong time :(

I thought it was fun. I liked the build to the reveal of Big G (which mimics the '50s original, which also took a long time to reveal The Big Lizard). I thought the battle scenes were well done, though I'd have liked better lighting. I especially appreciated the homages and faithfulness to the original atomic concept, down to Godzilla's powers.

Having said that, the intro was long, and the relationship sequences were heavier than necessary and overdone. Less drama, more monsters, please.

But despite all that, I had a great time, as did everyone in the theatre with me. We even applauded at the end. The monsters were impressive, the effects were well done, and every hokey thing one loves about Godzilla was there (people screaming and running, trains being demolished, scientists/military coming up with earnest if flawed plans to contain/defeat the kaiju, and a big monster punch, kick and bite fight). So you have to go in expecting it to be what it is: a monster fight with drama tacked on to create a story. It ain't Shakespeare, but it is fun.