Godzilla (2014)

[Ruldra]

Teaser Trailer

Looking great so far. Totally hyped for this movie!

[drauch]

Big G fan. So far I'm not too excited. Cautiously optimistic in the fact that it'll be better than the last few the Japanese crapped out before retiring him after the abysmal Final Wars. As long as it's better than that, I'll be satisfied. American hands typically don't do too well on borrowed material.

[Moniker]

Trailer looks somewhat promising. Methinks I spotted Bryan Cranston somewhere in there, which can't be a bad thing. It helps that the bar is set pretty low for Western Godzilla films. So long as the soundtrack doesn't feature a butchered version of Bowie's "Heroes," I'll give it a chance.

[drauch]

Yeah, Cranston is one of the main characters. The bar has been set extremely low for Godzilla at this point, be it American or Japanese. I really hope this dude did his homework like he claims. You'd basically have to try and make an awful film at this point.

[Cagar]

Absolutely too mainstreamish & hollywoodish. I seriously cannot see any difference between any action movies made in 2011-2013, and this was once again like watching a white wall.

[KAI]

KOICHIRAAAA!!
No Jean Reno?

[Ruldra]

I plan to watch the original 1954 movie. Which ones in the series are worth watching as well?

[null1024]

As long as it's better than the 1998 film, I'll be happy. That is how low the bar for Godzilla films has been set.

[drauch]

I plan to watch the original 1954 movie. Which ones in the series are worth watching as well?

I've seen 27 of the original 28 films. Early stuff is all fairly serious. The 60s and 70s stuff start branching out a bit, which are my favorites. 90s stuff is very hit or miss, and the later Millennium films are mainly junk, although there are a few standouts. '54 is easily the most accessible and objectively great.

I'd almost recommend anything, but I'm a big Kaiju fan. I'd dissuade anyone from seeing:

Final Wars (Avoid like the plague. My most hated film of all time. As much a Godzilla film as the '98 America tripe.)
Godzilla 2000
Godzilla Vs Megaguirus
Godzilla Vs Spacegodzilla

^All those either focus on military driven plots (most of the later ones do), have little monster action, or just plain suck. I'd almost throw Biollante in that bunch as well, but the monster design is superb.

[VibrantMes]

I saw this trailer yesterday, this movie is looking to be pretty promising. Is that Jessica Alba I saw?

[Pretas]

Yawn. Final Wars was the perfect zany cap to the series, and I feel like I've already seen this same trailer fifteen times over. Why did Toho think this would ever be a good idea after Zilla?

Getting suckered in by Pacific Rim was enough. I won't be seeing this.

[drauch]

Yeah, I hear ya there. Trailer looks exactly like one of the later Japanese releases, just a wee bit darker. Looks like another emphasis on military as well, but hard to tell.

[CMoon]

Aw c'mon guys, why you gotta be such downers? You're too young to hate everything already! Some of you don't even own a house where you can sit in your rocking chair, shot gun across your lap, spitting at anyone who doesn't mesh well with your prescription drugs.

That said, Drauch's G recommendations are pretty much spot on. A few of my own thoughts: 1) The original language version of G54 is by far the best, and almost should be considered seperately since no other entry (or other film for that matter) will recapture it. IMO belongs on a list of 100 best films of all time. 2) The films directly following this are not really so good. Raids Again is what Conan the Destroyer is to the original, although it does try. I rather like the non-Godzilla films from this period (Mothra and Rodan), but again, not even approaching G54. 3) Films get increasingly goofy (the one with King Kong, especially dubbed in English) is just bat-shit insane, and when the camp is good, it is hard to complain. I think my favorite from this period is Planet X/Monster Zero/whatever for having some completely absurd moments. Honestly a lot of these films are pretty bad, but if you enjoy what they are doing, they do it over, and over, and over again. 4) I really like the 80's/90's series, though some of the films should be avoided (Drauch covers them.) What he misses IMO is how great King Ghidora/Mothra/Mechagodzilla are. These are actually among my favorite G films, and shouldn't be missed. Destroyer isn't as good, but it makes for a nice end to the series.
5) I recall enjoying the 2002 Mechagodzilla, but I agree this period isn't particularly rewarding.

tl;dr: check out G54, a small handful of films from the early 60's and 90's. Branch out from there at your own peril.

[GaijinPunch]

They should dub the voices over. IE, film, then make the actors do an audio track later and use that as the voice track.

[Drum]

I plan to watch the original 1954 movie. Which ones in the series are worth watching as well?

I've seen 27 of the original 28 films. Early stuff is all fairly serious. The 60s and 70s stuff start branching out a bit, which are my favorites. 90s stuff is very hit or miss, and the later Millennium films are mainly junk, although there are a few standouts. '54 is easily the most accessible and objectively great.

I'd almost recommend anything, but I'm a big Kaiju fan. I'd dissuade anyone from seeing:

Final Wars (Avoid like the plague. My most hated film of all time. As much a Godzilla film as the '98 America tripe.)
Godzilla 2000
Godzilla Vs Megaguirus
Godzilla Vs Spacegodzilla

^All those either focus on military driven plots (most of the later ones do), have little monster action, or just plain suck. I'd almost throw Biollante in that bunch as well, but the monster design is superb.

I've heard nothing but good things about Biollante, what's your issue with it?

My faves are:
Mothra vs Godzilla (60s)
Godzilla vs Hedorah

The worst ones I've seen were Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and Final Wars.

And I think this looks about as good as could reasonably be expected.

[CMoon]

I've heard nothing but good things about Biollante, what's your issue with it?

Definitely not my favorite, but I certainly think it is above average for the series output. I'm curious to hear what Drauch says as well.

[Blackbird]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. It looks a hell of a lot better than Godzilla '98, at least. I'm picking up some horror vibes from the trailer, and I hope that translates into the actual movie.

[Damocles]

Goddamn I hate CGI. At least it's a recognizable character. Ever notice how almost all CGI monsters are generic as hell? All the monsters in Pacific Rim, all the Transformers, etc.

[drauch]

I've heard nothing but good things about Biollante, what's your issue with it?

Definitely not my favorite, but I certainly think it is above average for the series output. I'm curious to hear what Drauch says as well.

I find Biollante fairly dull and boring, especially compared to how fun the other 90s films are. Cmoon loves the 90s stuff for good reason: it's great fun! Biollante doesn't have a wacky subplot, hardly anything happens in between, and the monsters barely touch until the end: a grim foreshadowing towards most of the later Millennium stuff. Megaguirus and Godzilla 2000 are prime examples of this formula. No likeable characters, nothing happens, then a lackluster battle at the end. I honestly think most G fans love Biollante because of the excellent monster design. Space Godzilla, another film made around the same time, has the exact same problem with it. Godzilla and Space Godzilla only touch for a mere second!

With the 60s/70s stuff, there was always something going on. There was a certain charm. You cared about the human protagonists, the wacky subplots (cockroach men, monkey men, evil aliens, robots, etc!), and there was always plenty of monster stuff in between. Very pulpy, fun films like a lot of creative output during the times, but with a unique take.

Later stuff also takes itself way too seriously, but there are still a few decent films. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is incredibly fun, easily my favorite of the later stuff. Tokyo SOS isn't too bad, and GMK is alright. One thing I really miss from the older films is that there were usually multiple monsters. Some team up with Godzilla, others with other bad monsters, and some exist just to get fucked up!