Face it, America: 1) Nobody makes monster movies like the Japanese; 2) Godzilla impostors just don't cut it; and 3) technically polished special effects alone do not an entertaining movie make. Emmerich & Devlin learned this the hard way. Fortunately, the real thing is back to remind us what a Godzilla movie should be--campy, yet downright irresistible.
If you hate the big guy, feel free to use your browser's "back" button right now.
I love Godzilla's new look. It restores a sense of "menace" that had previously been lacking. This plus the guy in a suit gives him something a CGI lizard couldn't dream of having--SOUL. ATTITUDE. And CHARM.
Yup, I said it--I find Godzilla charming.
Though the effects are not really polished (nor should they be), they are quite good for a Godzilla film. The "spaceship" is a bit reminiscent of the one in Disney's "Flight of the Navigator," and it wreaks havoc by first demolishing a skyscraper, a la ID4. (Note the Emmerich-Devlin connection here. Coincidence?) And Godzilla looks SO much better photographed in a 2.35:1 widescreen ratio! The King of the Monsters demands a king-sized screen. (And a king-sized surround system too.)
Why do I like Godzilla so much? His films are campy, but everyone from the audience to the filmmakers (especially the translators and dubbed actors) know it's camp. It's as if the films are in on the joke, but Godzilla manages to rise above it. Also, Godzilla is the only monster with the ability to play both hero and menace at the same time. He is actually neither hero nor menace, but rather a man-made force of nature. He can't help what he is, and he doesn't choose sides; it's just that if you get in his way or fire a missile at him, you just might get hurt. Yet when he faces a formidable opponent, you just can't help but root for the guy. At the end of the film, the female reporter asks why Godzilla always saves humanity despite our constant attempts to destroy him, to which the reply is 'maybe [the TOHO] Godzilla is a part of us.' I can't speak for others, but as for me--
He certainly is. He certainly is.
If you hate the big guy, feel free to use your browser's "back" button right now.
I love Godzilla's new look. It restores a sense of "menace" that had previously been lacking. This plus the guy in a suit gives him something a CGI lizard couldn't dream of having--SOUL. ATTITUDE. And CHARM.
Yup, I said it--I find Godzilla charming.
Though the effects are not really polished (nor should they be), they are quite good for a Godzilla film. The "spaceship" is a bit reminiscent of the one in Disney's "Flight of the Navigator," and it wreaks havoc by first demolishing a skyscraper, a la ID4. (Note the Emmerich-Devlin connection here. Coincidence?) And Godzilla looks SO much better photographed in a 2.35:1 widescreen ratio! The King of the Monsters demands a king-sized screen. (And a king-sized surround system too.)
Why do I like Godzilla so much? His films are campy, but everyone from the audience to the filmmakers (especially the translators and dubbed actors) know it's camp. It's as if the films are in on the joke, but Godzilla manages to rise above it. Also, Godzilla is the only monster with the ability to play both hero and menace at the same time. He is actually neither hero nor menace, but rather a man-made force of nature. He can't help what he is, and he doesn't choose sides; it's just that if you get in his way or fire a missile at him, you just might get hurt. Yet when he faces a formidable opponent, you just can't help but root for the guy. At the end of the film, the female reporter asks why Godzilla always saves humanity despite our constant attempts to destroy him, to which the reply is 'maybe [the TOHO] Godzilla is a part of us.' I can't speak for others, but as for me--
He certainly is. He certainly is.