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| Godzilla (2014), Source: Warner Bros. |
On May 16, Warner Bros will release the new American remake of Godzilla. By all accounts, it’s going to be awesome. Let’s count down seven reasons all geeks should be excited about it.
1. Godzilla is the King of Monsters – Giant monsters have never really gone away. We’ve seen them on Saturday mornings with the Power Rangers series, the found-footage drama Cloverfield, the King Kong remake, and (of course) the recent giant monster epic, Pacific Rim. But there’s no giant monster like Godzilla. He’s the first, and the one all other giant monsters are compared to.
2. It’s Better Than The Last One – The 1998 reboot of Godzilla sucked. I know it had its moments, like when the monster first came out of the water and was stomping through the city. But then we had to endure endless scenes of Godzilla running away from missiles and hiding in one of the largest cities in the world like a wussy. By all accounts, the new Godzilla will bring the titular monster to its roots.
3. Godzilla Fights Other Monsters – While Godzilla has always been kept busy stomping people and cities under his giant toes, he’s always best when he’s fighting other monsters. Though the studio has been very secretive about what creatures he fights, we know Godzilla will be battling at least two other huge monsters such as himself. There are also some smaller creatures known as “mutos.” In this sense, Godzilla gets to be the hero, defending us from kaiju even worse than himself.
4. People Have Seen It and They Love It – Of course, the biggest problem with getting excited about this version of Godzilla is the last US version of Godzilla. I remember the massive hype and excitement surrounding the 1998 version, and the crushing disappointment I felt watching it. Fortunately, all signs are god on this one. Early screening of the movie have been universally praised. Bleeding Cool saw twenty minutes of it, and loved it. The Nerdist loved it as well. Then there’s the ringing endorsement of Guns’N’Roses’ Slash:
Spoiler alert: the new Godzilla is pretty fn’ epic. Saw an early screening. It’s bad ass. Cast is great too. Just saying.’
— Slash (@Slash) February 23, 2014
5. The Special Effects Will Be Better – For most of its history, Godzilla has been portrayed by a man in a rubber suit. They’ve done some incredible things with that man in the suit, especially with miniatures, but that time has passed. Pacific Rim showed how modern CG special effects can bring these gigantic kaiju to life like never before. It looks like the new Godzilla will take advantage of all these new technologies.
6. It’s Not a Monster Movie – I think Pacific Rim proved pretty effectively that the market for giant monster movies in the US is almost nil. People just don’t want to see big beasts punching each other on the big screen, for some reason. That’s why I think Gareth Edwards took a different approach, building Godzilla as a disaster movie rather than a traditional kaiju movie. The movie will focus on the father-son duo (Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and how the arrival of Godzilla impacts their lives. Instead of endless shots of the monsters pounding things, the movie will focus on real people dealing with the impact. Edwards’ explored this approach very effectively with his prior movie, Monsters, so I expect he’ll do an even better job on Godzilla. Hopefully, this will broaden the appeal of the movie, and make it more enjoyable.
7. Bryan Cranston – After his star-making performance as Walter White on Breaking Bad, Cranston has already become one of the icons of geekdom. Godzilla will prove he’s just getting started. Everyone in the cast and media are praising his performance. It looks like we’re in for an awesome ride.
What do you think of the new Godzilla?
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="35601 ">3 Comments
It couldn't be worse than the last American version.
Great post! In the original Godzilla he was a force of nature brought on by mans misuse of nuclear weapons. Gareth Edwards is combining the original concept with what made Godzilla a legend, his defence of the earth against other kaiju that would destroy the world. The element that made the original so memorable was the portrayal of the human suffering brought on by Godzillas destructive force. The trailers show the carnage left in the wake of Godzilla and the other Monsters. I can only imagine how this affects Bryan Cranston's family, and all humanity.
Sounds a bit like Spielberg's War of the Worlds, then.