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Filming begins on Godzilla 2, synopsis and cast revealed
- Thread starter More_Badass
- Start date
I loved the "vs" films a lot. Grew up with a lot of the Showa classics on VHS and still love them to this day. But even as a kid, I really did find myself drawn to the depictions of Godzilla in the Raymond Burr cuts of Gojira and The Return of Godzilla. I'll probably always see Godzilla as a walking nuke, first and foremost.
But like I said, I do love those Showa classics, and can't wait to see Godzilla throw down with legends like Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra. Waiting till 2019 is going to be brutal . .
I'm still mad about the bait and switch the Godzilla 2014 marketing pulled by making it look like it's going to be all about the humans fighting Godzilla.
Just remember the amazing Oppenheim trailer https://vimeo.com/146985673
Shin Godzilla delivered tonally what I was expecting back in 2014
CountAntonius
Member
More monsters less humans please. Couldn't stand the human storyline in part one after you know who died.
Really did enjoy Shin Godzilla but I think I'd place Godzilla 1984 on a higher pedestal. Anyway I'm fine with him being a "good guy" infact I would welcome an animated TV series where he's just kickboxer Godzilla beating up rival monsters and having his more goofy design from Terror of MechaGodzilla. He just had too much swag back then.
Preach. Can't have a Godzilla thread without bustin' the graph out;
There's some pretty choice movies with less Godzilla screen time than 2014, including the original Gojira, both Showa-era Mechagodzilla flicks, both Showa-era Ghidorah flicks and the much-celebrated Destroy All Monsters.
Of course, the problem is the percentage;
Godzilla 2016 is just a longer film so the amount of time Godzilla is on screen feels shorter. Though it's still not the worst percentage wise (And ya know, I really didn't think of vs. Monster Zero as having so little Godzilla in it but facts are facts.)
(Source for both graphs)
Tal Shiar Agent
Member
You could've taken the monsters out of IotAM and it would still work as prime 1960s sci-fi.
Geno Breaker
Banned
The reason most people don't mind the screentime in Monster Zero is because it's one of the Godzilla films that's actually pretty good. Glenn and Fuji are some of the most likeable characters in the series, alongside Miss Namikawa who's played by the amazing Kumi Mizuno. Plus there's a lot of scenes where Rodan destroys some of the best miniatured in the series. (Not talking about the stock footage)
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Great cast. And I'm not going to pass judgement until I see an actual full trailer.
The threat of a super species is rather neutered if there is only one per movie every few years.
The threat of a super species is rather neutered if there is only one per movie every few years.
Haven't watched Kong so... as many as Binoche.
I think for most people the screentime would have been fine, if the movie wouldn't have been such a cockblock about it. It was like E3 conference where they keep cutting to the audience when everyone just wants to see the reveal.
broncobuster
Banned
Yes. She'll have almost as many lines as Angelababy in Independence Day 2.
wesleyshark
Banned
What a cast! Phew
Yeah, in one sense it sounds kinda neat, but in another, it seems like way too much.
On the other hand, I think we can all agree this already sounds way better than Godzilla (2014).
Post-credits for sure.
Who else is going to build Mechagodzilla?
Hell yes, set necks for maximum ruffleage!
Yeah, the gang's all here, lots of familiar faces show up in Godzilla threads.
Seconding a Godzilla / Kaiju OT by the way.
Absolutely. This won't be the first time I've said this on GAF and it won't be the last, but when you strip out the giant monsters from the Showa-era stuff you get some pretty solid 60's/70's reporter / cop / spy movies. Freakin' vs. Ebirah even has a perfectly generic James Bond-style evil corporation.
This won't be news to you since I'm 99.9% sure we've had this conversation or one like it before, but for everyone else... the problematic part of most Godzilla movies (including both American efforts) is rarely "stop with the human crap", it's "stop with the badly written / poorly acted human crap." When you've got a solid story with decent characters played by competent actors that just happens to involve giant monsters, everything is fantastic. When you don't, you end up with the Emmerich abortion or schlock like All Monsters Attack / Godzilla's Revenge.
Green Space Gorillas.
DiscoJer
Member
Well, they often appeared together in the Japanese films.
Originally it was Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra vs Ghidorah.
Then in Destroy all Monsters they add a couple more.
And in Godzilla vs Gigan, it's Godzilla and the little used Anguirus vs Ghidorah and Gigan.
Then in the 2000s, in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, it was 3 against one, with the little used Baragon also helping Godzilla and Mothra.
TheSkullPrince
Member
Looks like it's going to be overstuffed, but at least Michael Dougherty is replacing Gareth Edwards thank fuck.
AgentOtaku
Member
In for Micheal Dougherty 
TheSkullPrince
Member
RumbleHumble
Banned
Hey guys, maybe it's a good thing we're not getting separate overstuffed, entirely unnecessary entries for Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah? These are Kaiju, not superheros. I don't want to spend $15.00 to go see 2 hours explaining why Rodan might be a giant monster, but not as bad as other giant monsters.
AuthenticM
Member
fuck yeah
Geno Breaker
Banned
Yeah, the Showa is actually pretty good from a conservative review point of view. They usually have a charming cast of characters with clear motivations and ambitions, and while they're silly every once in a while you can tell the film makers like Honda and Fukuda put a lot of effort into it, and screenwriter Sekizawa had fun with the movies. For a Japanese monster movies the effects are truly a spectacle, and while they're not realistic, they've never aimed for that but rather they just wanted to convey the character the monsters had and sheer craftsmanship.
Speaking of Ebirah, it's such a maligned movie (alongside it's successor, Son of Godzilla). Fukuda's South Seas films are really vibrant, both visually and character wise. They're more lighthearted than Honda's films, but they have a really great vibe to them thanks to then new effects director Sadamasa Arikawa and they really shouldn't be dismissed.
Yeah there's definitely some flaws in a lot of the movies. I'd actually argue that Godzilla's Revenge has some good writing and acting. The scene with Ichiro telling his mom he could take care of himself and her reaction once he leaves the room is great, and it says a whole lot about the time. It perfectly conveys it's message without being overt. The robbers could definitely have been better though, that's for sure.
My main gripe with Ebirah is that they forgot to re-write the original Kong script and ended up giving Godzilla all sorts of uncharacteristic behavior (revived by lightning, fixating on the native girl, attacking Mothra and even the fights feel very... un-Godzilla-like). It's kind of weird that nobody thought to change those things before shooting started and it became obvious Kong wasn't going to appear. Still, Ebirah is a decent monster (and the fight is particularly brutal), the underwater bits(shot through an aquarium!) are okay, the human part isn't completely awful (we're not in Gigan / Megalon territory yet) and depending on the day the surf-rock score is either amazing or amazingly terrible (I can never truly decide).
I tend to ding both Ebirah and Son of Godzilla for being so damn cheap; any time Godzilla sets foot on a random tropical island it's because they couldn't afford any proper models or effects (none of the enemy monsters in either film have any, as I recall). I always find the quality of the Showa stuff drops off after Invasion of the Astro-Monster / Monster Zero with only Destroy All Monsters in the middle to keep it from being a complete lull (Well, that and nobody can say there's anything lulling about the acid trip that is Vs. Hedorah) until the two Mechagodzilla flicks.
Only vs. Gigan comes across as more cheap, and that's largely because you can watch the Godzilla suit fall apart in real time and because of all the reused footage. Speaking of which...
Godzilla's Revenge's extensive use of stock footage and the "child learns a Very Important Lesson™" narrative framework means I can never think of the movie as anything other than the "Godzilla After-School Special." That tends to throw water over anything actually good about the movie, but it does speak volumes about Honda's dedication to his craft that he managed to sneak in scenes like the one you pointed out despite being stuck making this kiddie cash-in.
(Also, I agree with all of your first paragraph, just cutting it out for space).
Cow Mengde
Banned
Bring it!!!
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Why Rodan though? It's always the trio - Godzilla, Mothra and King Gidorah. Rodan feels like an extra.
Like, he's like part of the B-tier Toho kaijus. He's above the likes of Mogura and Komunga but he's not on par with the big G and the like, he's no A-tier.
lmao is your first Godzilla Shin? Did you miss shit like GODZILLA KICK! Godzilla dances on the moon! Godzilla flies! Godzilla teams up with Not!Ultraman! Godzilal teams up with Not!Ultraman 2! Godzilla dances with children!
God, reminds me of people who saw Evangelion for the first time and thought "oh fuck this is avant garde mecha!"
lmao no, I fucking love this Godzilla because he is bear mode.
I dunno about you but the various trailers I saw at least point him at "being an ally" at some point, particularly the spammed "let them fight" meme.
Like, he's like part of the B-tier Toho kaijus. He's above the likes of Mogura and Komunga but he's not on par with the big G and the like, he's no A-tier.
Where's Anguirus?
lmao is your first Godzilla Shin? Did you miss shit like GODZILLA KICK! Godzilla dances on the moon! Godzilla flies! Godzilla teams up with Not!Ultraman! Godzilal teams up with Not!Ultraman 2! Godzilla dances with children!
God, reminds me of people who saw Evangelion for the first time and thought "oh fuck this is avant garde mecha!"
lmao no, I fucking love this Godzilla because he is bear mode.
I dunno about you but the various trailers I saw at least point him at "being an ally" at some point, particularly the spammed "let them fight" meme.
The original trailer, the Oppenheimer clip paints it more akin to being like Gojira - Godzilla as metaphor for 'X' and w're being punished. The later trailers definitely veered away from this and it's Godzilla, friend or foes at that point. Though, if memory serves, that Oppenheimer clip was created before the movie had even begun production and was more a CGI test reel.
They're actually tied in terms of appearing with Ghidorah though; Rodan was in Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of the Astro Monster and Destroy All Monsters. Mothra wasn't in the second of those, but was in GMK: All-Out Attack (though in that case, Ghidorah and Mothra were on the same side).
Plus, Rodan was in the first two appearances of Ghidorah, so that's gotta count for something.
I feel so fuckin' nerdy knowing this shit.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
I honestly feel like Rodan doesn't work well with crossover films because most of his (her? I forgot if this is the female one or the male one) MO was harassing miners and just that. Mothra and Gidorah work well due to their shenanigans involving other monsters. He's sorta like... Aquaman? to Superman (Goji) and Wonder Woman (Mothra) fighting Darkseid (Gidorah).
Though I guess he is more familiar to people, so there's that.
WHERE'S ANGUIRUS THOUGH YOU CAN'T LEAVE GODZILLA'S NO. 1 BUDDY
Ah never saw that trailer, the ones I'm familiar with are the more recent ones.
funny you mention that
aliens, fairies, and underground people are canon to Godzilla-verse
speaking of fairies, how are they going to handle that? Mothra's origins involve the twin fairies, so how will they "ground" her story? that she's discovered by two female scientists and raised her?
Geno Breaker
Banned
Oh yeah it's obvious Godzilla was a stand in for Kong, but I never really cared about Godzilla's character as long as it wasn't G98 tier and if it fit the movie. By this point Godzilla was dancing and laughing, so making more humanized doesn't bother me, but I could see why it bothers others.
I actually really love the score by Kurosawa favorite, Masaru Sato. It's a breath of fresh air compared to Ifukube's great, but admittedly repetitive scores.
It's true that moving to the island setting was cheaper, there's some really great shots and effects work still. In Ebirah, the scene where the Red Bamboo jets attack Godzilla is well done, as the timing of the pyrotechnics is right on time which is incredible when you realize that monster scenes are slowed down to give the sense of weight. The marionettes for Kumonga and Kamacuras in Son of Godzilla are incredibly lively too, and are only rivalled by Tsuburaya's Mothra props and the Biollante prop. The 2 South Seas movies didn't have any spectacular miniature buildings, but the colorful fauna really makes up for it.
Yeah Godzilla's Revenge has an uphill battle, but it's a nice movie to watch every couple of years when you want to see some cool effects scenes compilation and when you want to see industrialized Japan at it's worst.
Some silly occasions in a couple of movies and in a toku show that hardly anybody knows about doesn't negate the well implemented themes Godzilla has represented before and since, nor does it affect their impact. Movies like the original Godzilla, Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidrah, Hedorah, etc. are still culturally relevant because they're well directed and written movies.
I think most non-Godzilla fans don't know who Anguirus is but probably remember Rodan, if only as 'that bird monster' or 'the pterodactyl.'
No argument with Rodan being kind of a low-key kaiju though, all he (and yeah, it's a he, the Shobijin use the male pronoun in Ghidorah) really does is fly, peck and flap his winds to blow stuff around. It took getting killed to make Rodan really interesting (picking up a beam-like breath attack in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II after he gets resurrected as Fire Rodan).
Maybe in the Legendary series he'll have some cooler powers.
CheeseConey
Member
Might just do the GMK approach and not include them at all but include something that nods to it (GMK had a shot that focused in on two similar looking girls watching Mothra fly over them).
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Yeah that's what I figured - Rodan is more familiar to folks than Anguirus. Also I thought he had a mate?
Anguirus will get his time to shine, or at least I hope so.
oo this is good
Geno Breaker
Banned
Rodan is the biggest victim of time. He's interesting with historical context because in the 50's-60's he was literally the fasting thing on Earth and he was the first monster from Toho who could fly. Of course jets could fly past Mach 1 now and most monsters in the Godzilla series could fly nowadays. Nonetheless, his impact on Japanese monster cinema automatically places him with the Big 5.
Real talk, Anguirus is one of my favorite kaiju. Hope he makes it in the third film because honestly I dislike Rodan almost as much as King Kong.
Escape Goat
Member
I'm surprised the first made enough to warrant a sequel
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Obviously there are movies that have subtlety and have serious themes in them. My point however is that the post about "Japanese subtlety" is way off as it's judging only via a recent release or only selected scenes. Like there's no subtlety to a movie where Godzilla goes in a gauntlet fighting different enemies, one of which involving soccer.
Also there are definitely non-serious, only-here-for-monsters/marketability shows like some in Showa. *cough we want the ultraman audience cough*
Speaking of which I find it weird that Toho didn't cling much into Zone Fighter. I mean sure Jet Jaguar exists, but Godzilla made a billed appearance so you'd think they'd fit into canon.
Cant wait.
But I am like many worried that its going to be a clusterfuck, and I wont allow a "It happened in a Showa movie before!" execuse
And yes, cool, its a monster movie and people want awesome fights and destructions. But I also want my Infant Islands, the Twins and a proper Mothra setup that that embraces the japanese movies, cause thats what I enjoyed about the first one.
wtf
But I am like many worried that its going to be a clusterfuck, and I wont allow a "It happened in a Showa movie before!" execuse
And yes, cool, its a monster movie and people want awesome fights and destructions. But I also want my Infant Islands, the Twins and a proper Mothra setup that that embraces the japanese movies, cause thats what I enjoyed about the first one.
wtf
Don't want to come off as a Godzilla snob or anything, but automatically thinking this'll be a "clusterfuck" definitely shows little understanding of the franchise lol
Dougherty's great, cast is great, monsters are great, I'm ready for it. Two (hopefully) good Godzilla series at once is like a dream come true.
Dougherty's great, cast is great, monsters are great, I'm ready for it. Two (hopefully) good Godzilla series at once is like a dream come true.
It didn't bother me so much as a kid but it always seemed like something was off, and to be honest "bother" isn't really the right word either; it's more a... curiosity. Now that I know it was originally a Kong script, it makes more sense but I still find it odd that they kept so many "Kong-isms" when at that point they knew they were shooting a Godzilla movie.
It kind of meshes with that period of Godzilla where things were getting cheap and weird and goofy, and like I said it changes depending on how I'm feeling. It's not as awful as the goofy, lumbering soundtrack to vs. Megalon, at least. Ugh.
It's not that the shots and effects are terrible, it's just that they're obviously a step down from Honda. That's not to say Fukuda couldn't shoot a movie, that's just a really high bar to clear (I feel like the only movie he did that's on par with Honda is vs. Mechagodzilla). It's still a Toho kaiju movie and even on the cheap they're pretty consistent era-wide in terms of effects and such.
I always felt the Kumonga's leg movement was a bit too busy, like they were moving just for the sake of movement but never really imitated the way a spider moves in most of the scenes (there's a few times where it feels like they got it right, but part of me feels like it was luck). I seem to remember the Kamacuras being kinda lifeless in the leg department any time they were out in the open, though moving through the foliage certainly looked great.
No particular argument about the islands being colorful, they don't look like the set crew cleaned out a Home Depot garden center at least, but the lack of a proper city worth of buildings to smash makes it feel like something's missing.
It's the one tape I never have to worry about the VCR eating. Every time I do a Godzilla marathon I can't bring myself to watch it, it's just a slog... talking Manilla is just too much.
In the standalone Rodan movie, there's a male/female pair (it's never said whether they're mates or siblings) but both are killed in the end by causing Mt. Aso to erupt. In Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster, that's where a single Rodan wakes up; they never say whether it's one of the two from the first movie or just a third one that hadn't woken up yet.
I mean, the end game for any Godzilla film universe is a Destroy All Monsters scenario where everybody shows up. The more monsters, the merrier, so I certainly hope Anguirus gets in the mix.
Yeah, how could that ever work? Doesn't make any sense.
EDIT: You guys are saying they had their own intro movies originally, but c'mon. Most folks who watch Ghidorah didn't see Mothra or Rodan ahead of time and things went just fine.
Also, the director did Krampus? Good stuff. That was a genuinely fun movie.