Same here. I had the same vibes as when I first saw the force awakens because. Many of us hadn't watched godzilla 98 and theatres and had been begging for there to be another American godzilla movie
I'm shocked king of the monsters was so good, the story , the effects, I'm surprised it didn't get more credit, this one was good too, but to see rodan , and mothra and everybody, exciting!
God I will never forget the first time I saw this movie. I was a critic for my high school newspaper and I was given a chance to see a press screening for the movie in IMAX. From the custom IMAX countdown to the first reveal of the big G as his roar resounded throughout the theater, it was spectacular and epic in every sense of the word. It remains to this day one of the best film experiences I’ve ever witnessed. It remains one of my absolute favorite Godzilla movies, and while I can understand the frustration of not having a lot of Godzilla on screen, to me it made the moments he was on there all the more exciting. I adore this movie, and as the starting chapter to the MonsterVerse, it excites me greatly to see what comes next with King of the Monsters. This movie delivered on a true American Godzilla, and I can’t wait to see the same treatment brought to Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah! Only a few more weeks!!! Excellent review as always of course!
Micah Delgado Totally agree. The airport scene, with all the epic build-up and the camera slowly panning upwards to finally reveal Godzilla in all his glory, who proceeds to let off the roar of the century. It made me jump and laugh in excitement. Such a huge cinema experience.
With CGI it becomes harder and harder to impress audiences with visuals. Few movies have left me in awe in several moments, yet Godzilla did exactly that quite a few times. Two moments are included in this review, the tail over the buildings at 3:33 and the foot at the airport at 5:35. Other moments were the Halo Jump and the final atomic breath kill. The cinematography and the sense of scale is something that this movie truly excels at! Furthermore, I don't think there was another movie where I've gotten angry towards the end (for once again cutting away from the fight) yet still leaving satisfied in the very end! :D
I deeply regret not seeing this in theaters...I was in kind of a lapse of interest in 2014 after being a huge Godzilla dork as a kid, and while I was keeping an eye on this movie, I ended up kinda just forgetting to go see it. Fortunately, I didn't make the same mistake in 2019.
This is one of those movies that, because the highlights are SO GOOD, it makes the missteps all the more upsetting. For my money, if Brian Cranston's character lived (or at least lived for most of the movie), and they replaced at least one cut away with a smaller fight, and extend the final battle a little more it would be basically a perfect Godzilla movie (IMO).
This is my favourite film, It gets such a reaction out of me, something no other film has reached. I’ll never forget seeing this film for the first time in IMAX. I was going to make my own review on ‘Why Godzilla 2014 Is A Masterpiece’ but you’ve pretty much said all that needs to be said.
Just do it. Everyone loves finding videos of diverse opinions. Even if they are the same, the flavors are often different and fun for each individual. Go for it.
Pls do it. I want to hear it from you. PLEASE! I love Godzilla 2014, it’s my favourite Godzilla film and it would be nice to hear about it from a fellow Kaiju fan.
Godzilla 2014 only appears 10 minutes and 20 seconds. And the original Godzilla 1954 only appears 9 minutes and 46 seconds. Both have similar screen time. I still love Godzilla 2014 no matter what.
Gorizard he post on his Dailymotion account in 2014. I check his video, it's been confirmed that the original Godzilla 1954 only appears 9 minutes and 46 seconds.
the original only appears for almost 10 minutes, yes, but proportional to the run time of their respective films (1954 being 96 minutes and 2014 being 123 minutes) the original has much more of godzilla in it than 2014, even though both films are of a similar style.
The most divisive Godzilla movie ever. Personally I love this movie, as a Godzilla fan and as a film fan. Cinematography is jaw dropping and sound design is awe-inspiring, soundtrack is chilling. This movie reminds me of the early Showa film, Hensei films too.
Nah, that's probably Shin Godzilla. the flame wars were pretty intense on that one. I agree with your positives for the film and I love 2014 as well, in spite of its issues.
@@Telcontar86 then again I'm pretty netural about all this and people just need think for a minute that these are movies with giant radioactive dinosaurs, and not an American idol. Some people just wanna hate for the sake of hating things.
@@SaurianStudios1207 Well, there's only so far you can push something before you break the rules of the movie that the script has set up, even taking into account that there's giant monsters running around in your movie. Like, Kong in Skull Island punting one of the smaller skullcrawlers over the horizon would be dumb and over the top because even in the world the movie is postulating it's preposterous. But then in Final Wars Godzilla does just that to Kumonga. it's a "jump the shark" moment. Another example is Owen surviving a pyroclastic flow in Fallen Kingdom (A completely un-survivable situation) Then again, the F&F series jumped the shark like 4 movies ago and are still popular. depends how much you care about a story having stakes or making sense I guess. I'm a writer, so I at least like things to be coherent *shrugs*
I loved how some of the camera work shows us the monsters from the point of view of a person there such as a kid on the bus during the bridge scene or when the male Muto retrieved the nuclear warhead and came on to shore and the camera shows us the view of someone in a nearby building watching in horror. It was just so brilliant
This is sadly why King of monsters fails in some departments. The camera perspective added a lot of realism to the 2014 shots, in KotM the angles feel disconnected from the people involved. It still looks great and its far from a bad film, but it lost soms of the charm that 2014 established by following some mainstream cinematography.
@@Yamanosei95 GVK's CGI was like the transition from Pacific rim to Pacific rim 2 with SOMETIMES a bit of pacific rim 1. GVK was so mixed, some scenes were great, some were just piss poor. And then there's the humans.... That was just piss all over the place, my god the stench.
I fucking love this film, is freaking epic, well acted, the special effects are the best the entire franchise have ever had, and the King is amazing even if he only got 10 minutes those are the best 10 minutes in the entire film, glorious.
I tought i liked 2014 too since it was the first godzilla film i saw (not really i had the entirety of the heisei era on VHS but i dont remember it clearly) But then i watched king of the monsters Holy shit
The only problem I have with this movie is that it is to dark when we see Godzilla. This is why my favorite scene in this movie is the Golden Gate Bridge scene with Godzilla.
I remember an interview with the cinematographer, where he said he made certain every shot in the movie was from a point of view where a human COULD have been - the only aerial shots, for example, are from aircraft, or during the HALO jump.
I used to give this movie shit, but after seeing king of the monsters I kind of have a new appreciation for this movie. The cinematography in this film is actually pretty great. And I honestly feel like this movie handles the monsters better. They are truly something beyond humanity.
The American Godzilla movie that adapted Godzilla to fans and general audiences the right way, even if it got some detractors. That said, this is one of the best Godzilla movies to date, it respects the original Godzilla without being a pale imitation or a completely different thing, like the 1998 movie. Godzilla 2014 is without a doubt, the movie that relaunched Godzilla into the public eye. Long live the king. Give this movie an 8.3/10.
I remember loving this in theaters. Also always makes me happy that this movie made Toho go, "hey. Guess godzilla is popular again. Let's start the camera". Not much credit is given for it
I was fascinated to learn that the character Ishiro Serizawa was given the first name from Ishiro Honda, the director of the Showa Godzilla films and Serizawa the name of the scientist who made the oxygen destroyer.
This movie has gotten an undeserved drubbing. Gareth Edwards and team delivered Godzilla moments that gave me goosebumps. The scenes that stick out were the HALO jump and Godzilla’s smoke unveil that made him jump off the screen with biblical proportions. The HALO jump embraced an ethereal ambience that conveyed the true scale of what was happening. The tension and anxiety of that scene brought about a nightmarish terror that only giant, ancient monsters could make you feel. The next is when Godzilla appears from the smoke with its subtle musical chimes to accent the inherent bowing of humans to Godzilla’s existence. With a tail swipe and a deep blue hue, the god presents itself, humbling those who witness it, and with a roar to life, shocking you back to reality. There is an underlying, and palpable, sense of fear that really moved me. I found the movie to be breathtaking in its attempt to make it not just another disaster porn Hollywood clusterfuck. Thank you legendary and the cinematic team for taking a risk in doing Godzilla justice.
Alina Mast, my responses to this movie are much like yours. I consider Godzilla to be the first kaiju art film. It has more grandeur than many other spectacles. Had I not read your review I'd have posted a similar, though less eloquent comment.
My biggest problem with the movie was that I was never really sure why Godzilla cared enough to fight the other monsters. I also couldn't be made to care about the main character. His dad would have been a much more interesting protagonist.
*_"why Godzilla cared enough to fight the other monsters"_* Godzilla is a pretty simple, straightforward character. He's the ancient guardian of Earth, the protector between the balance of order and chaos in the world of nature, and he possesses a sixth sense that let's him know when it's time to restore that balance whenever the world is plunged into chaos by an even bigger threat. That's why he cares enough to go after them.
Original Godzilla had 8.5 mins of screen time, no one cares. Cloverfield and the JP trex had 3.5 mins of screen time, no one cares. Godzilla 2014 has 10 mins and some people lose their minds. What a funny world we live in.
Also it was the constant cut aways from battles, the movie is about godzilla but these other monsters showed up so we wanted to see him take em on, but every time they get started it cuts away. Its not really the lack of Godzilla its more the buildup with lackluster payoff is the issue. In other godzilla films when a battle starts you watch it for a good 5 to 10 minute brawl with very little cut away.
I'm with you in saying killing brian Cranston's character was a really bad idea Honestly I thought maybe killing his son off would have been better. Making him even more bitter and angry. Wanted the monster wiped off the face of the planet putting him at odds with Ken Watanabes character
Where's the tention if he doesn't struggle? In 2019 he slapped Ghidorah until the Boston fight and thus golden dragon doesn't feel that threatening to me.
I empathize with others' frustrations, But: the little girl watching the waters recede, staring at the tsunami as her father holds her, Godzilla's first appearance and his face, and for me- the silhouette of him rising as the children just stare out the school bus. Long Live Gojira Long Live The King!
Ah, 2014, a movie I watched 5 times in theaters nearly back to back, but since coming to DVD I don't think I've watched it in some years...maybe it's time to change that now that KotM is coming up very soon.
I'm glad this review captures a lot of overlooked aspects of this film. While I a think centering the film around Aaron Taylor Johnson's character was a mistake, the performance and writing is actually quite good. His relatively cold, emotionless portrayal makes sense considering his life. Due to his father's breakdown he pretty much had to be the responsible adult of the family from a young age and then he went into a career that required extreme levels of calm in most stressful situations imaginable. Also, the use of perspective throughout the film is fantastic. For much of the film we are only able to see the creatures from a human perspective , a decisions that emphasizes man's insignificance while also following the golden rule of creature features, never show your monster until the end. It's only at the end that we get to see the sweeping wide shots of the titans battling each other. Yes, the movie has its faults, but the actual quality of work on display is commendable.
I watched this movie with my nephew and I felt really good about the movie after it was over (I stayed to see after credits scenes). I have noticed a lot of unintentional scenes that were in previous movies, like the scene of the train and Ford Brody’s and another soldier’s attempt to dodge a flaming train(I thought about the train dodge in the movie Stand By Me). Ford’s hiding in the truck when he sees the flying MUTO(an homage to Gojira and Jaws because he was hoping that death will not see him). Joe Brody was like Martin Brody in Jaws. He has an obsessive personality and he wants to know the truth. I thought Serizawa was the true voice of reason in the movie.
This is one of my favorite movies. Saw it in the middle of a nervous breakdown and it was so cathartic. Sometimes disaster movies show me a world where the outside matches how I feel on the inside.
This film is summed up with ''oh something's about to happen!!!'' *crickets ''oh nevermind''. Great review, you showed off the positives and the negatives, though this is a beautiful film and the monsters are definitely treated with the most respect and are terrifying the film does have flaws. I would have liked to see Bryan last a lot longer, they could have had him team up with Serizawa and build up some great philosophical and scientific debates but instead, we just have Serizawa talking to himself all the time.
Yeah that's definitely a missed opportunity. I truly wish brian Cranston's character lived longer in this movie and he could have joined monarch and know about the titans and king kong.
Now this I like a LOT more than Final Wars. I do really like that they kept the monster fighting for at the end and it is more of a disaster movie. It has a lot of great shots but I do still wish Joe Brody survived for longer since we really got into his character. Hell I would have loved it as a father-son team up movie. Nothing against Ford, I mean he meets the requirements. I understand his motive and he isn't annoying as fuck, something Sam Witwhicky from the Transformers movies was very good at being annoying. I have some very fond memories seeing this opening night and we all got excited seeing the blue light finally start and the kiss of death bit. I really like the Mutos but I just wish they had some more colors on them, they had personality to make up for it though and I felt bad when their nest was destroyed.
I absolutely adore this movie. Does it have flaws? Of course it does. But it's still the perfect start to the Monsterverse. And the perfect start and return for Godzilla.
Such a dull movie went to see it on advanced preview and I recall how excited the audience was as the movie started and then how that excitement was drained from the audience as if the movie was a vampire. My friend actually fell asleep during it because he was so bored.
This was my first Godzilla film in theaters, so the 2014 film will always have a place in my heart. Though it does have a lot of problems, I will always consider this one of the best examples of a successful American adaption of a Japanese property. One thing I didn’t realize until years after I first saw it is that the overall structure is VERY similar to Terror of Mechagodzilla (the Godzilla film I watch the most when I was young). Think about it: Godzilla faces two monsters without any allies except for the humans in both films.
When I initially saw this movie in theatres, I was frustrated by all the teases and cutaways right before the fights. I also had only seen a handful of the Godzilla films at this point. My Godzilla fandom started in earnest summer of 2019, when Starz had a Godzilla marathon leading up to Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Watched 8 of the Showa era films and fell in love with the big guy. Ordered the Criterion Collection Showa Era set, all the Hesei films (except Godzilla vs Biolante, which desperately needs to be reprinted) and the Millennium Collection. Had no intention of getting any of the American ones, as I hated Godzilla '98 and was even more frustrated by King of the Monsters than I was Godzilla '14. Saw this film on sale for $2 and on rewatch, enjoyed it a lot more. I still don't agree with Gareth Edwards' choice to cut away from the fights so often, but knowing what he was going for with the movie helped me to enjoy it much more.
Also, thank you for giving Aaron Taylor Johnson more credit. People seem to forget that not everyone reacts to stuff in the same way. The guy didn't overact and kept it more believable that way, and honestly, he made it more relatable for me cause i'm a quite and calm guy too. It also made you feel that he lost something.
@Inconceivable Disputes Having Ford not do anything significant in the film is exactly the point. The film is basically showing the audience that he's not the hero. This is Godzilla's movie, so Godzilla gets to save the day. The movie is all about Man learning to step aside and let Nature do its thing. Compare that to the Michael Bay Transformers movies, where human Sam Witwicky is handed all of the big hero moments that should have gone to Optimus Prime. Those movies lean too far in the opposite direction, where the human protagonist does so much that the nonhuman characters are just this side of useless.
Easily one of the best in the series, "limited screen-time" be damned. Seeing him portrayed seriously with amazing effects, while still being true to the character, was a dream come true for me. Godzilla KotM looks even better. Also, anyone who complains about Thicc Zilla obviously forgot how he looks... like, almost all of the time.
Yeah, I’ve never understood the fat criticism. It’s almost like they’re trying to find something to complain about. I’ll admit he’s been somewhat slim in in some of the Showa films. But in the majority of the entire franchise, he’s a hefty boy. Besides, even in his slimmer moments, he’s kinda tubby.
For the record, Gareth Edwards has a second great legacy in terms of his camera work: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. You can see the way he uses the camera to accentuate scale in that movie as well, making the AT-ATs, Star Destroyers, and Death Star actually look and feel imposing
The scale is the one thing I really took away from this movie, and it's something Edwards managed to carry over into Rogue One. He's one of the only directors i've seen get weight and size damn near perfect when it comes to CGI. Godzilla and the MUTOs feel genuinely massive and weighty, as does the Death Star and the AT-ATs, there's a level of realism i can't quite explain when it comes to Edwards and his approach to scale, but I love it.
I agree with nearly everything you said. Except for the son. Maybe it was a conscious decision on his or the directors part but it seems that he was bored in a lot of his scenes and just phoning it in. If they had Bryan Cranston's character stay alive, use his knowledge to help Serizawa, maybe keep the son alive and in the army fighting the Muto's and Godzilla, therein giving Cranston another emotional hook. His wife died because of the Muto's and now he is doing whatever he can to protect his son. I don't know but it seems that the son was really what prevented the movie from being great, also the fact that it was a Godzilla movie but it was really about the Muto's and Godzilla was mentioned at the end of scenes just to remind people that it is a Godzilla movie. Other than that it is fantastic, it is just the story was lacking a little bit.
I love this movie! I didn't think the US could make a decent Godzilla movie that depicted or had the essence of Japan and then this bad boy came out and blew my socks off! I'm glad it did for me as a fan and emotionally (personal note time). This is the Godzilla movie made without either of the people who got me into and nurtured my love of the franchise. So it was great seeing it competently made and surpassing my expectations.
*_" I didn't think the US could make a decent Godzilla movie"_* American _CAN_ make a Godzilla movie up to that level, it is just a matter of finding someone who cares and deeply understands the source material.
Seriously, is there some cut of the movie that everyone else has seen, that i have not? I agree with a LOT of what the review says, including the two HUGE flaws. The death of the Bryan Cranston character knocked the wind right out of the movie and it never recovered. Then the constant teasing of Godzilla left me frustrated for what could have been. The family was so incredibly bland. It's a Godzilla movie so you don't have to have GREAT characters, but give them some sort of personality. It is funny, I agree with the reviewer about the two biggest flaws, but for me they are so massive that is takes the movie down to 2 stars.
I couldn't agree with you more they kept showing you a fight scene and then turning away from it as if we cared about the silly insignificant humans instead of the Giants fighting in the streets...💩 Definitely two stars 👎
I can't help but think how different this movie would've been had Joe survived the movie or at least lived longer. As much as I love this movie, there are certain flaws I cannot gloss over, such as the wasting of the movie's best character and the constant teasing of the monsters.
Again, this movie works on repeated viewings, why(?), listen to this review. This is by far the most concise Review of this amazing movie, Bryan Cranston was wonderful and made his mark. The young girl at the beach as the waters receded, the paratroopers descending, Godzilla swimming in San Francisco Bay, the school children, Hello..seriously, Thank You Gareth. This review speaks for the many The King Abides
This film wasn’t hated at the time. It was loved at the time and there was a ton of great reviews for it. It was only when Toho announced they were making a new Godzilla did people turn on it. Fans went from “2014 redeemed Godzilla for the US” to “Oh Toho is making a new one, this film must suck then.” Fans went from loving it to hating it just because Toho is the only true film. It sad and Shin’s praise seemed fake like Force Awakens praise. It was loved to spite the previous film. Just like Force Awakens is basically “This movie is great because fuck George Lucas.” Shin was “this film is great because fuck 2014” The criticism gets is in this movie gets is more recent then most people think. It was not hated at the time and it was mixed at worst. Not just that, some of the criticism was super unfair. Like people criticizing the music score for not having the Godzilla theme even though so many other previous films haven’t used it like the Kiyru movies. Or the so-called dark picture which is the fault of that DVD prints and not the film itself !!! The sad part is no matter what we say it’s never going to change the overall popular opinion of this movie. Like trying to prove that Superman didn’t destroy the city the way people think he did in Man of Steel. I love this movie because it helped Godzilla become popular again but people today just love to deny that. If it wasn’t for this film we wouldn’t be getting these newer films like King of the Monsters which is why am excited for it and I can’t wait for it.
Godzilla Fangirl That logic is flawed as hell. Shin Godzilla goes back to the very roots of what Godzilla was about. Much like Gojira 1954 was about the horrors of the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Shin Godzilla is about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011, which was made worse by the government’s sluggish response, which is another thing that is both great and realistic in Shin Godzilla. The guy who made this review also made this video that explains why Shin won all the Awards in Japan: ruclips.net/video/-vGdxpO-y3M/видео.html
Thanks for your thoughts. I thought was a good film. I'm honestly torn about it. On one hand, yes, it has as much Godzilla time as the 1954 original. On the other hand, there wasn't a big kaiju fight in the original, and in this one there are two big fights, and we barely get to see them at all. I think Gareth Edward's decision to shoot it all from a human perspective is interesting, and if had broken away from that model for the Hawaii and San Francisco fights, I think it would have made the film better, and more people would have enjoyed it.
I remember seeing this in the cinema, my Pops and I were really excited for it, as we knew who Godzilla was and had wanted to see him on a huge cinema-screen. And not surprisingly, it was amazing, I swear Godzilla had looked *_HUGE_* on the screen, and I think I felt the theater tremor from his roar. I knew that GZ didn't have a lot of screen-time, I thought it was the appropriate way to re-introduce the Big G to the modern audiences, but I also knew that when the sequel came around they were gonna HAVE to give him more screen-time. But overall, this was an amazing re-intro for GZ himself, and it had opened the door for a new era of Godzilla films to come.
Godzilla 2014 will probably remain the best of the Monsterverse. It’s not just a great Godzilla movie. Godzilla 2014 also fills every mark for a great movie by critical standards: good acting, great writing, incredible special effects and sharp cinematography. Not only that, but it takes pride in the Alien and Jaws philosophy: Less is More. We get excited to see the Xenomorph, Shark and Godzilla because they’re not on the screen the whole time. That’s why I was bored stiff and perplexed by the end of KOTM. On the flip side, I’ve seen 2014 twenty times and my heart still pounds every time Godzilla’s on screen. My only real gripe is Brian Cranston’s early death, especially since the movie was advertised as a Cranston vs Godzilla type of movie.
The teasing is one of the film's great strengths. I never had a problem with the build personally. It's what films like Jaws and Alien do so well. Killing Bryan Cranston and sticking us with his boring son is the film's biggest hiccup. It does pretty much everything else right.
Love this movie and perfect review. It has some faults but no other Godzilla movie has the same amount of oozing atmosphere and suspense than Godzilla 2014. It also really emphasizes the sense of scale these kaiju have which I adore.
It would have been nice to keep Bryan Cranston for the sequel. But with Charles Dance as an antagonist people would be slightly distracted at the thought of Walter White squaring off with Tywin Lannister and Godzilla fighting Ghidorah would be an after thought.
the sound design was brilliant and really produced an awe inspiring result when used in conjunction with the visual sense of scale created by the shot choices of edwards. it left me enchanted after seeing it in the theater. no other monster movie except for maybe the first jurassic park has made me feel that way. ive been dying for a sequel ever since. only 3 weeks away.
My only complaint is that Brian Cranston should have been around longer maybe to the point of becoming part of Monarch by the end of the movie. Mostly because he is such a good actor that he would've been able to carry the film through the extremely long wait of the second act.
Me and my dad saw this in theaters and as long standing Godzilla fans we were blown away, I was leaning forward in my seat for a good portion of the film. Can't wait for King of the Monsters this weekend as we're going back into the theaters to see it as well!
For me, there are 2 scenes in this movie that are absolute perfect. One is the scene where Godzilla first comes face-to-face with one of the MUTOs, and the other is the scene at 3:36. The incredibly understated, ominous score is such a bold decision where most other directors would put a big, bombastic, epic piece of music.
This was my first Godzilla film if you don't count the 1998 film. I saw it on the big screen and was blown away. A while later, I got the blu-ray and watched the film again. I wasn't as blown away as I was before but was still entertained. The main character ,Ford Brody, is bland, but so are other Japanese Godzilla main characters. It is a good movie, but I think Skull Island and KoTM improved over everything this movie got wrong. 7/10
I am not particularly fond of this film but can completely agree with everything said in this review. As soon as Cranston's character died, so did my interest in the human characters. The buildup was great but they teased way too many times and it was frustrating at the end.
I think now that I've seen KotM, I can appreciate this more restrained and measured Godzilla film much much more than I did originally, it really is an impressive watch from start to finish, even if I know myself and many of my friends weren't as impressed as we could have felt when it first came out. In short, its aged pretty darn well
My only real gripe with the movie is Joe Brody being killed off so early. His presence would’ve added a huge emotional weight to the rest of the movie, especially if he was paired with Serizawa during the action. Everything else is damn near perfect to me, and I’m fine with them drawing out the action. As KOTM looks to focus more on the monsters and less on the humans that’s completely fine, but I do hope there’s something of an emotional crux, even if it’s by-the-numbers. The characters and story don’t have to be super deep, hell they can be laughably bad, but it just doesn’t have to be boring. Hopefully KOTM will be a great entry into the franchise.
Great review! I personally loved the movie despite its flaws, and I 110% agree that no other movie in the franchise has been able to capture the size and scale of the kaiju as well as this movie had done.
And then Godzilla King of the Monsters came along and took everything good about Godzilla 2014 and amplified it a hundred times over to a truly spectacular menagerie of kaiju and destruction and emotional rampages. Want more monsters? You got more monsters. Want bigger fights? It's got bigger fights. The humans serve their purpose as stepping stones from one monster battle to the next while also providing refreshing humor and some surprising emotional arcs to compliment the personality and character of the kaiju themselves. All made possible from Godzilla 2014.
I actually liked this movie despite not having much Godzilla scenes. It did not have the best monster fights among the movies in the Monsterverse but this one has the best plot in my own opinion. I have not watch Godzilla vs Kong yet but I still put this on par with King of the Monsters and I think this is better than Kong: Skull Island. What makes this movie special is the camera angles, the cinematography make us the audience feel the sheer size and weight of the kaijus much more than the other movies. It gives more suspense and giant monster feels for me.
By far my favourite Godzilla film. The feeling I got watching it back when it released is one I’ve never got since. A solid 9/10. One of the top 3 Godzilla films.
It's certainly a faithful "Godzilla movie", but as a movie its bad; -The pace of the movie feels extremely slow. -The movie starts off interesting thanks to Bryan Cranston's character but it loses interest after his passing. -Characters are bland and unappealing because they're not developed properly to be invested. The way they're written is like telling us they're this character and this had happened to them, please have feelings for them. Adding insult to injury they have no charisma to them. -The movie isn't about Godzilla, its a movie with Godzilla in it. The focus is not on him. -I'm all for suspense and tension but it's crafted in the worst way, the teasing gets so frustrating that it kills my immersion instantly. -I don't like the MUTOs, I don't like giant bug kaijus because it's not my cup of tea. Since they're the focus it kills my investment. The only positive thing about G2014 is Godzilla himself. The design, sound, animations and his characteristics are top notches. It doesn't deserve to be in a film that's poorly constructed.
Anyone notice how the lead character and his wife are played by Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch from the MCU? And what's even weirder is that they had an incestuous relationship in the comics?
Still can't believe they killed Brian Cranston like that. If he had still been alive, and they had teased the monsters less... Movie could have been 5 stars. lol
Nope. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was god awful in this movie. I love Godzilla films, and I usually don't shit on any actor or filmmaker, but trying to make the Ford Brody character seem like he was interesting (at all), is a huge stretch in my opinion. Which is a shame because Bryan Cranston was killing it dramatically in all of his scenes, should have switched the fates of the those two characters.
I remember the time when I was 9 years old, me and my family ready to watch Transformers Age of Extinction in theaters, I saw a poster where there is a giant monster in a burning city and is titled Godzilla. At first, I was a bit intimidated because the image shows he's extremely big and second I see this as a new thing for me because at that time I wasn't a Godzilla fan, perhaps never even knew him, I relied on Transformers more. And when the trailer is playing I was invested and scared to see this movie. It even made me believe he's the biggest monster I've ever seen. Good times.
Five years later, I truly like this movie and Godzilla looks amazing, his origin story is very different, but he still described as prehistoric creature. Godzilla is more anti-hero, not a hero. He is only protector of the earth. Can't wait to see the sequel on May 31st and upcoming crossover film with King Kong next year.
This movie was amazing I know it gets a lot of hate but I think time will be kind to Godzilla 2014. It should have won awards for cinematography and sound design. How this movie came to be could be it’s own story. Great review as always but I’m kinda sad your running out of Godzilla movies to review lol
I think the people saying they wished that Godzilla had more screen-time are missing the point of the movie. It’s, for better or worse, a story about the humans dealing with Godzilla. Not Godzilla dealing with the people.
I’ll always remember the first time I saw this movie in the theatre. The breathtaking scale, fantastic score, being fully invested in Bryan Cranston, being awesome by the fight and the bridge scene, feeling hooked by the escalation and tension, and loving how Godzilla looked, acted, and felt. I’ve been a fan since the early 2000’s when I was a kid. But G-14 really solidified my love of the franchise
Strange how the Muto destroyed the Japanese power plant right after it really happened in 2011. This was Japans Godzilla and Fukashima they will Never recover from it!
This is my 3rd favorite Godzilla film, I have a few complaints ( I even made a video about ) but when there is Godzilla I love it. The destruction is beautiful and the scale of Godzilla was mind blowing when I first saw it. But there is little of that, or at least from Godzilla. In fact the M.U.T.Os get more screen then Godzilla him self. But once the final battle comes, all heck is let loose. Again, unfortunately there is barely any destruction that Godzilla does. The only thing he destroys is the Golden Gate Bridge. You may give it four stars, I give four stars too.
I think if there was a single scene where Godzilla went on a rampage and one or two less scenes where the action was abruptly cut short, it would’ve been better received. As is, it’s still a great movie and worthy of being called Godzilla.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Bryan Cranston is up there with Anthony Hopkins and Daniel Day Lewis as one of the greatest actors of our time.
Good review. It's interesting to observe that although he's definitely the draw of the film, Godzilla seems to disappear a lot from the focus of the movie. To use an example, Skull Island intros Kong right at the beginning, and they cut back to him or mention him quite often once the 1970's characters are on the island. Hell, Packard's entire motivation is focused on Kong, making sure you can't forget about the ape. That's the biggest issue with Godzilla in this film, he feels like a plot device instead of a character until he finally gets time to show personality during and after the end battle in the third act. The quick look of disgust he gives the male in the airport doesn't really count as it's a "blink and you miss it" moment. It's not the lack of screen time, it's the lack of focus for 90% of the film. I still love the film though, warts and all. 7.5 out of 10
@WaddleSenpai His screentime there is distributed much more evenly, instead of being mostly backloaded. Also considering Gojira's much shorter length, for my money it's not the same thing.
@WaddleSenpai eh, I disagree. He's mentioned by the Monarch scientists in the cavern at the beginning of the film when Graham asks "is it 'him?'" but then there's no mention of Godzilla at all until after Hawaii. You have the excellent MUTO scenes before that but Godzilla is absent until then. After the airport scene, yes, they make sure to cut back to Godzilla quite often. But he still doesn't get to show actual character until the end of the third act. In Gojira the entire film is centered around the monster so the screen time is not an issue. It wouldn't be an issue in 2014 if there was more of a focus on Godzilla. Doesn't need to be over the top either
Of all of the American Godzilla movies, this is the best in my opinion. It doesn't hold up to Shin, which I think is perhaps the best of all of the latter day Godzillas.
Love your channels and the videos you make. I’m also a huge Godzilla fan and I’ve been watching some of your video and they’re really great and entertaining and I’ve been giving likes and now I will subscribe to your channel
With my most recent viewing of Godzilla 2014 I feel like I've pinned down part of the problem. I don't think it's so much that there's not enough Godzilla screentime and keeps cutting from the Big G himself. It's that it consistently cuts away from and then ABANDONS the action that it was using to build tension. The best example is Hawaii where it cuts away from Brody in a train car that's dangling while he hangs onto a little boy for dear life, to his son in America watching the situation in Hawaii on the news. Fine so far. The PROBLEM is that it never cuts back to the train car. Instead the next cut is in the aftermath as Brody's in a kind of survivor's camp? and is trying to help the little boy find his parents. So there's no actual resolution to all that BRILLIANT action and tension that just happened. How Brody and the others avoid falling out of the train car!? How did they get rescured!? How did the MUTO that was RIGHT THERE not end up bothering or killing them all!? Did anyone else on the train car even survive! And it's not just that the train car situation goes unresolved just like it's not ONLY Hawaii where the film does this. It's also the tsunami, the people in the airport and the militaries actions that had all been supporting the events of the train that get completely dropped along with everything that happened in Hawaii so that it can feel like there's a bit missing from the film. A similar problem is even present in the aftermath where Brody's trying to find the boy's parents. The kid just runs off and so there's no interaction between Brody and the parents and no scene of gratitude from the boy. Instead there's quite a jank transition to Brody joining up with the military and that's that. Hawaii's never mentioned again. It could have been made fine in multiple ways, whether by actually cutting back to the train and resolving that situation or by extending the scene in the aftermath to really SHOW the aftermath and by having Brody not just suddenly be at this meetup spot but by rejoining him a bit before that so that it's not SO disconnected. It's the same kinda thing when Elizabeth Olsen is running away into the shelter/bunker thing, we just completely drop any involvement from her in the movie all of a sudden. Compare with Pacific Rim for example and you see inside the bunker when one of the characters has to use one and HEAR and FEEL the stomps and crashes going on outside as all anyone inside can do is stand around and hope for the best and try not to panic. It's not even like you could argue that this would lengthen the film which could cause distribution problems etc because another problem with the film is it has a lot that could and should have been cut. Whenever I rewatch it for example I watch an edited version I made that just completely cuts out the scene where Brody's helping to move the nuke across the bridge and it makes NO difference to the film AT ALL. I'd also argue that a lot of the military stuff in general could be cut-out as it ends up feeling a bit too much like a Micheal Bay film that HAS to show the military, I'm assuming like with many other films the American military paid for the film to show them off but still! All that said I don't dislike the film, it's the singular film I feel like I've went back and forth on the most BY FAR.
Underrated. Seeing this on the big screen was special. I felt honored and in awe to see my childhood return in a big way.
Same here. I had the same vibes as when I first saw the force awakens because. Many of us hadn't watched godzilla 98 and theatres and had been begging for there to be another American godzilla movie
Overrated.
Underrated my ass he is not underrated zilla is underrated
I'm shocked king of the monsters was so good, the story , the effects, I'm surprised it didn't get more credit, this one was good too, but to see rodan , and mothra and everybody, exciting!
God I will never forget the first time I saw this movie. I was a critic for my high school newspaper and I was given a chance to see a press screening for the movie in IMAX.
From the custom IMAX countdown to the first reveal of the big G as his roar resounded throughout the theater, it was spectacular and epic in every sense of the word. It remains to this day one of the best film experiences I’ve ever witnessed.
It remains one of my absolute favorite Godzilla movies, and while I can understand the frustration of not having a lot of Godzilla on screen, to me it made the moments he was on there all the more exciting.
I adore this movie, and as the starting chapter to the MonsterVerse, it excites me greatly to see what comes next with King of the Monsters. This movie delivered on a true American Godzilla, and I can’t wait to see the same treatment brought to Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah!
Only a few more weeks!!!
Excellent review as always of course!
Micah Delgado Totally agree. The airport scene, with all the epic build-up and the camera slowly panning upwards to finally reveal Godzilla in all his glory, who proceeds to let off the roar of the century. It made me jump and laugh in excitement. Such a huge cinema experience.
It seems our paths have crossed once again lol
With CGI it becomes harder and harder to impress audiences with visuals. Few movies have left me in awe in several moments, yet Godzilla did exactly that quite a few times. Two moments are included in this review, the tail over the buildings at 3:33 and the foot at the airport at 5:35. Other moments were the Halo Jump and the final atomic breath kill. The cinematography and the sense of scale is something that this movie truly excels at! Furthermore, I don't think there was another movie where I've gotten angry towards the end (for once again cutting away from the fight) yet still leaving satisfied in the very end! :D
Now this is the critic I want to see!
I deeply regret not seeing this in theaters...I was in kind of a lapse of interest in 2014 after being a huge Godzilla dork as a kid, and while I was keeping an eye on this movie, I ended up kinda just forgetting to go see it. Fortunately, I didn't make the same mistake in 2019.
A perfect movie? No, not at all.
A fun movie that understands the themes of the previous movies? Most definitely.
This
Yeah. There is no perfect Godzilla movie
Ayal Zur there really isn’t a perfect movie period.
@@Aplesedjr There never will be a perfect movie ever in life there's 1 thing wrong with every movie.
Honoring the spirit of Gozilla's past makes this damn near perfect for me. Yes, it could have done more, but this new series seems very fluid.
This is one of those movies that, because the highlights are SO GOOD, it makes the missteps all the more upsetting.
For my money, if Brian Cranston's character lived (or at least lived for most of the movie), and they replaced at least one cut away with a smaller fight, and extend the final battle a little more it would be basically a perfect Godzilla movie (IMO).
Bryan Cranston should be in a Alien movie.
This is my favourite film, It gets such a reaction out of me, something no other film has reached. I’ll never forget seeing this film for the first time in IMAX.
I was going to make my own review on ‘Why Godzilla 2014 Is A Masterpiece’ but you’ve pretty much said all that needs to be said.
You still need to make that video. I as well as other people love and listen to you.
You've got to make that video! Please?
Just do it. Everyone loves finding videos of diverse opinions. Even if they are the same, the flavors are often different and fun for each individual. Go for it.
Pls do it. I want to hear it from you. PLEASE! I love Godzilla 2014, it’s my favourite Godzilla film and it would be nice to hear about it from a fellow Kaiju fan.
Everyone: Reeeee Cranston died and I hate this movie because of that!
Godzilla, whose name is on the title: 👁👄👁
Godzilla 2014 only appears 10 minutes and 20 seconds. And the original Godzilla 1954 only appears 9 minutes and 46 seconds. Both have similar screen time. I still love Godzilla 2014 no matter what.
8 mins actually for the original Godzilla
Gorizard he post on his Dailymotion account in 2014. I check his video, it's been confirmed that the original Godzilla 1954 only appears 9 minutes and 46 seconds.
So glad there's so many people that love this movie like I do.
the original only appears for almost 10 minutes, yes, but proportional to the run time of their respective films (1954 being 96 minutes and 2014 being 123 minutes) the original has much more of godzilla in it than 2014, even though both films are of a similar style.
@@DiddyKongsTrashCollection2001 Thank you! That's what I've been saying ever since the movie came out!
The most divisive Godzilla movie ever.
Personally I love this movie, as a Godzilla fan and as a film fan. Cinematography is jaw dropping and sound design is awe-inspiring, soundtrack is chilling. This movie reminds me of the early Showa film, Hensei films too.
Nah, that's probably Shin Godzilla. the flame wars were pretty intense on that one. I agree with your positives for the film and I love 2014 as well, in spite of its issues.
I would argue that both films aren't very divisive at all, both were quite generally likes. The most divisive goes to final wars
@@SaurianStudios1207 Hmmm. Yeah, I can see that, there could definitely be a discussion there lol. I tend to forget the mixed reception that received.
@@Telcontar86 then again I'm pretty netural about all this and people just need think for a minute that these are movies with giant radioactive dinosaurs, and not an American idol. Some people just wanna hate for the sake of hating things.
@@SaurianStudios1207 Well, there's only so far you can push something before you break the rules of the movie that the script has set up, even taking into account that there's giant monsters running around in your movie.
Like, Kong in Skull Island punting one of the smaller skullcrawlers over the horizon would be dumb and over the top because even in the world the movie is postulating it's preposterous.
But then in Final Wars Godzilla does just that to Kumonga. it's a "jump the shark" moment.
Another example is Owen surviving a pyroclastic flow in Fallen Kingdom (A completely un-survivable situation)
Then again, the F&F series jumped the shark like 4 movies ago and are still popular. depends how much you care about a story having stakes or making sense I guess.
I'm a writer, so I at least like things to be coherent *shrugs*
I loved how some of the camera work shows us the monsters from the point of view of a person there such as a kid on the bus during the bridge scene or when the male Muto retrieved the nuclear warhead and came on to shore and the camera shows us the view of someone in a nearby building watching in horror. It was just so brilliant
This is sadly why King of monsters fails in some departments. The camera perspective added a lot of realism to the 2014 shots, in KotM the angles feel disconnected from the people involved. It still looks great and its far from a bad film, but it lost soms of the charm that 2014 established by following some mainstream cinematography.
God that pigeon scared me the first time I saw it
@@ZappasBappas And GVK totally destroyed it, there’s no sense of scale on the movie.
@@Yamanosei95 GVK's CGI was like the transition from Pacific rim to Pacific rim 2 with SOMETIMES a bit of pacific rim 1.
GVK was so mixed, some scenes were great, some were just piss poor. And then there's the humans.... That was just piss all over the place, my god the stench.
Clode to be a bad film and very far from a good one
I fucking love this film, is freaking epic, well acted, the special effects are the best the entire franchise have ever had, and the King is amazing even if he only got 10 minutes those are the best 10 minutes in the entire film, glorious.
I love Godzilla 2014 too!
I tought i liked 2014 too since it was the first godzilla film i saw (not really i had the entirety of the heisei era on VHS but i dont remember it clearly)
But then i watched king of the monsters
Holy shit
Everyone: Reeeee Cranston died and I hate this movie because of that!
Godzilla, whose name is on the title: 👁👄👁
do you really had to say a bad word?
@@roybirney9884 fuck yeah
The only problem I have with this movie is that it is to dark when we see Godzilla. This is why my favorite scene in this movie is the Golden Gate Bridge scene with Godzilla.
This is due to error in the studio. The original wasn't that dark.
Damn error. It would have made this movie a lot more fun if there was no error .
Agree. Some people on RUclips actually amped the brightness up in the action scenes.
I remember an interview with the cinematographer, where he said he made certain every shot in the movie was from a point of view where a human COULD have been - the only aerial shots, for example, are from aircraft, or during the HALO jump.
I used to give this movie shit, but after seeing king of the monsters I kind of have a new appreciation for this movie. The cinematography in this film is actually pretty great. And I honestly feel like this movie handles the monsters better. They are truly something beyond humanity.
The American Godzilla movie that adapted Godzilla to fans and general audiences the right way, even if it got some detractors. That said, this is one of the best Godzilla movies to date, it respects the original Godzilla without being a pale imitation or a completely different thing, like the 1998 movie. Godzilla 2014 is without a doubt, the movie that relaunched Godzilla into the public eye. Long live the king. Give this movie an 8.3/10.
Agree! I've been rewatching the toho and showa era movies and I gotta say that 2014 Godzilla has and old but modern feel.
I remember loving this in theaters. Also always makes me happy that this movie made Toho go, "hey. Guess godzilla is popular again. Let's start the camera".
Not much credit is given for it
GODZILLA 2014 WAS A TEASER FOR GODZILLA 2019!!!
No shit sherlock
I was fascinated to learn that the character Ishiro Serizawa was given the first name from Ishiro Honda, the director of the Showa Godzilla films and Serizawa the name of the scientist who made the oxygen destroyer.
This movie has gotten an undeserved drubbing. Gareth Edwards and team delivered Godzilla moments that gave me goosebumps.
The scenes that stick out were the HALO jump and Godzilla’s smoke unveil that made him jump off the screen with biblical proportions.
The HALO jump embraced an ethereal ambience that conveyed the true scale of what was happening. The tension and anxiety of that scene brought about a nightmarish terror that only giant, ancient monsters could make you feel.
The next is when Godzilla appears from the smoke with its subtle musical chimes to accent the inherent bowing of humans to Godzilla’s existence. With a tail swipe and a deep blue hue, the god presents itself, humbling those who witness it, and with a roar to life, shocking you back to reality.
There is an underlying, and palpable, sense of fear that really moved me.
I found the movie to be breathtaking in its attempt to make it not just another disaster porn Hollywood clusterfuck.
Thank you legendary and the cinematic team for taking a risk in doing Godzilla justice.
Not the airport scene? The dreadfull silence after he plants his foot down. People going completely still.. That moment at the cinema was just... wow!
Alina Mast, my responses to this movie are much like yours. I consider Godzilla to be the first kaiju art film. It has more grandeur than many other spectacles. Had I not read your review I'd have posted a similar, though less eloquent comment.
My biggest problem with the movie was that I was never really sure why Godzilla cared enough to fight the other monsters. I also couldn't be made to care about the main character. His dad would have been a much more interesting protagonist.
*_"why Godzilla cared enough to fight the other monsters"_* Godzilla is a pretty simple, straightforward character. He's the ancient guardian of Earth, the protector between the balance of order and chaos in the world of nature, and he possesses a sixth sense that let's him know when it's time to restore that balance whenever the world is plunged into chaos by an even bigger threat. That's why he cares enough to go after them.
Just got a KOTM ad before watching the video. PERFECT!
Great review as always
Original Godzilla had 8.5 mins of screen time, no one cares.
Cloverfield and the JP trex had 3.5 mins of screen time, no one cares.
Godzilla 2014 has 10 mins and some people lose their minds.
What a funny world we live in.
I think it's because of the abundance that Godzilla is known for having in his films. Upwards of 20 minutes. We just weren't used to it at the time.
Also it was the constant cut aways from battles, the movie is about godzilla but these other monsters showed up so we wanted to see him take em on, but every time they get started it cuts away.
Its not really the lack of Godzilla its more the buildup with lackluster payoff is the issue.
In other godzilla films when a battle starts you watch it for a good 5 to 10 minute brawl with very little cut away.
KaijusaurusG2K It was because the 54 Godzilla, Cloverfield, and Jurassic Park were all highly entertaining films. Godzilla 2014, was just boring.
@@cossegoji2kofficialchannel60 that's subjective though as I enjoyed it
@@cossegoji2kofficialchannel60 One word: *Subjectivity*
I'm with you in saying killing brian Cranston's character was a really bad idea
Honestly I thought maybe killing his son off would have been better. Making him even more bitter and angry. Wanted the monster wiped off the face of the planet putting him at odds with Ken Watanabes character
This movie isn’t bad, but I really wish Godzilla himself were in it more, and didn’t get his ass beat so badly
Where's the tention if he doesn't struggle? In 2019 he slapped Ghidorah until the Boston fight and thus golden dragon doesn't feel that threatening to me.
I empathize with others' frustrations, But: the little girl watching the waters recede, staring at the tsunami as her father holds her, Godzilla's first appearance and his face, and for me- the silhouette of him rising as the children just stare out the school bus.
Long Live Gojira
Long Live The King!
Ah, 2014, a movie I watched 5 times in theaters nearly back to back, but since coming to DVD I don't think I've watched it in some years...maybe it's time to change that now that KotM is coming up very soon.
I'm glad this review captures a lot of overlooked aspects of this film. While I a think centering the film around Aaron Taylor Johnson's character was a mistake, the performance and writing is actually quite good. His relatively cold, emotionless portrayal makes sense considering his life. Due to his father's breakdown he pretty much had to be the responsible adult of the family from a young age and then he went into a career that required extreme levels of calm in most stressful situations imaginable.
Also, the use of perspective throughout the film is fantastic. For much of the film we are only able to see the creatures from a human perspective , a decisions that emphasizes man's insignificance while also following the golden rule of creature features, never show your monster until the end. It's only at the end that we get to see the sweeping wide shots of the titans battling each other.
Yes, the movie has its faults, but the actual quality of work on display is commendable.
I watched this movie with my nephew and I felt really good about the movie after it was over (I stayed to see after credits scenes). I have noticed a lot of unintentional scenes that were in previous movies, like the scene of the train and Ford Brody’s and another soldier’s attempt to dodge a flaming train(I thought about the train dodge in the movie Stand By Me). Ford’s hiding in the truck when he sees the flying MUTO(an homage to Gojira and Jaws because he was hoping that death will not see him).
Joe Brody was like Martin Brody in Jaws. He has an obsessive personality and he wants to know the truth.
I thought Serizawa was the true voice of reason in the movie.
This is one of my favorite movies. Saw it in the middle of a nervous breakdown and it was so cathartic. Sometimes disaster movies show me a world where the outside matches how I feel on the inside.
just imagine if cranston didnt die
Yeah it would have went from good to great for me.
This film is summed up with ''oh something's about to happen!!!'' *crickets ''oh nevermind''.
Great review, you showed off the positives and the negatives, though this is a beautiful film and the monsters are definitely treated with the most respect and are terrifying the film does have flaws. I would have liked to see Bryan last a lot longer, they could have had him team up with Serizawa and build up some great philosophical and scientific debates but instead, we just have Serizawa talking to himself all the time.
Ken Watanabe and Bryan Cranston as Science Bros Who Fight Monsters would have been the most fantastic thing ever.
@@Xagzan Missed opportunity lol but it would have been really fun to watch.
Yeah that's definitely a missed opportunity. I truly wish brian Cranston's character lived longer in this movie and he could have joined monarch and know about the titans and king kong.
Now this I like a LOT more than Final Wars. I do really like that they kept the monster fighting for at the end and it is more of a disaster movie. It has a lot of great shots but I do still wish Joe Brody survived for longer since we really got into his character. Hell I would have loved it as a father-son team up movie. Nothing against Ford, I mean he meets the requirements. I understand his motive and he isn't annoying as fuck, something Sam Witwhicky from the Transformers movies was very good at being annoying. I have some very fond memories seeing this opening night and we all got excited seeing the blue light finally start and the kiss of death bit. I really like the Mutos but I just wish they had some more colors on them, they had personality to make up for it though and I felt bad when their nest was destroyed.
I really wish it had a bit more spread out monster action as those where increadable. Id like to see godzilla 2019 be a bit more monster focus
@@Bowiiihowdy Yeah a little something with the airport bit. Still the lead and intro of Godzilla was amazing.
I absolutely adore this movie. Does it have flaws? Of course it does. But it's still the perfect start to the Monsterverse. And the perfect start and return for Godzilla.
Such a dull movie went to see it on advanced preview and I recall how excited the audience was as the movie started and then how that excitement was drained from the audience as if the movie was a vampire. My friend actually fell asleep during it because he was so bored.
This movie will hold a special place in my heart, having filmed at the hotel my Dad worked at.
5:05
This was my first Godzilla film in theaters, so the 2014 film will always have a place in my heart. Though it does have a lot of problems, I will always consider this one of the best examples of a successful American adaption of a Japanese property.
One thing I didn’t realize until years after I first saw it is that the overall structure is VERY similar to Terror of Mechagodzilla (the Godzilla film I watch the most when I was young). Think about it: Godzilla faces two monsters without any allies except for the humans in both films.
Godzilla (2014) was my first time experiencing the “big guy” on the big-screen, and let me tell you it was an experience that I’ll never forget~!!!
When I initially saw this movie in theatres, I was frustrated by all the teases and cutaways right before the fights. I also had only seen a handful of the Godzilla films at this point. My Godzilla fandom started in earnest summer of 2019, when Starz had a Godzilla marathon leading up to Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Watched 8 of the Showa era films and fell in love with the big guy. Ordered the Criterion Collection Showa Era set, all the Hesei films (except Godzilla vs Biolante, which desperately needs to be reprinted) and the Millennium Collection. Had no intention of getting any of the American ones, as I hated Godzilla '98 and was even more frustrated by King of the Monsters than I was Godzilla '14. Saw this film on sale for $2 and on rewatch, enjoyed it a lot more. I still don't agree with Gareth Edwards' choice to cut away from the fights so often, but knowing what he was going for with the movie helped me to enjoy it much more.
Also, thank you for giving Aaron Taylor Johnson more credit. People seem to forget that not everyone reacts to stuff in the same way. The guy didn't overact and kept it more believable that way, and honestly, he made it more relatable for me cause i'm a quite and calm guy too. It also made you feel that he lost something.
Yeah, his calm demeanor reflects on his character as Ford Brody. Someone who works with the military, an artillery (bomb) specialist.
@Inconceivable Disputes Having Ford not do anything significant in the film is exactly the point. The film is basically showing the audience that he's not the hero. This is Godzilla's movie, so Godzilla gets to save the day. The movie is all about Man learning to step aside and let Nature do its thing.
Compare that to the Michael Bay Transformers movies, where human Sam Witwicky is handed all of the big hero moments that should have gone to Optimus Prime. Those movies lean too far in the opposite direction, where the human protagonist does so much that the nonhuman characters are just this side of useless.
This was my first ever Godzilla film I've ever seen in theaters...and I watched it about....3-5 times.
Yeah, safe to say it's one of my top favorites.
2014S film was a great
feature It took awhile to
build up But it was good
anyway I wish they wouldn't have killed
Off bryan cranston
though
Easily one of the best in the series, "limited screen-time" be damned. Seeing him portrayed seriously with amazing effects, while still being true to the character, was a dream come true for me. Godzilla KotM looks even better. Also, anyone who complains about Thicc Zilla obviously forgot how he looks... like, almost all of the time.
If they wanna see a really fat Godzilla, look no further than to the anime trilogy's over-bloated design.
Yeah, I’ve never understood the fat criticism. It’s almost like they’re trying to find something to complain about. I’ll admit he’s been somewhat slim in in some of the Showa films. But in the majority of the entire franchise, he’s a hefty boy. Besides, even in his slimmer moments, he’s kinda tubby.
KaijusaurusG2K True. Sad fact of life.
Good cgi is a but to much for shin tho. This movie is miles better
I also don't get the 'Godzilla is too fat' thing. He's been chubby most of the time.
For the record, Gareth Edwards has a second great legacy in terms of his camera work: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. You can see the way he uses the camera to accentuate scale in that movie as well, making the AT-ATs, Star Destroyers, and Death Star actually look and feel imposing
The scale is the one thing I really took away from this movie, and it's something Edwards managed to carry over into Rogue One. He's one of the only directors i've seen get weight and size damn near perfect when it comes to CGI. Godzilla and the MUTOs feel genuinely massive and weighty, as does the Death Star and the AT-ATs, there's a level of realism i can't quite explain when it comes to Edwards and his approach to scale, but I love it.
Definitely. He handles the scale and believability like no other. Something the Monsterverse after Skull Island lacks.
I agree with nearly everything you said. Except for the son. Maybe it was a conscious decision on his or the directors part but it seems that he was bored in a lot of his scenes and just phoning it in. If they had Bryan Cranston's character stay alive, use his knowledge to help Serizawa, maybe keep the son alive and in the army fighting the Muto's and Godzilla, therein giving Cranston another emotional hook. His wife died because of the Muto's and now he is doing whatever he can to protect his son.
I don't know but it seems that the son was really what prevented the movie from being great, also the fact that it was a Godzilla movie but it was really about the Muto's and Godzilla was mentioned at the end of scenes just to remind people that it is a Godzilla movie.
Other than that it is fantastic, it is just the story was lacking a little bit.
Don’t usually watch review videos of movies but for some reason this channel does it right, so A+ to you
I still love this movie as a Godzilla fan. I think it shows just enough of him and more than enough action overall.
I love this movie! I didn't think the US could make a decent Godzilla movie that depicted or had the essence of Japan and then this bad boy came out and blew my socks off!
I'm glad it did for me as a fan and emotionally (personal note time). This is the Godzilla movie made without either of the people who got me into and nurtured my love of the franchise. So it was great seeing it competently made and surpassing my expectations.
*_" I didn't think the US could make a decent Godzilla movie"_* American _CAN_ make a Godzilla movie up to that level, it is just a matter of finding someone who cares and deeply understands the source material.
@@MrAwsomeness360 Or in this case, some Welsh guy.
Seriously, is there some cut of the movie that everyone else has seen, that i have not? I agree with a LOT of what the review says, including the two HUGE flaws. The death of the Bryan Cranston character knocked the wind right out of the movie and it never recovered. Then the constant teasing of Godzilla left me frustrated for what could have been.
The family was so incredibly bland. It's a Godzilla movie so you don't have to have GREAT characters, but give them some sort of personality.
It is funny, I agree with the reviewer about the two biggest flaws, but for me they are so massive that is takes the movie down to 2 stars.
I couldn't agree with you more they kept showing you a fight scene and then turning away from it as if we cared about the silly insignificant humans instead of the Giants fighting in the streets...💩 Definitely two stars 👎
I can't help but think how different this movie would've been had Joe survived the movie or at least lived longer. As much as I love this movie, there are certain flaws I cannot gloss over, such as the wasting of the movie's best character and the constant teasing of the monsters.
Again, this movie works on repeated viewings, why(?), listen to this review. This is by far the most concise Review of this amazing movie, Bryan Cranston was wonderful and made his mark.
The young girl at the beach as the waters receded, the paratroopers descending, Godzilla swimming in San Francisco Bay, the school children, Hello..seriously, Thank You Gareth.
This review speaks for the many
The King Abides
You're my new favorite GZ channel. You got a good cadence and I'll be watching out for all your content up to and past KoTM
This film wasn’t hated at the time. It was loved at the time and there was a ton of great reviews for it.
It was only when Toho announced they were making a new Godzilla did people turn on it.
Fans went from “2014 redeemed Godzilla for the US” to “Oh Toho is making a new one, this film must suck then.”
Fans went from loving it to hating it just because Toho is the only true film.
It sad and Shin’s praise seemed fake like Force Awakens praise. It was loved to spite the previous film. Just like Force Awakens is basically “This movie is great because fuck George Lucas.” Shin was “this film is great because fuck 2014”
The criticism gets is in this movie gets is more recent then most people think. It was not hated at the time and it was mixed at worst.
Not just that, some of the criticism was super unfair. Like people criticizing the music score for not having the Godzilla theme even though so many other previous films haven’t used it like the Kiyru movies. Or the so-called dark picture which is the fault of that DVD prints and not the film itself !!!
The sad part is no matter what we say it’s never going to change the overall popular opinion of this movie. Like trying to prove that Superman didn’t destroy the city the way people think he did in Man of Steel.
I love this movie because it helped Godzilla become popular again but people today just love to deny that. If it wasn’t for this film we wouldn’t be getting these newer films like King of the Monsters which is why am excited for it and I can’t wait for it.
Agree...
Though Shin is arguably a better film.
@@陳潔明-w6y no it's not at all.
Godzilla Fangirl Yes, it is.
@@orcawithdrip827 in getting into another arguement with a shin fanboy.
Godzilla Fangirl That logic is flawed as hell. Shin Godzilla goes back to the very roots of what Godzilla was about. Much like Gojira 1954 was about the horrors of the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Shin Godzilla is about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011, which was made worse by the government’s sluggish response, which is another thing that is both great and realistic in Shin Godzilla.
The guy who made this review also made this video that explains why Shin won all the Awards in Japan: ruclips.net/video/-vGdxpO-y3M/видео.html
Can we just take a minute to relish in one of the best kills in Godzilla history, that being the Kiss of Death?
Thanks for your thoughts. I thought was a good film. I'm honestly torn about it. On one hand, yes, it has as much Godzilla time as the 1954 original. On the other hand, there wasn't a big kaiju fight in the original, and in this one there are two big fights, and we barely get to see them at all. I think Gareth Edward's decision to shoot it all from a human perspective is interesting, and if had broken away from that model for the Hawaii and San Francisco fights, I think it would have made the film better, and more people would have enjoyed it.
One my fav movies of the 2010’s!
I remember seeing this in the cinema, my Pops and I were really excited for it, as we knew who Godzilla was and had wanted to see him on a huge cinema-screen. And not surprisingly, it was amazing, I swear Godzilla had looked *_HUGE_* on the screen, and I think I felt the theater tremor from his roar. I knew that GZ didn't have a lot of screen-time, I thought it was the appropriate way to re-introduce the Big G to the modern audiences, but I also knew that when the sequel came around they were gonna HAVE to give him more screen-time. But overall, this was an amazing re-intro for GZ himself, and it had opened the door for a new era of Godzilla films to come.
I wasn't crazy about this movie, but I did like how it treated Godzilla with a sense of wonder and awe.
Godzilla 2014 will probably remain the best of the Monsterverse. It’s not just a great Godzilla movie. Godzilla 2014 also fills every mark for a great movie by critical standards: good acting, great writing, incredible special effects and sharp cinematography.
Not only that, but it takes pride in the Alien and Jaws philosophy: Less is More. We get excited to see the Xenomorph, Shark and Godzilla because they’re not on the screen the whole time. That’s why I was bored stiff and perplexed by the end of KOTM.
On the flip side, I’ve seen 2014 twenty times and my heart still pounds every time Godzilla’s on screen.
My only real gripe is Brian Cranston’s early death, especially since the movie was advertised as a Cranston vs Godzilla type of movie.
When Godzilla takes his step in Honolulu and everyone just goes quiet I always imagine Godzilla saying "QUIET YOU NOISY ANTS!"
The teasing is one of the film's great strengths. I never had a problem with the build personally. It's what films like Jaws and Alien do so well. Killing Bryan Cranston and sticking us with his boring son is the film's biggest hiccup. It does pretty much everything else right.
Love this movie and perfect review. It has some faults but no other Godzilla movie has the same amount of oozing atmosphere and suspense than Godzilla 2014. It also really emphasizes the sense of scale these kaiju have which I adore.
It would have been nice to keep Bryan Cranston for the sequel. But with Charles Dance as an antagonist people would be slightly distracted at the thought of Walter White squaring off with Tywin Lannister and Godzilla fighting Ghidorah would be an after thought.
the sound design was brilliant and really produced an awe inspiring result when used in conjunction with the visual sense of scale created by the shot choices of edwards. it left me enchanted after seeing it in the theater. no other monster movie except for maybe the first jurassic park has made me feel that way. ive been dying for a sequel ever since. only 3 weeks away.
At 0:08 a 'Jurassic Park' reference--hey, at least it shut those kids up!
My only complaint is that Brian Cranston should have been around longer maybe to the point of becoming part of Monarch by the end of the movie. Mostly because he is such a good actor that he would've been able to carry the film through the extremely long wait of the second act.
Fun Fact: Ken Watanabe’s Ex-Wife used to star in Toho Godzilla films..
Me and my dad saw this in theaters and as long standing Godzilla fans we were blown away, I was leaning forward in my seat for a good portion of the film. Can't wait for King of the Monsters this weekend as we're going back into the theaters to see it as well!
For me, there are 2 scenes in this movie that are absolute perfect. One is the scene where Godzilla first comes face-to-face with one of the MUTOs, and the other is the scene at 3:36. The incredibly understated, ominous score is such a bold decision where most other directors would put a big, bombastic, epic piece of music.
This was my first Godzilla film if you don't count the 1998 film. I saw it on the big screen and was blown away. A while later, I got the blu-ray and watched the film again. I wasn't as blown away as I was before but was still entertained. The main character ,Ford Brody, is bland, but so are other Japanese Godzilla main characters. It is a good movie, but I think Skull Island and KoTM improved over everything this movie got wrong. 7/10
This is my favorite film of all time
I am not particularly fond of this film but can completely agree with everything said in this review. As soon as Cranston's character died, so did my interest in the human characters. The buildup was great but they teased way too many times and it was frustrating at the end.
I think now that I've seen KotM, I can appreciate this more restrained and measured Godzilla film much much more than I did originally, it really is an impressive watch from start to finish, even if I know myself and many of my friends weren't as impressed as we could have felt when it first came out. In short, its aged pretty darn well
My only real gripe with the movie is Joe Brody being killed off so early. His presence would’ve added a huge emotional weight to the rest of the movie, especially if he was paired with Serizawa during the action. Everything else is damn near perfect to me, and I’m fine with them drawing out the action. As KOTM looks to focus more on the monsters and less on the humans that’s completely fine, but I do hope there’s something of an emotional crux, even if it’s by-the-numbers. The characters and story don’t have to be super deep, hell they can be laughably bad, but it just doesn’t have to be boring. Hopefully KOTM will be a great entry into the franchise.
Great review! I personally loved the movie despite its flaws, and I 110% agree that no other movie in the franchise has been able to capture the size and scale of the kaiju as well as this movie had done.
And then Godzilla King of the Monsters came along and took everything good about Godzilla 2014 and amplified it a hundred times over to a truly spectacular menagerie of kaiju and destruction and emotional rampages. Want more monsters? You got more monsters. Want bigger fights? It's got bigger fights. The humans serve their purpose as stepping stones from one monster battle to the next while also providing refreshing humor and some surprising emotional arcs to compliment the personality and character of the kaiju themselves. All made possible from Godzilla 2014.
I was so disappointed with KOTM :(
But I think i'm in the minority with fans.
@@alexyoutubechannel8175 I loved the 2014 film too! I thought it was superior to kotm in almost every way 🤔
It had more Godzilla alright. But he was executed better in 2014.
I remember going to watch this movie with my family as a late birthday present. It was so damn epic.
I really do still love this film.. It's in my top 10 favorite Godzilla films
I actually liked this movie despite not having much Godzilla scenes. It did not have the best monster fights among the movies in the Monsterverse but this one has the best plot in my own opinion. I have not watch Godzilla vs Kong yet but I still put this on par with King of the Monsters and I think this is better than Kong: Skull Island. What makes this movie special is the camera angles, the cinematography make us the audience feel the sheer size and weight of the kaijus much more than the other movies. It gives more suspense and giant monster feels for me.
By far my favourite Godzilla film. The feeling I got watching it back when it released is one I’ve never got since. A solid 9/10. One of the top 3 Godzilla films.
It's certainly a faithful "Godzilla movie", but as a movie its bad;
-The pace of the movie feels extremely slow.
-The movie starts off interesting thanks to Bryan Cranston's character but it loses interest after his passing.
-Characters are bland and unappealing because they're not developed properly to be invested. The way they're written is like telling us they're this character and this had happened to them, please have feelings for them. Adding insult to injury they have no charisma to them.
-The movie isn't about Godzilla, its a movie with Godzilla in it. The focus is not on him.
-I'm all for suspense and tension but it's crafted in the worst way, the teasing gets so frustrating that it kills my immersion instantly.
-I don't like the MUTOs, I don't like giant bug kaijus because it's not my cup of tea. Since they're the focus it kills my investment.
The only positive thing about G2014 is Godzilla himself. The design, sound, animations and his characteristics are top notches. It doesn't deserve to be in a film that's poorly constructed.
As a movie its not my cup of tea.*
It looks like almost all your points while valid are extremely subjective.
Godzilla 2014 has one of the best Godzilla's but MUTO design is too biomechanical.
Anyone notice how the lead character and his wife are played by Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch from the MCU? And what's even weirder is that they had an incestuous relationship in the comics?
Still can't believe they killed Brian Cranston like that. If he had still been alive, and they had teased the monsters less... Movie could have been 5 stars. lol
Nope. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was god awful in this movie. I love Godzilla films, and I usually don't shit on any actor or filmmaker, but trying to make the Ford Brody character seem like he was interesting (at all), is a huge stretch in my opinion. Which is a shame because Bryan Cranston was killing it dramatically in all of his scenes, should have switched the fates of the those two characters.
I remember the time when I was 9 years old, me and my family ready to watch Transformers Age of Extinction in theaters, I saw a poster where there is a giant monster in a burning city and is titled Godzilla. At first, I was a bit intimidated because the image shows he's extremely big and second I see this as a new thing for me because at that time I wasn't a Godzilla fan, perhaps never even knew him, I relied on Transformers more. And when the trailer is playing I was invested and scared to see this movie. It even made me believe he's the biggest monster I've ever seen.
Good times.
Five years later, I truly like this movie and Godzilla looks amazing, his origin story is very different, but he still described as prehistoric creature. Godzilla is more anti-hero, not a hero. He is only protector of the earth. Can't wait to see the sequel on May 31st and upcoming crossover film with King Kong next year.
Will you do King of the Monsters review? It is out now in theaters.
This movie was amazing I know it gets a lot of hate but I think time will be kind to Godzilla 2014. It should have won awards for cinematography and sound design. How this movie came to be could be it’s own story. Great review as always but I’m kinda sad your running out of Godzilla movies to review lol
I think the people saying they wished that Godzilla had more screen-time are missing the point of the movie. It’s, for better or worse, a story about the humans dealing with Godzilla. Not Godzilla dealing with the people.
No it is a story aobut dealing with Mutos, Godzilla has no point in this film aside from being a deus ex machina
Exactly
Still the best Monsterverse film. Hope you're doing well, Brandon!!
I’ll always remember the first time I saw this movie in the theatre. The breathtaking scale, fantastic score, being fully invested in Bryan Cranston, being awesome by the fight and the bridge scene, feeling hooked by the escalation and tension, and loving how Godzilla looked, acted, and felt. I’ve been a fan since the early 2000’s when I was a kid. But G-14 really solidified my love of the franchise
Strange how the Muto destroyed the Japanese power plant right after it really happened in 2011. This was Japans Godzilla and Fukashima they will Never recover from it!
This is actually my favorite film of all time
This is my 3rd favorite Godzilla film, I have a few complaints ( I even made a video about ) but when there is Godzilla I love it. The destruction is beautiful and the scale of Godzilla was mind blowing when I first saw it. But there is little of that, or at least from Godzilla. In fact the M.U.T.Os get more screen then Godzilla him self. But once the final battle comes, all heck is let loose. Again, unfortunately there is barely any destruction that Godzilla does. The only thing he destroys is the Golden Gate Bridge. You may give it four stars, I give four stars too.
This Godzilla isn't meant to be destructive.
I think if there was a single scene where Godzilla went on a rampage and one or two less scenes where the action was abruptly cut short, it would’ve been better received. As is, it’s still a great movie and worthy of being called Godzilla.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Bryan Cranston is up there with Anthony Hopkins and Daniel Day Lewis as one of the greatest actors of our time.
Good review. It's interesting to observe that although he's definitely the draw of the film, Godzilla seems to disappear a lot from the focus of the movie. To use an example, Skull Island intros Kong right at the beginning, and they cut back to him or mention him quite often once the 1970's characters are on the island. Hell, Packard's entire motivation is focused on Kong, making sure you can't forget about the ape.
That's the biggest issue with Godzilla in this film, he feels like a plot device instead of a character until he finally gets time to show personality during and after the end battle in the third act. The quick look of disgust he gives the male in the airport doesn't really count as it's a "blink and you miss it" moment.
It's not the lack of screen time, it's the lack of focus for 90% of the film.
I still love the film though, warts and all. 7.5 out of 10
@WaddleSenpai His screentime there is distributed much more evenly, instead of being mostly backloaded. Also considering Gojira's much shorter length, for my money it's not the same thing.
@WaddleSenpai eh, I disagree.
He's mentioned by the Monarch scientists in the cavern at the beginning of the film when Graham asks "is it 'him?'" but then there's no mention of Godzilla at all until after Hawaii.
You have the excellent MUTO scenes before that but Godzilla is absent until then.
After the airport scene, yes, they make sure to cut back to Godzilla quite often. But he still doesn't get to show actual character until the end of the third act.
In Gojira the entire film is centered around the monster so the screen time is not an issue. It wouldn't be an issue in 2014 if there was more of a focus on Godzilla. Doesn't need to be over the top either
Of all of the American Godzilla movies, this is the best in my opinion. It doesn't hold up to Shin, which I think is perhaps the best of all of the latter day Godzillas.
I got chills hearing Godzilla first roar.
Love your channels and the videos you make. I’m also a huge Godzilla fan and I’ve been watching some of your video and they’re really great and entertaining and I’ve been giving likes and now I will subscribe to your channel
"Let them fight."
Never heard such beautiful words until this movie.
With my most recent viewing of Godzilla 2014 I feel like I've pinned down part of the problem. I don't think it's so much that there's not enough Godzilla screentime and keeps cutting from the Big G himself. It's that it consistently cuts away from and then ABANDONS the action that it was using to build tension. The best example is Hawaii where it cuts away from Brody in a train car that's dangling while he hangs onto a little boy for dear life, to his son in America watching the situation in Hawaii on the news.
Fine so far.
The PROBLEM is that it never cuts back to the train car. Instead the next cut is in the aftermath as Brody's in a kind of survivor's camp? and is trying to help the little boy find his parents. So there's no actual resolution to all that BRILLIANT action and tension that just happened. How Brody and the others avoid falling out of the train car!? How did they get rescured!? How did the MUTO that was RIGHT THERE not end up bothering or killing them all!? Did anyone else on the train car even survive!
And it's not just that the train car situation goes unresolved just like it's not ONLY Hawaii where the film does this. It's also the tsunami, the people in the airport and the militaries actions that had all been supporting the events of the train that get completely dropped along with everything that happened in Hawaii so that it can feel like there's a bit missing from the film.
A similar problem is even present in the aftermath where Brody's trying to find the boy's parents. The kid just runs off and so there's no interaction between Brody and the parents and no scene of gratitude from the boy. Instead there's quite a jank transition to Brody joining up with the military and that's that. Hawaii's never mentioned again.
It could have been made fine in multiple ways, whether by actually cutting back to the train and resolving that situation or by extending the scene in the aftermath to really SHOW the aftermath and by having Brody not just suddenly be at this meetup spot but by rejoining him a bit before that so that it's not SO disconnected.
It's the same kinda thing when Elizabeth Olsen is running away into the shelter/bunker thing, we just completely drop any involvement from her in the movie all of a sudden. Compare with Pacific Rim for example and you see inside the bunker when one of the characters has to use one and HEAR and FEEL the stomps and crashes going on outside as all anyone inside can do is stand around and hope for the best and try not to panic.
It's not even like you could argue that this would lengthen the film which could cause distribution problems etc because another problem with the film is it has a lot that could and should have been cut. Whenever I rewatch it for example I watch an edited version I made that just completely cuts out the scene where Brody's helping to move the nuke across the bridge and it makes NO difference to the film AT ALL. I'd also argue that a lot of the military stuff in general could be cut-out as it ends up feeling a bit too much like a Micheal Bay film that HAS to show the military, I'm assuming like with many other films the American military paid for the film to show them off but still!
All that said I don't dislike the film, it's the singular film I feel like I've went back and forth on the most BY FAR.