Schlock & Awe: Godzilla (1998)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- I never understood why everyone hated the Roland Emmerich "Godzilla" so much. Is it a good representation of the classic Godzilla aesthetic? No. Is it hella-fun? Yes.
*SPOILERS* for Godzilla (1998) and Godzilla (2014).
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Thank GOD!! Finally someone on the internet who liked Godzilla 1998. It has everything I wanted from a monster movie.
I own like 15 Godzilla movies. I love them both the ones that are really just let's have monsters fight, and the ones that are more stories of man, nature, and technology.
I've always like Godzilla 98 too. It may be a reimagining of Godzilla, but it still keeps the themes of many Godzilla movies which have are, humanity relation to nature, each other, technology, and how the technology can be used for more violence.
Godzilla may have done that in its own way but it's still got that strong feel Godzilla is a vehicle for human stories.
I do too
I thoroughly enjoyed Godzilla 1998 for what it was... a monster movie. It was fun, action-packed and entertaining. I'm not sure what everybody got so upset about. It wasn't realistic? It's a MONSTER MOVIE. It's too tongue-in-cheek? It's a MONSTER MOVIE. It's not faithful enough to the overwhelmingly campy 70s monster movies starring a guy in a giant rubber suit? One more time: It's a MONSTER MOVIE!
I thought it was great, and I was sad when the big lizard got killed at the end. He seemed like a lot nicer person than most of the movie's critics. People seriously need to lighten up.
Holy cow! I thought I was the only person who considered the 1998 Godzilla a remake of "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". 20K Fathoms is one of my favorites and 1998 Godzilla hit so many beats from that movie, it was ridiculous. Emmerich's movies are mostly remakes of classic Sci-Fi movies anyway.
Thanks for voicing that opinion.
Godzilla 2014 was the movie I always wanted for a Big G film, and I was in love with the build up to him. I was excited the entire time from the tone and stakes, but I understand how some people feel the way they do. The human characters are quite bland, whereas typical Godzilla fashion the humans would have more personality and serve more significance to the plot. Really only Joe Brody and Serizawa seemed like the most important and cared about what role they were in.
All that being said, I've always felt Godzilla 98 was judged way too harshly. I love how you pointed out how many Godzilla tropes are used in the film as homage, and it's typically those moments that people point out the most when they're not dogging on the monster design.
Aww you didn't mention the animated spin-off...
I really wish I can hear your thoguhts on 2019 "King of the Monsters" which focuses completely on the monsters and pushes the humans to the background. Which is the opposite of 2014 Godzilla. Also can you please do Pacific Rim which is all about the humans and the monsters aren't the focus. I acutally wish the two could cross over someday.
I liked Godzilla 2014 because of its intended or maybe unintended commentary on nuclear response.
Throughout the film the US military attempts several different ways of luring the monsters towards a obviously devastating nuclear weapon, this a clear reactionary response on the part of the strategists and politicians. Our supporting characters with the exception of the main "protagonist" cough allegory for the naive ideas that the american response to overseas injustice is justified. oppose it, the scientist having a relative who was directly affected by the US decision to utterly destroy Hiroshima despite the clear moral/ethical violations and expected consequences of the action.
With each attempt the plans are sabotaged by the natural patterns of prey and predator violence the creatures are participating in.
Every attempt leads to the deaths of troops, civilians and the obvious infrastructural destruction.
And it ultimately results in the "deterrent" becoming a much more devastating problem.
San Francisco maybe be the area these monsters are fighting in and its devastating, lives are lost and the city is almost destroyed, but is that really worse than the now obvious added threat of a man made device that has probably DOUBLE the potential to lead to the death of millions?
They could sacrifice it all to defeat these beasts by letting the device detonate in this huge population centre, but they dont.
The last act of the film is the desperate attempt on the part of man to reverse their decision, by sending in a small team to disarm the bomb in the mist of this chaos they were in part responsible for, and they just barely succeed.
This is the focus.
I actually like this reading of the film
This was the only Godzilla film I watched as a kid, and I love it so much! I never really understood why people hated the 1998 movie so much, I was always thought it was fun while still being a great film with characters you could actually believe were alive.
lois elder I also don't understand why ppl don't like this movie!
I'm really surprised by the fact it was so disliked / I really liked this movie. it is cool and fun and touching(this celine dion gag was appropriate)/ and I forever remember credit roll theme/
“with characters you could actually believe were alive”
Yeah, no.
I personal dislike it cause I always got the feeling it was somewhat ashamed of its source material and would rather ape other movies.
That and I hate the characters which is rough since they're understandably in quite a lot of the film
This was actually the first 'Godzilla' movie I ever watched so ironically 'this' Godzilla was still kind of the 'first' for me.
I still don't think it's a good movie, it has a lot of faults but I am grateful you mentioned the parts I liked. The suspense for instance, we don't see Godzilla but we see the extent of the damage he's causing and we can picture him in our minds, all we see of him when he finally does come on screen is just his feet and claws and tail to really give an idea of the scale of how big he is from the perspective of the mere mortals etc. Good stuff honestly, it keeps you in suspense and eager to see the monster but it doesn't wait too long and stretch this out too much to the point where the audience eventually just gets sick of it and wants the damn monster to show up. But it does serve to make the monster's presence felt and foreboding.
I kind of wish you had brought up my personal favourite aspect of this flawed movie that I really wish had been explored more, that in the context of 1998 Godzilla the monster isn't a god or a demon or some all powerful entity. It's just an animal. A basic, simple minded instinct driven animal. It's not 'evil', and it doesn't have an agenda or a plan. It is just doing what comes naturally to it as an instinct. It wants to eat, find a home and reproduce like all other animals. Yes its very deadly and dangerous but that's not out of malevolence, it's just doing what it does and what instinct has made it do. That's honestly a realistic version of what a creature like Godzilla would be like, it wouldn't be destroying buildings and recking havock across the world out of a love of wanton destruction but rather all that destruction is an incidental by product of it just you know being an animal. Hell the only time Godzilla becomes actively malicious is after stumbling on the burning ruins of his nest and his dead babies, that reaction is one all nesting animals have when they find their dead kids.
That's why I quite like the way the military actually causes more damage than Godzilla does in this movie because they THINK of it like a giant evil demon from hell with an earth destroying agenda because lord knows it causes enough damage just commuting through the city, so of course they overstock on weapons and try everything to blast the thing from existance but in return it spends most of its time just trying to evade them like any animal would trying to protect itself and the moron humans are actually the ones doing all the real destruction. The perception of it being an evil monster makes the military overreact to it, hence causing more damage.
And of course there's a poignancy to all of this as well, Godzilla may only be an animal but he's an animal that shouldn't and indeed cannot exist. It is in no way his fault but tragically a giant city sized reptile that can kill thousands with one step and would need to eat by the metric tonne would be impossible to sustain in captivity and add to that the fact that his (her?) species reproduces asexually (which surprisingly is actually a trait some lizard species do have, the filmmakers did their homework on that) means that he could produce a thousand babies each of whom would produce a thousand more. From birth they are already more dangerous than a bear so they are already super predators, growing up to be bigger superpredators and then giving birth to a new wave of super predators.... like the global ecosystem couldn't sustain that. Release a few of these onto the African Savannah and within a year Elephants, giraffes and rhinos are a thing of the past and they were once the biggest animals there were. Then inevitably they would turn on humanity and then they would be left with nothing to eat themselves and the only life on earth that would survive would be the ones too small to even be noticed (ironically that would include a lot of lizards).
They never should have existed and even though they are just animals, scared confused animals just trying to adapt and survive like anything else, they need to be destroyed. They NEED to be destroyed, even though morally speaking they don't deserve to. It's our fault that they are like this, they didn't ask to become the ender of the human race but they need to be destroyed. Sad as it is.
Which is actually where I think the tone of the film really falls apart because it both wants to do this criticism of the over eager balls out approach the US military is known for but still make those guys heroes. They want to remind us that Godzilla is just an animal but still treat him like a scary monster and they want us to feel bad that this poor creature had to die for no real fault of its own but still wants a big cheering uplifting ending. I wanna see the ideas this movie half baked repurposed into a new monster movie, not a Godzilla monster movie strictly speaking but an allegory to a Godzilla movie. Like a 'realistic version of a Godzilla scenario' kind of movie that could make this kind of stuff more impactful.
That's my two cents at least.
"You're standing in it" omg I watched this movie ONCE and that line stuck in my memory cause, as a biologist, that moment sent shivers of excitement down my spine, I mean, how awesome is that!
On one hand, you actually made me appreciate the 1998 film a lot more. On the other hand, I almost completely disagree with your overall feelings on the 2014 version.
That's easily fixed: Watch it again.
Godzilla 1998 was my first and only Godzilla and I'm glad to finally have found a safe space.🤗
The 1998 Godzilla looked more like what he/she was supposed to be; a giant mutated iguana
I just found you today, but I am so glad, because you talk about movies everybody seems to hate and why they are not complete garbage! Thanks so much!
I...man...I came across this because I'm currently working on my own video about this movie. I was going to do a section comparing the two movies, but you did this SO much better than I ever intended to. Would you mind if I send the few subscribers I have your way when I release my episode?
Either way, you've earned a subscriber. Keep up the awesome work.
I've also loved this movie since it came out in 98 and still love. And I also found the 2014 movies dull and boring. Fortunately the Monsterverse has redeemed itself, Kong Skull Island and 2019's KOTM are both satisfying action films that I'm down to watch alongside the real Jurassic Park III.
Oh man in the 2014 version you can't even see Godzilla in most of the clips it's so dark >< I'll give the 98 one this, you could make out the monster clearly whenever it was on the screen.
I've long loved this movie. I think I might be due for a rewatch.
4:57 - Lt Brody, EOD. Did I win?
More serious - I liked '98 as a monster/action flick, but it wasn't a movie. It was a big dumb lizard and the military got to shoot at him and kill him. This was the same reason I was disappointed with the original Pacific Rim (and god lets not discuss the cool hip kids spinoff of PR2 please). Mankind isn't supposed to have agency in a kaiju film, it's supposed to learn a lesson and get the fuck out of the way of forces of nature.
This was what I loved most about the 2014 Godzilla - it paid homage to the original in that everything the human characters did was ineffective and they were essentially screaming into the void as the MUTOs went about getting jiggy with it and Godzilla hunted them down, then went back to take a nap. It was two natural forces moving against each other, and mankind had to learn the lesson of just staying the fuck out of the way and letting nature run its course.
I enjoyed Kong Skull Island and King of Monsters, but the directors seem to be sliding back into the errors of the '98 film - human characters get more and more agency, and can do more and more in those films, to the point of straight up the kaiju in KOM and burning/bombing/shooting Kong and those lizard things.
Bit of a rant, but it all boils down to this - for me, a kaiju movie must focus on the drama of human characters trying and failing to make a difference in the face of titanic, monstrous entities acting against each other - and learning to make peace with their own impotence in the face of cosmic/natural forces. Mankind should not triumph, or be able to make a difference, over kaiju - they learn to stay out of their way.
1998 is a great 'bad movie.... 2014 is a bad 'good movie'.
I've watched the 1998 version many times and would happily watch it again even though I would describe it as a terrible film but while I've only seen the 2014 version once I have no intention of ever seeing it again; it was just terribly dull, especially since they kill the only interesting character off far too early in the film.
I'm a new subscriber and I did indeed come from your sexist tropes videos, but I also binge watched about two or three hours worth of content while I was at it as a way of procrastinating writing a paper. Love your stuff
ImNotSelma I just did the same thing!
I personally never understood all the hate that this remake got and always wish there would’ve been a sequel!
the 1998 film was a good movie in its own right
I LOVED Godzilla 98. It was fun, funny, campy, sweet, endearing, exciting, and all of the things I expect from a family friendly summer blockbuster.
I also appreciated the change in posture and removal of atomic breath - this made an incredibly unscientific monster just slightly more plausible to my teenage science nerd brain and helped me suspend my disbelief a bit more.
I did not grow up with all of the Godzilla gatekeeping that hardcore fans seem to enforce. And I guarantee you that 99% of the American hardcore gatekeeping Godzilla fans out there born after 1986 first got their Godzilla rocks off to Nick Tatopoulos.
I just hate the characters... and the third act. And the missing atomic breath. And the Michael Schumacher chin. And this stupid helicopter swarm. And Roland emerich, mainly because I hate patriotism. The new American Godzilla has at least stunning visuals..till they stupidly cut away. I for one love the power of the scene, where Godzilla just kills the muto with his atomic breath.
I'm enjoying the rating system.
Yeah... I'd rather watch G98 over Final Wars any day of the week as well. Mainly because G98 feels like an actual movie with a properly structured plot, unlike Final Wars. Final Wars is fun, but it feels... schizophrenic at times. G98, while not necessarily a good Godzilla movie, is still a decent monster movie in its own right.
Actually the 98 reptilian Godzilla appeared in Godzilla final Wars. He was renamed Zilla. The creators ToHo brought the rights to the TriStar version and decided to put him face to face with the OG Godzilla. 15 seconds into the fight and the OG Godzilla kicked Zilla's ass and killed him. Closing with the line I knew that Tuna eating monster wasn't up to much.
@@douglasmonroe7417 I'm well aware of that. And the moment itself was very cathartic. However... I would still rather watch G98 over Final Wars if given the option, just because G98 isn't a schizophrenic mess and actually has a structured plot... and a decent music score.
It was a good movie, but not a Godzilla movie. They didn't show him enough, it could have been any monster, and Broderick was definitely the star of the film. He did make it worth watching.
No it’s shit dumbass
The 1998 Godzilla movie was probably the second Godzilla movie I saw (the first one being the first one). I enjoy returning to it. You hit so many points to why!
I'm not overly fond of the 2014 version, and you hit the points to why. But I freaking love Godzilla King of monsters, where I actually felt they hit both the "having a theme"-thing from the very first one (and Shin Godzilla), and having characters I remember and like.
I also like that the 1998 movie made me sympathise with Godzilla.
I watched it when I was very young, like 12-13 maybe? And I loved it. I understand why many enjoyed the 2014 one better but I think it was not Godzilla movie, I mean, it was barely in the movie, like, 5 minutes? Instead the... 1998(?) Was really entertaining
I personally actually really like this movie. I also like the other Godzilla movies INCLUDING the 2014 remake and ESPECIALLY kotm. I don't care so much about adherence to former properties as I do about wether or not I'm having a good time with it as a stand alone.
While I think GODZILLA (1998) is a fun kaiju movie for what it is, I don't think it's a good Godzilla movie. And I'm okay with this. I enjoyed the movie, warts and all. Even if it was only Godzilla in name only.
In recent years, I became a somewhat torn fan of Roland Emmrich. Yes, most of the premises of his films are really dumb or wonky. But they are also realley entertaining. Most of his characters are super stereotypical, but being deep is not their job. They start the story, guide it through as much mayhem as possible, and have a somewhat happy end. Whats more to wish for? I like 2012, I like Independence Day, and some others. I really like his creative miniatures. Yes, his recent films use CGI in a big way, but some of theese are real gems too.
So, based on your critique, I watched Godzuilla 1998 again. I hated it for being not a „real Godzilla“ the first time, but found it really enjoyable this time around. I especially liked Maria Pitillos role as the blonde who is fed up being second fiddle to a bullying white male boss. That‘s a great idea and still relevant today!
It certainly isn‘t a „real“ godzilla, but it is a damn entertaining monster movie. Super shlocky in a very fun way.
One thing I think Emmerich gets overlooked on as a Director, is his ability to build tension in a film.
Whether or not he can pay it off successfully is hit or miss, depending on the movie. Independence Day does a great job, as does The Day After Tomorrow, but a lot of his other work is spotty.
I am not a Godzilla fan but I loooove that 98 Godzilla movie... This might prove a point to fans but I just don't care.
Finally!!!! I knew I wasn't the only one!!! This movie is very entertaining and a good stand alone movie. Now, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but some people just need to quit hating a d get a life
Love me some "Godzilla jump"! The 1998 version was (a) awesome when released and (b) is a pleasure to revisit at least once a year. Signed: an old-school Godzilla fanatic.
This was my first Godzilla movie, and I have always loved it. Thank you for heaping on the praise it deserves.
The “that’s a lot of fish” line owes a lot to the “that’s a big pile of shit” line from Jurassic Park, I think. Great video!
I love Godzilla 1998, and I sobbed every time Godzilla died. It was so sad to kid me and still is
To be fair - the variety is thankfully pretty limited when it comes to footage of atomic blasts. Besides, you seen one you've seen them all. And if you're close enough, you ain't seeing ANYTHING else.
Thank God a new video like this from you!!! i first though was an old one unseen. greatings from Chile! :D i love the 98 version... can you talk about of "battlefield earth" in one future video?.
RESPONDER
Godzilla98 may not be the authentic Japanese Godzilla but the movie did what it was suppose to do, ENTERTAIN ME! Godzilla2014 mite've been good if there were interesting and memorable characters or at least they stop, cutting, away, for the, KAIJU, BATTLES!!! AAAAHHH!!!
How is 98 more entertaining when the damn monster runs away from the milliaty all the time and barley causes any destruction either!?
@@weldonharris7457 Simple, Godzilla 1998 knows what movie it is and just wants to have fun with itself, Godzilla 2014 suffers from an identity crisis mesning it doesn't know what movie it wants to be, and frankly is just really boring, in my opinion.
@@robertsavageau112 Garweth Edward's wanted to take the tone back to something similar to the 1954 film that why it was slow burn until towards the end... now I will admit killing Cranston's character off was a huge mistake and I could have did without the teasing but Garweth honored and respected Godzilla's legacy and not disrespect the character like Roland did!!! The main problems with this movie 1. It treats its audience like their stupid, 2. No heart or any type of passion, 3. The Director had no respect for the source material, 4. This movie too long and Boring as Hell, you like a bad movie theirs nothing wrong with that but don't try and make this movie better than it is because it's not it deserves every bit of criticism it gets because its NOT GODZILLA point blank it was marketed as a Godzilla movie and that's not what we got, all we got was the beast from 20,000 fathoms remake with some ripoffs from Jurassic Park
@@weldonharris7457 Ok first off, Roland Emmerich set out to make the movie he wanted to make, that's completely different than disrespecting the source material, secondly at what point does Godzilla 1998 treat it's audience as stupid, thirdly just because a film may or may not have any heart or passion in it doesn't mean it's bad, forthly last time I checked Godzilla 1998 isn't boring, in fact it has an incredibly fast pace for a movie that's 2 hours and 18 minutes long, and finally yes while Garthe Edwards may have respected and honored Godzilla legacy he still made a boring, bland, slow movie, that clearly tries too hard to be a slow-burn like Jaws, Alien, Predator, etc, and fails miserable because it has only one good character in it Bran Cranston who fuckin dies and were left with nobody other than Godzilla (who's barely in his own film) to root for, so in the end Godzilla 1998 may not be a great Godzilla movie, but it's a damn good monster movie that does what a movie's supposed too, ENTERTAIN IT'S AUDIENCE, and frankly in my eyes that's all that matters to me.
@@robertsavageau112 First of all if Roldan wanted to make his own damn Monster Movie THAN HE SHOULDN'T HAVE FUCKING CALLED THE MOVIE GODZILLA BECAUSE IT WASN'T GODZILLA POINT BLANK!!! He only used the name for marketing value to boost the value the shitty ass movie he gave us... he did give a shit about Godzilla he almost destroyed Godzilla's legacy and had the nerve to say his movie was better than original please!!! That's why Godzilla fans give this movie the vemon it deserves... Second of all wanna talk about being "Entertained" THERE IS NOTHING ENTERTAINING ABOUT THIS MOVIE UNLESS YOU SHUT YOUR BRAIN COMPLETELY OFF!!! Sorry but that's the truth you can take it how you wanna take it, the characters are stupid and annoying as fuck and serve no purpose to story at all, they are so annoying to the point that by the end of the movie you Monsters to eat them, story is nonexistent, the plot makes no sense, and the action scenes are boring as shit the Monster doesn't shit when it's on screen except run away form the damn military, seriously almost every action scene is Got Damn chase scene and that shit got played off halfway into the first one... Look I know how you Zilla fans get in your feelings when people call this movie out on its bullshit but y'all need to stop letting your nostalgia for this film blind you!!! Like I said theirs nothing wrong with liking a bad film but when y'all lash out at valid criticism of this film its makes y'all look really bad... I will never like this movie and I'll never expect it as a Godzilla movie either!!! 2014 despite its flaws it left the audience WANTING MORE that's why got the monsterverse today and why King of the Monsters is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, 2014 did what it was supposed to do reintroduced Godzilla to a new generation of movie goers and make them want to see more Godzilla movies witch it successful did and still respected the original source material... 98 did nothing but leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth and almost killed the Kaiju Genre I'm the process!!!
Shin Godzilla is the best one-
Godzilla 1998 @ Godzilla 2014 > Godzilla 2019
Ha...ha....haha..... Yea..... Oxygen detsroyer in a American Godzilla movie (sweats and looks at Godzilla 2019 king of monsters)
It didn't really deserve the name "Oxygen Destroyer" in all honesty. Those fish still had their bodies intact. A true oxygen destroyer would have left only bones, if even that.
I'm all for defending '98, and I agree it's actually above average for a Godzilla movie, but do you really have to prop it up by tearing the other one down? '14 is probably right after '98 for how much unnecessary hate gets thrown at it, trying to praise one by only shitting on the other makes this more of a negative review of '14 than anything else.
At least I can see what's going on in the 1998 movie.
I approve of this use of the Jet Force Gemini theme :D
Happy you recognize it!
...I love this movie
as someone who used to work with legal records and stuff the surname gag cracks me the fuck up every single fucking time. also the joke about "his college girlfriend" had me spitting on my screen. So, STORYTIME: this is the first thing, ever, that made me (at the time, conservative christian homeschooled zombie) stay up past my bedtime. me and my dad we were watching it and he gave me permission to continue watching it despite the fact that he was tired (he is okay, my mom is the worse part tbh). so you could say that my first time staying up until the Witching Hour was because of an Intersex Anticapitalist Lizard Monster to which I'd say Hell Yeah.
okay also your point about "character populated" is EXTREMELY GOOD AND INSIGHTFUL thank you
I felt Godzilla 2014 was kind of boring and really hope Godzilla king of the monsters corrects it
cambellfan22 it did not and instead made everything worse.
YESSSS. MY FAVORITE SHOW ON CCP IS BACK!
Your favorite? Sweet! I hope to have more coming down the pipe very soon.
Love the use of My Heart Will Go On. Also, this is my first Godzilla movie.
finally someone who also enjoyed that movie. i LOOOOVE zilla and i am ok with him not being the original and calling him zilla, as sort of a distant cousin or so. none of that takes away that he looks amazing, is super clever and the movie had comedy and action as well as a little drama. i wish i could get my hands on some merchandise from back in the days.
I was so excited to see a new Schlock & Awe video today! I remember being so excited to see Godzilla 1998. We even got one of those Godzilla balloon/blow up thing (like the kind you can get at a fair?) for our theater room at the time. I liked it as a kid but then heard all the bad things about it from everyone else and felt like it wasn't okay to like it anymore. Plus, sometimes you go back to movies you loved as a kid and just go, "Oh no, this is awful." But dangit, I can enjoy a monster movie just being a monster movie. :D
You had one of the blow up Godzilla's too? I remember my brother getting one for Christmas. He loved that thing and kept it in his room.
How come you didn't even mention shin gojira at all? Not even in the comments. Not anybody! Strange.
But grate video and I really agree with you on your points!
almost completely agreed with your thoughts on Godzilla (2014), though I thought that the atomic breath was the one real moment where a) you could actually see Godzilla fairly clearly in a Godzilla film and b) where the film regains a pulse after Cranston's character died.
it's a film that has none of the serious, interesting drama and storytelling (past Cranston's character's death) or the fun gonzo fights. it's just some dumb white soldier bro running around in the dark after Godzilla, Godzilla getting one cool scene, and then returning to the sea. I remember watching it after it came out on DVD, getting really excited for a new Godzilla film, and then watching it in a pitch black room and not being able to see shit the whole time. what a boring film. it's one of the Godzilla movies that focuses so much on the human cast, but it has a garbage human cast. it's absolutely part of that cynical mid 2010's wave of dreary, po-faced franchise reboots that are overly obsessed with retelling stories that didn't need to be retold, and in the most bland "new" "visions" imaginable. see also: Man of Steel and RoboCop especially. you could remove all three (as well as the rest of their ilk) from human history and just about nothing would change.
KotM wasn't perfect or anything, but it was so much better as a complete film. the humans are more charismatic and memorable, Gojira gets so much more time to shine (which makes it a lot more fun), and Mothra ❤ need I say more?
I didn't even know people didn't like this movie until I went on Reddit.
I fully agree on how flat 2014s human cast was. The '98 one was a bit over the top with the "quirky" side characters but Nick was an alright protagonist unlike the 2014 lawmower personality dude. Fuck killing of Cranston that was the biggest fakeout of the decade.
What I hate about 98 G is how he's totally outclassed he is by the military. Typical US armed forces pandering like so many Hollywood movies. The madison square garden egg side plot was also a bit over the top and the deus ex machina of the air strike saving them at the last second was super cheesy. I loved the french secret service guy though, very likeable cast and shame they all died.
Disappointed in 1998 (as a Godzilla watcher since the 1970s), I've warmed up to it as a fun kaiju romp. I'm totally onboard with Toho's retroactive "Zilla" branding, though. A survival-oriented, run-and-hide kaiju is really an interesting addition to the kaiju firmament, I think (but I like Guilala's "confused toddler" antics in "The X From Outer Space").
Godzilla 2014 was embarrassed to be a Godzilla movie, plain and simple. I can only watch those "only the Godzilla scenes" recaps on TH-cam of the 2014 movie, and even those aren't very satisfying.
Your presence on the internet makes me feel human again
Okay I’m glad to head you like Godzilla 1998 for the sort of shlock it is but im shocked that if ur such a longtime Godzilla fan, you think that the 2014 has bad characters compared to the overall Godzilla franchise??? Like they’re bad characters objectivel (after Cranston dies). But in terms of Godzilla movies thats an insane statement to make. Furthermore how the hell are Bruckheimer characters ‘better’, nor the story. Like i get liking 1998 version for schlock but are you genuinely gonna pretend like 2014 is a worse film, what for taking itself seriously??? For trying to actually have some genuine allegorical ideas??? Thats bad in your opinion?
STILL looooove the Pdiddy riff of the movie.....completely unapologetically....even though my lyrical requirements have evolved
Finally!!! An objective take on the 1998 film that recognizes its multifaceted existence.
To expand upon the question you asked at the end of this video I think what the 1998 movie did wrong (but the animated show got right) and what the 2014 film got wrong (but what its sequel got right) is the key to any good world-building exercise: rules.
What I and others I have talked to find bloody annoying about the '98 film is how out of the blue certain portions are. For example, there really was not set-up that Godzilla could asexually reproduce nor any sign of a nest or anything, really. So when zilla's offspring (one of which will grow up to head the animated series) wreak havoc it feels like the filmmaker pulled that plot line right out of their pocket, bludgeoned us with it, and called it a stealthy assassination. Contrasting this, the animated series established a lot of world-building strengths and weaknesses for every monster and the world; repeatedly drawing upon these rules to keep a coherent story. Any new addition also was moulded to fit the lore. For all intents and purposes, the animated zilla show was just as rich in history as the original films.
In 2014 there was too much world-building and not enough pay-off. As you stated, the 2014 Godzilla movie was pretty much a trailer for the Monsterverse. We were given all these rules, but very little explanation or implementation of them during the movie. If the M.U.T.Os fed off radiation why didn't they meet and nest in a nuclear power-plant??? Why did the 1950s nuclear tests hurt Godzilla when we know he and the other daikaiju of the Monsterverse largely are nourished by radiation??? Why didn't Monarch try to damage control??? In Kong: Skull Island rules were established and followed in addition to being the key to unlocking previous questions to new answers.
Probably the only thing I _didn't_ like about the 1998 Godzilla movie is that everyone (except a few of us women), movie characters and audience viewers alike, thought of that Godzilla was a "he" or, perhaps, a "hermaphrodite". My gosh, this Godzilla laid eggs and her name ended with an "a", she was perhaps born near the Spanish-influenced Philippines, so _she_ was _female!_ No wonder some purists didn't like her... But I did and I have the bubble gum cards and the DVD (no poster of her standing tall available, drat). I liked her messing around with NYC, but that was fine with me as NYC has never impressed me.
I have an unironic soft spot for this movie. I really love the visual design of Godzilla 1998, he looks so cool, I don't care what anyone says.
The 1998 movie was the second Godzilla movie after the 2014 Godzilla and I liked both of them, and I agree and disagree with some of the things said in the video but those are just my opinions
Great video
I’m paused at 11:00 but when I heard you say a few seconds ago about the change, I just immediately thought something along the lines of: (Hell) yes, let’s make Godzilla a (giant) seahorse or monsters is octopus (all with with potential arms, sea horse or (actual) sea dragon with ape arms, yeah) (maybe even make it a pigeon)! I’d be done for that.
Also when I heard the bomb disposal person bit where they haven’t actually disposed of any Bonn’s, that let’s me to write down an idea which kind of turned it I am idea and half or so that I think I spent just over an hour typing up and adding. Only dishonesties about t minutes ago and I’m already typing this-another paragraph again [the idea, purely on the text box it was written-typed in is only one paragraph, this just is another (one)].
19:50pm 25/3/21
Also, square brackets have the meaning of insertions to me like this. It’s not due to otherwise double brackets/bracketing.
@coldcrashpictures, I actually hate when people say "It's Gojira not Godzilla, the franchise is Japanese so use the Japanese name"
Shin Godzilla actually made a point to use both. Gojira as the monster's Japanese name and because they were working with America the name they used for his American name was Godzilla.
I just seriously can't look at this godzilla. Godzilla was my monster crush my whole childhood (I just loooved godzilla movies and everything about godzilla) and even if his posture isn't a fixed feat...I just can't bring myself to look at the 1998 movie and think that this is godzilla. I also think that godzilla is a japanese thing that shouldn't have been adapted from america...even more so when considering godzillas origin...
The Godzilla 2014 big reveal was wrong? Scuse me???
The MUTO is terrifying people. Screaming and running. A chain explosion adds to the noise and chaos, and draws us to the right of the scene, and suddenly a massive thud of Godzilla's foot silences all. The people stop and stay silent in utter awe of this beast, opposing the simple fear of the MUTO. Even the explosions go silent as this God approaches. It really shows the weight of the situation that his very appearance causes the world around him to nigh-on worship him. The camera then pans up to reveal the titanic amount of being holding this creature up, going to his face before unleashing a deafening roar. The scene cuts away if only to allow the audience to process what they just witnessed.
While I'd rather the scene continued, I can't say the decision was without purpose.
Plus, the "hiding him until a big reveal" is aping the original 1954 film, not Emmerich's.
Rewatching a lot of my favorite content creators during isolation, and...is that Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster in amongst your favorites?! That movie (and The Blob) really cemented my distaste for Jello/pudding-like textures as well as my nascent environmentalism when I was a kid. Powerful stuff.
I get that you're defending '98 as a fun movie, but I still think you could have been more objective in your approach. You basically gushed over '98, dismissing any of its problems while tearing down the 2014 film.
I like...all these American movies, to be honest.
Maybe the 1998 is partly nostalgia for me, huge fan of dinosaurs as a kid to the point where when we were doing a project on them in Primary 2 I knew more about them than the teacher, despite being about 6.So 1998 Godzilla was absolutely glorious on that end.
But...I think it's just a fun film, nothing more than that.
2014 Godzilla has it's problems but the build up to the climax and the climax itself are a decent spectacle, only showing bits and pieces of Godzilla makes it that much more awesome when he finally appears and God damn you can't tell me that first Atomic Breath scene isn't incredible.
1998 is more of a silly fun blockbuster.2014 is more of a grounded take on how the world deals with such an event.
The human element in 2014 is pretty weak but I'd say they serve their part, the whole story arc so far is that mankind does not fit in this world, showing how helpless we are is pretty cool and I think 2014 and King of Monsters does well in forcing humanity to confront that. Nobody wants the world to change but it will and it has, all we can do is adapt.
The greatest thing about the 2014 version that me and my ex will both agree upon is that godzillas face and general musculature, including his thick almost nonexistant neck, mirrors almost exactly like one of our cats, who I had named Turnip. Right down to his apparent grouchy expressions. After this film we both started calling him Turnipzilla.
Good Times ^_^
The monster in this movie was never supposed to be the actual Godzilla. We are supposed to understand that Godzilla is a fictional character in this universe when the shell-shocked Japanese sailor is spurred into repeatedly saying, "gojira" over and over when he focuses on the lit lighter. He saw the creature that destroyed their ship and caused the deaths of everyone else on board, save him...and Godzilla the fictional character was the only thing his broken mind could compare it to.
...or at least, that's how I interpreted it.
Interesting....I like that interpretation!
I have another interesting explanation, which is that the film takes place in the same universe as the 1954 movie, and the Japanese sailor was a survivor of the original Godzilla's attack on Tokyo. Zilla simply seemed similar enough that he thought it was Godzilla by mistake. That's how I like to think of it.
@@BioGoji-zm5ph Well, in your interpretation, that sailor is either the luckiest man on Earth or the unluckiest. I guess it depends on how you look at it.
I blame Age of Ultron for G'14's lack of character. In the 2012 script, the two leads were a brother and sister who were trying to put their family back together, and brian cranston's character didn't die, because the whole point of the movie was finally achieving that moment of reuniting at the end, of being vindicated in the face of a military system that doesn't seem to care about the consequences of its actions or believe that there could be any force in the world that it can't overcome. Add that to the beautifully weighty and detailed kaiju scenes and you could easily have had a great godzilla film.
but then those two actors played a brother/sister pair in age of ultron and apparently the writers didn't want to do anything that other blockbusters were doing at the time, so they made them a husband and wife instead, which ruined the "reunited family arc," and also made it seem like it was okay to just merc brian cranston once he proved the mutos existed, which is where _all_ of this movie's problems come from.
Good takes on G'98 though, it's a fun flick, and it's the movie that got me into Godzilla in the first place.
I like the 98 film but this video is to basis for example 11:42 he does not insta-kill both mutos with his atomic breath! if you like 98 better fine but don't knock 2014 to do it. Also Aaron Taylor-Johnson character is named Ford Brody he is trying to save his family. Elizabeth Olsen as Elle Brody is trying to help people and be a good nurse, Monarch was in charge before the navy took over operations so they couldn't legally do anything. Godzilla also shouldn't be killed. period.
Immortality and weakness that’s based somehow “meta”ly or fourth wall based on who’s attacked is an interesting idea.
Instead of the weapon used. Incorporating it to and into countries instead of characters I guess. All be it, countries can be characters if there own.
20:50pm 25/3/21
11:45, now I don't know if this point makes your argument stronger or weaker, and frankly I don't care as i like the point you are trying to make. Just wanted to do a little bit of fact checking ;). Godzilla does not use his atomic breath to instantly kill both of them. as seen in those clips, he uses it twice on the same MUTO, and kills the other one by impaling it in a skyscraper using a tail-swipe after battling it for some time. Also, what are you're opinions on Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 of course). Do you think it was a positive move for Hollywood's MonsterVerse Godzilla, or a bad one?
The problem godzilla fans have with the 98 movie (and im surprised you dont bring this up) is his personality. Godzilla is sentient. He either defends humanity or attacks it. The 98 film treats him like an animal largely due to how popular jurassic park became after doing the same thing with its "monsters" but dont get me wrong i love zilla 98
Agreed almost every words here, and seeing this voting result from the past 2 yrs--I know I will never be able to have a perfect G film that I wanted. (SDCC 2014 tease had it close though.)
I am a large fan of the 98 film but I've always enjoyed how the camera work in the 2014 Godzilla always made you feel like one of the many people stuck in the streets. I always thought of the breif appearance as the people trying to escape rather than sit in spectacle, though I understand that may not be what most G fans want
My favorite moment: Jean Reno 'soldier' impersonating "Elvis.....de KING !!" :)
Godzilla '98 works better if you don't know it's a Godzilla picture and you just think it's a monster called "The Creature".
1998 godzilla was better than 2014. Why? Because it was bad good, unlike 2014 one was bad bad (with some great moments)
I never had a problem with the look of Godzilla in the ‘98 version, it was the overall cheesiness of the plot and the dweeby portrayal of the main character by the equally dweeby actor, Matthew Broderick. And I did not at all like the final act involving dozens of bumbling ‘mini-Godzillas’/Velociraptors that couldn’t catch any of the protagonists if they’d been tied up and served on a platter. Also, I disagree with you on one point: Godzilla is unkillable. Period, full stop. He (or ‘it’, if you prefer) is meant to be a force of nature, quite literally. Can we ‘kill’ a hurricane? Or an earthquake? No. All we can do is do our best to get out of the way and/or ride it out as best we can and hope to survive. That’s what Godzilla is supposed to represent. In my opinion, of course. 😎👍🏻
Oh, and the 2014 version was horrible mainly because the film was called “Godzilla”, but the titular character was actually on screen for less than 15 minutes out of the 2 hour plus runtime of the movie. Plus the zero-dimensional characters and no real plot to speak of, as you mentioned. 😁
i could honestly forgive godzilla 2014 for all its flaws if just wasn't so dark. like literally, visually dark. the first time i watched it i got a headache from the eye strain
I'm gonna say it: Zilla's design is awesome for a kaiju, but not really as a version of Godzilla. I remember as a kid, I would draw Zilla over and over again because I liked the way he looked and I thought he was cool.
Ford Brody. Dunno if the offer is still in effect, but I've always wanted one of those coins.
There's a video on TH-cam someone did where they compared both movies and found that the 2014 movie is essentially a remake of the 1998 movie.
Yeah, I remember seeing this in the theater and was disappointed in his looks and no fire breath but still enjoyed the flick. But the one thing that to this day sticks in my mind is something I said to friends when we left the theater. I said "OH MY GOD! The French were the bad guys! That is so hilarious!"
Why isn't anyone concerned with the serious question: where is God Zuki?
Bwahaha couldnt resist. Always loved this movie!
the beast from 20,000 fathoms isn't suitable for children? Grateful my parents though differently
I think that what both 1998 and 2014 proved is that Americans simply can't make Godzilla films.
Godzilla -98 was my introduction to Godzilla movies. I still think as a monster movie it works quite well and is a fun one to watch. When I went back and watched the Japanese Godzilla movies I never really excluded this one off from the list. Sure it's very American movie compared to the others but that's how it goes when a different country remakes/reboots a series from another country. For example if Godzilla -98 was done by Germans or Irish people then that would've affected the movie in their own way. Also I gotta give credit for Tristar as they really brought the character to a wider range of audience outside Japan.
Godzilla 2014 to me is a story about surrender and trust. I saw it in the middle of a nervous breakdown i encountered while attempting to study abroad.
It's a fun watch and I didn't care at all about the look back then but I have to heavily disagree about the design points that were made , there's logic to the "definitive design"
A lot of movies are only disliked, because it's hip to dislike them, which gets hilarious when after decades go by you've got people saying that films are bad that they've never even seen.