Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

[SundownInRetreat]

Quite simply, the greatest film of all time. Of all time!

Okay, maybe I'm biased because of my love for mighty G and this version from Legendary Pictures is the ultimate Goji, but it is still damn epic even if there is something wrong with you and you are not awed and excited by him. You will see Godzilla in all his glory, strong human characters, intelligent motivations (especially for the antagonists), plenty of monster mayhem, and the biggest evenly-matched grudge match in Goji vs Ghidorah since Ali vs Frazier.

We have more Godzilla (fixing the main criticism of the first film), empathetic human characters. and an ecological story angle which (surprisingly) is not done in a lecturing or sanctimonious way (and I say this as someone who isn't supportive of banning petrol/diesel cars and ceasing fossil fuel usage).

Following on from the 2014 film and the realisation that monsters are real, a band of eco-terrorists plan on releasing all the hibernating monsters so as to wreak havoc in order to curtail Man's devastating impact on the planet and regenerating the natural world. However things go awry when they release the rival alpha to Godzilla - King Ghidorah. Instead of healing the planet as expected, King Ghidorah leads the other daikaijus on a wave of destruction. Only the mighty Godzilla can stop him.

Kyle Chandler is a great as the main protag (and is ridiculously sexy) who hates Godzilla for killing his son in the events of the first film - presumably he stepped on him which amuses me no end - and has some cracking sarcastic lines:

Kyle: "you got a catchy name for this one?"
Woman: "locals call him Rodan - the Fire Demon"
Kyle: "well that's reassuring"

Vera Farmiga brings 3-dimensions to her role as the pragmatic antagonist who believes she is saving the planet. Ken Watanabe knocks it out of the park as Serizawa and delivers a deeply emotional scene when one-on-one with Godzilla. Charles Dance is a badass, as always, and Brad Whitford steals the show with every line he has.

The film also has the greatest trailer of all time, delivering cracking pacing. fab usage of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and killer timing of the film footage to the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFxN...JhaWxlcg%3D%3D

Most of all - this film takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. If ever a make-believe 393 foot-tall creature can make you empathise with him, cheer for him and fear for him then this is it. One minute you're fist-pumping the air at Godzilla laying the smack down and the next your heart is in your mouth. Watch it, enjoy it, love it.

[Haskell]

Hard disagree on this one. I really liked the tone of the 2014 movie with its tiny human stories (contrasted to the enormous monsters), memorable scenes and more 'realistic' monsters in a realistic world. I disliked King of Monsters in the theater but watched it again today as it was on TNT. Nope. The characters and monsters are very cartoony similar to Pacific Rim but where the first Pacific Rim nails that matching silly vibe (the second one overdoses on it) King takes itself too seriously which doesn't work very well for me. Also the cast of easily identifiable B list actors really make it hard for me to lean in to the story. But I'm with you on bobby brown. Yuck. And that guy from Silicon Valley. And that guy from Law and Order and that guy from Game of Thrones and.....

[Mark Somers]

Go go Godzilla

[SundownInRetreat]

https://youtu.be/--XdqNYGARM

[SundownInRetreat]

Hard disagree on this one. I really liked the tone of the 2014 movie with its tiny human stories (contrasted to the enormous monsters), memorable scenes and more 'realistic' monsters in a realistic world. I disliked King of Monsters in the theater but watched it again today as it was on TNT. Nope. The characters and monsters are very cartoony similar to Pacific Rim but where the first Pacific Rim nails that matching silly vibe (the second one overdoses on it) King takes itself too seriously which doesn't work very well for me. Also the cast of easily identifiable B list actors really make it hard for me to lean in to the story. But I'm with you on bobby brown. Yuck. And that guy from Silicon Valley. And that guy from Law and Order and that guy from Game of Thrones and.....

You're free to be completely wrong.
Both in your taste and your understanding of the film (which explains your disconnect with its supposed contradictory tone).

[Mark Somers]

I look forward to the musical.

[SundownInRetreat]

This is the grand finale song: https://youtu.be/QFxN2oDKk0E

And also the greatest trailer of all time. A sheer masterclass in synchronising audio and video, editing, pacing, drama and emotion, copywriting, and building to a crescendo.

[Ethos]

Where's your fresh take on Godzilla? with a Logline and Treatment for us to read.

wasn't there some talk of Joker Forum being a musical?

[SundownInRetreat]

Legendary already did the business and knocked it out of the park in 2014 and more so in 2019..Then they promptly flushed it down the toilet with the turd that was Godzilla vs Kong.

King of the Monsters was so epic that it couldn't be topped. You had Godzilla vs his arch-nemesis, King Ghidorah. That was it, the kaiju equivalent of Aliens and Terminator 2 - you can't top it. All I would have done differently is made Goji appear to be the villain in the second film of the franchise and then rounded off the trilogy with King of the Monsters and Godzilla showing us all he's not a baddie.

I'm not averse to coming up with a fresh take it's just that there's no point with an established IP. That's why I never expanded on my ideas to reinvigorate Jason Voorhees, a character that deserves a better fate than the bulk of his movies.

[Ethos]

Interesting, just looking it up - the boxoffice for 2014(Bryan Cranston) was majority US, but 2019 was more China. The biggest Boxoffice of the 3 releases being 2021 and it almost doubled it's sales in China vs the US market.

Right now the top 2023 English speaking movie in foreign markets is Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre(Some Guy Richie movie) followed by Plane with Gerald Butler.

Last year, Avatar with 70% of it's sales being the foreign market; Fantastic Beasts having 76%.

It's strange, with the Godzilla movies the sales in China/International grew over time, where the USA audience did the opposite.

Do you think the future of these Godzilla (special effect, heavy action and set pieces) movies are in the International market?

Would you write specifically for that demographic?

[SundownInRetreat]

Good question. The water are muddied as KOTM release date was moved towards the summer and was up against insane (and family-orientated) competition: Avengers Endgame, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, Secret Life of Pets 2, Spider-Man Far From Home, Rocketman and even the runts of that window were established IPs like Men in Black and X-Men hence it suffered in the US. Back when I was a teenager, the US box office was king accounting for 2/3 of revenue compared to 1/3 for international but nowadays those stats have been reversed so most big budget films earn more internationally. And of course, the bigger the action set pieces and special effects sequences the more an international hit is required to break even - a task helped by the fact that by default, such tentpole movies have international appeal.

That said, the movie industry was going strong for decades before the rise of the foreign market and I do believe that film quality and identity is being eroded by pandering to these markets and watering down their American-ness. When I say this I don't just mean the trope of film's plot moving the action move to China/Hong Kong so as to doff the cap to the money trail and (in most cases) egos of Chinese investors. I also refer to the loss of unique American terminology and settings - the things that make films identifiably American - because that's how studios feel will best help foreign sales. And so we get less US high school dramas about semesters and grade 3.0s (a term I still don't understand to this day) and more generic fare.

When I was growing up there were so many phrases and peculiarities of US culture that didn't translate - and there was no internet to help us out - yet the box office thrived regardless. Whilst the execs may think a film that's "too American" is off-putting to other markets, so too is bland, non-descript content. As overdone as the British gangster genre is, people love the British setting, slang, gritty tone and dry, often dark, humour. Many Americans even watch them with subtitles so as to understand what's being said and they wouldn't go to that effort for blandness.

I wouldn't write specifically for an international demographic - and I'd avoid globe-trotting and the need for characters to head to company headquarters that just so happen to be located in China - and I would just focus on the nest possible story. Do I think KOTM is the best film of all time because Goji went to 3 continents? Nope! Would I go to the cinema just because a film was set in my country? Nope. Do I cringe when I can spot 'international-driven beats in films? Absolutely. So I'd just write the best damn script I could - because as Jaws, Love Story, Terminator 2 and Titanic all proved - it doesn't matter where a film is set (or gender/race inclusion) it only matters if the film is good.

[Ethos]

Technologically, the US is far ahead of other countries in home entertainment. If you look at Japan, they follow a similar pattern in theatrical numbers, but are about 10% of the US market. I think the technology has a lot to do with what audiences see in theaters and probably other social norms. Probably also the economy - and for younger 20-somethings who are playing rent, if they can watch the new Dune movie on HBOMax and eat takeout, they'll probably do that. The 20-something in the 1980s were the primary audience for independent films and theatrical ticket sales, they went to theaters to be enlightened about society. I don't that sentiment amongst people exists anymore. I think the social issues that were discussed in the 1960s-1990s movies were important to US audiences.

It could be the investors are the people these movies would be criticizing. And the reason why modern movies have chosen to not address social issues the US population empathizes with. With modern financial institution I know there is ESG regulatory reform, which says - if they are going to loan money - they require specific racial and geo-political rules to be adhered to.

Godzilla franchise specifically - I would say it's from Japan and reminds me of Anime. There are a lot of things that make Anime great and even more things that make it strange, possibly cringe. Personally, I don't know enough about the foreign market and what's popular, but seems like they are about 20 years behind us on most things.

Going back to the technology and US theatrical market. I think it's pretty simple - they need to be able to sell tickets or views instead of streaming packages. We do have the technology to end piracy and protect movies, but for some reason they take movies that cost $500,000,000 and allow them to be streamed. Maybe it'll be the PGA or the Labor unions with SAG that finally put their foot down, but there's no hope for cinema if just allow streaming to take over the theatrical release.

[SundownInRetreat]

What do you mean by foreign markets being 20 years behind the US?

I'd say it's a case of knowing Godzilla originated in Japan rather than reminds you of it (unless you watch the Japanese films). Much of those films wouldn't translate and that's why the US versions have avoided the weirder aspects of the lore.

People want to be entertained. They want the "event" of going out, buying popcorn, watching trailers, surround Dolby sound, huge screens and watching with an audience. Top Gun Maverick proved this and was going strong even after illegal streaming and, several weeks later, legal streaming. Kill cinema with blandness, wokeness, and regurgitated franchises and it will die but make films people want to see and cinema will thrive.

[Ethos]

What do you mean by foreign markets being 20 years behind the US?

Probably everything. Technology used for media consumption; social constructs like war, race, history, believe in god; just orientation with the outside world(a lot of them are close to 100 years behind the USA). Americans consume lots of information and I'd say 20% really understand it, but that's much lower in foreign markets - so they have zero interest in these concepts.

I'd say it's a case of knowing Godzilla originated in Japan rather than reminds you of it (unless you watch the Japanese films). Much of those films wouldn't translate and that's why the US versions have avoided the weirder aspects of the lore.

I grew up with the foreign market being more edge and fun. By the age twelve, I found Anime and independent movies to be more honest and of higher quality. Better cartoons, I guess.

A lot of US based comics are inspired by Japanese comics. I liked when Geof Darrow did Big Guy and that had some elements of Godzilla with a mix of superhero tropes. He still does Shaolin Cowboy. At this point there's so much Anime already made and still being produced, but obviously Cowboy Bebop and major titles stand out. Frank Miller's contributions to Batman, Wolverine and Daredevil were inspired by Japanese movies and comics.

People want to be entertained. They want the "event" of going out, buying popcorn, watching trailers, surround Dolby sound, huge screens and watching with an audience. Top Gun Maverick proved this and was going strong even after illegal streaming and, several weeks later, legal streaming. Kill cinema with blandness, wokeness, and regurgitated franchises and it will die but make films people want to see and cinema will thrive.

[totally joking]some American badass with a chip on his shoulder with his dick flapping in the wind is kicking some ass and not apologetic for it.

"What? The new spiderman was three white guys?"

All I know is movies spoke to a generation about real life problems. Brought us insight on fascinating people and stories and let us see it from their perspective. It would be hard to argue that playing it safe has been good for the movie market. Maybe they are selling to young people, but I see those kids and they appear to be ten-times more abrasive and looking for more edgy content. A lot of them turn to youtube and controversial(stupid) people for this enlightenment, not smart down to earth people, but individuals looking to sell them stuff or exploit them.