American Godzilla Is Too Fat And Gareth Edwards Promises Cinematic Foreplay

By Brent McKnight | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

GodzillaGodzilla is big. No one has ever doubted that. In fact, his size has always been one of the qualities that most endear him to fans. Just imagine, if you will, a waist-high Godzilla running around. You might not want to tangle with him, like you wouldn’t mess with an angry dog of similar stature, but he would hardly inspire any great degree of terror. He certainly couldn’t level the downtown core of a major metropolis, and you wouldn’t call him the King of the Monsters unless you were being sarcastic. Though he is supposed to be big, some Japanese fans have made remarks indicating that he might be a little on the chubby side. In addition to mocking a giant lizard’s weight, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released a ton of new high resolution stills from Gareth Edwards’ upcoming reboot of Godzilla.

Across the world, Americans have a reputation for being overweight. For example, obesity is at 4% in Japan, while the US hovers around the 36% mark. Apparently this extends to our movie monsters as well. Though the reaction to Godzilla thus far has largely been positive, some Japanese fans have taken to the Internet to express their concerns that the big guy may be a little too fat for his own good. One fan called him “an American fatty,” while another says “He got fat in American cola and pizza.”

My favorite insults call him “couch potato Godzilla,” “Marshmallow-Godzilla,” and note that he looks like a seal. But not everyone who noticed his expanding waistline thinks it’s a bad thing. Another commenter noted that he is “chubby and cute.” Regardless, the consensus still seems to be that he looks exponentially better than the last American attempt at the iconic monster.

Even if he has packed on a few pounds, we’re not really sure we’d want to call his attention to it. He could be sensitive the issue. Maybe he’s just big boned, or has a glandular condition. He’s the product of massive doses of radiation after all, who knows what that does to a growing lizard? We might broach the subject if we thought it was a health issue, but for now we’ll let it go.

In addition to the monster—it wouldn’t be much of a Godzilla movie without Godzilla—there is also an extensive human cast that forms the core of the plot. In fact this is going to play such a big role that the official synopsis calls it “a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature.” We like to hear that. As much as we want to see a kick ass Godzilla rampage, if we can get that along with good characters and a story, the situation becomes that much better for everyone.

In fact, if Edwards’ recent comments are to be believed, we won’t be seeing much of the titular monster until he kicks into action near the end, and spend our time focusing on the human side. He doesn’t want to simply throw everything up on the screen immediately and play all of his cards right out of the gate. Talking to Vulture he said he wants to tease the audience, engaging in some “cinematic foreplay” before the big reveal.

Godzilla opens everywhere May 16, and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, and David Strathairn. You can check out all of them, and more, in action in this new collection of stills.

Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla
godzilla-gareth-edwards-ken-watanabe-600x399
Godzilla
Godzilla
Godzilla