Godzilla: The Discussion Continues
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Brent: I thoroughly approve of the Godzilla design. He’s big, green, and looks like the bastard child of a dinosaur and Baby Huey. And even though he’s this massive primordial monster, he still kind of looks like a guy running around in a rubber suit, which we can all appreciate.
Nick: He actually had heft and weight. And he wasn’t just a mastermind of MUTO murder. Which is kind of silly, to just rise from the depths in order to take on a nearly impossible fight, but I trust Godzilla’s sense of duty.
Brent: They definitely went out of their way to make him a hero and give him a job. I couldn’t help but think about what he does when he’s not fighting monsters that pop up every once in a while. Does he have any hobbies?
Nick: I seriously loved the fight scenes, and wish there were more of them. I don’t get why he didn’t just burn everything, but I was ecstatic every time Edwards pulled the camera back and showed the wide-scale shots of everybody going to town on each other. It was very Rampage. I could have used more of that helicopter-view stuff, too.
Brent: One thing I appreciate is the way they films the monsters. It was always from a human perspective, even from the helicopters. Edwards really places you right in the middle and makes you feel like you’re there watching this go down. It gives you more of a personal stake in the action.
Nick: Plus, I loved that the MUTOs had their own story of survival, that it was actually depressing when that one saw that all of her babies died, and that Edwards and Co. kept the enemies limited to two. The monsters were better developed than the humans. Definitely. They had a purpose, and really weren’t all that malevolent, when you consider they probably don’t understand what humans are. Godzilla had a mission, and the MUTOs were just acting on their natural instinct. They were destructive, but, not evil.
And I think that a really strong part of the untold story lies in that. That this is mankind given a huge threat that doesn’t involve politics or religion or anything or any of the usual stuff. It’s just mass destruction, and we’re left assuming that humanity is still supposed to be the kings of the planet, when we obviously aren’t. There are no bad guys to get mad at. Only survival to strive for.
Brent: This is really just the story of how two star-crossed monsters have their blossoming romance ruined by a giant dinosaur and some dicks with nuclear weapons. There’s a serious Romeo and Juliet vibe to that side of the story. Someone needs to make that movie.
Nick: Honestly, for all that the human part of the story was bland, the fact that MUTOs made out totally made up for it. It’s totally bonkers in a way that doesn’t even seem bonkers at all.
Brent: And for a second you’re like, oh, that’s kind of cute. It’s part of the way the film humanized the monsters. Like when Godzilla collapses at the end, exhausted, right in front of Ford, and there’s a kind of “good job, bro” moment between them. They did a better job making you care about the creatures than the actual people in a lot of ways. They were at least much more interesting story wise.
In a lot of ways Godzilla is more of a natural disaster movie than it is a creature feature. The monsters are almost the equivalent of an earthquake or a tsunami, both of which actually happen in the movie.
Nick: Yeah. I’d also point out that the tone managed to stay depressing and dour but still retained excitement through the action. All Edwards.
Brent: Yeah, it’s very bleak, what with the mass destruction and all, but that never weighs it down. And in the end, it doesn’t dwell on the mass chaos the monsters created, it’s more of a celebration of surviving, of living through this. It was very heroic for a monster movie. No human heroes here.
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