Mistake in Godzilla?!

Maybe I should’ve dumped this on a TV forum, but whatever, since it’s here now... 🙂
So, when they finally bail from the hall—you know, right after they crash that plane into the building—they just hop into a taxi. Like, seriously? Did he pull a camera out of his pocket or something else entirely?

I saw the video, and I couldn't help but laugh when that Populous guy mentioned how those pests would just multiply until they were everywhere. It actually reminded me of another little nuisance from fiction—those Tribbles. 😁 (They're from Star Trek, in case you haven't seen it.)

The entire movie feels like one massive oversight 😁 especially when you start digging into the logic behind it.
Triplets might be the rule 👍 but this is Star Trek, where anything goes and whether the internal logic holds up is almost irrelevant.

silentharbor88 said:Haven't seen it, but man, I lost it when that Populous guy said those bastards just breed until they're pregnant... kind of sounds like something you'd hear about those little fuzzballs—the Tribbles. 😁 (From Star Trek, in case you haven't caught it.)

Tribbles rock.
watched it with Kirk and then DS9 too. absolute legends. America could really use some of that energy... maybe then guys like Bojan wouldn't be constantly looking for a fight. 😁

Uhh, I can’t say I have any clue since I missed that specific part of the movie. All I know is this: when those military helicopters give Godzilla chase, she can barely keep up, and then she just casually swats them out of the sky later on. Fast forward forty-five minutes, and Godzilla can't even catch a single pathetic New York City taxi.

Jeziga, Godzilla clearly needs to spend a little more time running and swimming and a little less time snacking on fish. I bet that’s exactly what Emmerich told her during filming, and her response was probably, "Oh, please! It's all white meat! Zero cholesterol! Look at me, I'm in peak condition," "I don't even have a gut!"

Anyway, I didn't watch the whole thing, so I might be off base here, but... am I really the only one who thinks this movie should be titled "US Army: Total Destruction"? Honestly, given her size, Godzilla moves through Manhattan with the grace of a ballerina! She barely scrapes a building with her tail, but oh boy! It’s nothing a little bit of noise and some duct tape couldn't fix! But the second the military shows up to restore order, skyscrapers start collapsing left and right like: "I was guided by a 200-meter tall monster fueled by missiles and I just leveled the Chrysler Building. Whoopsy!"

And what was with the soldiers firing *small arms* at Godzilla? I mean, man, take a good look at the bullet you're trying to fire from your M-16! Now look at that monster screaming atop the Empire State Building! Are you starting to notice the incredible stupidity of what you're doing? Hmm?

I will say, I liked the helicopters! There are so many helicopters! And they fly! In squadrons! Across the sky! And occasionally circling overturned ships! While firing rockets that demolish buildings in Manhattan! Wheeeee! They don't actually do anything, though; they just exist so the military looks *really* busy, as if they actually know what they're doing and to prove all that tax money isn't being thrown down the drain. For that same reason, every soldier immediately starts yelling the moment a civilian gets too close:

"And then I was talking to Jenny, and I told her if she takes my chocolate donuts instead of my pastries again... Quick, the press is coming!"
"WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE OPERATION KING KONG EVAC PLAN?!"
"TEN-FOUR COMMANDER, ROGER THAT, A.S.A.P. ZERO OMEGA DELTA!"

By Boz, the smartest line in the entire film comes from Mayor Ebert: "You guys destroyed more of the city than the monster did."

And finally, the Frenchmen! Of course, it's the Frenchmen! Who else would be responsible for creating Godzilla, right? I mean, first they invent the atomic bomb, then they drop it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then they build the hydrogen bomb, and then they kick off the Cold War... God, I hate those Frenchmen! It's a good thing we have the US Army to protect us from them! Sure, they might not be able to hit a monster the size of a skyscraper, but at least they don't have nukes in their arsenal, right? The French would probably nuke New York City in a heartbeat!

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*By the way, from what I gather, Emmerich was furious with Roger Ebert because he trashed the film, so he demanded a similar actor and gave him the role of a bumbling, dim-witted mayor. HAW HAW! Talk about witty humor! You can tell Aralica watched "Godzilla" too, no matter how much he stays quiet about it.

As for that Mayor Ebert character, he displays the average intelligence of a country bumpkin. A giant radioactive dragon-iguana that breathes fire and poops out pregnant babies while picking its teeth with the WTC tower, and this guy is worried about whether he made a mistake ordering the evacuation.

Kevin Allen10 said:The entire movie is basically one big error, 😁 especially if you care about logic.
Tribbles follow their own rules, 👍 but hey, it's Star Trek—anything goes and who cares if the physics make sense?

A giant Tribble attacking New York City? Now that would be a movie! Though we’d have to keep the rain away, otherwise the fur gets soaked, it starts smelling terrible, and the poor thing just dies from the sheer weight of the water it absorbed... Actually, that might be a brilliant way to take it down. Imagine a radiation-resistant giant Tribble invading Manhattan, only to be tossed into Hudson Bay at the climax; the fur soaks up the water and the whole thing sinks like a stone to the bottom of the bay. I realize that might be a bit over the top, but hey, I haven't heard anyone complaining about Friedrich Barbarossa!

Honestly, I don't know how you can find the energy to write so much about a movie like Godzilla. I watched the beginning... it’s just your typical, tedious American blockbuster. You know exactly how it starts and exactly how it ends... there's really no point in overanalyzing it.

Lisa Flores74 said:Geez, how can you write so much about just one movie like Godzilla? I watched the beginning... it's your typical boring American flick... you know the start and you know the end... there's really no point in even bothering with it.

Just as you don't bother with my posts, it seems. 🙂

In Any case, the film was alright. And therein lies the rub. It was "okay." It was "good." Good grief! A high-budget Ronald Emmerich film about a giant monster destroying New York City shouldn't just be "okay." It should be FAKKEN *PERFECT* AND *WUHUU*!!!11. It should feel like when I was a kid watching Independence Day in the theater, walking out and yelling, "Tooooooo! Let's go watch that again!" This movie was just... meh. That's how it felt the first time I saw it. I listed some of the reasons why above. But, even though God knows Independence Day wasn't any smarter than this, somehow it hit better: Will Smith is cooler, the aliens are more impressive than Godzilla, the jokes are better... The only truly cool thing about "godzilla" is that Jean Reno is in it. Along with a few scenes featuring Godzilla, especially before he actually shows up. Later on, it becomes... meh. Average. Fine.

The worst part is that the film isn't even bad enough to be good like "Zardoz" or "The Swarm." It is simply... meh.

casualotter21 said:Imagine a giant Tribble attacking New York City. That would be quite the movie, wouldn't it? Though, we’d have to make sure it doesn't rain, because if those massive furs got soaked, the whole thing would just smell terrible—not to mention the poor creature might actually collapse under its own water-logged weight. Actually, isn't that a brilliant way to take it down? A radiation-resistant giant Tribble descends upon Manhattan, and then, at the climax, they simply toss it into Hudson Bay. Once the fur absorbs enough water, the beast would sink straight to the bottom like a stone. I realize it might sound a bit over the top, but hey, I haven't heard Friedrich Barbarossa complaining about a little drama before!

GNN 🙏

Gerald Alvarez> Maybe I should have posted this on TV, but since it's here, whatever.

In moments like these, I honestly just need to check GNN to reach my conclusions. 😁

GNN> Uuuh, I have no clue because I missed that part of the movie. All I know is: when military helicopters are chasing Godzilla, she can barely outrun them, but then she just swats them down later without breaking a sweat. Forty-five minutes later, Godzilla can't even catch one soggy New York taxi.
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<cut>
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A Frenchman would probably just bomb New York with nukes! Right away!

Total joke. 🤣

Anyway, the only real Godzilla movie was that old Japanese one. Back then, things actually made sense... I mean, it was the '50s, the Cold War was heating up, nuclear testing was happening all over the Pacific, and the whole idea of a radioactive lizard the size of a skyscraper felt somewhat plausible to people living in Japan.

That movie was a genuine disaster flick—maybe even a horror movie, if you think about it.

This modern stuff? It's a circus. Just like GNN said... the military caused more damage than anything else. And the movie itself feels like it's trying to say, "Steven Spielberg isn't the only one who can make a giant monster movie"... big deal, he did it first. 🙂

Back in the good old days, Godzilla would level all of Tokyo, scrap with two other radioactive monsters, and finally gnash her teeth against the top of Tokyo Tower. 😁 Sure, they were cheap productions and Godzilla was basically an oversized puppet, but hey, back then, who really cared? *shrugs* It didn't matter. All that mattered was watching Godzilla stomp through Japanese cities and crush everything in her path. 😁 (Writing this actually reminded me of some parts from those 20th Century Boys... that hell of a manga... especially the Godzilla bit.)

And what kind of idiot sets the story in New York City? I mean, NEW YORK CITY, of all places. As if there aren't enough massive cities on the West Coast of the US... 🙄...No, Godzilla should have swum across the entire American continent, under Hell, because obviously if she tried going through the Panama Canal, they would have spotted her (or would they 😉), and then she arrives in New York City... what was she looking for, a musical???

'But on a brighter note', there is an excellent animated series with the same name. I think it aired on Channel A maybe 4 or 5 years ago (wow... has it really been that long?).

A skyline view... right when two massive blunders loom over it 😁

First off, the whole concept of an oversized monster bothered me. Given the laws of physics, an animal that massive would struggle to even exist. How much muscle mass would it actually need just to keep from being crushed by its own weight? And even if it survived, it wouldn't be fast—it would move more like a sloth.
The romance between the leads is nothing more than a bad parody.
Those helicopters swarming through the skyscrapers like a dense cloud of insects.
And then there are the French special forces, portrayed as complete idiots.
I'll stop there, before this goes on forever...

casualotter21 said:Americans... blah blah blah...
Honestly, the only decent thing about "Godzilla" is that Harrison Ford is in it.

For me, the funniest part of the whole movie was when they started shouting names at each other.
"Hey, John!" "What is IT, John?" "Where is John?" 😁
Or that bit with Harrison Ford's mustache and Elvis Presley... "Thank you very much!"

gogy said:Initially, the concept of an extra-large monster bothered me. Given the laws of gravity, an animal of those proportions would struggle to even exist. Just how much muscle mass would it need to prevent being crushed by its own weight? And because of that, it wouldn't be fast; it would basically move like a sloth.

Tsk, tsk, tsk! We aren't going to start spitting on forty years of Japanese filmmaking tradition regarding giant monsters just yet!😁 Beside, it's one of those premises you simply *have* to accept if you want to enjoy the movie at all—just like you have to believe in the possibility of an alien invasion for Independence Day, or believe in ghosts for "The Sixth Sense." I have no interest in watching a movie about a scientifically plausible 200-meter monster, because I know such a creature would be pathetic. I want to see Godzilla! Breathing fire, running, jumping, and leveling skyscrapers.

Suspension of disbelief is, at least in my opinion, the most vital thing to achieve with these films. With this "Godzilla," the monster is designed in a way that allows me to actually buy into the story of how such a beast could exist: the opening sequence is appropriately high-energy, and we don't even see the monster until after thirty minutes or more of screen time (since the damn thing is so massive it won't fit in a single 😁) so I can't just shout, "Ugh, terrible special effects!" The tension builds slowly... or it doesn't.

For me, getting immersed in Godzilla is difficult because the *ordinary people* in the film act incredibly stupidly: from the US military to Mayor Ebert, down to the ex-girlfriend of Broderick's character, who was supposed to be likable but honestly just gets on my nerves because she seems totally brainless. Like, honey, if you're already stealing TOP SECRET! US military tapes for your little contribution, at least try to make sure some slimy colleague doesn't hijack them from you.
And the behavior of the characters or the military wouldn't be nearly as bad if the entire film didn't strive for that "IT COULD REALLY HAPPEN!" tone.

American specialists who are portrayed as complete idiots.

No, that's a realistic portrayal of Americans from the perspective of the French. I don't know what it is about those two nations, but Americans seem to absolutely love hating the French. And it isn't just because of the attacks on Iraq, which this film illustrates quite vividly.😬

Icepick said:And what kind of idiot decides to set the whole thing in New York City? I mean, NEW YORK CITY, out of all the places on Earth. As if there aren't enough massive cities on the West Coast...🙄 No, seriously. Godzilla swam across the entire American continent, deep under Hell, because obviously, if she tried going through the Panama Canal, someone would have spotted her (or would they 😉), and then she just pops up in New York City... what was her plan, catch a Broadway musical???

haha
😂 👍
If I were her, I'd 😁

But hey,
maybe the director just lacks a sixth sense...
Independence Day has similar scenes to Deep Impact--
All those movies flashed through my mind while watching CNN on September 11th.

casualotter21 said:I mean, for God's sake, given his size, Godzilla is moving through Manhattan with the grace of a freaking ballerina! Sure, he scrapes a building with his tail here and there, but give me a break! That’s nothing you couldn't fix with some duct tape and a little noise!

That was the one mistake that actually caught my eye.
And I wasn't even expecting much from this movie, so I wasn't paying much attention to other details...

Just like I said on TV—
there are scenes where the main characters are out on the streets of New York City, driving around in a car... and there isn't a single trace or footprint left by Godzilla on the street.
Even though they show him as being absolutely massive at the start of the film.
They didn't leave them out just because "it wouldn't be a movie" if the heroes couldn't drive through the streets of New York City.

casualotter21 said:It should feel just like when I was a kid watching "Independence Day" in the theater, walking out and shouting, "Tooooooo! Let's go watch that again!"

You actually liked Independence Day? 😕 😕

Oh please, spare me the "when I was a kid" excuse....

Icepick said:And which idiot decided to set the whole thing in New York City....I mean, NEW YORK CITY, of all places. It’s like there aren't enough massive cities on the West Coast of the US..🙄..no, Godzilla swam across the entire American continent—underneath Hell, obviously, because if she tried going through the Panama Canal people actually might notice (or would they 😉), and then she just shows up in New York City... what was her plan, catch a musical???

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I saw some report on TV out in the Pacific saying MSG would be the perfect spot for a nest. Man, if she had just asked, someone could've told her there are plenty of other arenas that hold like 20k people (though I guess they don't host the Knicks, my bad...)

steelcanyon92 said:So you actually enjoyed Independence Day? 😕 😕

In that case, I'd better not mention my plans to record "Wild West" when it airs on ABC, given that the movie is absolute ZAKKON! Apparently, one must have a penchant for films featuring thirty-meter-tall steam-powered spiders.

<pauza>

Whoopsy!

Yeah, those fancy upgrades for the website look super tempting...

But anyway, back to the main point; that scene where 'Zilla is hunting down those helicopters.
There's like, ten of them, right?

Do you honestly think those top-tier, battle-hardened, years-of-training, totally pro pilots even know what altitude even means?