12.10.2013

In Which I Consider The Trailer For GODZILLA (2014)

First off, the trailer in case you've missed it:



Ok, my thoughts:

The Kubrickian use of the chorus throughout reminds me of the Monolith scenes from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (you can certainly get your monkey on here after reading this article to compare the audio tracks) and if this trailer is meant to speak "film language" then we are truly at the dawn of a new era in this story. We've seen kaiju films, heck here at PreOrder66 we overindulge in them, but I think what the filmmakers are doing with this movie is saying "All of that is prelude, we're doing something different here." much in the same way Christopher Nolan changed the comic book hero genre with his DARK KNIGHT Trilogy.

What strikes me the most is the artistic touches in the frame. We're getting realism for sure, but then you look at this wide shot of San Francisco:


It's gorgeous- it's effectively a painting. It reminds me of John Martin's works depicting the Apocalypse in its various forms. Here's his "Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum" to compare:


We're living in the cinematic era of "total fucking destruction"; every event film seems to have it's own "end of the world" theme, but with Godzilla, nothing less than unprecedented chaos is appropriate. If anything, I feel like the big G has been short-changed on the trend. Obviously, the 1998 movie happened, we can't deny this. No matter how hard I try to forget him, he haunts me so:


But this is all about to change... thanks to the real-deal stomping badass:


He's smoking us like a Cuban cigar. Godzilla needs to stretch out and that's what an American film production can offer it, if done well. I feel like all the pieces are coming together for this film. Of course, we've only been shown 2 minutes so far, but the tone and the scope have me profoundly excited. I cannot wait until May 2014.  What say you?

8 comments:

  1. You know my feelings, I am damn excited. The tone is amazing, the scope of destruction is spectacular, the design and sound in the trailer were phenominal. I'm glad they made us wait this long to get one, it was masterfully done. I hope the film retains the atmosphere set up in this teaser. It looks to be a dark moody piece about Man's hubris in playing god, and the consequences we wrought upon ourselves.

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  2. This movie looks very promising! I'm a casual G-Man myself but I will say I've always had an admiration for the series and the idea behind it all. I'm glad this is something different, I'd rather them go the more Cloverfield (not in the handheld sense) terrifying "post 9/11" tone. Shit looks real. Color me very interested.

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  3. Big G is always here to keep us in check. That's why we love G, he humbles us, he doesn't negotiate or compromise. We asked for it. G is the equalizer.

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  4. I hope the rumor about some suitmation being used is true. I don't think it's necessary, but it would be a great way to pay homage to G's history while giving fans a badass new suit. High hopes for the movie and potential figures not done by NECA.

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  5. visually I think that this is a success so far. Granted, that doesn't say much for the movie as a whole yet, but I've been able to forgive a lot when a movie hits the art right.

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  6. I prefer the 1997 Godzilla movie, best one ever made. For one reason only, Godzilla looked reptilian. Not like some kind of mutant cat like the shitty Japanese versions. If this version looks reptilian I might give it a shot.

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  7. I'm looking forward to this myself. I watched all the Showa stuff as a kid, and now that my daughters are into it (my kids went as Godzilla and Mothra for Halloween!), I'm just watching the Heisei and Millenium stuff for the first time. Can't wait to see this in my local IMAX 3D theater!

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