Durp004
MemberBaragonApr-21-2014 1:05 PMNow with the new movie coming very soon I think it's safe to say most of us are doing our own Godzilla-thons to some extent. Whether this is you watching every movie in the series, or maybe just your favorites we're all watching some of the older movies. I started mine a while ago and am currently at Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II so I still have a way to go, but through watching all the movies so far I've come to realize how much my opinion on each has changed throughout my life. Some of the movies have really stood out to me that I didn't fully enjoy as a young child due to tuning out and waiting for the monsters to fight as I think a large margin of us did as young children. In the same sense some movies I really loved and would call my favorites wouldn't even make my top 10 list now.
So what Godzilla movie has your opinions of changed the most? This could be good or bad. Mine is Godzilla vs Gigan. The 10 year old me would tell you this was hands down the best Godzilla movie and none even came close. Then the 16 year old me would tell you it's 1 of the worst with constant stockfootage, a story that just kind of drags out and besides bringing in Gigan a cool new monster didn't do anything great. The current me(after finishing it not too long ago) would still put it on the bottom half of the list but not quite as low as a younger me. i think it's still an okay entry in the franchise. In my opinion the strongest out of the 3 70s godzilla movies before Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla by a pretty large margin.
TarrellZilla
MemberMothra LarvaeApr-21-2014 3:02 PMI found myself not liking movies like King kong vs G, G vs Megaguirs, and G vs Mechagodzilla as much as I originally did. I liked the original Mothra vs Godzilla and the Kiryu films a lot more though. Everything else stayed about the same for me lol
npinkham19
MemberMothra LarvaeApr-21-2014 3:48 PMNailed it with Gigan. LOVED it as a child. My first Godzilla film was 1985 and my second was Gigan. I didn't even care that Godzilla was the exact opposite or even that he talked in the film but I repurchased it on dvd thinking it would be nostalgic gold but aside from Ifukube's amazing score (which he didnt even record for this film) , it's painfully boring.
It's the opposite with Son of Godzilla. I couldn't get over the awfullllllll Godzilla suit and how cute they played up the film but nowadays it's great, pure fantasy escapism.
timothyzilla1996
MemberMothra LarvaeApr-21-2014 5:56 PMVs Biollante, when I was a kid I thought it was decent but not my favorite. After marathoning through all of the movies recently I would now say that its the best movie in the series to be honest!
npinkham19
MemberMothra LarvaeApr-21-2014 6:29 PMWhen Biollante came out I had no idea it was a sequel to 85. I didn't know they had made films after that one so when it opened up with a montage of 85 my jaw hit the floor. As a kid I was actually scared when I saw Biollantes second form and the immediate damage it did to Godzilla. I thought my hero was going to die. Biollante is my fav and probably will always be but at first yeah . . . scary. Similiar with MechaG 74, poor Angilas.
Durp004
MemberBaragonApr-22-2014 1:50 AMBiollante almost was the movie my opinion changed about the most. Godzilla vs Destroyah is still my favorite movie, but that's due to nostalgia and personal taste. I will admit the Godzilla vs Biollante is a better film in general, and easily in the top 3 in the whole franchise. The reason it didn't make my number 1 was because I always enjoyed the movie, and while it has only gotten better and better everytime I watch it, it's not as scattered as my opinion of Godzilla vs Gigan which ranges from the very best to dropping down to 1 of the weaker installments.
Devianteist
MemberMothra LarvaeApr-22-2014 6:15 AMGodzilla VS SpaceGodzilla and Godzilla VS Destoroyah
Both I revered as the greatest Godzilla movies... When I was 7. 10 years later, I can't even sit through GvSG without fastforwarding, but GvD I can.
Personally, GvSG is a horrid movie. An interesting topic, horrendous execution.
GvD is overrated, but that won't change that it is my favorite movie, with my favorite kaiju.
Well, that is, until I saw the MUTO. *pushes Destoroyah aside*
G. H. (Gman)
AdminGodzillaApr-22-2014 1:27 PMThe younger me and the current me are two very different minds. Tastes change as people grow older and that's normal. Today I'm more interested in details I wasn't before and a lot of it shows in my opinions for this series-- admittedly. My opinion has probably changed for about 80% of these films, but here are the most drastic shifts:
Godzilla's Revenge - I used to be like most fans: Claiming this is one of the worst because of it's lack of focus on Godzilla, the story about the kid, the stock footage...blah, blah, blah. The younger, dumber me couldn't see the genius behind using Godzilla as a hook to tell a more personal story. The flaws are glaring, but atleast there's something very true about the storyline to overlook those flaws for.
Godzilla vs. Destroyah - There was a time that I put this in the top 5 best Godzilla movies. Today? It sits somewhere in the middle of the pack. The special effects are pretty rough, especially after all that Gamera: Guardian of the Universe accomplished on a shoestring budget earlier that year. (How did vs. Destroyah cost $5.5 million more than Gamera?) The unfinished character arcs and dropped plot points are also a sore spot in a movie that gets a bit overhyped. Regardless of how I see it now, I admit I still enjoy it a great deal for nostalgic purposes. The movie isn't ruined for me, it's just not very prolific.
Monster Zero - Here's a big one. I used to hate this movie for the severe lack of monster action and the attention to all things not Godzilla. Today, it's one of my favorite Godzila movies. Maybe my number one. And I love it for all the reasons I used to hate it for. The monster action is sparse, but still contain some of the best fights in the series. I love the pulpy characters, the way they intertwine and the popular sci-fi tropes of the era. It's a crazy movie, but it all works because there is a welcomed lack of Godzilla in it.
Destroy All Monsters - As a kid I thought this was the best of the best due to the amount of monster action. Today? It's like watching paint dry. This is an example of why we need strong characters in a Godzilla movie. Unlike Monster Zero, the characters here are about as flat and one dimensional as it gets. Thus, I don't really care about what happens to them. I'm not in any suspense for the situation. And I couldn't give a damn about what's at stake. The Mt. Fuji battle is fun, but other than that I think it's Ishiro Honda's weakest Godzilla film. It relies too heavily on the novelty that we see all these monsters in one movie.
It's interesting that Godzilla vs. Gigan is of such great debate here. I'm typically stuck in a rut on this one too. I remember when Barry's Temple of Godzilla was one of the only Godzilla sites out there and his page reviewed the movie with: "This is either one of the worst or one of the best movies in the series, depending on how you look at it." He couldn't have been more correct. Godzilla vs. Gigan is a visually cohesive movie, with strong characters and fun action. But it's also a movie with visual effects that either don't work or clash with the overused stock footage. It can be fairly boring to watch as it tries to fill in the dead spaces with shots from Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster or Monster Zero. It's a great example of trying to get things to pan out under a lack of resources, but it's also a plodding, dreary film that's suppose to be fun.
trickkelly
MemberMothra LarvaeApr-22-2014 2:41 PMI used to hate Mothra vs. Godzilla when I was a kid. There's a lot of plot development before Godzilla arrives and of course, Big G loses to a couple of grubs that shoot silly string. However, after a couple of viewings lately (including one with my mother-in-law, she's a fan. Who knew?) I've grown much more fond of it. It's just a well put together film with great SFX, thoughtful storytelling and enough camp sprinkled on top. It now inhabits my top 5, I believe.