Monster Discussion #33: Jet Jaguar

[gdza60]

Thank you !!!!!! This was the only godzilla movie to ever get shown on nation wide television (NBC)in prime time and they put comedian john belushi to host this movie, not a good time for the big G.

[MDK]

Man, if only GINO and Megalon never existed. Godzilla would be more respected.

[Rodan]

Agreed. That crowd thinks Godzilla is a big, mutated iguana. I wonder where they got that idea.

As someone under 30 who interacts with lots of people under 30 on a regular basis, I also don't think that's true.

The enduring legacy of Godzilla is still that of the cheesy, rubber-suited monster fight. I just don't think Megalon in particular is even a blip on my generation's collective consciousness. I hadn't even seen the thing until last year.

Man, if only GINO and Megalon never existed. Godzilla would be more respected.

Is joke, right?

[Kaiser]

For clarity's sake, I'm referring to the kind of movie Godzilla vs. Megalon is, not the actual movie itself, when I say it's the image most people think of.

[Megalon7]

Man, if only GINO and Megalon never existed. Godzilla would be more respected.

I don't care if Godzilla is respected by a widespread audience. I don't have this need for everything I like to be popular. And you cant put all the blame on those two movies.

I'm personally glad Godzilla vs Megalon exits. Sure, it's technically a bad movie, but I think it's a lot of fun to watch. I've never seen GINO, so I cant really say.

[Terasawa]

Agreed. That crowd thinks Godzilla is a big, mutated iguana. I wonder where they got that idea.

As someone under 30 who interacts with lots of people under 30 on a regular basis, I also don't think that's true.

The enduring legacy of Godzilla is still that of the cheesy, rubber-suited monster fight. I just don't think Megalon in particular is even a blip on my generation's collective consciousness. I hadn't even seen the thing until last year.

Well I'm in my 20s, and maybe it's just the people I know, but I've seldom met anyone that has seen any Godzilla movie except the American film. Now some of them know that Godzilla was a Japanese film series first and probably that it involved a man in a rubber suit trashing model cities while Japanese actors recite inane dubbed dialogue, but I'm not sure how many understand the cult appeal of that. To most of them, Godzilla is a giant reptile (often "lizard") that's been around for a long time. They know nothing of the quality of the films (or even the perceived quality) or the tropes. But again, maybe these are just the people I know. For better or worse, GODZILLA (1998) is what they think of when the character is or films are brought up.

[Rodan]

For clarity's sake, I'm referring to the kind of movie Godzilla vs. Megalon is, not the actual movie itself, when I say it's the image most people think of.

Oh. That's fair. Although I think Megalon is even sillier than what most people imagine when they think of Godzilla.

[GodzillaDude]

The people that don't like it, is probably due to it being a bit of an Ultraman rip off of sorts. That and he makes me think of a giant power ranger teaming up with Godzilla!

[MDK]

Man, if only GINO and Megalon never existed. Godzilla would be more respected.

I don't care if Godzilla is respected by a widespread audience. I don't have this need for everything I like to be popular. And you cant put all the blame on those two movies.

I'm personally glad Godzilla vs Megalon exits. Sure, it's technically a bad movie, but I think it's a lot of fun to watch. I've never seen GINO, so I cant really say.

If Godzilla was respected, there'd be more Godzilla DVDs, toys, Blu Ray's, comics, games, etc. We would've gotton VS Biollante earlier. Hell, Godzilla films would get a proper Blu Ray transfer.

And I guess I can blame VS Gigan, Invasion of the Astro Monster, and GFW too.

[Megalon-5]

Hell, Godzilla films would get a proper Blu Ray transfer.

Well, that's more or less Toho taking shitty care of their film materials.

[Megalon7]

Man, if only GINO and Megalon never existed. Godzilla would be more respected.

I don't care if Godzilla is respected by a widespread audience. I don't have this need for everything I like to be popular. And you cant put all the blame on those two movies.

I'm personally glad Godzilla vs Megalon exits. Sure, it's technically a bad movie, but I think it's a lot of fun to watch. I've never seen GINO, so I cant really say.

If Godzilla was respected, there'd be more Godzilla DVDs, toys, Blu Ray's, comics, games, etc. We would've gotton VS Biollante earlier. Hell, Godzilla films would get a proper Blu Ray transfer.

And I guess I can blame VS Gigan, Invasion of the Astro Monster, and GFW too.

Right, but I personally would much rather have Gigan, Megalon, and Astro Monster exist then have a handful of Godzilla films that take themselves too seriously. Most of this franchise consists of B-movies, so if you actually want Godzilla to be respected, then there goes most of the 60's films, all of the 70's films, all of the 90's films, and over half of the millennium series. And that still doesn't guarantee that Godzilla is going to be taken seriously. Some people just don't find the concept of giant monsters to be that serious or worthy of respect. No amount of "dark n gritty" Godzilla movies is going to change that.

Also, there is only so much you can do with a franchise revolving around giant monsters. If we take out the alien plots, the space monsters, the unrealistic super-weapons, the generic characters, the clichés, the repetitiveness, and everything else that the average moviegoer might find objectionable, then we really wouldn't be left with much.

[Shadow]

Sure JJ may look weird, to others down-right stupid. But he is unique in his own way, which fits him right in the Showa era. The hate for him is not really deserved, he could look a lot worse.

Jet Jaguar, won't you?

[Gojira-Fan]

^The hate for Jet Jaguar is pretty much just an extension for the dislike of the 70's films. Godzilla vs. Megalon is the epitome of the problems the 70's films had.

[Kaiser]

^The hate for Jet Jaguar is pretty much just an extension for the dislike of the 70's films. Godzilla vs. Megalon is the epitome of the problems the 70's films had.

If anything, people seem to go a bit too easy on the 70s films these days. The 90s films are the new "dark age" from what I can gather.

[Tamura]

Hell, Godzilla films would get a proper Blu Ray transfer.

Well, that's more or less Toho taking shitty care of their film materials.

Toho actually takes excellent care of their films. Note how all Godzilla films but KING KONG VS. GODZILLA aren't lost, incomplete, or extant only through poor quality elements. The Japanese have been very good at keeping track of good quality materials for their films made after WWII. Their film heritage is probably better preserved than any other Asian country. The problem is Toho's in-house transfers suffer from problems Japanese home video companies in general seem hesitant to rectify, like DNR and green/yellow tints.

You want to see a country that used to take shitty care of their classic films? Check out this bundle of Filipino films:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ines_2.jpg

[Spuro]

^ I certainly do.

Now days it seems every time I look on this forum, all I see is "The 90's films are terrible, the 90's films are boring, the 90's films have the worst special effects, the 90's films have the worst monsters, the 90's films have the worst suits, the 90's films have the worst actors, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."

Its funny, because I can clearly recall the days when everyone was praising the 90's films as the best.

Makes me wonder if Final Wars will ever become a fan favourite someday...

[MDK]

^The hate for Jet Jaguar is pretty much just an extension for the dislike of the 70's films. Godzilla vs. Megalon is the epitome of the problems the 70's films had.

If anything, people seem to go a bit too easy on the 70s films these days. The 90s films are the new "dark age" from what I can gather.

This. It's pretty ironic that there's so much Heisei bashing yet the same people can enjoythe 70's films.

[eabaker]

I think a lot of what you're talking about is "context of era" and not "context of production," of which is a point in which I agree. However the quality of the 70s films vs. the 90s films is subjective, so I believe we must agree to disagree on that. I see both virtues and faults in both eras. What I am objecting to is the use of the term "excuse" to indicate a forgiving of poor quality. I'm sorry but a lacking production doesn't forgive an inferior product. Manos doesn't improve in quality just because you know it was made on a dare by a fertilizer salesman, and neither does Transformers improve because "it's a Michael Bay movie, what'd you expect?"

That's just the issue I had with the arguement as presented.

Absolutely. There's a huge difference between recognizing quality work that overcomes technical limitations, and allowing technical limitations to justify sloppy work given what tools are available.

The same money that made Manos, in better hands, could have made something much better had it simply been in the hands of more talented filmmakers.

[JGAR]

Jet Jaguar in my opinion could be the easiest Monster to be portrayed in a suit, you could lower the weight a bit and there, perfect. Also, his design can be updated to a more badass aproach.

[eabaker]

Wow, that's cheesy!