Unpopular Godzilla Opinions

[Legion1979]

Ultimately, when people are able to tell you, at great length, why a movie works for them (and, as I said, a lot has been written about why this movie works), it seems kind of strange not to believe them.

Is it me or has that been happening a lot lately?

Person 1: This movie means a lot to me. Here are all my well thought out reasons for why I think its so great.
Person 2: Nah. I don't believe you. You don't like it that much. It's overrated. (Sticks fingers in his ears and deflects any further comments)

It's like....WHAT?!?

[Houndoom]

Ultimately, when people are able to tell you, at great length, why a movie works for them (and, as I said, a lot has been written about why this movie works), it seems kind of strange not to believe them.

Is it me or has that been happening a lot lately?

Person 1: This movie means a lot to me. Here are all my well thought out reasons for why I think its so great.
Person 2: Nah. I don't believe you. You don't like it that much. It's overrated. (Sticks fingers in his ears and deflects any further comments)

It's like....WHAT?!?

So we shouldn't have a discussion on it? What's the point of this thread then? The title of the thread is Unpopular Godzilla Opinions. And clearly mine is very unpopular because everyone is coming out of the woodworks and defend this film with their life. I just think it's a very over rated movie and intend to reply to others regarding my thoughts on the movie. I don't have the time at this very moment too, but your comment really stuck out to me. Hell, no where did I even say it's a bad movie. I made ONE(1) comment that I find it overrated and it's got you bent out of shape attacking my character over a movie with comments like "Sticks fingers in his ears and deflects any further comments"

I'll reply to eabaker, and the rest later. Or should I not Legion?

[Legion1979]

I wasn't talking about you specifically, Houndoom.

[Maritonic]

Let's just turn the temperature down a tiny bit. Keep things constructive and c h i l l.

[godjacob]

Alright uh let's try a topic shift.

I generally don't mind the English Dubs of Godzilla films. I find them generally to be fine and you even get a good performance or two in there. The only times I recall the dub being distractingly bad is for Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster.

[Terasawa]

I like King Kong vs. Godzilla because I genuinely like the movie, not because I'm enamored with the concept of two famous monsters battling it out.

-----

Alright uh let's try a topic shift.

I generally don't mind the English Dubs of Godzilla films. I find them generally to be fine and you even get a good performance or two in there. The only times I recall the dub being distractingly bad is for Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster.

There are two distinct English versions of this movie. Which one are you talking about?

[Legion1979]

Alright uh let's try a topic shift.

I generally don't mind the English Dubs of Godzilla films. I find them generally to be fine and you even get a good performance or two in there. The only times I recall the dub being distractingly bad is for Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster.

Which Sea Monster dub?

[godjacob]

I like King Kong vs. Godzilla because I genuinely like the movie, not because I'm enamored with the concept of two famous monsters battling it out.

-----

Alright uh let's try a topic shift.

I generally don't mind the English Dubs of Godzilla films. I find them generally to be fine and you even get a good performance or two in there. The only times I recall the dub being distractingly bad is for Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster.

There are two distinct English versions of this movie. Which one are you talking about?

Whichever one decided it'd be a glorious idea to give one of the MCs (The guy who swaps the liquid with a fake one with the natives) the single most obnoxious voice I've ever heard in my entire life.

[Spuro]

I like King Kong vs. Godzilla because I genuinely like the movie, not because I'm enamored with the concept of two famous monsters battling it out.

-----

Alright uh let's try a topic shift.

I generally don't mind the English Dubs of Godzilla films. I find them generally to be fine and you even get a good performance or two in there. The only times I recall the dub being distractingly bad is for Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster.

There are two distinct English versions of this movie. Which one are you talking about?

Whichever one decided it'd be a glorious idea to give one of the MCs (The guy who swaps the liquid with a fake one with the natives) the single most obnoxious voice I've ever heard in my entire life.

Yeah, I know exactly which one he’s talking about. It’s the dub attached to the old Sony DVD.

[eabaker]

Yeah, I know exactly which one he’s talking about. It’s the dub attached to the old Sony DVD.

That would be the international dub, which might also be called the Ebirah, Horror of the Deep dub.

The American-produced Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster dub, used for the original TV release and for distribution on VHS, was far better.

[godjacob]

Yeah, I know exactly which one he’s talking about. It’s the dub attached to the old Sony DVD.

That would be the international dub, which might also be called the Ebirah, Horror of the Deep dub.

The American-produced Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster dub, used for the original TV release and for distribution on VHS, was far better.

Probably is. Doesn't change the fact that my ears were exposed to the worst kind of experience with the International Dub lol

But good to know it has a better alternate.

[Terasawa]

Tokyo's Frontier Enterprises dubbed Ebirah for Toho; Frontier's English versions of Son of Godzilla and DAM are the two English versions presently available from Criterion and on YouTube/Shout! TV.

Fans generally hate these, possibly in part because they don't compare very favorably with the American versions of those films (all which had been re-dubbed in New York for their initial U.S. releases). While I prefer the NY-dubbed versions, myself, I've grown to appreciate the Frontier dubs (their Godzilla dubs and otherwise). My other unpopular Frontier Enterprises opinion: While the contemporary Hong Kong dubs are usually pretty entertaining, I think the Frontier stuff is better acted and much better recorded.

Incidentally, the universally-despised voice of Nita in Frontier's Ebirah belongs to Cliff Harrington, who played the helicopter co-pilot ("Al") in King Kong vs. Godzilla, and who voices the other pilot in the Japanese version of that film.

[godjacob]

Tokyo's Frontier Enterprises dubbed Ebirah for Toho; Frontier's English versions of Son of Godzilla and DAM are the two English versions presently available from Criterion and on YouTube/Shout! TV.

Fans generally hate these, possibly in part because they don't compare very favorably with the American versions of those films (all which had been re-dubbed in New York for their initial U.S. releases). While I prefer the NY-dubbed versions, myself, I've grown to appreciate the Frontier dubs (their Godzilla dubs and otherwise). My other unpopular Frontier Enterprises opinion: While the contemporary Hong Kong dubs are usually pretty entertaining, I think the Frontier stuff is better acted and much better recorded.

Incidentally, the universally-despised voice of Nita in Frontier's Ebirah belongs to Cliff Harrington, who played the helicopter co-pilot ("Al") in King Kong vs. Godzilla, and who voices the other pilot in the Japanese version of that film.

Wow, appreciate all the info. Always nice to read some bit of info about this stuff.

[Houndoom]

Ultimately, when people are able to tell you, at great length, why a movie works for them (and, as I said, a lot has been written about why this movie works), it seems kind of strange not to believe them.

I never got to say my piece on this topic. I'm not not believing them on why they enjoy the movie. I believe it to the fullest, but even if a hundred(100) people told me they enjoyed a movie for x amount of reasons, I can still critically look at it and come to a conclusion that the movie is potentially overhyped. It's not just this movie, I think the likes of Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and most MCU stuff is incredibly overhyped. But in my original post I never even came close to implying people were "misguided about its effectiveness for them" or even acted like my opinion on the matter was law.

Everyone including yourself could have easily just said "Okay, but why?" and encouraging discussion. And I can't help but bring up Breakdown being replied too and quoted was very lacking even though we both hold similar opinions on the movie, very strange imo.

Spoiler:

Reasons I feel like it's over hyped and isn't as good as other Showa films like say Vs. Mothra, Invasion of Astro Monster, etc.

• Maybe at the time the humor was funny, but by todays standards it's just really dated. If a character like Mr. Tako was in the, say a Monsterverse movie everyone would hate him and say an overly cartoonish character was cringe.

• King Kong himself simply just looks goofy. Hell that's why I got him as my profile picture, the suit just looks bad for Toho standards. Along with giving him his lightening ability I feel was just a bizarre attempt to make the fight more equal/give him a real chance.

• I also found their fight lack luster with moments like the two of them being on opposite sides of a building and just smacking the building without really hitting each other, the strange stop motion bit, Kong sliding down the mountain side, etc.

• I also feel like if you want a better movie with anti capitalist themes you already have much better films like Mothra/ vs Mothra

With all this said though I am not implying it's a bad movie. I just see it as the equivalent to Freddy vs Jason, that it's a flawed movie, but it's a popcorn flick.

[edgaguirus]

I like King Kong vs. Godzilla because I genuinely like the movie, not because I'm enamored with the concept of two famous monsters battling it out.

-----

Alright uh let's try a topic shift.

I generally don't mind the English Dubs of Godzilla films. I find them generally to be fine and you even get a good performance or two in there. The only times I recall the dub being distractingly bad is for Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster.

There are two distinct English versions of this movie. Which one are you talking about?

Whichever one decided it'd be a glorious idea to give one of the MCs (The guy who swaps the liquid with a fake one with the natives) the single most obnoxious voice I've ever heard in my entire life.

It can be grating, but it fits his character. He is the comic relief of the group.

[JAGzilla]

Ultimately, when people are able to tell you, at great length, why a movie works for them (and, as I said, a lot has been written about why this movie works), it seems kind of strange not to believe them.

I never got to say my piece on this topic. I'm not not believing them on why they enjoy the movie. I believe it to the fullest, but even if a hundred(100) people told me they enjoyed a movie for x amount of reasons, I can still critically look at it and come to a conclusion that the movie is potentially overhyped. It's not just this movie, I think the likes of Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and most MCU stuff is incredibly overhyped. But in my original post I never even came close to implying people were "misguided about its effectiveness for them" or even acted like my opinion on the matter was law.

Everyone including yourself could have easily just said "Okay, but why?" and encouraging discussion. And I can't help but bring up Breakdown being replied too and quoted was very lacking even though we both hold similar opinions on the movie, very strange imo.

Spoiler:

Reasons I feel like it's over hyped and isn't as good as other Showa films like say Vs. Mothra, Invasion of Astro Monster, etc.

• Maybe at the time the humor was funny, but by todays standards it's just really dated. If a character like Mr. Tako was in the, say a Monsterverse movie everyone would hate him and say an overly cartoonish character was cringe.

• King Kong himself simply just looks goofy. Hell that's why I got him as my profile picture, the suit just looks bad for Toho standards. Along with giving him his lightening ability I feel was just a bizarre attempt to make the fight more equal/give him a real chance.

• I also found their fight lack luster with moments like the two of them being on opposite sides of a building and just smacking the building without really hitting each other, the strange stop motion bit, Kong sliding down the mountain side, etc.

• I also feel like if you want a better movie with anti capitalist themes you already have much better films like Mothra/ vs Mothra

With all this said though I am not implying it's a bad movie. I just see it as the equivalent to Freddy vs Jason, that it's a flawed movie, but it's a popcorn flick.

You're entitled to your personal opinions, and no one is saying otherwise. Think whatever you want about the movie. That's fine. That's all Breakdown is doing, and no one went after him for it. Where you went wrong, what provoked everyone to reply to you, was that you challenged other people's personal opinions. You asserted that Kong being Godzilla's enemy is the overriding reason people "put this movie out on a pedestal," and you're flat wrong. That's not subjective or something that's debatable: you're just factually incorrect. Whether you agree with them or not, we have all kinds of other reasons for enjoying King Kong vs. Godzilla, and they're all just as legitimate as any reasons you have to dislike it.

On the subject of your reasons, I disagree with all but the last of the gripes you listed. The humor and goofy, stylized characterization are dated, yes (it's a movie from 1962, of course they are), but I see that as a good thing. I like the aesthetics of older movies like this. It's just interesting to see a glimpse of another time and place that I never directly experienced. And I do find Tako funny, but humor is totally subjective, so.

The Kong suit does look bad, I think almost everyone would agree on that, and that opinion is as old as the movie. Is that a problem? Nah, not for me. There's a charm to it, and I don't have to take it totally seriously in a comedy movie like this. The random electric powers are a plus that fits right in with Japanese kaiju. There's a giant gorilla, and lightning makes it stronger for literally no reason at all. I love the absurdity of it. That ability gives this incarnation of Kong something to make him stand out, too.

Godzilla and Kong tore the castle apart because it had come between them, and they were so bent on their fight that they smashed through it rather than go around. Which is perfectly realistic animal behavior, incidentally. My dogs do stupid things like that all the time when they're fixated on something. Anyway, it's a really cool effects sequence, a huge, impressive miniature being believably battered to pieces in memorable fashion. The stop motion shot is just kind of there, a weird little blink-and-you-miss-it curiosity. What's wrong with Kong sliding down the mountain?

[Legion1979]

Thank you, JAGzilla.

Again, one isn't going to gather much support when others explain why they like something and that person's response boils down to, "Come on, I know that's not the REAL reason you like it."

[Jomei]

Being dated doesn't mean being worse. The humor of the original Ghostbusters beats the all-female reboot. And I think a lot of people enjoyed the recent Top Gun and Prey in part because they are a return to a fun, accessible type of blockbuster and earlier, less uptight American culture rather than... whatever's been going on recently.

[Houndoom]

Thank you, JAGzilla.

Again, one isn't going to gather much support when others explain why they like something and that person's response boils down to, "Come on, I know that's not the REAL reason you like it."

Can you just quote me at this point and show me where I flat out say I don’t believe someone’s personal opinion?

[Maritonic]

Okay. I am once again requesting everyone chills out and moves on to a different topic.