Do Godzilla films need be realistic to be good

[LSD Jellyfish]

^How the world if affected by kaiju attacks is where the realism within the genre lies, not the kaiju themselves.

That's a good way to put it.

I don't think anyone would be interested in the series if they put any actual realsim in the monsters, even if they think they do. I don't just mean, "they provided a scientific explanation" for how Godzilla (or others) function as a creature, but trying to constrain design elements due to real world limitations/animals.

In a genre filled with memorable and whacky monsters, like Gigan, a lot of the magic would be lost. It's akin to shooting yourself in the foot from a creative standpoint.

[LegendZilla]

^I don't consider providing a scientific explanation for any given kaiju innately detrimental. If you're a biology/evolution enthusiast like myself, it can provide fun food for thought. I know we've gone over this before a while back, but I recall you stating that being unclassifiable by conventional science is what makes a kaiju a kaiju. Hence, that is why the word "kaiju" itself literally means "strange beast".

I guess 'strange' can be seen as in the eye of the beholder -- platypuses are 'kaiju' of a sort when we first learn of them. At least in the sense that they're strange creatures that stand out from virtually every other mammal.
So it's not inherently bad to try to apply science to fictional monsters, as long as you don't get fact-bound to the point that its no longer fun.
Anyways, I just thought I'd give you some of my thinking on this.

[edgaguirus]

The same goes for the technology. Robotics and weapon technology are advancing quickly, but we're not yet building huge robots filled with missiles and lasers. And then you have sci fi ideas like DT. Some of this tech is based on real world science and weapons, but the films take it a step further to amaze the audience. Ultimately, these films are meant to entertain, which means they're free to take a few liberties with reality.

[StardustGenius]

Something I appreciated in Shin Godzilla was that Logical Science Expert was insistent that Godzilla would be unable to reach land because it would fall apart under its own weight, so nothing to worry about, Haha! Science!

Then Ogashira soon after, also Logical Science Expert throws cold water on that sentiment being all "Irrelevant, the creature can clearly support its own weight somehow."

"HOW" can it support its own weight? Who cares, what's more important is that they discover a way to help people, and beat this thing.

[tbeasley]

No, they just need to be good.

Which is pretty much what everyone has said already, but it's true.

The original started it all, GRA had the first monster fight, but it was really King Kong vs Godzilla that set the standard for the remainder of the series, and it's quite a different experience compared to the original... yet it has the same director, FX director, composer, etc. I think that's impressive, and it proves how flexible the series can be. In a way the genre as a whole owes more to the 1962-1968 films than the original.

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

Meh, realism is overrated. Depends on the tone. Serious Godzilla movie? Everything from the visual effects to the acting needs to feel real to sell it. Light/strange Godzilla movie? I'd be happy to see Godzilla go flying again as long as it's gonna be another movie that makes me as happy as watching Godzilla vs. Hedorah.

[CyberZilla]

In terms of realism, I hope for something plausibly realistic in terms of how people react to these larger than life creatures in the stories. It can even be based in real events that occurred— that’s how Godzilla even began as a concept.

Ultimately, Godzilla and kaiju stories want to aim for something that still touches the soul, something that is realistic and relatable, a primal or understandable thing that undercuts the narrative and remains significant to it. Kaiju are not realistic concepts necessarily, but they represent and continue to represent something that we, as humans and as organisms, can understand. I believe that’s where the touch of realism should be in these stories.

I appreciate the MV’s attempts to make the kaiju look plausible in their environments, but by no means is that a necessity. As others pointed at, the Showa era films continue to be poignant and full of heart and they don’t need photorealistic digital effects to achieve it.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

I agree with the majority here that Godzilla films do not need to be realistic for be good. Scientists have stated that a kaiju the size of Godzilla are more likely than not impossible to exist in our world due to factors like gravity literally crushing the animal because of its immense size. In that regard, we are going into a Godzilla movie already knowing that we see is not plausible in our real world. What I think makes kaiju interesting includes interest in the unknown and how the monsters themselves do not fit within the constraints of our world (Godzilla is a king of Monsters and bit controlled by anyone/anything). I think it is what kaiju represent that have made for generations of fans.

On Jurassic Park mention, I place little regard to complaints that the dinosaurs do not look realistic. When Jurassic 1 came out, that was the understanding of what dinosaurs were expected to look like at that point in history. A movie has to create creatures that best serve the visual aesthetic of the film, so scientific accuracy is not primary. If you want realisim, a documentary is your best option. Even then, our understanding has drastically changed from Walking With Dinosaurs in the late 90s to Prehistotic Planet last year on Apple TV.

Movies are a source of escapism and in that sense, realism is not a requirement, especially in the kaiju and tokusatsu genres.

[Dv-218]

When it comes to JP I think people mostly bring it up not necessarily because of the scientific accuracy of the Dinosaurs but rather how they act, react to the protagonists and in turn how the protagonists react to them. They are utilized in a very minimalistic manner that helps ground out their scenes in the script better and in turn provides a very tangible and lifelike feeling, as opposed to something like the overly bombastic and cartoonish action scenes in the JW movies.

However in regards to the overall topic Kaijus are a different case in that their outlandishness IS the main draw and inherent to their essence of being Kaiju. You can provide a pseudoscientific explanation here and there about why they function or act the way they do but that’s merely a supplemental bonus element to tie up the worldbuilding, not the main point and draw. Cynical perceptions of what should or shouldn’t be likely with organisms that their mere existence defies any physician law known to man are definitely not the reason anyone watches these movies nor are they something that Kaijus should adhere to by all means. The main points of relatability in those films come from how well they push forward certain themes, concepts and how they relate to us on a personal level, not how big Godzilla’a schlong needs to be in order for it to function like a normal reproductive organ or something like that.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Plenty of great points made by the users here, lots of thoughtful responses. I agree that pursuing concepts and themes in these films are important, more so than trying to make everything plausible. I do think that trying to make things realistic hinders story potential, kinda like how after the TDK trilogy fans and people in the business alike took the wrong idea from that trilogy, namely trying to make things realistic and serious which they believe equals "good". And then later studios go back on that and try to pander to the craziness of the properties they own, making things more colorful and outlandish. However, quality still depends on the people genuinely trying to craft a meaningful story. There's a fine difference between making your audience feel engaged and making them feel stupid.

Godzilla films should have the human characters act like actual people with problems and motives, that's the kind of "realism" I expect. Or perhaps the better term is just acting natural and not forced. Think of the scene in Shin where Rando Yaguchi stops to pray when standing in the aftermath of Godzilla's first rampage, that's good stuff right there. Another example is Shindo's scene with the Big G in vs King Ghidorah, a film that while it tackles something as crazy as time travel it still made room for a great scene that felt human. Hell, even Raids Again succeeds in making the human response to the appearance of giant monsters feel impactful in its own way.

Now, this is a crazy genre so having human characters act "zany" in the appropriate narrative is fine. Modern creators in the Godzilla series need to look back on the franchise as a whole rather than just the original or a couple other films so they can see the value of past works and to understand why this character can be molded to fit different styles. If there is a lesson to be learned, don't go with the mindset of the G98 team which went the route of "we're making an animal, not a monster."

Sometimes kids just want to buy figures of space dragons fighting robot dinosaurs. I still do, dammit