JAGzilla wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 3:25 am
miguelnuva wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:35 pm
Godzilla is in a different place in Godzilla vs Kong. He supercharged on fusing with Mothra and he is the Alpha now.
People claim Godzilla was acting different but I'd argue the film just framed him differently because he was fighting Kong who we like not the Mutos or Ghidorah who were bad guys.
That first point just seems like it should make him more confident and chill. He took out Ghidorah, some monkey shouldn't be too big a deal.
The second point ignores the difference in behavior. He kept his composure while fighting 'the bad guys.' He lost his shit while fighting 'the good guy.' It wasn't the same attitude, which is the whole root of the problem here.
In any case, no offense, I don't want to endlessly debate this. Maybe I'm right, maybe you're right, it really doesn't matter. I need to rewatch the movie before I can speak with any authority on any of this. And as I said initially, I'm trying to let my continuity driven expectations go and treat this movie as a semi-standalone, the same way I would with the average Japanese movie.
You're viewing this from a logical nuts and bolts perspective.
Not a pro wrestling angle, or even a major crossover battle. I think the motivations are pretty clear when looking at it that way.
This is going to be long winded and an excuse to write about pro wrestling, but bear with me here. There is a reason for this.
This absolutely feels like the encounter Kazuchika Okada (34), one of the greatest wrestlers alive, if not the best wrestler in the world, and Kaito Kiyomiya (26) had earlier this year. For reference, Okada is the biggest star in Japan. The Ace (think The Rock, Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Ric Flair, etc) of New Japan Pro Wrestling (one of the big three major league wrestling companies). The dude's sold out Madison Square Garden a few years ago when the company toured the US back in 2019. He's the top of the mountain and nearly unbeatable. A few years back he had a 2 year world title reign where it seemed nobody could beat him. Beating him is a feat in of itself. He is a star and a draw. He is the brand. Even tho he can be arrogant as hell sometimes, he never cheats and wins clean. Dude never loses his cool. He is loved by the fans of NJPW. Who gives a flying flip what fans of everything else say? He is Godzilla.
Kaito Kiyomiya is the Ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH, a company that used to be really damn big back in the 2000s but has fallen down due to mismanagement and horrible booking of their champions. NOAH is now considered a small league company. Kaito is inheriting a legacy and has a lot on his shoulders because he is pretty young. He is great athlete and wrestler, but because of poor booking, and his lack of charisma (maybe pushed too soon when he wasn't ready?) he has a credibility issue, despite calling himself the next generation, or the future supernova. He is the much more sympathetic figure here. He is Kong in this comparison.
Back in 2022 when the two encountered each other in a Crossover show between NJPW and NOAH, Okada took him to school in a tag match. Then to rub it in, told him to stop crying and to get the hell out of his ring.
Why did Okada do that, despite usually being the brand favorite and shiny golden poster boy? Because "fuck this little twerp upstart!" that's why! This is his kingdom and nobody's is gonna dare challenge him for that.
Back in January, at another crossover show, Kaito and Okada met each other again. This time, both as the respective world champions of their companies. And Kaito legit shoot kicked (AS IN FOR REAL) Okada in the face. Okada legit then beat the crap out of him.
Blurring the motions of reality. Was it real? Was it a work? Well that busted forehead the world champ took, and the pummeling the younger man took sure were real!
When the big rematch happened at the Tokyo Dome last month in another crossover show, with a gigantic audience, Okada fought a tougher, more focused Kaito. This was it. The big Ace VS Ace match. Coke VS Pepsi. Superman VS Goku. Yankees VS Redsox. Godzilla vs Kong. And it was going to be at a show Kaito's company was headlining. It was the home team.
https://youtu.be/dpxnOE9EBek
And then, Okada beat him in 15 minutes, and humiliated him after beating him. Why? Because "fuck that shit, this is your show, but the Tokyo Dome is MY WORLD, MY HOME." Okada sees in Kaito, how he was 10 years ago (young and hungry, and seen as the future of the company). Except Okada 10 years ago was still leagues ahead of Kaito is today. When the time came for the bout to happen, just on entrances and presence alone you could clearly see who the bigger star was. But not just that, who had the presence. Okada (thankfully) is not a WWE world champ, but he is a legit star and world champ in a major league company, in a crowded and niche world that is wrestling.
Sometimes in sports and IRL there will be rivalries where one side or both sides just irrationally hates the other despite being quite similar. Therefore, why SHOULDN'T there be intense rivalries between fictional characters.
Why is Godzilla so hostile to Kong? Because there can only be one on the top here. That's why. "Fuck this twerp dweeb Kong!" That's the sentiment in the movie, and that's the motivation it needs to be. Just like Okada, even though Godzilla was the aggressor and huge a-hole to Kong, I rooted for Godzilla and Okada anyway. Why? Because I like Godzilla more than King Kong, that's why!
And of course, they mentioned pretty quickly that their species were rivals back in the day. So...
I think its all within the realm of believability for the story they were telling.