will this be the greatest godzilla film ever?

i wounder myself about this question. i think it will be the best godzilla film ever and i hope it does well. 

i am positve that it will this is of course the new era for godzilla and i say it will be the best film of 2014 with out a doubt but we have to wait another 4 months for now

Probably not. A fourth or third place for me i guess.

In my opinion no other movie will surpass this

i'm expecting the best

Should be the greatest with respects to GOJIRA!

To be honest, that wouldn't be that hard to do. I love Godzilla as a character, and I was bananas about his movies as a kid, but in terms of cinematic and artistic integrity Godzilla movies are pretty darned hammy. Today I like to watch Godzilla movies when I'm feeling nostalgic and want something really cheesy. The first two Godzilla films, Rodan, and the majority of G'85 were the ones that lacked that corny factor.

I wouldn't be surprised if this topped the list if rated by biased by fond childhood memories of men in rubber suits.

^^^ What he said...

This movie will unquestionably be THE best Godzilla movie, without a doubt, considering the approach that's being used. Not since the original film has anyone ever treated the subject seriously, much less the dark, gritty apocalyptic take that's been done in this one. On top of that, this one will have more human drama and depth to the plot...

Think of what The Walking Dead did for the zombie genre, in terms of wider appeal; I think this movie will do that for the character of Godzilla.

Saying either way is jumping the gun. What if it sucks? How do we know it will be the best in the series?

I'm sorry, but there's still a stock of really fantastic movies in the franchise. These films were pioneering a genre that defined a filmmaking style and became a staple look for special effects movies in an entire country. It's easy to forget history, but that's a lot of cinematic baggage to live up to.

I'm not saying it can't, but claiming this movie will be the best of a 28 movie series without even seeing it is very, very arrogant.

Wow the fact any1 is saying yes without a doubt just blows my mind. Still know almost nothing about it, have a director with 1 known movie under his belt, but yeah it will unquestionably be the greatest movie, trumping all 29 before it.

I'm all for being optimistic but for me that's saying it might be decent and enjoyable. 

I'm saying it will be the best because of the approach, not hype. I don't agree that the past movies were "fantastic"; they were, with a few later exceptions, total cheese. Yeah, I enjoyed watching some of the Heisei and Millenium series movies, but even at their best, they were live-action Saturday morning cartoons. The Godzilla franchise has been a niche genre since Godzilla Raids Again, and, frankly, watching some guy in a rubber suit, no matter how well-done, is not comparable to modern FX. I'm sure the writing itself will be far beyond what's been done in the last twenty-some-odd movies, not to mention talented actors saying believable lines of dialogue...

No offense to anyone's personal taste, but with the exception of the 1954 original, none of the other films had any of that; they were just fun.

Just my .02

Zodgilla, I don't think you have a very good understanding of the series if that's how you look at it.

I agree that the Heisei and Millennium films were live action cartoons at their best, but the later Godzilla movies are also some of the weaker ones. You claim that the franchise is for a niche fanbase. This is true, but it's only been that way during the Heisei and especially the Millennium movies. Those two series were films made for the fans, the 1960s however is a different story:

Toho pumped out not just Godzilla movies, but other monster and sci-fi movies, throughout the 50s and 60s, like clockwork-- not because it was for a niche group, but because large masses were coming to see these movies. Japan was slowly rebuilding its film industry and it was using a style, developed by special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya (whom even Gareth Edwards has said, "a one of a kind innovator of special effects, the likes of which we'll probably never see again in cinema.") to compete with Hollywood's special effects films. That style is typically known as tokustatsu-- the form of using miniatures and suitmation to bring things to life. This style does not intend to replicate reality and look "realistic", but instead works to create its own reality and a world where mutli-colored sets and extravagant machinery exist. The idea is that the miniatures aren't supposed to look photo realistic, but rather as sufficient representations of their real life counterparts.

You said they aren't comparable to "modern special effects", but that's a statement with flaws in it. Modern tokusatsu special effects have been known to be better than the 1950s-1970s films on certain occasions, but I think what you mean to say is that it isn't comparable to "modern western effects". That's entirely different. Western effects aim to do the opposite of tokusatsu. Western special effects is all about replicating reality to a fine detail. Tokusatsu is not. Its a misunderstanding that a lot of casual Godzilla fans get wrong. Tokusatsu is not trying to be photo realistic. So lets not assume that special effects are poor just because they're not realistic, that's not true. They're trying to be different.

Now that we've cleared up the special effects in Godzilla movies, consider the time: 1960s Japan is booming because of the movies Godzilla, Rodan, The Mysterians...etc... King Kong vs. Godzilla is a world wide box office success, Godzilla vs. Mothra is praised by critics in multiple countries and is, to this day, considered one of the top best in the series. Audience attendance for these movies are higher than any of the movies in the Heisei and Millennium series. Why? Because they weren't niche. They were box office blowouts with large audiences enjoying the spectacle.

Add to that Japan's most prestigeous actors being in these movies: Takeshi Shimura was in  five of these films and he was considered the greatest actor in the world by Time magazine. Many of the early Godzilla movies had award winning casts that were in Akira Kurasawa's films. (Kurasawa being one of the greatest directors in cinema history.) These weren't B-movie actors, they were well known talents that were constantly being praised in every other movie they starred in.

And being "campy" doesn't necessarily mean "bad" either. Ishiro Honda knew these movies were campy, but he embraced it like an artform. He used it to keep the movies fun, but maintained a level of craft to the camp that no other director or crew could accomplish. The Gamera movies, certain Jun Fukuda Godzilla movies and other inspired films could never hit the right balance that Honda always nailed. It's a gutsy and even risky thing to attempt; something that most Hollywood directors will never, ever do. So to claim that a movie you haven't seen is better than that level of talent is downright niave and neglectful of others' craft.

As for dialogue, the writing in most of the Godzilla movies, particularly the 1960s, was quite good. Depending on what subtitles you're reading the translation may never be spot on due to how different the Japanese language is. And if you're relying on the dubs for accurate dialogue then you're pretty much not getting the same lines.

No offense, but unless you understand the intricacies and art of the series, claiming any movie you haven't seen is better than 28 others before it shows an innate lack of research and understanding, alongside a great deal of niavety.

@GMAN2887: I tried to post a response to your well-thought-out response to my comments yesterday, but after composing a post nearly as long as yours, couldn't get it to post, because this site seems to bump you off login status if you take past a certain amount of time to write. I'll make this into a couple of separate posts...

First off, I don't dispute the history of Tokusatsu at all. I understand it's place in cinematic historyand Japanese culture...however...

It's a somewhat well-known fact that Eijii Tsuburaya very much wanted to do stop-motion animation, a la Willis O'Brien, in the 1954 original film, but the cost of that process at that time was prohibitive, and the studio couldn't afford it. There's actually one scene in the movie that IS stop-motion (Godzilla destroying a building with his tail), but that's as far as they went. The suitmation was a no-other-choice decision...

@GMAN2887 Part II:

I was around as a child for the 1960s Godzilla/Showa Era movies. With the exception of King Kong VS Godzilla, none of these movies was a major release in the US (I'm exempting Gojira and Godzilla Raids Again). I saw most of these movies in matinees; these same theaters were not showing Godzilla VS Mothra, et al, at prime movietimes (evening/night hours). G. VS M. may have been the most-viewed monster film in Japan, and was a big success in Asia, but not so much in this country, or Europe. Even at that time period these were recognized as niche movies. Why do you think Toho started aimimg these films more and more at children, remaking Godzilla's visage into more of a stuffed animal look, than the monstrous face of the original film? That definitely wasn't a move to connect with a larger, general audience...

@GMAN2887 PartIII:

Tokusatsu fans may not care about realism in special effects, but the general moviegoing audience sure does; and make no mistake, that's what Legendary is going for here: general audiences. This isn't going to be a film celebrating a certain form of animation, it's going to be a major film release. If it had anything in common with the bulk of previous films, other than the title character, you wouldn't be seeing major, bankable actors being cast in it. So, in this case, realistic does equal better, as opposed to a certain artistic approach...

@GMAN2887 Part IV:

I take exception at the "arrogant" remark; how is anything I said arrogant? Because I cited suitmation and bad dialogue in reference to the older movies? There's no arrogance there, just an acknowledgement of what the general public sees in those films. I can watch something, enjoy it, understand the artistic value in it, and still call it for what it is. I love watching "Plan 9 From Outer Space", but still realize how horrible the production values/plot/dialogue is. That's the beauty of it: it's so bad, it's good. Nothing 'arrogant' there, just being honest...

@GMAN2887 Part V:

I'll finish up my response by saying this: it's obvious that Legendary and Gareth Edwards are trying to bring Godzilla back to his original, dark, gritty roots. That's why G.E. has constantly remarked on the realistic approach, and made an issue of including human drama in this film. It's a reintroduction to the titular character as he was originally MEANT to be, NOT the niche/genre-driven movies that came after it Nobody is going to pay today's theater admission prices to see a guy in a rubber suit, or a gigantic creature performing ludicrous martial arts moves. That's just the reality of it. That's why I believe this film will be THE best Godzilla movie ever made, simply because the approach to it is very much like the original 1954 film. That's the movie that put the Big G on the map, that made the character popular. The trailer alone speaks volumes on the tone of the movie.

No offense to you or your references, or your personal taste...ok?

Finally, the last time I was 'naive' about anything, Raquel Welch was still a sex symbol and we were all listening to cassette tapes (lol)...

@Zodgilla

PART 1:

Indeed Tsuburaya wanted to use stop motion animation, but the time and budget wouldn't allow it. Thus he came up with the technique, now branded as tokusatsu, because of his restraints. That does not mean he wasn't innovative or constantly ripping off Toho to get the most high tech equipment at the time. In fact Tsuburya and Toho were one of 4 or 5 studios in the world to have an optical press.

The suitmation process was the chosen alternative, yes, but it was later perfected into its own style. That style has defined an entire genre of filmmaking in Japan. I doubt the new movie will be nearly as revolutionary for either country.

PART 2:

I don't understand entirely why your exempting Godzilla and Raids Again just to prove your point, but I'll allow it. And although you may have seen Godzilla vs. Mothra in matnees, there are critics from the era, and box office numbers, that prove the movie did very well over here.

That said, Godzilla vs. Mothra doing very well in Japan is very important. If we're going to omit the country of origin, then why bother doing this? It's a Japanese film. It should appeal to Japanese audiences before anyone else. The new film is American. It will appeal to North Americans before anyone else. That's simply how this is down. In the country of origin, the 1960s movies were very much not a niche group of films.

And making Godzilla appeal to children was not done because it was a niche franchise. It was done because Toho had seen what Daiei was doing with their Gamera series and felt they could cash in on a wider audience the same way. Interesting that, for all the crap Gamera gets for being a "rip off", it was Toho that ripped off their idea.

PART 3:

It's not that tokusatsu fans don't care about realism, it's that the filmmakers who work with tokusatsu aren't going for it. Indeed, today "realism" means "more accessable", but it still doesn't mean "better". Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a more accessable, and more bankable, movie than, say, Kill Bill. But Kill Bill is the better movie by and large. One is a blockbuster event movie with cutting edge special effects. The other is a campy, stylistic throwback to martial arts filmmaking. Still Kill Bill was an award winning film. Transformers 2 is largely considered one of the worst blockbusters of all time. No doubt the new Godzilla movie is more accessable, but that means precisely nothing in the grand scheme of filmmaking.

You do know that Godzilla vs. Mothra was an award winning movie in Japan for music and effects, right? That Monster Zero was nominated for effects? Even the Heisei movies were awarded for editing and music. Going by accolades the new movie has a ways to go beyond the realm of simply, "accessability".

PART 4:

I wasn't calling you arrogant because of how you see the series. I was calling you arrogant because that's exactly what it takes to assume a movie you haven't seen before will be better than 28 movie series that's been released prior. That's simply how it is.

Listen, the new movie has a lot of wonderful stuff going for it and I hope it's fantastic, but this forum constantly acts like they've seen this movie already. They always assume one thing or another that fits their fantasy vision of how good this movie is going to be. Saying it will be the best movie out of a 29 film series, without even seeing it, requires a jawdropping amount of arrogance that assumes your foresight is greater than everyone elses. I assure you its not, but it pretty much tops the, already niave, attitude people have for this movie here.

Since we're on the subject though, I have no illusions of what the general public (I assume American?) thinks of the original series. That's fine, but they clearly don't have an academic or historical understanding of the series.

PART 5:

So you think it will be the best just because its accessible and people will want to see it? I'll go back to the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Kill Bill comparison: That just doesn't work. Transformers made more money, more people saw it, but that doesn't make it better. Because something is niche does not mean it is inferior. And I warn anyone who thinks otherwise to check their so-called wisdom at the door for they might be disappointed.

Accessibilty is a great tool for getting messages across and, more importantly, making money. It is not an accolade for superior filmmaking. That's reality as well.

if it is not a bad movie, then no it wont be the best godzilla moive ever.it will be the best MOVIE ever!!!

Wow... That's even more asinine.