Who do you think is the best and worst human character in the MonsterVerse

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 10:36 AMSo I'm back, yes. Anyhow, the human characters in the MonsterVerse have generated a VERY MIXED reception. So who do you think is the best human character, and who do you think is the worst? Submit your thoughts in the comments and that's all for now!

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 10:43 AMOk for me I'll just do each movie...
- Godzilla 2014: Best character is Ishiro Seriwaza ("Let them fight.") and the worst is Ford Brody...
- Kong: Skull Island's best was Marlow and the worst was probably....the Brie Larson character because the actress herself I dislike.
- Godzilla: King of The Monsters' best human character was Seriwaza and I gotta give an honorable mention to Madison Russell, who was a very close 2nd (also Millie Bobby Brown is great in everything she does...in acting that is.) My least favorite was anyone who was there to add comedy. 'Nuff said.
- Godzilla Vs. Kong's least mediocre character was Jia, and the lamest characters were Josh and Bernie.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to argue with me if you wish.

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 10:53 AMNice to see you!
2014: Best -Joe Brody, Worst - Idk
KSI: Best - Packard, Worst - Idk
KOTM - Best - Emma Russel, Worst - Dr. Stanton
GvK : Best - Jia, Worst - The guy who Bernie annoys at the beginning of the movie
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

Xenotaris
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 10:54 AMThe only human character I really liked from MonsterVerse was Ishiro Serizawa

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 10:55 AMXenotaris
Joe Brody carried the most emotional drama and tension of any character, but in my opinion serizawa is close behind
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 10:58 AMI will Madison did bring a good amount of drama and tension but I don't think it was the writing, it was how Millie portrayed the character...

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:09 AMi mean creating a conflict that could be explored in a story, not forced.
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:11 AMYeah and Madison's was (partially) explored in the story but the GVK novelization showed some things that REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN incorporated.

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:13 AMAKA PTSD involving the events of G'14 and KOTM.

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:15 AMsonictiger
it works better in the book yes, but in the movie her arc is dependent on the somewhat forced family drama. Joe Brody set up an interesting plot about loss which could have worked, shame they got rid of him so quickly
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:18 AMAnd then we ended up with Ford.
What makes the family drama worse is the fact that 2/3 actors (Kyle and Vera being that 2) are trying way too hard which makes it worse...

SasquaDash
MemberAnguirusSep-01-2021 11:18 AMBest Human Characters: Ishiro Serizawa, Hank Marlow, Preston Packard, Joe Brody, Jia and Bill Randa.
Weakest Human Characters: Sam Coleman, Rick Stanton, Josh Valentine and Victor Nieves.

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:27 AMThat pretty much sums it up.
Also ya forgot Madison but it's understandable since GVK ruined her...

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:27 AMI think ford deserves more credit than he’s due. The army probably taught him to repress emotions.
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:27 AMI agree with this, those are definitely the strongest characters
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 11:33 AMOk but he should've been played by anyone but Aaron-Taylor Johnson. His acting was far better in Avengers and Tenet.

SasquaDash
MemberAnguirusSep-01-2021 11:57 AMI think that writing wise, Ford is a pretty good character, the novelization goes more into he personal thoughts and motivations, mainly the guilt of not believing his father and his goal of not only keeping the rest of his family safe, but also keeping other families from being torn apart by the MUTOs (Which is why he saves the kid on the monorail and tries to reunite him with his parents). The fact that he joins the mission to retrieve the warhead in the city, despite knowing that he might not make it back, shows that he's willing to sacrifice himself in order to keep his family and others safe.
The problem with his character comes from Aaron-Taylor Johnson's portrayal. Johnson tries to make Ford a more reserved character, who deals with trauma by suppressing his emotions, trying to give him a no nonsense attitude (which makes a lot of sense, given what the character goes through), Unfortunately it ends up taking away the audience's ability to sympathize with him and instead makes him feel uninteresting and bland.
Overall, I think Ford's a character that has some great ideas, but not the greatest execution.

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 12:26 PMI don’t think Ford deserves that much hate, he’s better than most recent characters we’ve seen.
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

SasquaDash
MemberAnguirusSep-01-2021 12:48 PMYeah, I agree, while Ford isn't the most amazing character, I don't think he deserves the hate. I've seen some reviews that label him as nothing more than a "bland chunk of wood" and I don't think that's really fair. There is a lot of depth to his character, unfortunately most people overlook this due to Aaron Taylor Johnson's performance. I definitely like him better than some other Godzilla protagonists, especially compared to some of the Reiwa series characters.

Monsterzero9
MemberAnguirusSep-01-2021 1:52 PMbest: ishiro serizawa
worst: ren serizawa
how ironic

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 1:54 PMI do think Reiwa has a better grasp so far of how to make characters with clear motivations and personalities, the most aggretious errors in human writing would be the Godzilla Trilogy.
This next bit is my opinion.
I think people get confused when they hear, Character Development. To me what separates good writing from bad writing is Intention. A character does not need to undergo a grand Change or much change at all to be considered a good character. While that does make it interesting it does not mean that the story will succeed. One reason is narrative tension. This keeeps the audience invested, and the character changing does not usually keep the tension. Rather it makes a story interesting another way to engage the audience. Take the movie interstellar. Using the science to drive the plot and the tension around whether Cooper will be with his kids again. ALthough he has arcs of choosing to sacrifice himself he does not change on a significant level. (Note he never chooses to let go until he sees his daughter again.) Yet many don’t criticize the movie on this level, because it doesn’t rely on it. Either way this narrative style is either hit or miss
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 2:07 PMI mean Ren seemed like he was there to, connect the universe? Honestly it’s not that big of a problem he was decent in my opinion.
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

Xenotaris
MemberGiganSep-01-2021 3:44 PMI liked Ford Brody, he wasn't bland, just military.

G. H. (Gman)
AdminGodzillaSep-01-2021 5:28 PM"I think people get confused when they hear, Character Development. To me what separates good writing from bad writing is Intention. A character does not need to undergo a grand Change or much change at all to be considered a good character. While that does make it interesting it does not mean that the story will succeed. One reason is narrative tension. This keeeps the audience invested, and the character changing does not usually keep the tension. Rather it makes a story interesting another way to engage the audience."
Nail meet head.

Kattozilla
MemberAnguirusSep-01-2021 6:29 PMi know nothing about good writing so i couldn't tell you lol

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-02-2021 9:38 AMI know good writing, and the MonsterVerse isn't really that as KOTM first made it so it looked like Madison saved the world by luring Ghidorah and the other Titans to Godzilla and Mothra's location and then later had a forced redemption cop-out by having Emma sacrifice herself when there was no setup for it and so apparently she saved the world.
Now that's an example of bad writing.

Djdndnejwnwn
MemberGiganSep-02-2021 9:56 AMHonestly I don’t think KOTM has the worst writing ever. I think it is a bit rushed and has a lack of focus. The ideas could have worked but the exposition and little mistakes in setup and writing pulled it back.
I think recutting KOTM and GvK into one movie could would strip away most of the bad elements.
expecting the worst, sets you up for thr worst

sonictiger
MemberGiganSep-02-2021 10:21 AMTHAT'S PERFECT.
Like an HBO Max supercut movie called: Rise of The Titans.