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3D Blu-ray Review Godzilla (2014): THE HTF 3D ADDICT REVIEW (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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What can I say? I love 3D! From the moment I began watching 3D content in my home I quickly discovered that I needed more content. I suspect that those of you just purchasing your first 3D hardware will acquire the same ferocious appetite. That's why I became the HTF 3D ADDICT. I personally love images that pop off the screen and come inches away from your face without becoming overly gimmicky. However, I certainly appreciate the nature documentaries that offer beautiful depth and separation. These are not necessarily reviews of the film themselves. I am not going to concentrate on story or supplements -- you can find the 2D reviews elsewhere on this forum. My job is to let you know exactly what kind of 3D experience to expect from the titles that are being released. As I will be receiving a handful of new product from the studios expect to see more title coverage.







GODZILLA

Studio: Warner Bros.
Product Release: September 16, 2014
Ratio: 2.4:1
Audio: DTS-HD MA 7.1
Running Time: 123 minutes
Rating: PG-13


On A Scale 0-5

Overall 3D Presentation Rating: 3
3D Separation: 3
3D In Yo' Face Factor: 1




Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) and son live in
the suburbs of Tokyo. On one particular morning, an earthquake-like disaster
hits the power plant where both Brody and his wife work. As the plant begins to
suffer a meltdown, Brody attempts to save his wife but ultimately has to sacrifice
her to save everyone else. Grief stricken, he spends the next 15 years attempting to
find answers to how the accident occurred, believing it was not due to natural causes.

The film jumps 15 years ahead as we find Brody's grown son, Ford (Arron
Taylor-Johnson) living in San Francisco with his wife (Elizabeth Olson) and their
young boy. When Ford receives a disturbing phone call, he returns to Japan to find
his estranged father still investigating the circumstances surrounding the nuclear accident.
This leads both father and son to discover an insect-like creature with giant wings
(nicknamed MUTO) which has hatched itself from the earth's innards. And wouldn't you
know it, there's not just one MUTO...but two. As the creatures make their way towards
San Francisco, its mating call awakens Godzilla, the mightiest monster of them all, who
mankind is depending upon to fight and destroy the MUTO duo.



Godzilla looks as good as expected in 1080p. Though dark most of the time (which
may be a problem for some plasmas), there is much detail revealed in the transfer.
Colors are mostly muted, giving the film a very natural and realistic look. Blacks look
inky and there are no digital artifacts to be seen anywhere. An excellent transfer all around.

The problem with spending the extra money to buy this 3D Blu-ray combo is that this
is yet another post conversion effort that does very little to enhance the overall viewing
experience. Level of separation varies throughout the film. For instance, I felt that there
was very little background/foreground separation during the first half. While the intensity
improves in the second half, I still felt that the overall amount of depth looked quite tame
compared to the stellar efforts of Pacific Rim (one of the best post-converted films ever
made). Overhead shots are perhaps the most impressive looking facet of the 3D
enhancement, but for the most part, doesn't make this film a better watch. There is
no pop-out to be seen other than a brief moment where the nose of a warhead seems to
poke itself forward.

I saw absolutely no hints of ghosting.



I suppose the biggest thing this transfer has going for itself is its 7.1 mix designed by
Erik Aadahl (Transformers: Dark of the Moon). This is a highly aggressive track that
brings out the roars of military equipment, and floor-shaking LFE rumblings caused by
tremors. Having recently upgraded my equipment to 7.1, I was again astounded by
the manner in which the additional rear channels fill sound gaps in providing added
support for crashing, crumbling structural debris and various weather elements. With
excellent panning and directionals, this soundtrack sounds larger than life and one
that will become a "reference" disc in your library.

Godzilla arrives as a 3-disc (Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD + Digital HD) combo housed
with lenticular cardboard packaging. Extras include a declassified look at the cover-up
to keep Godzilla's existence a secret by the MONARCH corporation. There is also a
behind-the-scenes look at the feature with the cast and filmmakers.



CONCLUSION



Consider me unimpressed on most all levels. I found Godzilla to be poorly paced,
awfully miscast, and as a result, a tedious viewing experience. Even the film's star
gets reduced to a mere cameo appearance making it a bit of a letdown to its fans.
The addition of 3D is mostly pointless, does nothing to enhance the viewing experience
and gets hindered somewhat by many dark scenes that further reduce the already
weak levels of separation.

My advice is to save your money and opt for the 2D release instead.


Images are for illustrative purpose only not representative of the picture quality of this disc.

Equipment

Samsung PN64F8500 display professionally calibrated by Gregg Loewen, Lion AV
Oppo BDP-93 3D Blu-ray Player
Denon 3311CI Receiver
Atlantic Technology H-PAS AT-1 fronts, 4400 center; 4200 rear side and back speakers
SV Sound Subwoofer
 

Reed Grele

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IMHO There hasn't been a truly great Godzilla film since G vs Destroyer in 1995. And I mean the Japanese version.

It seems that the Americans just can't do the Big G justice.

The 7.1 sound mix is the best thing that this film has going for it.

The 2.5D was, as is usually the case, unimpressive.
 

Wayne_j

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I'm not surprised by the poor 3D quality since the DP of this film actively despises 3D and it was converted against his wishes.
 

Johnny Angell

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The review made up my mind. I'll wait for this to drop below $20. Not a great monster movie, but I liked it enough to want to own it.
 

Dr Griffin

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I wasn't too impressed with the 3D image in the theater, but the sound was excellent, even at one of the local mulitiplexes. Definitely will be getting the 2D for the soundtrack ( I thought the movie was fairly good) to hear in the reference level HT.
 

dpippel

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Johnny Angell said:
The review made up my mind. I'll wait for this to drop below $20. Not a great monster movie, but I liked it enough to want to own it.
The 2D Blu is already $19.99 at Amazon.
 

Tony J Case

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Ronald Epstein said:
Even the film's stargets reduced to a mere cameo appearance making it a bit of a letdown to its fans.
I don't know what fans you asked, but THIS fan - I've been watching since I was 10, catching them on the local UHF station during Saturday Afternoon Monster Theater - thought it was goddamned awesome flick.

As for the whole "Godzilla Cameo" thing, he gets exactly about as much screentime he does here as he did in the Toho series. Look how long historically it took for Godzilla to make his first appearances:

Godzilla, King of the Monsters - 26 minutesGojira - 21 minutesGodzilla Raids Again: - 10 minutesKong v G (Japanese cut) - 26 minutesKong v G (American cut) - 12 minutesMothra v G - 30 minutesGhidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - 36 minutesMonster Zero - 40 minutesG v The Sea Monster - 50 minutesSon of G - 30 minutesDestroy All Monsters - 35 minutesG v The Smog Monster - 23 minutesG v Gigan - 18 minutesG v Megalon - 48 minutes (Hell, Godzilla is barely even IN this movie)G v Mechagodzilla - 26 minutesTerror of Mechagodzilla - 48 minutesG84 - 32 minutesBiolante - 40 minutesG v King Ghidorah - 1h06mG v Mothra - 32 minutesG v Mechagodzilla 2 - 14 minutesG v SpaceG - 23 minutesG v Destroyah - After the credit sequence he doesn't pop back up until 28 minutesG2K - 2 minutes with a good destruction scene, then returns at the 28 minute markG x Megaguirus - less than a minute, but past the intro sequence he doesn't return until 39 minutes inGiant Monsters All-Out Attack - 38 minutesG Against Mechagodzilla: 3 minutes then another 37 minutesTokyo SOS: 35 minutesFinal wars: 1 minute, then doesn't show up again until 1h10min

So no, If you want balls-to-the-wall Godzilla wrecking shit for 2 solid hours, this franchise is not what you are looking for.
 

Mark VH

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Tony J Case said:
I don't know what fans you asked, but THIS fan - I've been watching since I was 10, catching them on the local UHF station during Saturday Afternoon Monster Theater - thought it was goddamned awesome flick.

As for the whole "Godzilla Cameo" thing, he gets exactly about as much screentime he does here as he did in the Toho series. Look how long historically it took for Godzilla to make his first appearances:

Godzilla, King of the Monsters - 26 minutesGojira - 21 minutesGodzilla Raids Again: - 10 minutesKong v G (Japanese cut) - 26 minutesKong v G (American cut) - 12 minutesMothra v G - 30 minutesGhidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - 36 minutesMonster Zero - 40 minutesG v The Sea Monster - 50 minutesSon of G - 30 minutesDestroy All Monsters - 35 minutesG v The Smog Monster - 23 minutesG v Gigan - 18 minutesG v Megalon - 48 minutes (Hell, Godzilla is barely even IN this movie)G v Mechagodzilla - 26 minutesTerror of Mechagodzilla - 48 minutesG84 - 32 minutesBiolante - 40 minutesG v King Ghidorah - 1h06mG v Mothra - 32 minutesG v Mechagodzilla 2 - 14 minutesG v SpaceG - 23 minutesG v Destroyah - After the credit sequence he doesn't pop back up until 28 minutesG2K - 2 minutes with a good destruction scene, then returns at the 28 minute markG x Megaguirus - less than a minute, but past the intro sequence he doesn't return until 39 minutes inGiant Monsters All-Out Attack - 38 minutesG Against Mechagodzilla: 3 minutes then another 37 minutesTokyo SOS: 35 minutesFinal wars: 1 minute, then doesn't show up again until 1h10min

So no, If you want balls-to-the-wall Godzilla wrecking shit for 2 solid hours, this franchise is not what you are looking for.
This. Of all the dumb arguments leveled against this movie, the "there isn't enough Godzilla" one is probably the dumbest, or at least the one that most misunderstands what Edwards was going for here. He made a true throwback to the Toho films, complete with 1) dumb human story that takes up WAY too much screen time, 2) great big monster battles and 3) sparing but incredibly effective use of the Big G. I didn't think the film itself was perfect, but I enjoyed it immensely, and Watanabe's delivery of "Let them fight" got a huge, knowing belly laugh out of me. This is everything a Godzilla tribute film should be.
 

Citizen87645

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Understanding what he was going for and making a throwback / tribute doesn't necessarily make it an effective movie in and of itself. See: Superman Returns.
 

Tony J Case

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*shrug*

If you want monsters wrecking shit for two hours, go watch Pacific Rim - but that's not the movie that Godzilla was trying to be. Godzilla movies ALWAYS have a slow burn before the last act where they bust shit up. If we’d seen Godzilla stomping building and roaring nonstop for two hours it would’ve been boring as hell by the end of the second reel.
Mark VH said:
I didn't think the film itself was perfect, but I enjoyed it immensely
I don't think this was a perfect film either (the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat was a pedestrian effort at best) - it was however a really damned good Godzilla flick. As a life long fan, I left the theater completely satisfied (as opposed to the kick in the nuts that Godzilla-In-Name-Only delivered to me back in '98).
 

Citizen87645

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That's not what I'm asking for either. There is somewhere in between that probably would have pleased more than just the old school Godzilla fan, which is who I mostly see saying they enjoyed it.
Tony J Case said:
*shrug*If you want monsters wrecking shit for two hours, go watch Pacific Rim - but that's not the movie that Godzilla was trying to be.
 

Tony J Case

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While I know it's not a perfect metric, Rotten Tomatoes shows it at 73% - so SOMEONE out there must have liked it. For comparison, Godzilla in Name Only got 25%, Vs Hedorah is at 64%, Final Wars is at 40%, vs Mechagodzilla is at 67%, vs Mothra is at 67%, and Son at a baffling 63%. So far the only classic G flicks that beat it are Mothra vs Godzilla (90%) and Gojira at 83%.

As a scorecard, that's not too bad - especially if you look at some of the terrible numbers 2014 had generated.

If it didn't work for you, then it didn't work for you and nothing I say will change your mind - that's fine. However people being dissatisfied with the flick are clearly in the minority (especially amongst Giant Monster fans).
 

Citizen87645

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That's fair. The only thing I wanted understood was that the naysayers aren't asking for a Transformers movie starring Godzilla.
 

Randy Korstick

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I found it much like Jaws, a nice build up with seeing a little more of the monster each time until the full shark/godzilla. In fact you see less shark in Jaws than you do Godzilla in this new film. The build up was necessary. The sequel will most likely feature a lot more Godzilla just like Jaws 2 and 3 and just like Jaws 2 and 3 be a lesser film for it.
 

FoxyMulder

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The cinematographer of the film has stated his dislike for 3D, he obviously shot with 2D in mind, i will buy the 2D edition.
 

sonomatom1

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Well, I enjoyed G in the theatre (although I made a point to see it in an IMAX location only to find it was a "mini"-IMAX (I was so pissed! I wanted the big guy towering over me), and the one scene that really deflated the film for me was where we see G swimming along side a ship like a lovable dolphin! He should be smashing the ship, not doing his best 'Flipper' impersonation.

In any event, after reading some positive reviews of Edwards first feature, "Monsters", I rented it last night. What a boring bomb. Some great location scenes, and supporting actor performances, but edgy or scary? Please. One reviewer wrote that he liked it better than 'Cloverfield" - that really mystified me. And the final scene with the creepy crawlers making whoopee followed by our leads locked in a kiss - a paean to universal love and peace across the stars? Argh.
 

Citizen87645

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I watched Monsters to get a reference for what the director was bringing to Godzilla. I can certainly admire it for the effort that went into it, as I tend to do with all independent films. But it's definitely more of an incidental monster film, and really an examination of how a crisis or police state affects people and relationships.
 

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