Recently, Total Film magazine had an interview with director, Mike Dougherty, about Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. In Total Film's magazine volume, "Preview For 2019", the article tells how much more intense his movie is compared to the first movie in 2014. Dougherty had this to say, "I think Gareth [Edwards, director of 2014's Godzilla] had a lot of fun playing cat - and - mouse and I love the slow build he created...But we definitely take the gloves off for this film. No holding back."
Certainly just from watching the first and second trailers, Dougherty definitely went above and beyond expectations. The first movie is more or less an introduction to Godzilla as a character. Now, the stakes are higher and Godzilla won't be fighting bugs that are in heat this time. Godzilla has to fight his arch nemesis, King Ghidorah, which is described as a living extinction event that can create storms. Not only that, but Mothra and Rodan will be thrown into the mix along with many other monsters that are waking up. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters really looks like an apocalyptic event. So when Dougherty says the gloves are off, he isn't kidding about it.
There is one quote from Dougherty that does have fans sort of triggered. In the article, the paragraph says this:
"The Titans, we learn, are awoken from their slumber because the planet is on a collision course with self - destruction. 'It wouldn't be a true Godzilla film if you didn't touch upon those things,' says Dougherty. 'Otherwise you're just making a big dumb monster movie. There has to be a sprinkle of it, otherwise you're not being faithful to the original intent of the series. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not a true Godzilla fan.'"
The last sentence was what people got upset over. While it may sound like he is insulting the fans, I find this is just a misunderstanding of what he was originally trying to say. From what I got out of it, Dougherty is simply stating that he wanted to make sure that he wasn't making just a generic monster movie. The movie needs some sort of allegory or metaphor otherwise there is nothing to give the movie purpose. At the moment, the general audience already do think that the movies are just "big dumb monster movies." Dougherty understands as a fan himself that Godzilla is more than a generic monster just as much any other fan and he is expressing his inner fan with a passion. Perhaps he got a little too passionate at the end, but it isn't anything new from what we read on the internet every day. Everyone is passionate about something and this is just how Dougherty expressed his passion. I will agree with you that the way he says it was in poor words, yet I don't think he was really trying to start an argument.
What do you guys think of the article? Do you agree or disagree with Michael Dougherty? Leave a comment of your thoughts in the comments section. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook page and Twitter to stay up to date for more Godzilla news, reviews, and discussions.