Pacific Rim vs Godzilla (2014)

They were both equally disappointing mish-mashs of japanese sci-fi and Roland Emmerich movies. Neither is horrible, neither is great.

Pacific Rim has no characters, it has plot hole after plot hole after logic gap after logic gap.
Godzilla was admittedly rather slow and killing off the Father character was a misstep but at least they don't insult your intelligence over and over and over.

Trust no one.

Me, I like both Pacific Rim and Godzilla, but not necessarily one more than the other because despite both being in the daikaiju genre, they're totally different movies.

First off, Pacific Rim:

Guillermo del Toro loves the anime, mecha and kaiju genres, and this passion for the source material really shines through almost everything in the movie. The DVD has numerous featurettes regarding the development of the Kaijus and the Jaegers, and you can see the thought process behind almost everything in the film. Not only that, but the plot itself stands on it's own. Instead of first contact, the movie throws us into the last year of a war with this weird apocalyptic vibe in the background, yet promoting the idea that people, regardless of race or background, can come together and overcome the impossible.

The Kaijus are monstrous and even though they're vaguely similar to certain animals, they still look unnatural and evil. Del Toro even stated to his team of developers that he wanted each monster to look as if someone could fit inside them. Instead of making them look retro, it's a more subtle way of harkening to the actors in suits. Meanwhile the Jaegers aren't jumping around like the Transformers, they're slow and have weight to them, and every time a Kaiju hits or damage them we see the robot and the pilots affected.

Secondly, Godzilla:

The original 1954 movie was a thinly veiled allegory for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. In response to mankind's testing of the H-bomb, a dinosaur is now imbued with atomic powers and is able to inexorably attack Japan. The modern 2014 movie retains this idea that Godzilla represents the vengeful forces of nature, but in a different manner. Instead of the atom bomb, the movie evokes images similar to nuclear reactor disasters like Chernobyl or the more recent (and closer to the fictional city of Janjira) Fukushima disaster.

The M.U.T.O.'s represent our disregard for respecting nuclear energy, and seek out other sources of radiation further destroying civilian areas. Monarch had the opportunity to destroy the M.U.T.O.'s, but instead opted to study and nurture them. In response, Godzilla sense the return of his ancient enemies and emerges to destroy them. In the process, Godzilla inadvertently causes huge amounts of destruction to humanity but ultimately destroys a threat that would certainly destroy the world.

Yes, Godzilla didn't have enough screen time for the monsters, but when they're present you can really feel their size and power. I'm glad that, even though development on the Pacific Rim series has stalled, Godzilla 2 is supposed to include Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah which guarantees a decent amount of screen time for the monsters.


Can't be too careful with all those weirdos running around.

I love Pacific Rim, I've watched it four or five times, I'm a total fanboy, can't help it, the monsters are just fantastic, the robots are awesome.

I know I'm like a child about it, but I don't really care.

I went to see Godzilla at the movies expecting awesome monster action, I was very disappointed...

I vote for Pacific Rim over Godzilla anyday...to be honest I was never into the Godzilla movies (neither the original Japanese movies nor the American remakes). But I love Pacific Rim, sure it's basically a homage or you could say a "rip-off" of the many classic Japanese Tokusatsu genre productions, but it's a fun popcorn flick and the special effects were spectacular, I also really like many of the characters in the movie.

I enjoyed both but I prefer Godzilla.

Both movies weren't very good but both also had two great actors, Bryan Cranston and Idris Elba. As much as I despise Godzilla 2014 I'd still vote for Godzilla 2014 over Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim I'd say is a more successful film, Godzilla was boring.