Had the pleasure of seeing the new Godzilla film yesterday… and I am very happy I can use the word “pleasure” in that statement. After so many thinly plotted and disappointing big-budget movies, it was a real delight to see a movie filled with true spectacle and awe. Godzilla isn’t a masterpiece, but it is an exceptional example of the blockbuster done right.
One of the real joys of seeing Godzilla was seeing it through my oldest son’s eyes. Before the film he knew very little about the plot, having only seen the first trailer. So, when the story unfolded and the movie became something he was note expecting… well, he loved it. Not knowing what to expect made the experience even more effective than it would have been otherwise.
Which brings me to the point of this piece. So many movies are spoiled for the potential moviegoer that there are very few real surprises anymore. The most recent example of this practice was the final ads for the newest (horrible) Spider-man movie, which telegraphed and spoiled a big moment and a central character’s fate. It’s the worse type of advertisement – if you know what’s going to happen, why see the movie?
Why do studios do this? Why do they show (almost) everything to get butts in seats? I think the answer is two-fold. First, when studios invest hundreds of millions in a film, they want to show people what they are going to get for their money. You want “truth in advertising”, after all. Second, there’s no evidence that such advertising DOESN’T work – but then, you can’t prove a negative. You can only prove that a particular approach works when it was/is applied.
And that’s what we saw with Godzilla – an advertising approach that doesn’t reveal the surprises, where the teasers are just as they are supposed to be… teasers. Unfortunately they didn’t maintain that intriguing vagueness – the last two weeks of ads revealed some of the big surprises. As I said on twitter just after seeing the film, this was a disservice to the audience. The surprises should have been kept.
(And no, I won’t reveal those surprises here.)
Now, I’m a fanboy – I love spoilers. But at the same time, I love being pleasantly surprised by the entertainment that I experience. That a remake or a remake like Godzilla can surprise… that’s why I love movies. It makes me want to go to more movies.
I just wish Hollywood would realize we don’t need to see the whole movie before it comes out.