Out of all the 38 total films in the franchise, only 3 really work as true cinematic accomplishments.  There's the initial 1954 landmark classic of course, and the latest Toho production, Godzilla Minus One, is the only film in the series where the human drama effectively drives the story.  With the 2014 film, I knew there was no way I could strengthen the human story to the level of Minus One, nor compete with the impact of the original film.  So, I chose to lean into the style of the last truly well regarded film in the series - Shin Godzilla, which is more of a political thriller/disaster film where Godzilla is a horrifying force of nature.  The unique quality to Shin that I appreciate most is that its human drama is divided across a wide spectrum of characters within the Japanese government.  Without a true protagonist, the film feels like a representation of humanity as a whole against greater themes than Godzilla itself. 


So, I decided to make Ken Watanabe's Dr. Ishiro Serizawa the heart of the human drama because the film operates on his philosophy that Godzilla serves as Earth's natural protector.  Bryan Cranston, despite his acting prowess, does not serve the story in a meaningful way, so I've cut his character entirely.  He's not mentioned in the edit.  Juliette Binoche, who plays his wife, is not in the edit.  Aaron Taylor Johnson's Lieutenant Ford Brody is still in the edit because too many of the creature scenes are from his perspective.  That said, he's only present in four scenes in the edit - the Muto's birth, Dr. Serizawa's exposition on the Titans, the military debrief to retrieve the bomb, and the final HALO jump sequence.  His story is widely regarded as the weakest element of the film, so in my edit he serves only to give the audience a boots on the ground view of the Titan battles. 


Consequently, Elizabeth Olsen's role as Brody's wife is reduced to her only appearing once or twice as a background character, and a number of sequences have been altered or cut entirely.  Brody's scenes with his family are cut, he isn't present when the Muto's attack the train in Hawaii, and the search for the Russian sub in Hawaii is entirely excised. As a result, what's left is the first chapter in my Godzilla edit, which will conclude with an edit of its sequel - King of the Monsters.


The story now is hopefully more streamlined, clear, and engaging that the original version, while acting as a strong introduction for what's to come.


While I was able to cut an hour out of the 2014 film without entirely upending the Godzilla plot, the human drama in KotM is wrapped up far more in it's kaiju narrative. That said, I was able to cut 15 minutes of the more over-the-top line deliveries, especially Kyle Chandlers. Some less than savory humor is also cut, along with the superfluous human action scenes that tend to crop up whenever the monsters fight. If King Ghidorah and Godzilla are facing off for the first time, I really don't care if Kyle Chandler can't get out of his plane seat.


Otherwise, I restructured the opening and closing scenes to provide a better transition between chapters, adjusted the color grade to be less saturated and overly blue, and added film grain.

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