History Film / Godzilla2014

It stars Creator/AaronJohnson as Lieutenant Ford Brody, Creator/ElizabethOlsen as Elle Brody, Creator/BryanCranston as Joe Brody, Creator/JulietteBinoche as Sandra Brody, Creator/DavidStrathairn as Admiral Stenz, Creator/SallyHawkins as Dr. Graham, and Creator/KenWatanabe as [[LegacyCharacter Dr. Ishiro Serizawa]], inspired by the character from the 1954 film.

Legendary had since decided to expand Godzilla into a trilogy, having announced plans at Comic-Con to incorporate classic Toho characters Film/{{Mothra}}, Film/{{Rodan}} and [[Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster King Ghidorah]] into ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'', which released in 2019. Furthermore, Legendary confirmed that the prequel film ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', released at March 10, 2017, is in the same universe as this movie and ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' lead up to a climactic confrontation in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''. This Cinematic Universe is being called the ''Film/MonsterVerse''. Taking note of the renewed interest in the long-dormant property, Toho followed up on the film's success by initiating a new era of Japanese-made ''Godzilla'' movies, starting with the release of ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' in July 2016 and continuing with an anime movie trilogy with {{Creator/PolygonPictures}} titled ''Anime/GodzillaPlanetOfTheMonsters'' Released in November 2017 and May 2018 on {{Creator/Netflix}}.

Legendary had since decided to expand Godzilla into a trilogy, having announced plans at Comic-Con to incorporate classic Toho characters Film/{{Mothra}}, Film/{{Rodan}} and [[Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster King Ghidorah]] into ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'', which released in 2019. Furthermore, Legendary confirmed that the prequel film ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', released at March 10, 2017, is in the same universe as this movie and ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' lead up to a climactic confrontation in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''. This Cinematic Universe is being called the ''Film/MonsterVerse''. Taking note of the renewed interest in the long-dormant property, Toho followed up on the film's success by initiating a new era of Japanese-made ''Godzilla'' movies, starting with the release of ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' in July 2016 and continuing with an anime movie trilogy titled ''Anime/GodzillaPlanetOfTheMonsters'' in November 2017 and 2018.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/30d8efec_3083_4a40_b773_4036a0d136a9.jpeg]]

[[caption-width-right:350: “We call him... Gojira” - Dr. Ichiro Serizawa]]


->''"You're not fooling anybody when you say that what happened 15 years ago was a 'natural disaster,' alright? It was not an earthquake, it wasn't a typhoon, okay?... You're lying! Because what's really happening is that you're hiding something out there. I'm right, aren't I? ''MY WIFE DIED HERE! SOMETHING KILLED MY WIFE! AND I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!! I DESERVE ANSWERS!'' ''[lights flicker]'' You see? There it is again. ... This is what caused everything in the first place! Don't you see that?! And it is going to send us back to the Stone Age! You have no idea what's coming..."''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/godzilla-spanish-poster_6139.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/BlueOysterCult With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound...]]'']]

* ApocalypseHow: Being a {{Kaiju}} movie where TheUnmasquedWorld first occurs, naturally a ApocalypseHow/Class0 occurs with Hawaii, San Francisco and other U.S. cities devastated at the end of the film (to say nothing of the UsefulNotes/{{Chernobyl}}-style disaster that occurs in Japan in the DistantPrologue); with the [=MUTOs=]' {{EMP}} apparently causing even more national disruption than would otherwise occur. The [=MUTOs=] seemingly threaten to cause a ApocalypaseHow/Class2 if they win due to them being {{Explosive Breeder}}s; but the ''Godzilla: Aftershock'' tie-in comic suggests the species would've actually likely caused a ApocalypseHow/Class4 in the form of a new extinction event, due to them destroying or reshaping entire ecosystems.

* TheFifties: The prologue, where humans first try to kill Godzilla, takes place in 1954.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Albeit with both parties unaware of the fact: [[spoiler:right when Godzilla is being pinned down by the [=MUTO=]s, Brody sets fire to the nest and draws the female's attention, giving Big G an opening to stand up and regroup. His assistance is rewarded when, just as the female [=MUTO=] is about to kill him, Godzilla appears out of nowhere to bite on the [=MUTO=]'s neck and let Brody get away.]]

* CovertGroup: MONARCH, a top-secret government organization.

* FinalBattle: The only true fight between Godzilla and the [=MUTO=]s.

Legendary had since decided to expand Godzilla into a trilogy, having announced plans at Comic-Con to incorporate classic Toho characters Film/{{Mothra}}, Film/{{Rodan}} and [[Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster King Ghidorah]] into ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'', which released on March 22, 2019. Furthermore, Legendary confirmed that the prequel film ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', released at March 10, 2017, is in the same universe as this movie and ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters'', and that there will be [[http://www.legendary.com/legendary-and-warner-bros-pictures-announce-cinematic-franchise-uniting-godzilla-king-kong-and-other-iconic-giant-monsters/ a 2020 release]] of ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''. This Cinematic Universe is being called the ''Film/MonsterVerse''. Taking note of the renewed interest in the long-dormant property, Toho followed up on the film's success by initiating a new era of Japanese-made ''Godzilla'' movies, starting with the release of ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' in July 2016 and continuing with an anime movie trilogy titled ''Anime/GodzillaPlanetOfTheMonsters'' in November 2017 and 2018.

** Elle's coworker Laura is entrusted with Sam when the latter is [[AccidentalPun pun on a bus]] evacuating the city, but she's completely absent from the bus in the next scene featuring Sam.

* DidntThinkThisThrough
** Some police officers open fire on Godzilla in Honolulu with their small arms. They quickly realize the pointlessness and give a face that says this trope. Godzilla doesn't seem to notice.

** The military underestimates the speed of the three Kaiju; Godzilla makes it to San Francisco before the city's anywhere near adequately evacuated, and the male [=MUTO=] makes it to the nuke well before it can be transported to a safe distance and long before its timer is about to go off. Furthermore, the military seemingly don't account for the obvious fact that the [=MUTOs'=] EMP can deactivate the boat transporting the nuke.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The dog at the beach. Its fate is uncertain, though it does at least escape from the beach when the tsunami hits.

* NotDrawnToScale: As is usually the case in the franchise, Godzilla's size is... flexible. He's officially listed in marketing materials as around 350 feet tall. In the film he is frequently 2-3x that against known objects and in some shots and ''other'' marketing material including the poster more resembles a mountain.

** The military underestimates the speed of the male and it makes it to the nuke well before it goes off. The nuke is taken to the middle of the city and a plan has to be hatched to get it out.

** The Golden Gate Bridge itself is 220 feet above the water, which is an additional 360 feet deep. Godzilla is 350 feet tall, so standing it wouldn't even break the surface near let alone whack into the middle span, and could easily swim under it.

** Ford gets to watch his father descend into madness in denial over his wife's death. And then learns his dad was right all along, which means he spent 14 years estranged from his dad for no good reason.And then is forced to [[spoiler: watch his dad die in front him, meaning he never gets the chance to mend the rift between them]]. He also spends a good deal of the film torn between duty and family, just like his dad did.

** Until they detonate, modern thermonuclear warheads are just the teensy little bit of nuclear isotope (uranium or plutonium) to start the explosion. Most of the energy released is the result of a subsequent nuclear fusion reaction betwwen two different hydrogen isotopes. Whatever good the [=MUTO=]s get from eating them is minimal.

** Played straight in helicopter scenes, where for some reason people can often hear others with using headsets even though they're in a military helicopter.

** The loving, tender moment between the two [=MUTO=]s echo Edward's previous film ''Monsters''. On a slightly amusing note, the way the two kiss as they share a nuke has been compared to ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp''.

** Ford gets to watch his father descend into madness in denial over his wife's death. And then learns his dad was right all along, which means he spent 14 years estranged from his dad for no good reason. He spends a good deal of the film torn between duty and family, just like his dad did.