* ApprovalOfGod:
** After the early screening for Toho, they greatly loved the film. At the premiere, they showed their appreciation by crying with joy and smiling with happiness, as well as marketing it as a legit Godzilla movie and asking Bandai to get Monster Arts to make toys for it. Both Creator/HaruoNakajima (who portrayed Godzilla from [[Film/Godzilla1954 1954]] to [[Film/GodzillaVsGigan 1972]]) and Kenpachiro Satsuma (who portrayed the Showa incarnations of Hedorah and Gigan, and after that Godzilla for the entire Heisei series) also greatly enjoyed this film, compared to Satsuma's furious walk-out during the 1998 film. Toho loved it so much, in fact, it even convinced them that the time was right to [[Film/ShinGodzilla start making their own Godzilla films once more]].
** A [[VideoGame/{{Godzilla}} PS3]] game has been recently confirmed with the 2014 Godzilla facing off the Heisei Godzilla, and a ton of merchandise to go along with it that toys aren't immune. There was even a statue that plays the film's soundtrack with glowing spines and "atomic breath" effect. ApprovalOfGod indeed.
** Dean Devlin, the producer of the [[Film/Godzilla1998 1998 film]], actually approves the Legendary version of Godzilla, since the TruerToTheText version of the character was given enough praise by fans and critics. It really speaks volumes since he lamented what he did wrong with the character, and shows his approval for this incarnation.
* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The biggest reason why [[Film/Godzilla1998 the last American adaptation of the franchise]] was despised by fans and Toho alike was that it took too many liberties with Godzilla’s known abilities and appearance by having the creature itself be an irradiated iguana as opposed to a dinosaur, lacks his famous atomic breath and [[AdaptationalWimp has it die by mere missiles]]. Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. and Director Gareth Edwards make it clear that this version is true to the classic movies, as his appearance is much closer to that of the Japanese movies, and retains his invincibility and atomic breath.
** [[Film/GodzillaFinalWars The last Godzilla film made before this one]] caught heat from a sizable portion of the fanbase who felt it focused too much on high octane action that the human drama felt noticeably weak. This film gives the human story more weight to it and shows the destruction the monsters are causing and how it's affecting the world at large. [[CriticalDissonance Unfortunately, while this did earn the new movie praise by many critics, movie goers and fans alike are more divisive on the matter]].
** For a while, the home video releases had a [[DigitalDestruction poor transfer]] that made the film much darker than it's supposed to be. The 4K Blu-ray release rectifies this issue, making the visuals almost identical to the theatrical release.
* AwesomeDearBoy: Gareth Edwards stated in an interview that when he went looking for special effects artists, casts and crew, reception was cool... until he revealed that he was doing Godzilla, at which point the formerly cautious recruits jumped in eagerly.
* BackedByThePentagon: The Department of Defense served as advisers for the portrayal of the Navy while also providing ships and aircraft for use in filming. The [=DoD=] wanted the Navy in particular to be used for the film because they had relatively little presence in films of the previous decade compared to the Army and Air Force. It was reportedly a tricky balancing act between portraying the military in a heroic manner and showing them as largely useless against the NighInvulnerable monsters they face. [[http://www.army.mil/article/126174 This article]] also describes some of the behind the scenes things that took place for this film.
** Notably, military vehicles have no positive effect on the monsters and sometimes a detrimental one to humans (Godzilla taking out the Golden Gate Bridge can be directly attributed to the Navy ships firing on it, the helicopter attack in Hawaii only succeeds in destroying several passenger jets in a crash), but military personnel on foot do make successful strikes or delaying actions.
* BillingDisplacement: Creator/JulietteBinoche is billed fourth in the opening credits, despite having less than ten minutes of screentime. [[spoiler: Also, she plays the first named character to die.]]
* CaliforniaDoubling:
** The plot mainly takes place on the West Coast of the United States, but was filmed mainly in Vancouver. Hilariously, Seamus [=McGarvey=], the cinematographer, accidentally stumbled on a nearby lakeside set for ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' (a movie that ''also'' took place in California) that looked very similar to the one for ''Godzilla'', and it took him a while to realize he was in the wrong place.
** Averted with some Hawaii shots, but at the same time played straight in that Hawaii doubled for the Philippines at the beginning.
** San Francisco International Airport doubles for Honolulu International Airport.
* ColbertBump: The vast amounts of publicity and attention that this movie is garnering has had the positive side effect of getting older ''Godzilla'' films rereleased, along with other related properties such as ''Gamera''...
** Creator/Section23Films managed to acquire the rights to ''[[Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster]]'', ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'', and ''Film/GodzillaVsGigan'', and will be releasing them on DVD and Blu-Ray under their newly established Kraken Releasing subdivision.
** Sony will be rereleasing the Heisei [[note]] ''Film/GodzillaVsKingGhidorah'', ''Film/GodzillaAndMothraTheBattleForEarth'', ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', ''Film/GodzillaVsSpaceGodzilla'', and ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'' [[/note]] and Millennium [[note]] ''Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus'', ''Film/GodzillaTokyoSOS'', and ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars''[[/note]] Godzilla movies they currently own on Blu-Ray double features, featuring 2 discs for each set, both the original Japanese audio and the English dubs. This will be the first time these movies will see a Blu-Ray release, and for at least four movies, this will be the first time the Japanese audio will be available. They will also be rereleasing ''Film/Godzilla1998'' on Blu-Ray. Sony has also planned a release for the remaining Millennium films later in 2014.
** Creator/MediaBlasters, having finally managed to work out their issues with Toho, will be reissuing the DVD releases of ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' and ''Film/GodzillaVsMegalon'', as well as releasing the latter film on Blu-Ray for the first time (though granted, these releases will be without any special features whatsoever).
** Classic Media will be rereleasing the original ''Film/Godzilla1954'' on a 2-disc DVD set, despite having released it before themselves and Creator/CriterionCollection putting out a superior release on DVD and Blu-Ray.
** Speaking of the original film, the rereleases aren't limited to simply DVD and Blu-Ray. Rialto Pictures will be rereleasing the original movie ''[[http://www.rialtopictures.com/godzilla.html theatrically]]''.
** Creator/{{Universal}}, who have previously released ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'' and ''Film/KingKongEscapes'' on DVD, will now be rereleasing both films on Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, it's still the English versions, as Universal still doesn't have the rights to release the original Japanese versions. On a related note, Universal will also rerelease Creator/PeterJackson's ''Film/KingKong2005'' in a limited edition [[http://www.amazon.com/King-Steelbook-Blu-ray-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00IIJ9F2E steelbook]].
** ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'' was released on DVD by Creator/MillCreekEntertainment (under license from Sony), with two unaired episodes included.
** Mill Creek Entertainment will also be rereleasing the ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' movies, putting the Showa era movies on two Blu-Ray releases, and then releasing a 4-disc DVD "Legacy" set that includes the Heisei movies as well. Unlike Creator/ShoutFactory's previous DVD releases, all three Mill Creek releases will have only the Japanese audio included with no English dubs.
*** Even more, on December 7, 2014, Toho Films revealed that, because of the popularity of the Legendary Godzilla film, they will ''revive their Godzilla'' with a new movie in 2016.
* CommercialSwitcheroo: A Hulu ad for ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' (which also came out in 2014) begins with a screen reading "Which ad experience do you prefer?", asking the viewers which ad they would "like" to see. But wait long enough, and all of a sudden the screen bursts, revealing Optimus Prime in a fight with what appears to be Godzilla.
* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: While news outlets talking about the film can be forgiven for thinking the flying monster might have been Rodan or Mothra based on the brief glimpses of it in early previews, it became less forgivable when later previews and film crew interviews made it clear that it was a new monster called a Muto. [[http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/29/just-when-you-thought-godzilla-couldnt-get-any-more-exciting-theres-a-new-trailer-and-an-old-enemy-4712592/ This article]] in particular not only misidentifies the Muto as Mothra despite including much clearer shots from the final trailer that show it very much isn't, but also characterizes Mothra as Godzilla's ArchEnemy. Not only is King Ghidorah Godzilla's real ArchEnemy, but Mothra has been an ''ally'' of Godzilla more often than an enemy.
* CreatorBacklash:
** Creator/BryanCranston believed that "it was a mistake" for [[spoiler:his character to die so early]].
** While Creator/GarethEdwards enjoyed making the film, after watching ''Film/GodzillaMinusOne'' in Japan, he felt he should have created his film in similar context as ''Minus One''. Since that film has a very powerful context in its subject matter that became appealing to the western audiences in the US.
* DevelopmentGag:
** The way Godzilla kills the female MUTO is the same way he killed the Gryphon in the script of ''Script/Godzilla1994''. In the same vein, he's awakened in the first film to specifically fight two kaiju endangering the Earth, one of which is winged.
** There is one scene where Las Vegas gets attacked by a [=MUTO=]. Las Vegas was going to be the primary setting of ''Godzilla 3D to the Max'', the IMAX 3D short film project that was gradually repurposed into this feature-length film.
* DevelopmentHell: The IMAX special ''Godzilla: 3D to the Max'' resided in development hell mostly because the people behind the film couldn't garner any money to actually produce it. It has later been officially cancelled, and, with Creator/LegendaryPictures acquiring the license, reworked into this film.
* ExecutiveMeddling: A positive aspect from Toho: When using the character, Legendary cannot kill off Godzilla at all. This may stem on how the 1998 film ended.
* FakeNationality: Averted. Alongside Serizawa, the power plant workers, Ford Brody's teacher, the teenage Yanki boy, his parents, and the boy (who Ford Brody bonds with in the train scenes) and his parents are all actually Japanese. Played straight with Aaron Taylor-Johnson himself, who is from England; as well as Juliette Binoche, who is from France.
* FollowTheLeader: The makers of the ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' films are making their own ContinuityReboot for Gamera's MilestoneCelebration in response to this film.
* LongingForFictionland: Director Creator/GarethEdwards has admitted to having a "secret fantasy" of living in a world where {{Kaiju}} are real.
* MilestoneCelebration: Released 60 years after the original film (though it's 6 months too early to be an ''exact'' anniversary). The months before the movie came out saw a promotional toy fair that featured models of the numerous designs of Godzilla and other monsters over the course of the franchise, along with a limited theatrical run of [[Film/Godzilla1954 the original 1954 film]].
* MissingTrailerScene: None of the stuff in the initial teaser trailer makes it into the film (not the centipede kaiju, not the city that was demolished, no shots of people climbing on the outsides of ruined building). There's also no speech briefing the soldiers about their HALO jump, and no scene of Godzilla roaring as the shelter doors close on the subway (which is instead replaced with the initial clash between Godzilla and the flying [=MUTO=]). The HALO jump also is given a shot of Godzilla and the winged [=MUTO=] fighting, instead of Godzilla walking around the city. The "Can you kill it?" conversation also never takes place.
* MultipleLanguagesSameVoiceActor: As with his other roles, Creator/KenWatanabe voices Dr. Serizawa in the Japanese dub.
* NewbieBoom: The very effective trailers managed to bring many more people into the ''Godzilla'' fandom before the movie itself even came out. Creator/GarethEdwards has frequently noted that it has also brought people ''back'' into the fandom from having previously been "closet fans" before; he has been pleasantly surprised by all the unexpected people hearing about what project he is doing and telling him something along the lines of "I like Godzilla. Don't fuck it up."
* NewContentCountdownClock: Scified's website for the film had a countdown which ended in the phrase "The King Has Returned".
* PopCultureUrbanLegends: When ''Film/Godzilla2014'' first came out, there were rumors of a [[TheStinger post-credits scene]] exclusive to the Japanese release featuring Mothra. There never was any scene like that in any version of the movie.
* PromotedFanboy:
** Creator/GarethEdwards first became a ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' fan watching ''WesternAnimation/TheGodzillaPowerHour'' as a kid in TheSeventies and TheEighties before going on to watch the films themselves. He then went on to direct this very film and has frequently talked about how blindsided he was that only his second film foray, following ''Film/{{Monsters|2010}}'', is an old dream come true.
** Surprisingly, Bryan Cranston [[https://youtu.be/p2tA-9HT0-0 is also a big fan of the series]] where he talks about his favorite film (''Very'' surprisingly, it's ''Film/Godzilla1954'', since he cites that he saw that film first before seeing ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters1956'') and how he would talk about playing with his Godzilla toys.
** The fact that while Gareth Edwards was scouting special effects artists, casts and crew specifically for the movie, and they immediately jumped to the chance shows that the chosen team were huge Godzilla fans.
* PreviewPiggybacking: Screenings for the film also included the second trailer for ''{{Film/Interstellar}}''.
* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: Creator/BryanCranston had to wear a wig for his scenes due to finishing ''Series/BreakingBad'' days beforehand.
* RevivalByCommercialization: Gyorgy Ligeti's "Requiem" was put back on the map by its use in trailers and ads for this movie.
* SequelGap: 10 years between ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'' (2004) and this movie.
* StuntCasting: Creator/BryanCranston is heavily featured in the trailer despite the fact that his character [[spoiler:is killed off about twenty minutes into the film]]. Gareth Edwards claims that Cranston was hired because of his ability to perform as a father, but the advertising seems to be heavily influenced by the popularity of his Emmy-winning performance in ''Series/BreakingBad''.
* ViralMarketing: A website titled [[http://godzillaencounter.com/ Godzilla Encounter]] was set up with pictures and updates referring to Godzilla. Some of the words in each article were highlighted in red to eventually spell SERIZAWA (the name of a character in the movie and the doctor who created the Oxygen Destroyer in the first film).
** Another site titled [[http://www.mutoresearch.net M.U.T.O.]] has two hidden videos that can be "unlocked", as well let a fan input almost every word or term that has ''any'' ties to the franchise to get some interesting results.
* WagTheDirector: Originally, Dr. Serizawa was to introduce the titular monster as "Godzilla", but Creator/KenWatanabe asked the filmmakers to use the original Japanese name of "Gojira".
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: See [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/{{Godzilla}} here]].
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