Giant Monster Movies: What Is The Appeal?

Getting ready to go watch and review "Kong: Skull Island" tomorrow, and while I LOVE monster movies, I don't really like GIANT monster movies. Maybe because the danger feels more like a natural disaster and so all giant monsters essentially pose the same threat. (They can have squid like arms or creepy eye stocks, but if they can knock over skyscrapers they're still essentially just a giant crushing mass or a volcano if they have laser beams, etc.) I also don't get anything out of two giant monsters fighting, since at that size it's usually mostly a brawl. (Compare to Aliens vs Predator, where hunting/stalking/hiding is involved and unique creature abilities are factored much more into the fight.)

I know there are some giant monster fans here, so this isn't me trying to poop on your parade. Honestly I'm hoping you can help me appreciate the genre a bit more so I can maybe get something out of the experience tomorrow that I might not otherwise. So what is the appeal for you? What makes a giant monster movie a GOOD giant monster movie?

Thanks for your help!

I can't speak for everyone, but for myself:
I wanted to be a dinosaur when I was a kid. I wanted to be so big that I could do whatever I liked and fear nothing. So I wonder if part of the appeal is in imposing myself into the monster...the id of the child-me brought to giant-sized life.

As I got a little older and realized I would never grow into an enormous reptile, the idea of controlling a giant robot gained my imagination. Mostly the same principles, but giant robots also tend to be protectors-and protecting loved ones from harm, while also being a super-sized unbeatable monster in practice...well, that doesn't really go out of style, now does it?

And then, you have all the typical monster-movie tropes writ large: does the monster find love? Can it be requited? Will the monster be misunderstood? Is there another monster that will show the true humanity of the protagonist monster by being more monstrous in contrast? Will the antagonist monster be a human, showing the destructive nature of human kind in regards to the environment?

Now, Skull Island looks pretty cool, but I'm not much of a Kong fan, myself.
But Pacific Rim... giant monsters and giant robots, the dreams of my youth, brought to more-colorful-than-life-life? Absolutely rocked. Story? Sure, whatever... the *experience* was what sells that movie.

I don't think I'd be doing this justice if I didn't mention two, somewhat, related properties: Robotech and Attack on Titan.
In Robotech, and Pacific Rim mirrors this, humanity has to become monsters to fight monsters. (building giant robots) ...and I suppose you could psychoanalyze some deeper meaning into that... some "gazing into the abyss nonsense"... but mostly it is just a propulsion to getting the dream of being a giant monster seeming more real.
In Attack on Titan... well, it is fairly new and not as widespread as the prior mentioned properties so

Spoiler:

So, in sum: power fantasy, warning against hubris, as you mention: threat from nature, and threat to nature. All of which can be played out in Giant Monster movies with the added benefit of awesome (potentially) graphic representation.

Hmm. I like both big and small monsters.

I think of Jurassic Park. The T-Rex and the raptors presented very different kinds of feelings, but both evoked feelings of great fear in me.

I think I understand what you're getting at though. When the monster is that big it just feels less personal. The monster might kill you, but it's more like a person stepping on an ant. It may not even notice you as it kills.

Incidentally, I loved the King Kong movie with Jack Black in it. I guess I liked the blend of human drama with monsters. You don't even see King Kong until half way through, but there was enough interesting plot and character to keep me engaged until then.
Not sure about Skull Island, based on the trailer. I suspect I'll have a "Peater watching a Marvel movie" kind of reaction to it when I eventually see it. I mean, I enjoy the marvel movies, but in the case of King Kong, I don't want to laugh. I want to be afraid.
Very interested to hear your thoughts after you've seen it Paeter.

I don't watch giant monster movies to be scared, even though I'm sure I would be quite terrified if I saw a giant monster in real life. The only giant monster movie that scares me is the live-action Attack on Titan film that I saw a clip of on an airplane. The fact that the monsters are giant humans is very disconcerting to me, especially when they eat normal people. But I'm not frightened by the thought of giant lizards or apes or spiders because they just seem so much more detached from reality than ghosts, demons, etc.

I watch giant monster movies to see the destruction and find out how (or if) the normal-sized people are able to knock the thing down. I also like to follow the stories of the people on the ground and how their dealing with it.

I like the original Godzilla movie (even the Americanized version isn't bad) and the newest American version (with Bryan Cranston). All the other Japanese ones I've seen are pretty generic and often silly, and the other American one is not very interesting. I like the original King Kong, and I liked the Peter Jackson one when I saw it (but it's so long that I probably won't watch it again any time soon).

I've liked Godzilla movies since I was a kid. I guess, like mikel.withers, a part of that was a fascination with dinosaurs.

What makes a good giant monster movie?

Many of my favorite have had pretty serious themes. The originals from Toho, like the original Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra, were serious movies, dealing with themes like atomic weapons and the damage they can cause, and exploitation of people. Still, not all of my favorites are like that.

Maybe it would help if I gave a brief list of things that don't work for me in such movies.

Campiness. This is where some of the Godzilla movies from the 60s went wrong, they go campy and even childish. A movie like Godzilla vs Gigan, which could have been among the better of the Godzilla movie, was badly spoiled by the campy story of aliens trying to conquer the world through a monster-themed amusement park.

Not showing the monster. That's where Cloverfield went wrong.

Thanks so much, you guys! VERY helpful stuff! Hopefully my experience and the utility of my review will both be better for it!

I'm coming to this party a bit late, but as a massive kaiju fan.....

As with every genre, the different expressions offer various experiences.

Gamera movies are campy and fun.

Ishiro Honda's Godzilla was heavy social commentary.

Robotech was a war story.

Cloverfield was survival horror.

Ultra Man is science adventure and comedy.

The one thing that binds them together is the presence of giant monsters. Like everything else, giant monsters are a plot device, a tool to help tell a story. When its done well, it adds a layer to the story. Most often, size is used as a way to emphasize scale, to place the events of the story within a frame of reference relative to main characters. Sometimes the characters command the same kind of power as the giants. Sometimes they are at the mercy of forces larger than themselves.

So why do I like giant monsters and mecha? Possibly the scale. Big things command big action, massive set pieces, and an enormity of consequence that matches their power. It means more than when the same things are smaller. At the end of the day, maybe it just comes down to three things. I want Godzilla to step on the bad guys. I want to be the pilot that shouts "Hovercraft, link!" and drives Tranzor-Z. And I want Gamera to choose me as his friend.

When it comes to giant monsters, the master himself said it best.

Ishiro Honda wrote:Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not
evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to,
but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend
himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for
the monsters. They end up caring about them.

Very insightful, Mindspike! I KNEW you'd have something interesting to say on this topic! Thanks!