As far as I’m concerned, one of the most cinematic moments in all of Gareth Edwards‘ Godzilla remake is the HALO jump, but not the part Edwards goes over in this “New York Times” Anatomy of the Scene video, which focuses on the effects. I’m talking about the second half where Aaron Taylor-Johnson‘s character finds himself falling right next to Godzilla. Edwards and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey do such a fantastic job exhibiting the sheer size of Godzilla in this film as most oftentimes the giant monster can hardly fit on screen without being miles away from the action.
When I first saw them jump and saw Taylor-Johnson’s character nearing Godzilla I had that feeling of “Oh great, just another cliched ‘he’s barely going to miss him’ moment” or “Godzilla is going to tear his ‘chute and ramp up the peril”, but no, Edwards just kept it as a moment where the character glides by Godzilla’s head and chest and is still well above the buildings in San Francisco. Loved it.
As for the effects work utilized to bring it to life… kudos, nice, but that’s not what’s most interesting about the scene.
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