Godzilla: King of the Monsters - It is Good to be King

Here we are folks, what we've been building to the entire time. That's right, just a week late, but hey, here it is. There is so much I can say, compliment and discuss when talking about how much I love Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Before the movie even came out, this was going to be one of the most important films of my life, genuinely. Before the movie even had an official name, it was my lifeline. All I knew when I was struggling through my Sophomore and Junior Years of high school was that no matter what happened that Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan were FINALLY going to make their return to the big screen with the effects and budget of Legendary Pictures. No matter what happened, I had to stick around for that. Don't mean to get so personal, but I just had to make it clear: waiting for this movie was hard, but I waited it out, and I am so endlessly happy to say that it is everything I wanted. A sequel to Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, this is the movie of my dreams. But of course with this being the third in a cinematic universe, of course the question will come up: Godzilla or King of the Monsters? Well, I'll elaborate on this as we go on, but I believe Godzilla is a better overall movie, but King of the Monsters is a far superior Godzilla movie.

BEFORE WE GET STARTED THOUGH, THIS REVIEW WILL BE FILLED WITH SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE AND WANT TO SAVE YOURSELF, STOP NOW AND SEE THE MOVIE!

Five years after the initial reemergence of Godzilla and the MUTOs attack in San Fransisco, Godzilla has gone missing, Monarch has upped its technology and received much more significant funding, and it is becoming abundantly clear that the monsters aren't leaving any time soon. Between Monarchs numerous outposts and the recent reveals of monsters like Kong and Godzilla to the public, the monster crisis is fully in swing. This new world is soon thrown into chaos when former Monarch scientist and survivor of the 2014 attack, Emma Russell uses a device to revive the great monster devil: Ghidorah. With Godzilla reappearing soon after and receiving aid from his ancient ally Mothra, Godzilla must now ally himself with the humans in order to defeat the golden menace and once and for all claim his title as the King of the Monsters.

Alright, let's get started with the BIG positives of this movie. First and foremost, the soundtrack is this movie is absolutely incredible. Bear McCreary is already a legendary composer, making some music for some incredible works of the 21st century like the original God of War trilogy and music for the Walking Dead as well. The man's music is incredible and fits perfectly with the work he is in. But in this movie he just absolutely pops off. The music is almost too good. Making its welcome return is the original Godzilla March by Akira Ifukube, reorchestrated and made even better for the modern era. It just doesn't feel right when Ifukube's music isn't in one of these movies. But in King of the Monsters, Bear brought it back and it's just so incredible. Booming and thrilling as the original and with added chants of "GO-JI-RA!" throughout, this is like an ancient tribal calling to the King. So roll out the red carpets and bow down because Godzilla is bigger and better than ever as is his theme. But of course, that's not all. Also returning is the famous Mothra Song in its absolutely perfected form. Never in my life did I think the masterpiece of the Mothra Song in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. could be topped, but it has. Elegant and beautiful as the Mothra Song should be, while still powerful and ready to attack like this version of Mothra. I can't even lie when I say Mothra sprouting her wings with the Mothra Song almost made me cry in the theater. And of course, Rodan and Ghidorah aren't forgotten about either. Rodan's theme is badass, there's no two ways around it. Wild and sporadic and as fiery as the monster it represents, it is the perfect new theme for a Rodan who has the magma of the volcano truly burning through his blood. And while a return of Terror would have been welcome, Ghidorah's theme is still amazing. From the poem written in Babylonian to the feeling of absolute evil and mystery that permeates throughout the entire piece, this is the theme of a Ghidorah ready to destroy and reshape the world how he sees fit. The music was absolutely fantastic and enhanced this brilliant movie even more.

The monsters of this movie are the best they've ever appeared in the entire series. Of course benefitting from some of the most money ever poured into one of these movies, that's just scratching the surface. At last put on to film for an American audience is the absolute truth of Godzilla: Godzilla, the indifferent savior of the world. Rodan, the wild card. Mothra, the guardian beauty always ready to make the sacrifice play. King Ghidorah, the space demon aimed to destroy anything in its way. Every monster receives some of the best treatment they are likely to receive for the rest of time. Let's talk about 'em a bit more in depth, starting with Godzilla. Honestly, there isn't exactly a ton of new stuff I want to go over. He's Godzilla! You're pretty well acquainted with him after this film series, you know him. But I am happy to report he uses the classic roar mixed in with his modern roar created for 2014's Godzilla. This is Godzilla at his absolute best, getting in some of his best action in the series to date, and getting everything from his 1954 roar to Burning Godzilla and in general being the king we know and love. Rodan was awesome to watch and got a new spin on his character that I really love seeing. He's essentially Fire Rodan in this movie, fire burning through his wings, magma in his blood, the works. He gets some really badass action in the movie, like when he first emerges from his volcano and does like five spins in the air to take out all of Monarch's jets. His fight with Mothra is an absolute highlight of the final battle and is thrilling. I will say for a devout Rodan fan that this version might not be immediately accepted because he begins as a villain, but he turns it around in the end. Then we got Ghidorah, which, holy crap. This is THE definitive version of the character. Everything he does in this movie is pure and simple evil and terrifying at its best. I cannot even lie when I say he verges on being genuinely scary in the movie. From his incredible awakening from Antarctica to his hilariously brilliant death in Boston, Ghidorah absolutely commands the screen, and his terror cannot be over stated. I'm really excited to see where we go from here with the missing head. Because there are a lot of opportunities we can explore *cough* *cough* MECHA KING GHIDORAH PLEASE! Last up, my favorite monster of the entire movie: Mothra. Outside of Godzilla, Mothra is the first monster we see in the movie, and everything about her character is absolutely perfected in this movie. What we essentially get in this movie is a reprise of Mothra from GMK, with a little bit of first series Mothra thrown in for good measure. With the wasp inspired design like in GMK, she is able to actually throw down and it's so awesome. She puts really good use to all of her abilities, her massive new claws to smack around Rodan, webbing Ghidorah to a building in the final battle, flourishing her wings to intimidate Godzilla and even performing YET ANOTHER Mothra sacrifice to save the day. Mothra is an absolute angel that no one deserves. Mothra's two highlight scenes, the God Rays for finding Godzilla and blossoming under the waterfall were both so beautiful and well done that I truly teared up. Of course from hearing the Mothra Song in an American made movie, but also because it was so well done.

And now for something I have addressed I believe like twice or so in these reviews: Direction. If you'll allow me to use a sports metaphor, then let me put it like this. If you have a team with even some of the best players in the world and you think you can't be stopped, you will go nowhere with a good coach who knows how to control big personalities manage a game, and give the team vision. That is a film director's job too: manage personalities, a filmset and inspire the film's vision. And Michael Dougherty absolutely nailed it. He was often quoted in interviews before the movie as saying he wanted to make a monster opera, and that is absolutely perfect. This movie was so based and masterfully made from his vision of highlighting the monsters as more than silly people in big rubber costumes, and he got it done perfectly. Never have these monsters been done so well before outside of Japan. Dougherty came at this film with the love of a fan, which makes sense, as he's only wanted to make this movie since he was a young child. And what he made was one of the best and biggest monster brawls ever put on screen. He mastered the scale and dynamic actions, movements and feelings of these monsters in a way that no one has done. A film's direction and direction need to be perfect for any film, but especially for this genre. If your vision is off, the movie will be flawed. And his vision was spot on and I cannot thank him enough for it.

Now, let's get onto that comment I said at the top of the review. "I believe Godzilla is a better overall movie, but King of the Monsters is a far superior Godzilla movie." Let me elaborate on that as I said I would. 2014's Godzilla is a really good movie. Its characters are not the most complicated in the world, but they work very well with a simple story that is based in a lot of sense, logic and reason. King of the Monsters is not wholly that way. It relies on a lot of convenience to get it done and finish strong. And guess what: I have no problem with that. Because while the story itself may not have been as solidly written or as soundly thought out as 2014's, it is a GODZILLA MOVIE. If you haven't figured it out: it doesn't HAVE to make perfect sense. If it does, awesome. Bonus points. But it doesn't HAVE to. When I think of Godzilla movies and plot, I think about Avengers: Age of Ultron. In it, Hawkeye says a really fantastic quote to Scarlet Witch that I think more people should think about when discussing scifi and fictional works in general. "The city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense," he says. Superhero movies and Godzilla movies very much operate on the logic of illogic, that suspension of disbelief behind almost every movie. But when you're dealing with dinosaurs the size of mountains, how in the hell can you expect everything to be perfect? I don't. So what I accept is simple: the story is not perfect. The characters are not perfect (but definitely very enjoyable, notably Bradley Whitford's eccentric Monarch scientist Dr. Rick Stanton). I went out of my way to explain how it can be surprising to many an audience member how well the people were thought out in the original Godzilla. Because you're just not going to get that in most movies. At most what you get in these movies is great monster action, an odd story and at max an interesting character or two. And that is EXACTLY what we get in King of the Monsters. The draw of the movie is not for a well thought out or fantastic story. I didn't expect that, and didn't even fully want that. So I am absolutely not let down by the downfalls of the story of the film. Because even if I did, I had so much fun.

I think the best way I can describe Godzilla: King of the Monsters is that it is basically the perfected version of a movie from the first series. This truly is everything I wanted out of these movies. Gorgeous cinematography that makes the monsters seem somehow even bigger than they truly are, effects that made them real and action for the ages. This is one of the finest and most lovingly made Godzilla movies of all time. Everything put into this movie was with absolute love and care. From the bottom of my heart, I love this movie. I will have to give it time to determine where it's going to fall on my top 10, but it will end up there in time. And now we count down the days as we await Godzilla's rematch with Kong until next year. And you bet I can't wait to see that one. Because if it's anything like King of the Monsters, it is going to be something spectacular.

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And there we have it. I feel a bit of melancholy to have this series all wrapped up, but this was really fun. I love this series, I love these movies, and I love that I stuck around to see them. Thank you to Toho for inventing one of the best fictional characters ever, thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed what I wrote, and thank you to all the crew members and actors, living or passed on who worked on these movies. My life and loves would be completely different if I did not love Godzilla, and I truly cannot thank enough. So thank you for sticking with me through all of this writing, and I hope that maybe I can crank out another one next March when Godzilla vs. Kong comes out. But until then, stay awesome. All hail the King.

Supplementary - Top 10

IT'S FINALLY HEAR! THE LONG WAIT IS OVER! GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS IS OFFICIALLY IN THEATERS TODAY, AND I AM SO EXCITED! This is the movie I have been waiting for my whole life, and I can't wait to see it. I have my tickets purchased and a gang is assembled. It's going to be a great time. BUT, we're not done quite yet. I have been building up today for the list of all lists; my favorite Godzilla movies in the top 10 format. And so, I am going to do exactly that. But, I am going to make two stipulations:

1. Only Godzilla movies. I love Rodan, Mothra, even War of the Gargantuas, and ESPECIALLY the original King Kong. But this day and this list is about Godzilla. So only Godzilla movies, but I do recommend every movie on this series' watchlist.

2. No Shin Godzilla or the original Godzilla. Like Up From the Depths said in his video (check it out right here), Shin Godzilla and Godzilla from 1954 are the two finest movies in the series. I am not including them because those two are too obvious. These are movies to explore other facets of the series. But if you only have time for two, watch those. They're two of my favorite films ever made and the two movies to watch.

So, let's get started. My TOP 10 GODZILLA MOVIES (unincluding Shin Godzilla and the original Godzilla)! Here we go!

Number 10- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

This movie is absolute CHEESE, and it is what I live for. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is a 20th birthday party for the ages. You get two of your best friends in the world together and just beat the living crap out of that poser who thinks he's tougher than you and really passive aggressively steals your style. Of course, this is only hyperbole, don't actually do that. But it sure as hell didn't stop Godzilla, Anguirus and King Caesar from celebrating his 20th Birthday that way! Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is EVERYTHING you want from a movie in the first Godzilla series. A plot that goes all over the place and is more hilarious than well written, human characters that are fun to watch, albeit silly in their own way, and effects so hilariously over the top insane that you just cannot help but love it. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is one of the best. It introduces one of the greatest enemies of Godzilla ever, gives him a tough fight, and has one of the most strange yet perfect soundtracks of the entire series. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is just too nuts to pass up. This is a movie I recommend to anyone, someone looking for a good laugh, exciting monster action or just trying to get into the series. It is a great time for all, and HIGHLY recommended. Give it a watch!






Number 9- Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

There is so much good in Tokyo S.O.S. Following up on the prior year's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Tokyo S.O.S. picks up right where the action left off and delivers an absolute monster brawl for the ages. This movie starts at 100% and literally only gets higher from there. So much attention, love and care is given to all of the monsters (excluding Kamoebas, RIP big guy), and just enough attention is given to likable human protagonists that when you need a breather, it is delivered right one time. Tokyo S.O.S. contains some of the best music in the entire franchise. With Michiru Oshima returning to the master composer chair after fantastic work in Godzilla vs. Megagurius and Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, her work is absolutely perfected with not only the return of her incredible Kiryu and Godzilla theme, but an entirely new theme just for Mothra, and even one of the best versions of the Mothra Song to date. And when the monsters are fighting, it is everything you could ever ask for. This movie moves so quick that for some, I can see it being nauseating. But if you ask me, sometimes you just gotta crank the dial to 11, and this movie is at 11 the entire run time. If you got an hour and a half and need a shot of adrenaline, sit down and enjoy.


Number 8- Destroy All Monsters 

This one is an entry that usually catches a lot of flack, but I personally cannot help but love it. Of course, there is nostalgia tied to it as it is my official entry into the series, but I also do genuinely enjoy the movie. Destroy All Monsters of course will always be criticized for the fact that yes, not as much monster action happens, but this is okay in my eyes. Because we honestly get a fun and interesting to watch human story that unfolds in a really elaborate but well paced way that when the monsters do appear on screen, it's just as exciting as ever because you get pulled away from the characters you were used to seeing for the last chunk of time. And even though the monsters don't necessarily get as much screentime as you'd want, every monster (not named Baragon or Varan) gets treated very fairly. The monsters in the movie are used perfectly, letting you feel a little bit safer than usual, only to kidnap that safety and remind you that you paid for monster thrills and you're gonna get it, darn it! And of course, if you don't even want to watch the rest of the movie, no problem. Live your life. But of course, you HAVE to watch the final monster brawl. The monsters all ganging up on Ghidorah and just beating the absolute crap out of him is the stuff we all like to see.





Number 7- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

There is so much that makes Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah so good. The price of admission is paid for in the title alone. The rematch of the ages, bigger and better than ever. And man, does this one absolutely deliver. We get to see both monsters at their absolute best in the series. Godzilla ripping up cities and reminding humanity that you just can't get rid of him, and Ghidorah tearing up the world like the punishing devil he is and (almost) always will be. And then when Mecha King Ghidorah gets introduced, it just goes to show how these two were meant for each other. It's like Batman and the Joker. You can lock him up and beat the living tar out of him, but it doesn't matter. Because King Ghidorah will always come sniveling back for a rematch, or at very least one more swing. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah then gets bonus points for elaborating on and showing us the past of Godzilla, and just what a story went into making even the original Godzilla from 1954. Of course their origins are different, but it's similar stuff: nature doing its thing and then humanity ruins it all. It's great stuff. I of course appreciate Cinemassacre's note at the end of his recent top 5 video on how if WWII imagery is triggering or traumatizing for some viewers, then I will say avoid that one. But if you can ignore some of the human violence and just stick around for the monster brawls, you absolutely will not be disappointed.

Number 6- Godzilla: Final Wars

Controversial. Over the top. Absolute insanity. These words and phrases only BEGIN to explain what can go right and wrong for a viewer when watching Godzilla: Final Wars. I said it in my review, and I will say it here. I completely understand people's issues with the movie, and I agree with them. The only difference is I see these supposed issues as positives. No, Godzilla is not in the movie for awhile. And then when he does reemerge, he makes one of the best entrances and engages one of the most fun action set pieces and essentially action montages put into the entire series. The humans are sometimes laughable or just dry, and I don't see this as an issue. Because even if they are dry or being more over the top than a Nicolas Cage movie, it's just too fun to watch. Humans fighting, monsters fighting, the world blowing up and a 50th blowout birthday party that will make you rethink how you'd going to celebrate, Godzilla: Final Wars is an absolute BLAST. It is over the top hilarity at its finest, and that's what makes it so good. It knows how far gone the series is from its origins as a story of the nuclear apocalypse and embraces it. Godzilla: Final Wars is THE movie to watch if you just want to say "Screw it," and have a good time.


Number 5- Legendary Pictures' Godzilla

Folks, it is time for yet ANOTHER hot take to go with my opinion on Final Wars, because I got yet another one for you. Legendary Pictures' Godzilla is one of the absolute finest movies crafted in the entire series. Everything from the music to casting choices, effects, monster designs, cinematography, direction, you name it. Everything that went in to making a movie like this good was put in here and it is so well done. Of course, the movie does kill its most interesting character very early on, but it still has another two great leads to follow and even though the performance was great, we still get a great overall film. Yes, Godzilla isn't in every frame of the movie. But like his appearance in the 1954 original, every second he is on screen is used MASTERFULLY, inspiring fear, awe and hope in everything he does. The music that accompanies all of his scenes and indeed every scene in the movie is like a king's march after being lost on a voyage for many months. This movie was meant to reintroduce a character who had been dormant for 10 years, and hopefully get some new people introduced to the character, and it did this amazingly. Yes, Legendary Pictures' Godzilla is a quality film, and one of the best movies of the entire 65 year old franchise.

Number 4- Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster 

This movie is like the Avengers was for so many other people. Bringing together three previously introduced and popular monsters to take down a threat somehow bigger and more shocking than any of them in their own introductory films was never going to be easy. And somehow, Toho did it. Of course, this is one of the most important movies of the entire franchise. The introduction of King Ghidorah to the series is one of the most important moments ever, because like stated in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, this is Godzilla's version of the Joker. If you're going to give a character an arch nemesis, they have got to be introduced right, and Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster introduces Ghidorah right. A threat bigger than Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan forcing all of the monsters to put aside their immediate dislike for each other to get along and safe not humanity, but the Earth as whole is brilliant. We get in this movie some of the single best moments in the entire franchise: Godzilla's hilarious fight with Rodan, Mothra riding on Rodan's back, Godzilla just blasting Ghidorah, the list goes on. This movie is pure entertainment at its highest, and even when the monsters aren't on screen, we have a fun to watch and interesting developed human story that makes everything even more complicated. If you want to meet one of the greatest monsters ever and have an amazing time watching, then Ghidorah is the movie for you.


Number 3- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

No stake will ever be higher than the fate of the world. So it's best to save that for the finale. And that is EXACTLY what is at stake in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. There is so much good that goes into this movie that it is just ridiculous. Everything you'd want for a movie like this is here. Stellar effects and action? Got it. Music that will make you cry and feel ready to get in a fight? You didn't even need to ask. Moments of excitement beyond compare and yet you might be crying in the end? Come on, you know the deal by now. And then this is made even better with everything in the movie being quality. From human characters to a story that is perfectly dramatic and hits all of its necessary beats before the credits role, nothing is under utilized in this one. And I do mean NOTHING. And for his sole appearance in film, Destoroyah is a monster that will never be forgotten. A truly amazing monster will be remembered far past their time on screen, and I'll be damned before I ever forget the horror of Destoroyah. And I'll also be damned if I ever forget how brilliantly done and perfectly paced the entire finale of the movie is. The finale of the movie alone makes it amazing, but then everything before that is so good that this one that must be seen. Do yourself a favor; watch Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Number 2- Mothra vs. Godzilla

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse when I confirm that Mothra vs. Godzilla is indeed one of the absolute best movies in this entire series. Truly, everything that went into making Godzilla vs. Destoroyah a good movie is also in this and is done somehow even better. This movie deserves enough credit for being an exciting movie and battle to watch despite the thought of how odd and imbalanced a fight like this sounds on paper. But it all works out in the end because the overall battle between the two monsters is great in and of itself, and it's only made better by EVERYTHING else. Music that is incredible? Of course. Two of the best movie monsters of all time coming together in the battle of the century? Well, that's just the cherry on top. And then before we even see the monsters, we have a great human story to follow that enhances everything about the movie. Mothra vs. Godzilla benefits from some of the most effort you ever will see in a giant monster movie. Its effects are even still pretty solid! Mothra vs. Godzilla is on of the entires in the series that no matter when watch will always be good.


Number 1- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack

If you ask me, this is about as good as it gets right here. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack is so. Good. If you want absolutely STELLAR action, the movie delivers. If you want music that is good even without the context in the film, the movie delivers. If you want human characters that like in most of the other movies on this list enhance the viewing experience, the movie delivers. If you want GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH AND EVEN BARAGON TO GO AT IT IN SOME OF THE MOST VISUALLY PLEASING AND ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING SCENES OF THE SERIES, WELL GUESS WHAT THE MOVIE DOES! THAT'S RIGHT; IT DELIVERS. GMK is almost painfully good, truly. There's never going to be another movie like it. Others will surely try, but this movie has nothing but love put behind its making, and it shows. If you are looking to watch a movie with some deep commentary and then watch monsters just beat the living crap out of each other, then this is the movie for you. It's like music from Run the Jewels. If you want the deeper message, you are covered. But if you're just looking to have fun and enjoy the background, you are so allowed to. GMK is one of the most universally loved movies in the series, and it makes sense. A flick like this isn't common, and it is so well done. Now, of course. If you want a traditional origin for Godzilla and the other monsters, maybe not the best movie for you. But like, who really cares? It's still Godzilla. Just pop in the movie, forget how lame your day was, and just have a good time. Because GMK is absolute perfection in that. So just kick back, relax, and enjoy one of the absolute best monster spectacles that we are sure to ever see.

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And with that, my job is almost done. Because you know what's next. Yeah. You bet I'm seeing Godzilla: King of the Monsters today. And yeah. You can bet that I'm going to review it. I will say, at max, give it a few days. But it will definitely be up either during next weekend or next Monday. I just want to let the movie happen first and foremost. But now, I gotta prepare. Because it's almost time to roll out and see the movie I have been waiting for my entire life.

Legendary Pictures' Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island - the MonsterVerse

I still remember exactly where I was when the first teaser trailer for Legendary Pictures' Godzilla dropped. I was in my 8th grade science class and we had a computer day and I just kept refreshing Warner Bros' YouTube channel until I eventually saw the magic words "Godzilla" and "Teaser Trailer" in the same title. It was official: the King was coming back and I was not ready. And here we are, five years later. It's really weird thinking about how fast time has flown by, but here we are. Little did I know in 2014 when Godzilla came out that it could only get better, because soon I got an announcement from Twitter saying that Legendary had the rights to Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan, and that the upcoming Kong movie would be moved to Legendary to set up Godzilla vs. Kong, a remake that has been BEGGING to happen for almost 50 years. So, what is this to say? Well, I have a lot of nostalgia and fond memories surrounding both of these movies. When Godzilla came out, I was finishing middle school, excited for what was about to come next (for the series and life), and couldn't contain how excited it made me feel. When Skull Island came out, I was wrapping up a production of Hairspray I was in, and generally killing it. It was a good Junior Year. The point I'm trying to make here is that I have memories tied to these movies, and sometimes it's hard to be objective with movies and memories you love. So, I'm going to try my best to be objective with these two movies. So, what is an objective fact about Legendary Pictures' Godzilla? Well, Godzilla is a movie that properly reintroduces cinema's greatest monster for audiences who may not have truly known him, and makes the monster king feel really cool. Of course his screentime is lacking, but we'll get to that later. As for Kong: Skull Island? Easy. Kong: Skull Island is a lovingly made throwback to the undiscovered land kind of movies that defined lots of early sci-fi, and is totally enjoyable in its own right, featuring some fantastically over the top action set pieces, brilliant effects work and a self aware tone that makes the movie even more enjoyable. So, let's start off this grand finale with my review of the 2014 film from Legendary Pictures; Godzilla.

In 1954, nuclear bomb tests in the South Pacific reawakened ancient animals from a time on Earth when radiation was higher. The king of this primeval ecosystem was the ancient guardian: Godzilla. After a decades long nap and the reemergence of his one natural predator, Godzilla will soon collide with the MUTOs, and must end them before their young can hatch and takeover this world they are freshly setting eyes upon.

That's right, we're gonna have another build in this review. There are a lot of positives to go over with this movie, and I know I won't be able to hit them all, BUT I'll try my absolute best. Let's start with the soundtrack. Alexandre Desplat is not a composer I expected to make music for a Godzilla film, but lo and behold, he did! So, here's the thing. In my opinion, it's not incredible, but it is some very good music. I don't think any songs are gonna stand in the history of film quite like Ifukube's music, but he gets some great music in the movie. My personal favorite piece is "Godzilla!" which opens the while movie. In the context of the film, I love this music. Prior to this movie, Godzilla hadn't been seen in 10 years on a screen that wasn't a slot machine in Japan. He was gone and he came back, so the music announcing his return had to sound big, exciting and dangerous. And this theme covers that feeling BEAUTIFULLY. I've heard others say that parts of the song sound like they fit Batman, which I can see. But what I hear here is a BRILLIANT theme that fits this version of the character perfectly: a supermassive creature that hid away from the world and society for millions of years only to be rediscovered and reawakened by the sins of man upon the Earth. And I think this theme demonstrates that very well. It's big, it feels bombastic and like at any point it's ready to turn more sinister, as Godzilla seems to be interpreted for a nice chunk of time in the film. It's brilliant stuff, honestly.

Next up, how about the human cast? The human cast usually bogs down the movies of this franchise, but in the case of Godzilla, it is benefited enormously from its cast of humans. Right off the bat, of course, this movie will forever live infamously with the fact that Bryan Cranston's character, Joe Brody dies WAY too early in the film, and I completely agree. But what we get out of him is an amazingly captivating performance that enhances the overall film for the amount of time he is on screen. And while I will agree Aaron Taylor-Johnson does not capture the same energy or power that Cranston gives, he's not as bad as people say. I like the character, honestly. I think it's a very honest performance, a man continually hardened by the events of the film who ultimately just wants to get home to his family. Not an amazing character, but not a bad one either. But of course the star of the show is Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizwa. First of all, the simple name callback is an amazing one, and a nice simple way to callback to the original film without being TOO obvious. And then as a character in his own right, he gets a lot of fantastic moments like Joe Brody. Of course there is the famous "Let them fight" line, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. His moments of staring at Godzilla in pure joy are the looks of every child ever, and he's just so incredibly easy to follow and get behind. He's a fantastic character to follow along on this journey of Godzilla chasing.

And you knew this was coming: you bet your ASS Godzilla is the best part of the entire movie. From his greatest first appearance on screen in the movie to his shrugging off missiles on the Golden Gate Bridge to even the Kiss of Death to end the movie, Godzilla is at the absolute peak of his character in this movie. All cards on the table, this is my favorite Godzilla. Ever. From his design to his use of the atomic breath and even his roar and sound design, Godzilla is just at his absolute best in this movie. And complain all you want, folks. But I will come to the defense of the filmmaker on this one: Godzilla's screentime was used PERFECTLY. Of course, I always would love to see more Godzilla in a movie. But every ounce of his appearances were immaculately used. I will say the only issue with Godzilla in the movie isn't his fault: it's the MUTOs. Unfortunately, the MUTOs do indeed take a bit more of a narrative focus in this movie, and that is an issue. But it was never as big an issue to me as say, Godzilla vs. Mothra. Because at the end of the day, Godzilla still appears frequently (just not as much in minutes), and ultimately gets to take care of them with two of the best kills Godzilla has ever had on screen. Godzilla is at his absolute best in this movie, and he was done absolute justice in the film. For a 10 year wait, he picked up right where he left off and immediately reminds the world why you just can't kill Godzilla.

I'm going to give my consensus on Godzilla later, 'cause we got a whole other movie to talk about right now; Kong: Skull Island. Skull Island is a bit of a controversial movie, and I get why. This movie is just SO. FUN. This is not in a lot of ways a technically good movie. Its characters are undeveloped and the ones that are don't get the focus they deserve, the story is a bit messy and it's entirely aware of it. This movie is a throwback to the movies like the Lost World and even the original King Kong, largely distinguishing itself from the lack of time in New York City. Kong: Skull Island is an absolute blast to watch, because with your brain turned off, this is one of the most fun movies I think I've honestly ever watched.

With the Cold War ramping up and with the United States discovering a piece of land undiscovered by the USSR, a crew of soldiers and scientists venture to this mystical land: Skull Island. But once the soldiers begin bombing the island in hopes of luring out a giant monster, the monster makes itself known: Kong. After Kong wiped out the full helicopter brigade, the people have to get off the island within three days, or die to Kong, the Skullcrawlers and whatever other horrible monsters roam the island of horrors.

First and foremost; this is not King Kong. Like, this is about as far from a true Kong movie as you can get. Because this movie is not aiming for awe and a sad message about beauty and the beast. It's a pure balls to the wall action movie. And I LOVE it. I just love it. This starts with Kong. Holy crap, Kong is IN. CREDIBLE. Of course, this is not the King Kong of old, and they're not going for that. This is an action star and he is so damn good at it. I love the design, looking enough like the original Kong and enough like a new one that anyone can get behind him. Of course, this is not the original Kong. I know he isn't and most people do have an issue with that, and I understand. I adore the original movie and no movie, not even Peter Jackson's remake are going to ever be what the original movie is and always will be. And the thing I love about Kong: Skull Island is that it knows that it isn't and never will be. It is going for something different, and that's okay, because unlike TriStar's Godzilla, it's still a boiled down version of the original character. I enjoy what we get in this movie and it's awesome. The only bummer with this Kong is that he never leaves Skull Island, and that is actually so much of what makes the movie interesting. Speaking of which...

Skull Island is SUCH a cool location. The two most important things of the movie are in the title: Kong: Skull Island. If they didn't nail Skull Island in the movie, it would be an absolute failure, because half of the movie is out the window. And so it was critical they got it right and they absolutely perfected Skull Island. For future appearances of Kong, this is the version of the infamous island to mimic. Of course, it is such a bummer there aren't dinosaurs. But it's alright in my eyes because it fits with the environment and history of this Earth filled with monsters. It only makes sense that in a world that natural tends to follow the evolutionary trends of the real Earth that Skull Island would follow that too. The animals of the island are so cool, all massive bugs and mammals and one very big squid. My favorite one is the Mother Longlegs. The action scene is brief but exciting and actually pretty horrifying with its visuals. The Island is so incredibly well put together and it is genuinely quite terrifying at times.

And of course we got the simple problem of the movie: everything else. Yeah, this movies characters and story are ridiculous. And that's not a problem honestly. The movie's goal is simple: get dumb people on an island, kill a lot of them and let the cool-ISH ones get away. That's the conventions of this genre, and I understand why it might be an issue for some, but for me, that's the characters I expect and am okay with. Of course, more nuanced characters are always welcome. But it's what I expect, so when that's what I get, I have no problem with it. HOWEVER, John C. Reilly's character of Hank Marlow is awesome. The only problem is that he's not the intended protagonist, but it happens. I like the characters, honestly. They do exactly what they need to and that's not an issue. They're just humans in a monster movie.

As for Godzilla, it is a great movie. It gets some incredible action and even two fantastic performances in the movie. What we get in Godzilla is one of the landmark installments in the series, and I cannot help but recommend it to anyone, especially fans trying to enter the series.

Kong: Skull Island is an exciting action movie that knows EXACTLY what it is. It doesn't try being philosophical or anything more than a fun action movie. It's just a movie to get you in a seat and leave with a BIG smile on your face and adrenaline in your heart. Does it do that? Absolutely.

The MonsterVerse is off to a great start, but you know what we've been building to. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the movie I have been waiting for for the last five years, and the fact it comes out tomorrow is astonishing. I love this series so far and what it's doing with these characters so far. I love this so much, and I cannot wait to enter the theater tomorrow to see some incredible monster action.

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And that's that. Until I get to seeing and reviewing the movie, my review series is almost over. BUT NOT QUITE! Because tomorrow I will be releasing my official list of my top 10 favorite Godzilla movies. I am nervous, because it is always a discussion starter when talking about your favorite G Flicks, but I think I have an exciting list. So please come back tomorrow, and stay tuned. Because once that's done, you know for sure I will review Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Godzilla: the Planet Eater - TOO MUCH ANIME

Well, the first two movies of the anime trilogy were MASSIVE letdowns, so now we're at the end of the road. Godzilla: the Planet Eater is the last, and in my opinion best film to come out of the anime trilogy. But is this exactly a compliment? Well, in my opinion, yes. I will concede that by no means does this redeem or make the rest of the trilogy better, but it is a better made film. The Planet Eater is a movie that TRIES to cut the crap that plagued the last two movies and deliver some monster action. And what it does not fully deliver in monster action, it does deliver in some interesting IDEAS. Honestly, the best thesis for the entire anime trilogy is good ideas; bad execution.And this one tries, it tries REALLY hard to execute those ideas right, and in the case of King Ghidorah, it pushes some cool new ground. Ultimately, I do think that like the rest of the trilogy it closes off that the Planet Eater is still quite flawed, a little boring and not anything close to what I was hoping for, but it's not that bad. I think if you stick through to the end and want to see the close of an, I'll say, interesting chapter in the Godzilla saga, then I say be my guest and give this one a spin.

After the destruction of Mechagodzilla City, Godzilla still controls the Earth but is resting after the massive damage done to him during the destruction of the nanometal metropolis. During this period of rest, Metphies has been busy at work converting all remaining humans to the religion of the Exif in praise of their grand deity: King Ghidorah. As Ghidorah is now on Earth and warping the powers of reality, Haruo must find a way to destroy Metphies' evil summoning ritual in order to save the Earth from King Ghidorah's horrible wrath. But can Godzilla stay alive long enough to keep Ghidorah distracted while Haruo tries to beat Metphies as his own mental game?

SO, let's get this one out of the way: yet again, the monsters of the movie are VERY non traditional. And while this worked as a negative for some of the previous movies, in particular City on the Edge of Battle, I think it works for this movie, quite well in fact. Though it's not the easiest thing to swallow, watching the movies will force you to accept that the monsters aren't going to be like the interpretations we've seen in past movies, so it's whatever. And because of ultimately being forced to accept it, we ultimately to accept these different interpretations. So, why does this matter? Because I ADORE this version of King Ghidorah. Yes, we only see the heads "physically" appear on screen, he's basically a god and doesn't really physically exist and doesn't really shoot lightning at all, but I'm okay with that. The anime series' largest intent ultimately is to make the audience feel pathetically weak and small. From both Godzillas massacring hundreds easily and Mechagodzilla becoming the size of a city, it's clear that the monster battle is not one the humans can even try fighting. So why not go insanely over the top with Ghidorah then? Ghidorah gets some really fascinating stuff in this movie, basically distorting time and space around him, not physically existing until the very end and ultimately just being scary as hell. My favorite moment in the entire movie, and honest even in the whole trilogy is when Ghidorah first emerges and starts eating his human worshippers through their shadows. This is some CREEPY stuff and it works because it's clear this is not a traditional Ghidorah at all and is 100% intended to be something never before seen, attempted, or even thought off before. Going into basically a Lovecraftian horror version of the three headed dragon is something I never would have thought of, and for as insanely strange as it is, I love it. Now, of course. Is this truly Ghidorah? That's up to interpretation. My qualifications of Ghidorah are quite simple: is he gold, does he have three heads and is he Godzilla's ultimate rival? That's what I need out of Ghidorah. If your Ghidorah fits that criteria, I'm happy. And does Ghidorah fit the criteria? Yes. Absolutely.

Now, how about Godzilla? Well, unfortunately he's still not the stand out character you'd love him to be, but he actually gets some cool moments in. I love watching him kill the first Ghidorah head, snapping its jaw effortlessly once Metphies' bead is destroyed. Godzilla is still not the monster you wanted out of the series, but like the last two movies, he ultimately gets in one cool moment in the end that almost makes you say "I guess that was worth it."

I'm happy to say that the human cast is actually tolerable in this one. Main mention for this movie goes to Metphies, voiced by Takahiro Sakurai. A character who intentionally heralds the arrival of an elder evil god has got to be played crazy and played right, and the nail is perfectly hit on the head here. Metphies unlike the Bilusaludo works as a villain in this movie because he's always seemed kind of off, and so when he goes full on crazy here, it feels like a welcome entrance of evil, and yet unexpected. Metphies has been one of the "good guys" up until this point. So when he goes about his evil antics, it is somehow shocking and it fits perfectly. He and Haruo have some really fascinating interactions which are the best part of the movie, Metphies digging in his mind basically and showing he was behind the incident that brought them back to Earth and also thinks it is only fair for Ghidorah to kill the Earth after the atrocities of man over the years. It is a really cool character change, and it makes his character that prior was bland, albeit a little odd really interesting and fun to match wits with here in the final. As for Haruo, I definitely don't think he's as obnoxious here. He still gets in one good GENERIC ANIME SCREAM OF ANGER in the very end, but most of the movie, he actually does a good job keeping his cool, stuck between wanting to kill Godzilla and wanting to keep Earth alive. He gets to actually be challenged in the movie, emotionally and physically with Metphies. And when he ultimately dies in the end, it's not a bad send off. It doesn't have the full weight they were aiming for because of how flawed his character was in the prior movies, but it is not a bad death.

The biggest problem with the movie however is that it is WAY too slow. Not as slow as City on the Edge of Battle, but it feels a lot longer than it actually is. I think it's mainly because of how long it feels until Ghidorah first appears, but most of it is solid build up. When it does start to get a little irritating, it does start to pay off, because then we start getting introduced to Ghidorah. I think if you can muster a pace that is a little off, I think you'll find an enjoyable enough time. I don't think you're going to walk out feeling positive overall about the anime trilogy, nor will you find yourself hating it. It does a good job wrapping up a flawed trilogy however. Now if you don't mind, I don't think I'll be watching any anime anytime soon, so, this was an interesting experiment. I guess maybe it's not for me.

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Tomorrow, we got a big one: TWO MOVIES! Why? BECAUSE KING OF THE MONSTERS FINALLY COMES OUT ON FRIDAY AND IN ORDER TO GET PREPARED WE'RE GONNA REINTRODUCE OURSELVES TO THE WHOLE MONSTERVERSE! Yes, it's only two movies, but they're two super awesome movies. Once that's done, I'll see King of the Monsters, but let me take some time to get the review up. Before that is available for reading, expect my top 10 and recommended reading up. Till then, thank you for reading, and long live the King!

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle - Too Anime

Oh boy, here we go. Although starting on a bit of a disappointing note with the release of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, the Godzilla Anime Trilogy still had some potential, it just needed to be tapped right. And with the imminent arrival of Mechagodzilla, what could go wrong? Well, the answer is, well, a lot. Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle is a movie that will absolutely disappoint every viewer. Be it you are an anime fan, a Godzilla fan, want some great action, or just want to watch A movie in general, you will come out of the movie disappointed no matter what. From the outset, this movie had to pick up a lot of slack from what was given after the ending of the first movie, but again, it still had a lot of potential. It just needed to be tapped. The story, and lore was there, it just needed better characters and writing in order to make this a story to invest in and be a part of. And we get absolutely none of that. A movie that barely qualifies as a Godzilla movie, has a disappointing story and characters you are just begging die, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle is a movie I recommend all audiences members skip. I'm really happy if you can find something you love in it, but as the person writing out his opinions here, I can definitely say this is one of the worst movies to ever contain the Godzilla character, and easily one of the worst movies in this entire review series.

After the remaining Earth fighters are stomped out by the massive Godzilla Earth, Haruo wakes up to find he is under the care of the survivors of the Earth; humans with moth DNA who use a lost technology; nanometal. After it is soon discovered the head of the original Earth weapon Mechagodzilla survived in the form of Mechagodzilla City, Haruo and the remaining Earth forces to devise a plan that will kill Godzilla. But as treachery is discovered amongst some of the forces of the alien Bilusaludan ranks, killing Godzilla is now a question of moral ambiguity and what would truly be best for the Earth.

Alright, I know I said closing off the last review that I didn't think I'd tear into the movie, but then I thought about it. So, guess what? I'm gonna. Let's begin this review with literally the only positive I can work myself into mentioning: the soundtrack. For a series that ends up being disappointing, the music is phenomenal. I should have mentioned the soundtrack in the last movie, but I wanted to save talking about it right now. Because the first movie's soundtrack is really good, and I don't think that this movie's soundtrack is necessarily better, but it is still really strong. Takayuki Hattori returns for the sequel and even is already a veteran of the series, being the man behind the music in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and Godzilla 2000: Millennium. The music is one of the best parts of the anime trilogy and one of the most important parts of ANY movie, and he always hits it out of the park, especially in this trilogy. My favorite track in the movie is called "Bilusaldo's Technology". Most of the music of the trilogy is a bit more orchestra centric, giving a sense of awe and over the immense nature of Godzilla. But this movie uses a bit more techno influence. Fitting, given that Mechagodzilla is indeed a mech and thus a robot. And Bilusaludo's Technology is the perfect piece for that theme. Exciting and yet incredibly nerve wracking in the context of the movie, it almost gives the audience a bit of hope given the power of Godzilla. It's a brilliantly kickass theme to show just how much fight humanity has and I'm glad it's in the soundtrack. And now it's time to talk about everything else.

First of all, the characters are not only still bad. They're actually even worse if you ask me! Haruo is still the worst leading man in the entire franchise, honestly. That hasn't changed and it DEFINITELY hasn't gotten better. Haruo is basically the exact same character only with significantly more generic anime yelling. I don't have to have watched much anime to know that characters in anime yell A LOT and it gets irritating, much as it does in this movie. So if you hated Haruo in the first movie, I can promise NOTHING will change with this movie. As for the "human" cast, let's talk about the Bilusaludo aliens, which in my opinion are the only significantly interesting characters, which really sucks because in the sense of the script and overall story, they're dumb. The Bilusaludo came to Earth in hopes of saving the planet, and so when they invented Mechagodzilla, the hope was to destroy Godzilla and SAVE Earth. So when they merge with the nanometal in the end of the movie, it gets dumb and you find yourself stupefied by their motivations from the start and they become really interesting. And it's not like it's just one of them, oh no no no. This is the entire group of characters and they all become villains seemingly on a whim. It's some bad writing and character work and really bums me the hell out.

And here's where the movie REALLY loses any audience member: Godzilla and "Mechagodzilla" are mind numbingly disinteresting in this movie. Godzilla himself doesn't appear in the movie for a LONG time, and his basic first thing he does is open his eyes and looks at "Mechagodzilla." Like, that's not the first thing I care about in a Godzilla movie! I want to see him marching, I want to see him actively angry, not just LOOKING at his opponent, and for most of his screen appearance he's just walking towards "Mechagodzilla" and getting it handed to him by the humans. It's lame and then he basically goes full Burning Godzilla mode and it's like "Okay, cool I guess, but it's not exciting or interesting to watch because nothing feels at stake." And then we have "Mechagodzilla." I'm all for doing something new with a character and a reinvention of a character to cover something new. But if Godzilla being a plant is pushing it, then this has tipped the scale to a billion and makes no sense. Here's my question: why is Mechagodzilla a city? Why didn't the Bilusaludo use Mechagodzilla's programming to make a Mechagodzilla just as big, if not bigger than Godzilla? Why did they make a lame plan as opposed to doing something that would possibly be more effective and cooler for the audience to look at? Sure, I guess you can say it makes narrative sense, but it just doesn't work to have something that drastically changes everything about the character to the nth degree. This is not Mechagodzilla. This is lame.

Lame is the name of City on the Edge of Battle. There is no reason to stick around with this movie, truly. It's slow, boring, not interesting to look at and the characters are infuriating to deal with. This movie is not good and is by far the worst movie of this trilogy and the worst movie to come out in the fourth distinct era of Godzilla. Don't watch it. I mean it. Just let it die.

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Tomorrow the anime trilogy is wrapping up with Godzilla: the Planet Eater. I enjoy the movie, but is it good enough to save an overall mediocre at best anime trilogy? Find out and come back tomorrow to find out.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters - Anime

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is one of the most disappointing things to come out of the entire Godzilla franchise. After almost 65 years of Godzilla, it was truly only a matter of time until Godzilla foraged into the world of anime and this is what we got. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh on the movie, but I cannot help but feel incredibly let down. From a lot of angles, this could have been a surefire success. An excellent narrative setup with an exploration of Godzilla we've never seen before with even crazier science fiction elements could have been really fascinating, but what we got was just some standard science fiction movie schlock that could have been written without Godzilla. I've seen many a reviewer talk about the trilogy and discuss how it's just like any other anime, especially with the lead characters. Well, as someone who is not a big fan of anime, all I can really say is this movie doesn't do much for me in general. It doesn't make me want to explore anime anymore than I already have, I don't find much of the movie very intriguing, and if I was being introduced to Godzilla through these movies, not only would I be frustrated knowing how simply mediocre the movies are, but I'd be even more frustrated with knowing how good a lot of the other movies in the franchise are. In general, this movie is best summarized as sheer missed opportunity across the board.

At the end of the 20th century, monsters began to ravage the Earth. Kamacarus in New York, Orga in Izmir, Dagahra in Sydney, the attacks were numerous. But everything changed when Godzilla appeared, nearly wiped out the human race and forced the remaining humans to an exile among the stars. With water, food and morale at an all time low, humanity's survivors, helmed by Captain Haruo Sakaki return to Earth in hopes of reclaiming their home from the monster, only to find their home is not the one they left 20,000 years earlier.

Alright, let's get some positives out of the way starting with the story. Most of the massive backstory is explained in detail with the tie in book, Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse.  It's kind of lame that I'm recommeding to reading a book, but I'm working with what I got here. And hey, if you don't want to read, watch WikiZilla's video on the book. It's a quick and thorough dive into the first bit of lore surrounding this universe's history. Anyway, why am I shouting out the book? Well, it gives a lot of context and background to highlight just how dire this world is. When monsters began attacking the world with Kamacarus, the situation was already really dire and it only got worse and worse with every subsequent year, reaching its absolute worst from when Godzilla arrived and on. This is a fantastic story and a story concept. We only get to see the basic history in the movie with the opening 10 minutes, but what we see in the movie up until humanity's journey back to Earth reflects this story greatly. We as humans lost, and we lost bad. And in our desperation for a future we came back to the Earth to face Godzilla again in hopes maybe SOMETHING changed. And the story in the movie is really great too, honestly. It moves at a really solid pace and covers a lot of story beats I find to be 100% necessary. We get to see the desperation of humanity, the happiness of the return, and the fear once Godzilla is reintroduced. The story and tone presented showing just how desperate the situation has truly become is incredibly well done. It's not handled with the light of a fun taking back the Earth movie, no. In fact, it can get kind of depressing if you aren't ready for it. It's effective at giving a feeling of genuine despair.

And since you knew it was coming: yes. Godzilla is a MASSIVE positive of this movie. Despite not being in the movie very much, his presence is really felt. And that's just Godzilla Filius, because after all, this is the first time in history there have been two living, fully grown Godzillas in the same movie! Godzilla Filius and his entire concept are pretty interesting, being the spawn of Godzilla and the size of the original, he's still a huge threat. And once he's destroyed, we get an absolutely incredible double take with the emergence of the true Godzilla; the staggeringly tall and terrifying Godzilla Earth. Godzilla Earth is only in the VERY end of the movie, but he is just so awesome. Armed with two awesome power ups, the super oscillatory wave (basically atomic breath but sound based), and this absolutely massive tail swipe shock wave type weapon, it's clear that this is the rightful ruler and King of this new Earth. The only issue about Godzilla in this series is honestly the fact he's a plant based organism, which too me is stretching the origin of the monster a bit much, but it allowed for Filius and one of the best twists in the entire franchise, so I guess I'll take it. The only issue with Godzilla I have in this movie though is that he's not in it very much. If you have complaints about Godzilla's screentime in Legendary's Godzilla, I HIGHLY encourage you watch this one with a stopwatch and see how much he's really in it. You will be shocked, truly. And that leads us into the main issue of the movie.

Oh my God, these characters are just awful. The main issue here is the character of Captain Haruo Sakaki, voiced by Mamoru Miyano. Now, I will say this: NO. Miyano does not put on a bad performance. In fact, I think given the material, I think he did a fine job. The problem, and in no way is this his fault, is that Haruo is a terrible character. He's always yelling and utterly selfish, acting like he's the only one who is allowed to kill Godzilla. Like, buddy, I get it. Godzilla killed your parents and I know that sucks. But by the time you left the planet, GODZILLA AND ALL THE OTHER MONSTER ATTACKS LEFT SOMETHING LIKE 700,000,000 PEOPLE ALIVE! That's a lot of people whose parents got killed from the EXACT same situation, man! You have NO reason to take this situation so personally, because you are not the only person affected by this, and he 100% acts like he is, and he is unlikable and selfish and just WAY too angry all the time. Again, I have read many people say he's just a standard anime protagonist, but I'm not a huge anime fan, so I really would not know about that. As for the other characters, no one else is even remotely interesting. They're all just stock boring characters who add nothing to the story and they just make a slow movie go by even slower. The biggest problem however is DEFINITELY Haruo, so I just had to get my emotions out right off the bat.

Bottom line, Planet of the Monsters is just disappointing. An excellent setup is thrown to the side for a movie that is purely generic. What would have been really interesting to watch is honestly the story told in the book, Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse. We get a really cool Godzilla with some minimal screentime that in my opinion is used effectively, but none of that matters when the movie is boring to watch because the characters are bad. Bottom line, the movie is just kind of a waste.

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And yet it only gets worse. Tomorrow we're reviewing the second film of the trilogy, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, and straight up, it's a stinker. Tomorrow's not gonna be a fun day, because I don't think I'm exactly going to rip into it, but I am not happy with the movie.

Shin Godzilla - A Freaky Brilliant Time

Shin Godzilla is one of the two movies of the series that can genuinely be referred to as honest art. After the terrifying realization that Japan will never move past its nuclear history with the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Shin Godzilla came out to a world who needed to realize Japan is a different country and can sustain and keep itself safe. This movie is so good, truly. An incredible movie that changes its history intentionally and tries to do something totally new is not common, but Shin Godzilla does this incredibly. Changing the origins of Godzilla while keeping the nuclear origins the same to the continually evolving design and using classic sound effects as opposed to wholly new ones was simply brilliant. The movie brilliantly mixes horror and comedy to make a movie that feels completely unique while still standing strong with the rest of its series. From the honest performances to its very genuine commentary and stunning sequences of absolute horror, Shin Godzilla is a movie that might actually hit some audiences harder and evoke more emotion that even the original Godzilla of 1954. Shin Godzilla truly is that good.

An abandoned yacht is discovered near Tokyo Bay with no semblance of anyone being aboard except a pair of shoes and an envelope. Soon after, a tail bursts from Tokyo Bay as a mysterious creature soon named Godzilla makes its way towards land. After a first attack from the JSDF, it changed into a completely new and equally terrifying form to run to sea. After days with no sign of the creature, it returned again twice as tall as before and still just as dangerous. Now stuck between the United States' attempted intervention and Godzilla's terrible wrath, the new leaders of the Japanese people must come together to save not only their country from Godzilla, but also the world.

Alright, let's start a little controversially with Godzilla himself and his appearance and behavior in the movie. Personally, I absolutely love it, truly. There are some who absolutely deplore the design and can't stand the way he looks or acts, and like with the criticism of Godzilla: Final Wars, I hear it, I get it, I understand it, but I do not agree with it. The thing about Godzilla in the movie (I simply refer to it as Shin Godzilla just to make a distinction), is that yes, it is frightening. Yes, it is not a "traditional" Godzilla in anyway. But the reason I love this over say "Godzilla" in TriStar's Godzilla is because the character is fundamentally the same. Come onto land, cause havoc, return to the sea and comeback later even stronger to cause more damage. The biggest difference between Shin Godzilla and a more traditional Godzilla however is the continuing evolution and not taking a very traditional form until late in the film. And once it does, it still doesn't "look like" Godzilla. Deformed and hideous and looking like Satan's concept of Godzilla, he's hard to look at. And yet again, I love this and think it's perfect for this representation of the character. It's everything about the original Godzilla and cranked up to 11. Now, again, I can see where people take issue with this. Just because it's new, it doesn't guarantee it'll land. But for me, this one definitely does. Bent and terrifying looking mutated and deformed as if out of a horror movie from the most mentally disturbed, this is a MONSTER. Everything is done with sincere effort and attention to make this the most terrifying Godzilla ever, and every move is a success. From the dopey looking second form to its first metamorphosis to the sudden emergence of the fourth form and the frightening glance we see of the incomplete fifth form. Godzilla is more terrifying than ever in this movie, and love it or hate it, that was always the goal. Again, I understand if this is not your cup of tea or how you want a Godzilla to be. When I first saw the design, I felt the same way. But as time went on and I've seen the movie now SEVEN TIMES, I can't see a world without this movie having a design this fantastic. But, so be it. If you can't get down with the design, let's talk about some more of the countless other positives of the movie.


Shin Godzilla has one of the most interesting casts of the entire series because absolutely NOBODY in the movie is a relatable human being that the audience could even come close to using as a stand in. Because with half of the cast we have government officials who don't know what they're doing and make absolutely FOOLISH decisions that cost everyone greatly. The other half of the cast is weirdos so extreme and crazy that without them, there would be absolutely no shot of saving the country. From a thematic perspective, this is a brilliant way to get us to figure the characters out. But from a traditional storytelling perspective, it is a huge risk. But I think that it really pays off. My two favorite characters in the movie are Rando Yaguchi, played by Hiroki Hasegawa (pictured left), and Mikako Ichikiawa as Hiromi Ogashira (pictured right). Both are playing two very different people who ultimately save the day and are both very fun to watch. Rando Yaguchi is the first government official to look towards the people and discover that the first sighting of Godzilla is indeed an animal and is the man who comes up with the plan to ultimately defeat it. Hasegawa puts on a fantastic performance as it's clear just how much everything that happens weighs on him. From being told by superiors that he is thinking too much to having to wait way too long for his plan of Operation: Yashiori to be approved, he has to be told "No" a lot, and he bounces back from every single one, ready to save the world from the dire threat. Hiromi Ogashira is one of the freaks and weirdos who comes out of the wood work to save the day, and she is just great. She moves around kind of odd but joins in some of the best scenes of the movie, working together with Yaguchi to prove his theory over the effectiveness of Yashiori and how they can save the day. She is an oddball, but she does a great job. Honestly all of the cast is weird, but every character is effective and gets in every moment that they need to get in before the credits roll.

The last thing I want to talk about with the movie is the absolutely incredible soundtrack. The head of music on the film is Shiro Sagisu, notable for music in the past he did working with director Hideaki Anno in Neon Genesis Evangelion. What's interesting about the soundtrack is that despite not composing any original music for the movie due to passing away, classic composer Akira Ifukube is credited for the soundtrack along with Sagisu. It makes sense, honestly. A lot of classic music returns for the movie, most notable the theme of the first metamorphosis coming straight from 1954's Godzilla, and with the fourth form emerging to music from King Kong vs. Godzilla. This is not the only classic music however, because Sagisu even used some themes from Evangelion in the soundtrack, which might be my ONLY issue with the entire movie. It's good music, but in some of the scenes it plays in, it just feels out of place. But what never feels out of place is the original music, most notably two songs: Persecution of the Masses, and Who Will Know. Persecution of the Masses is so haunting, truly. The song that first plays when Godzilla emerges on to land the first time, it is a moving and beautiful piece with lyrics sung by a choir over the fear of death and prayers that something can be done over the monster crisis. And as nothing is done, Godzilla just keeps on moving and is left poorly attended to as it evolves for the first time. It is utterly BRILLIANT. But by far the best piece in the movie is tied to one of the greatest moments in film I have ever seen. Who Will Know was the perfect song for one of the greatest and most terrifying moments I have ever seen on film, truly. As Godzilla finally feels pain and lays waste to Tokyo, the lyrics of the song are a solemn prayer to God, or at least some higher power to survive the encounter, keep living, and when death eventually comes, that it can be remembered. It's so frightening thinking of this Godzilla having thought, but it does. It's afraid of dying and does anything to keep itself alive, which is why the Operation works in the end to stop it. It's a moving and tragic piece that really leaves your jaw on the floor. Truly, a moment to be remembered for all time. Not just for Godzilla, but for all of film for the rest of time.

It almost feels redundant to sing the praises of Shin Godzilla, truly. At least when I reviewed Godzilla it was 65 years old, but this movie is only three years old and almost has made itself as remembered or as classic as the original. Everything from the effects and horror of Godzilla to performances, music and even the tone make this a movie that is a must see. If you are hesitant to watch or even like the movie because of Godzilla's look, I encourage to put that aside, because in the context of the movie, it is thematically brilliant. Shin Godzilla is a movie for all time that will stand forever as not only one of the absolute best Godzilla films, but one of the best Japanese movies to come out within the last 20 years. And when it's all said and done, who's to say this isn't one of the best Japanese movies ever made in general?

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And now we're gonna go on a fun detour through the world of Animation! Shin Godzilla successfully reintroduced a brilliant modern Japanese Godzilla, and Toho wanted to keep the ball rolling with the experiments, and so was born the Anime Trilogy. Over the next three days, we will be reviewing each one, starting with Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters. I can feel the days getting longer as we nudge towards King of the Monsters, and I wish these had come out earlier so we could have ended the series with a real bang, but, alas. Onward we march, and please make sure to come back tomorrow for a very indifferent review of the first anime film to star Godzilla.