Son of Godzilla - They Skipped Bride of Godzilla

Now, look. Usually, people have a similar line of thinking when it comes to Godzilla. We all got those movies that we know are the classics, which ones are the stinkers and which ones are just okay. But among EVERY G-Fan, you will find one movie opinion that is odder than the rest. I've seen someone on reddit say "GMK is overrated," "Vs. Mechagodzilla is a bad movie, and especially bad Godzilla movie!" With a series this old and with as many films as it has, I can guarantee that no one's list will be a perfect overlap. I mean, people get into arguments over Pixar movies, and compared to Toho's kaiju series, Pixar isn't as prolific. Point being, not everyone is going to agree on every film in the series. And that's awesome, because it breeds conversation and keeps the community discussing and active. And that is good and healthy. And I can promise you, I got an oddball pick. Well, that is to say, this is my oddball pick. Oh yeah, you read that right folks. Despite the flaws it does have and the things it has going against, you better believe I actually do not hate one of the most hated movies in the entire series. Because my entire life as a G-Fan, I have never been able to force myself to hate Son of Godzilla. 

A team of scientists ventures to the distant Island of Solgell to study its climate in hopes of helping future generations have more food. But on this Island roams giant monsters, included among them is Godzilla. But the population of the island soon will go up by one as an ancient egg carrying the baby of Godzilla's species is soon born. Becoming the baby's surrogate father, it is now up to Godzilla to keep the new baby, Minilla, safe and teach him how to become a monster like him one day. But who will get to the baby first? The giant preying mantis named Kamacarus, or the evil spider, Kumonga? It's Man vs. Nature vs. Monster as Godzilla learns the trials and tribulations of a new foe: parenthood!

So... I'm gonna be on the defense for this entire review. I know I am, and I think it's important to address that right off the bat. This movie tends to get a lot of crap, and I will die on this mountain with pride. So, with that in mind, how 'bout Minilla, huh? Look, I can't lie. I understand why everyone is so standoffish towards the guy. I understand he doesn't look like his dad. I understand he makes irritating noises. I understand that he's stupid. I understand that he gets worse. But you know what? He's NEVER bothered me. First and foremost n the looks department. Here's the deal: HE'S A BABY! OF COURSE HE DOESN'T FULLY LOOK LIKE GODZILLA YET! I MEAN, LOOK AT BABY PICTURES OF YOURSELF! YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED AT HOW NOT HUMAN YOU LOOKED AT A YOUNG AGE! AND IN THIS MOVIE, THIS LITTLE DUDE RANGES FROM BEING A FEW MINUTES TO A FEW DAYS OLD. OF COURSE HE DOESN'T LOOK LIKE GODZILLA YET! LET HIM GROW UP! Honestly, I can leave my entire review at just that. Here's the deal, Minilla, who is never actually named in the movie is hated by many. And I hear about it all the time, and I get it, and people will be entitled to their opinions for the rest of time, but this is a defense, darn it! And I'll defend him all I want! Because here's the thing, I even have a little bit of disliking for Minilla in some aspects. But I can't really hate him that much. He's just a stupid little baby. Of course he makes stupid sounds, of course he looks stupid. But he's also a baby. And it's actually kind of fun to watch him in this movie! He goes through some serious development through the movie that actually makes for a good arc. Born into violence, raised in violence and almost dying in it, he gets it handed to him throughout a majority of the movie. I don't hate Minilla because I pity the guy. I mean, look at him. Is that the face of a monster who asked to be alive? No, it isn't. And yet throughout the movie he insists on learning, getting bigger and better and hopefully one day learning how to properly fire his atomic breath. And besides, as far as Babygodzillas go, this is far from the worst version of the character. He gets better with time (with one exception), and I just can't hate Minilla. I'm sorry, but I just count. And since he's who the movie is centered around and the main point of criticism for the whole movie, I felt it important to talk about him right off the bat. Because I don't hate him.

OKAY, so with that out of the way, let's dive into some actual meat and potatoes then. And by that I mean the other monsters. Well, first and foremost, this Godzilla is definitely better than the one we got from the Sea Monster,  but not by much. His suit is one of the worst looking of the entire series like he was getting smacked in the middle of a Mortal Kombat fatality. Well, I am being mean because I did somewhat intentionally use a picture he doesn't look great in, but even in other shots, he just doesn't look great. But he's still better than the one from the version we got from the Sea Monster, largely because this one has a different story to go through. Instead of being thrown into a movie he probably shouldn't have really been in, Godzilla gets a pretty solid story for him this time around. He spends a lot of the movie defending Minilla, I mean, the little dude's a baby, so it only makes sense, but we actually do see him evolve in the movie. He actually has a character arc in the movie! After he saves Minilla the first time from the Kamacarus, the first thing he does is (albeit probably on accident) smacks him with his tail. And the poor little guy just cries and waits for his dad to come back. And then once he does he gives him a fun ride on his tail and it's nice and cute. He goes through some serious growing in the movie, like no joke. He starts as kind of a mean dad, whacking his son multiple times, even threatening to hit him when he can't properly figure out how to use his atomic breath. But as he spends more time with Minilla, you see him grow more attached to him and being a better dad. Not worrying about Minilla using his tail as jump rope and holding him close in the final minutes as the island freezes from the experiment gone awry. Godzilla usually has a very defined character in the movies, and honestly he gets a great character journey in this one that makes watching even easier because you see him actually grow more and more, which is a really big plus. Now, of course. This isn't like an arc written by Shakespeare or anything. It's a solid arc, but it isn't amazing or anything.

Of course, because Godzilla can't just be a single dad working hard to make a living for him and his son, you had better believe there are other giant monsters on the island. And while I won't give them as much crap as I did Ebirah and the Giant Condor, I can definitely say they're still not very original. Kamacarus is just a pack of giant praying mantis that you see ravage Godzilla, Minilla and some of the humans very early on. They aren't particularly scary and are dispatched easily. As far as Godzilla antagonists go, they basically just kind of exist. He just beats the crap out of them over and over. Simple, and not exactly fully effective because they never even really put up much of a fight, but they're not that bad or anything. Without even a second thought, I can confirm Kumonga works a lot better. I mean, for one there's only one of him, so he's a bit more menacing. But also because he actually poses more of a threat. Later when he captures Kamacarus and Minilla, we see him just easily dispense the Kamacarus, and with Minilla getting it handed to him from them earlier and him being a baby, it's clear Kumonga can do the same thing. He isn't exactly a riveting villain or anything, but he does his job. Just a big spider who poses a threat. Yeah, these last two haven't exactly been great for monsters at all, but, I mean, what are you gonna do?

Unlike vs. the Sea Monster, however, this movie doesn't have a super great human plot. Instead, the humans are more so just kind of serviceable. An exception however being reporter Goro Maki, played by Akira Kubo. Like with the other roles Kubo got during the Showa era, he does a really solid job with what he was given. This might be my favorite character of his however, because I just think he's downright hilarious. He's a reporter who was just flying over the Island and after basically getting a stomach ache said "There's a story afoot!" So he parachutes down to the Island and just sticks around because the option is either help the scientists out or find a become an Olympic level swimmer to get back to Japan. There's no other way to put it: this guy is crazy. While saying he jumps out of an airplane for a story isn't the full truth, it's definitely a fun part of it. Yet when he gets down there he becomes really subservient all because he realizes he made kind of a dumb decision in parachuting down to the island that was rather sectioned off and very clearly not intended for the public. He's such a moron and I love him for it.


All in all, Son of Godzilla really isn't terrible, nor is it amazing. It has some pretty solid positives, and it's not going to be in anyone's top 10 favorite Godzilla movies or anything, not even mine, but it's still an enjoyable one. Some people hate this one and think it's one of the worst, and I might get that. But all I see when I watch the movie is a silly comedy about Godzilla learning how to be a good dad. And that's just lovely if you ask me.

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Tomorrow is gonna be one of our last non-Godzilla movies for a nice chunk of time and is going to be the last time we hear from Kong before King of the Monsters comes out. So, make sure to comeback tomorrow as we enjoy a silly little movie called King Kong Escapes.