Godzilla: Final Wars - Best 50th Ever

Godzilla: Final Wars is one of the most polarizing movies in the entire franchise and I completely understand why. It really is either love or hate when it comes to this movie. So where do I stand on the matter? Well, let me put it like this: Godzilla: Final Wars is a really messy movie that has a lot of monsters taking screen, effects that are good, human characters that range from over the top hilarious to drier than all the deserts of the Earth combined with a little bit of ripping off the Matrix and the X Men to boot and what you get is a silly 50th Birthday that should not work, and for many absolutely does not. But me? I just love this one. I will openly admit: I probably shouldn't, and I know at the bottom of my heart this probably isn't actually even a good movie PERIOD. But I just cannot help but love it. Yes, it is ridiculously silly. Yes, this movie does take its time with Godzilla. Yes, this movie is over the top CHEESE. But you know what? I am completely okay with that. This is a 50th Birthday party after all! After two series back to back focused on making the character serious again, why can't we have a fun throwback to the first series? I personally see no problem with a movie that is ridiculous and most importantly KNOWS it is ridiculous. This movie braces its absurdity on its sleeve and I respect it for that. It has its flaws and it is in no way shape or form a perfect movie or even close to approaching that ballpark, but it is a wonderful way to close out the third series and see the character off for another rest.

After battling Godzilla and other giant monsters since 1954, the Earth is largely kept safe from monsters by the protecting hands of the M Organization. But when aliens from the Planet X come to Earth and lie about their plan to enslave humanity, many monsters are set free causing damage all over the world and essentially spelling the end of humanity. With Godzilla soon freed from his resting place in Antarctica, the King of the Monsters is ready to end the Xillien threat, and hopefully settle some business with the Gotengo.

Alright, let's talk about one of the things that makes Final Wars so fun to watch: the performances. The human cast in this movie is just hilarious in the absolutely best way. My personal favorite performances of the movie are Captain Gordon, played by Don Frye (pictured right). What he delivers in this movie is one of the most dry performances I believe I have ever seen on film. But what he lacks in acting ability, he CERTAINLY makes up for with his ability to just kick major ass. Wielding an awesome sword, knowing how to use every gun thrown his way, bashing heads, getting in hand to hand combat, he's ridiculous. He's a really tough dude, and while he's not an enthralling character in the slightest, he is just simply fun to watch. My second favorite has got to be the Controller of Planet X, played by Kazuki Kitamura (pictured left). He is just SO funny to watch in the absolute best way. In every way that Don Frye is completely under the acting radar, the Controller is just so over the top, basically playing the character like a mad man in a toy store of deadly weapons. He's loud, he pouts and he acts like he's the victim for having his torturous coup overthrown and he's just so funny. And then watching him fight with Masahiro Matsuoka as Shinichi Ozaki, he just gets to really flex the ridiculous muscles. The spectrum of acting talent here is on full display, and it's so fun to watch.

Next up we got the monsters. Final Wars is really like a big remake of Destroy All Monsters even down to the amount of time we don't actually get with the monsters on screen. But while this is an issue for other movies, it's not here because almost every frame of the movie is an action sequence. People fighting, monsters fighting, the Gotengo fighting the alien ships, nothing is ever saying "Yeah, let's act peacefully right now, why not?' And so it's not exactly a bummer that with all the monsters we don't get all the time in the world with them. But the monsters we do get are just awesome. A lot of classic enemies that we haven't seen for AWHILE are back. Ebirah, King Caesar, Kumonga, Hedorah, Gigan and even Kamacarus show up. And then we get old favorites like Anguirus, Manda and even Mothra in the mix. There's even a brief bit of stock footage showing monsters like Baragon, Varan and even Gezora in their debut films tearing it up. The monsters in the movie are great, in particular the aformentioned Gigan, and of course, Godzilla. Gigan is awesome in this one. After not being seen for decades, he makes one of the most stellar reintroductions into the series ever. Busting from his ancient cocoon and armed with some super cool new Xillien tech, he is too awesome. And he gets some great action in, blowing up a lot of places, fighting Godzilla in the Arctic and then battling Mothra in the final 30 minutes of the movie. As for Godzilla? I think it goes without saying that this might be the most powerful incarnation of Godzilla EVER. It doesn't matter who is in his way, he will just tear you up in about 30 seconds flat. It's kind of a bummer watching him dispatch everything so quickly, but it also serves for some nice vindication at points, like blowing Zilla to hell and back in Sydney. He just massacres everything in his path, mowing down opponents left and right like he's Rambo or something. And then in the final battle against Monster X who then turns into Keizer Ghidorah, it gives the battles a bit more weight because we haven't seen him struggle so much before hand. This is also one of my favorite designs of Godzilla ever. Some cool cat like features while still looking very clearly like Godzilla, he just tears it up and looks cool doing it. He's surprisingly agile too, jumping all over the place like he's on the moon and being surprisingly fast. See TriStar, this is is how you make a Godzilla that looks cool and is agile to boot. JUST SAYING! The only issue with Godzilla in the movie is he spends a lot of time in ice. But once he's free and starts wreaking havoc, it is a visual feast.

Honestly if you're looking for a more in-depth review of the movie, I don't think I can really deliver. The biggest flaw of the movie is the fact that it is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. There is no feasible or genuine ATTEMPT at logic in the movie and all it is just a simple way to get in some fun references and celebrate the age of the character. I hate to say just watch the movie and make an opinion for yourself, but I really feel like I have to. If you haven't seen Final Wars and want to watch it, I truly hope you enjoy it, because even after all these years and all my many viewings of it, I certainly still do. I will say come into it with an open mind, but if you don't love it, I understand. This is nowhere near the Godzilla movie for everyone, and if you don't like it, that is completely okay. But as for me, I just cannot help but love it. It is simply over the top insanity that must be seen to be believed. So make of that what you will, check it out, and let me know what you think.

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It's really crazy thinking after this goes up, I'll only have five more reviews to write up and publish. It's really exciting, counting down the days till King of the Monsters has been hard, but we have almost made it! Till then, please keep reading, and of course make sure to come back tomorrow and read my thoughts on Shin Godzilla. Oh yeah, I bet you thought we were reviewing Legendary's Godzilla tomorrow, huh? Nope. Since King of the Monsters is a sequel to Legendary's Godzilla, we'll be reviewing it absolute last to really get us properly into the monster action mood and in the right series. Regardless, come back tomorrow for Shin Godzilla!

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. - Oh No, THERE Goes Tokyo

After Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla officially introduced a new version of Godzilla AND Mechagodzilla, Toho wanted to followup on the background they had built and reintroduce another monster to the third series, this time around they chose Mothra. With a solid story motivation for the monsters colliding, one of the best soundtracks of the series and some of the most monster screentime in the series, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is a welcome entry right out of the gate. The main word I think summarizes Tokyo S.O.S. is action. Right off the gun the movie gets to its big showdown as fast as possible and it does a great job keeping you captivated the entire time. The only thing that I would say does suffer is the human cast, with them receiving little focus throughout the movie. But it all truly does work out because they still contribute a lot to the overall plot and it does have a welcome return of a series vet for a role reprise. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is awesome, simply put. This is definitely one of the movies you should go out of your way and see.

After successfully being warded off only a year prior, Godzilla is ready to return. With Kiryu currently going under repairs after the massive damage received from the first battle, Mothra returns to offer help only if the bones of the original Godzilla that are inside Kiryu are returned to the sea. With Godzilla making landfall soon after, Mothra, her twin larva and Kiryu must come together to defeat Godzilla again. But without the absolute zero cannon and the spirit of the original Godzilla still inside Kiryu's programming, the battle may seem folly. It's time for an all out monster brawl as three of the greatest movie monsters head on a collision course for the defining battle of the Kiryu Saga.


So, first off, how does Godzilla in Tokyo S.O.S. stack up compared to his appearance in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla? In my opinion, MUCH better. Godzilla like Mothra and Kiryu gets a lot of time on screen to do a lot of damage, and while they amount of damage done in the movie isn't exactly spectacularly huge, it's the action itself that is good. After getting it handed to him pretty thoroughly in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla is out for blood in this movie. He just does not care who the hell is in his way. Tanks forming a blockade around Tokyo? Nope. Mothra? Not a chance. Mothra Larvae? Hello no! He is bloodthirsty and ready to kill in this one, easily. I had a nitpick in the last movie that I felt like Godzilla basically wasn't hungry enough, instead of choosing to attack at every instance to be on the defense in some cases, just kind of standing and taking hits before making a decision to fully start throwing some hands. But in here, he's ready to grow. Marching through any ship in his way and just beating the hell out of Mothra, Godzilla is the unstoppable force of nature in this movie that was introduced at the beginning of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. I wanted to talk about Godzilla on his own, because even though I do like the last movie, he was one of the weaker points.

So how about Godzilla's monster costars; Kiryu and Mothra? Well, I'm happy to report that like last time, Kiryu is still awesome to the core. With such an awesome design and backstory, messing up Kiryu would be difficult. But of course they absolutely nailed it and Kiryu is even better than in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. Kiryu gets some cool new power ups as alternatives to the weapons he had before. It gets to turn its hand into a drill to just dig into Godzilla, a three point maser cannon boosted by the one in its mouth and it even gets to use its cannons as missiles. Kiryu even gets a really satisfying ending for the character, carrying Godzilla out to sea with itself, burying the two and hoping to save humanity from the accursed monster king's raids. It's honestly a bit of a sad ending, but a great way to see the character off. For Mothra, this is her second appearance in the third series, and they went much more traditional with this one. As opposed to the wasp inspired design we saw in GMK, we get the best traditional looking Mothra ever. This is actually the same Mothra from the original Mothra, so seeing her show up again even older than ever and still being just as resilient and powerful is awesome. She even gets an amazing blaze of glory moment when she saves her twins from being blasted to hell by Godzilla, being lit up in flames and saving the day. Oh yeah, she has twins in this one too! This movie is like a mashup of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla, and it is really awesome. Mothra's look, sound and feel in this movie is practically perfect and they really had to get her right, basically throwing her into the fire of this timeline without much explanation beforehand outside of the statement that she did indeed exist and appeared in the past.

Let's talk really briefly about the humans of the movie. This is honestly the least active human characters are in probably the entire series, and that's completely a good thing. We don't to spend all that much time with them, but we do get some good characters. Of course the characters we spend the most amount of time with is members of the Chujo family, namely Hiroshi Koizumi returning to the series one last time to reprise one of his classic characters of the first series, Dr. Shinichi Chujo, and Yoshito Chujo, played by Noboru Kaneko (both pictured right). For a movie that doesn't feature many people, Shinichi Chujo isn't on screen very much, but he's still my favorite character of the bunch. Raising a bit of a controversy in siding with Mothra and wanting to scrap Kiryu, he's just trying to do what's best for nature, seeing what happens when nature in the form of Mothra strikes back hard. It's fun to see him again, and while his role isn't much more than a cameo, it's a welcome return. As for Yoshito, he is the human we spend the most time with. Wanting Godzilla and the violence to be over with, he'd love to believe Mothra can save the day. But being a key engineer on Kiryu, he doesn't want to see his pride and joy get destroyed. From working on the ground to save his family and fixing Kiryu from the inside, his goal during the movie is trying to stay neutral, which is hard when both sides of the conflcit are in your backyard. He's a nice character, not the most in depth or anything, but he's not a bad character at all.

Last, I want to give a mention to the soundtrack. Michiru Oshima returns once again to add her incredible music to the series, and it is just such incredible work. Her incredible themes for Kiryu and Godzilla remain, she adds an incredible piece right off the bat mixing both themes. The title theme of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is one of the best title themes of the series, truly. We hear a brilliant combination of both the Kiryu and Godzilla themes and the movie just starts right away with this film. This movie moves at a lightning fast pace and that's illustrated pretty perfect with this theme. Kiryu's not fully complete after his battle like in the theme, and Godzilla is still lurking and ready to cause some damage after being severely wounded in his last fight with Kiryu. What the title theme really gets you thinking is "Alright, let's rock and roll! Let's get the party started! Roll out the red carpets and spread the mayonnaise on the lawn, 'cause it is Weasel Stomping Day, and we are the weasels under Godzilla's feet, let's go!" In the music department, Mothra also gets it really good. Of course, Oshima gave Mothra her own new theme like with Godzilla. It's mysterious, conveys power and is gentle and sweet, exactly like Mothra. But where Mothra really gets it good is in the absolutely incredible rendition of the Mothra Song. In my opinion and without even a shadow of a doubt, I will say I 100% believe that this has to be the best rendition of the theme. Ever. It's the closest Mothra will ever get to a war march, the Shobijin's voices blend brilliantly, albeit it maybe not QUITE as good as the blend of Yumi and Emi Ito in the first series. But it still sounds absolutely amazing.

Bottom line, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is really great. Spectacular action and monsters with music good in its own right, and a solidly respectable cast of characters, it's a movie to watch. I will say if you want a deeper story or character substance in a Godzilla movie, definitely look else where. But if you're looking for simple awe and spectacle, then Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is right up your alley.

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Tomorrow we're wrapping up the third series with a BANG as we go over the oft discussed, and oft loved or hated Godzilla: Final Wars. Where do I stand? Well, I think you'll just have to come back tomorrow to find out. But, man. We're really wrapping up on this soon. Stay strong folks, and next thing you know, it'll already be time to head to theaters for King of the Monsters!

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla - A Bit Robotic

Alright, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, here we go. After rebooting Godzilla AGAIN in GMK, Toho wanted reintroduce yet another one of their classic monsters, and so, they did. Mechagodzilla is always a fan favorite and Toho recognizes this. And so the third series brought him back with my favorite version of the character. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is a very solid entry of the series, with in my opinion the best version of Mechagodzilla, a really solid Godzilla and some pretty great action, it is a really enjoyable watch. However, it is definitely missing that special something. I'll get into what exactly that is, but it is an enjoyable watch. I'm not going to clamor for it or say it's one of the best entries in even the third series. It is just a nice, solid movie that serves most as a really solid time killer more than anything, especially given the context of its sequel.

After continuous raids and attacks from monsters following the arrival of the first Godzilla, humanity has been stepping it up. Taking down monsters like Dogora, Maguma, Gaira and even Mothra, the JSDF has weapons they can actually defend themselves with. But after a second Godzilla makes landfall in 1999, a new superweapon begins construction. Built around the remains of the first Godzilla, this new superweapon, Kiryu is ready to defend. But with clone DNA and the spirit of the original Godzilla inside of Kiryu, can the mech be fully trusted? Is the original Godzilla going to ravage Japan like in 1954? If Kiryu can't stop Godzilla, then who or what can? The only way to find out is for Kiryu to be thrown into the fire and test its mettle against Godzilla directly in a dramatic clash that could mean the end for Japan if Kiryu does not prevail victorious.

One thing that Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla just knocks out of the park is the incredible music. I should have given the theme of Godzilla by Michiru Oshima a shout out during the Godzilla vs. Megagurius review, which was completely on me for forgetting. However, thank GOD it returns. The theme was really great in Godzilla vs. Megagurius, but it is perfected here. With the military taking such an active role with these two entires, it only makes perfect sense that Godzilla's theme sound like a military march to hell. Intimidating and scary, it is the second piece of music I instinctually think of when I think of Godzilla. Literally the only version of Godzilla's theme I think of before Oshima's is Ifukube's. That's how brilliant this theme is. Also just as brilliant is the theme of Kiryu. Kiryu is heralded as the nation's savior, the last hope for a nation facing death. And so, the theme for Kiryu is just perfect. It feels like the red carpet is being rolled out for a war hero or a king coming back to his home after saving the day from some barbarian tribe. Kiryu is ushered in in glorious fashion with this movie, especially when entering the final battle in Tokyo. Kiryu is the last champion of Japan if his ultimate mission does not succeed, so the music representing his power is basically the perfect theme for him.

I also really love the history of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. Not the making of it history, the backstory behind the movie. This is the first movie in awhile that is not solely tied to Godzilla, but has connections to other movies and monsters. This continuity has seen the attacks of the first Rodan, Varan and Mothra, Manda, Dogora and even Maguma. Not every monster has existed in this continuity, but a ton of them do, which you might not even fully know without doing a bit of reading. Yes, I did a bit of reading and digging to find the best list of monsters that appeared in this continuity, and the best list I got was in the Trivia section of a WikiZilla video. I am not joking. But this continuity and history is great because not only is it cool seeing some REALLY obscure monsters get mentioned directly, but it also helps show how dire the situation of this reemergence of Godzilla is. The Oxygen Destroyer is gone, and he was completely unfazed by the Mazer Cannons, the first major breakthrough in kaiju defense. It's not exactly the lore of the Lord of the Rings or anything, but it adds a lot.

But of course we gotta talk about the monsters. Believe it or not, I don't really care that much for Godzilla in this movie very much. I do think his design is really cool, furrowed brows that call back to Godzilla vs. Mothra, and spikes that are basically the perfect middle ground between the MireGoji and SokogekiGoji (the GMK suit), it is a really cool look, but this Godzilla was always kind of boring to me in terms of action wise. He just kind of stands there and takes whatever Kiryu deals out, but he is never going out of his way to be a menace it seems. Not gonna lie, it is entirely possible I just want a repeat of GMK Godzilla, but so what, sue me. As for Kiryu however, yes. Kiryu is just awesome. Everything about this take on Mechagodzilla is awesome. First is the fact it actually makes sense why it looks like Godzilla, being built around the bones of the original. A pretty awesome origin story that also makes its history really tragic, but also then adds one of the best moments in the movie when Kiryu basically gets a flashback to 1954 and just starts tearing up Tokyo almost 50 years later. It is an awesome scene that really shows how folly the idea of Kiryu was in the first place. Kiryu also has an immaculate design based around the bones on the inside. Kiryu's design was made to look skeletal, with an early draft of him even having a bony yellow tint to really drive that comparison home. Even without the yellow on it though, it makes perfect sense. Its has holes all over his body in places where the original two Mechagodzillas might have been airtight. Kiryu is basically a fully realized mechanical version of a failed script from the second series for Godzilla vs. Ghost Godzilla, which would have originally ended the second series but was then turned into Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. He also has some pretty cool weapons, and while I will say he doesn't get a moment as awesome as say the original Mechagodzilla just absolutely unloading all its ammo on King Caesar and Godzilla, that's okay. Because the moments he does get on screen anyway are pretty awesome. Kiryu is definitely my favorite adaptation of the Mechagodzilla concept, but I definitely will not knock anyone if they think the other two are cooler.

There definitely is a lot to like in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, but its main issue for is that it was definitely building towards a sequel. It has a lot of really awesome moments and sequences that stand out in the entire series, but it's not going to stick with you forever. I also don't think it uses its continuity enough, because, like before, this gets expanded on and is used perfectly in its sequel. This movie does a lot right, but it just isn't the perfectly satisfying experience you might want. I say give it a watch, but just know that its sequel is even better.

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To absolutely no one's shock; yes. Tomorrow's movie is definitely going to be Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. With this movie making a solid impression with its Mechagodzilla, why not keep the ball rolling? And so we get Tokyo S.O.S. and with it, a great clash that unfortunately undermines its predecessor a lot more than you'd expect.

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack - THE BATTLE OF THE INCREDIBLY LONG TITLES

I have been waiting FOREVER to talk about this movie. Fair warning, this is going to be a long review, almost as long as my review for Godzilla. Because this movie DESERVES IT. When I try to get people into Godzilla (so far unsuccessfully), this is usually my go to movie of recommendation. Because EVERYTHING about Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (which will be referred to as GMK for the rest of this review) is the absolute best of the Godzilla series. The only major issues with it is in its own unique interpretation of the characters, taking a magical and mystical approach to the monsters as opposed to every other movie's scif-fi aesthetic. This one is so unique and brilliantly made, it's the absolute peak of the third series and just about near the zenith of the entire series. I mean it. I love everything about this movie. From its human cast to the monsters, effects, music, set design, you name it. GMK is a movie that MUST be seen for any Godzilla fan and more importantly is a fantastic introduction into the series. If you have time for one Godzilla movie and want a movie that is action packed, full of awe, full of moments of genuine horror and actually funny moments and a new take on some incredibly famous and classic monsters, the GMK is most certainly THE movie for you.

Since the death of Godzilla in 1954, Japan has prospered. The economy is strong, the people are happy, and the nation is on the cutting edge of it all, technology, weapons, you name it. But this peace is threatened when a submarine makes a terrible discovery: Godzilla has returned. Conjured by the spirits of all those killed by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, Godzilla is a vessel for the damned, striking revenge on the nation that forgot how many lives it took only 50 years prior. But Japan's past can save it in the form of three divine monsters: Baragon, Mothra and the Thousand Year Dragon, King Ghidorah. With sights set on Japan, can the Guardians Monsters protect Japan from pure evil?

Let's make a build with this movie. I said I like the human cast, and while this is true, I'm talking about them first because they aren't exactly THAT important in this movie considering how much of the narrative is shown from the monster's perspective. So here we go. Leading the cast are the Tachibana family, daughter Yuri Tachibana played by Chiharu Niyama (pictured right), and father Taizo Tachibana played Ryudo Uzaki (pictured left). The dynamic here is an interesting one to watch because of course them being father and daughter. Taizo was actually in Tokyo as a young child and is a survivor of Godzilla's raid from 1954, so he very much is afraid of Godzilla, but more so driven to stop him. He's protective of course of his homeland, but also of his daughter, him losing family members in 1954, it is essential he keeps the only family he still has. He also gets a pretty awesome moment when he is the person who gets to blow up Godzilla in this movie. I will concede the ending and killing of this Godzilla is a bit goofy, but it doesn't ruin the movie at all. As for Yuri, she's a really smart and resourceful news reporter who stumbles upon more than she can imagine when she jumps head first into the Godzilla solution, meeting mystical ghosts and assembling a crew of freaks and weirdos to stop the Godzilla menace. I will say neither of them are exactly the most fleshed out characters or anything, but they get the job done and are charismatic enough to carry the movie on their own. Fortunately however, they are bolstered by a really great cast who is able to make light hearted and good comedy out of some of the frightening moments of the movie.

Next up, you BETTER believe we're going to talk about the incredible soundtrack of GMK. Composed by monster movie veteran Kow Otani, the movie's music is absolutely perfect, beat for beat. GMK is one of the first movies in the series to be focused on the mysterious, and at very least focused on pure magic. Because, sure, Mothra and the Twin Fairies are closer to magic than anything even remotely close to sci-fi, but GMK focuses on being a monster fantasy almost horror movie at times. So the soundtrack HAD to be perfect. And for every monster, every character, every story beat, it absolutely could not be better. My two favorite themes are the movie are very fittingly for the two monster rivals: Godzilla and Ghidorah. Ghidorah's theme is absolutely PERFECT for this version of the character. A sleeping dragon that is growing and not close to its full strength, Ghidorah is by far the best hope for Japan. With his flight and Gravity Beams, Ghidorah is not only a GOOD GUY (I'll dig into this in a little bit), but is the BEST CHANCE TO SAVE THE WORLD! SAVE IT! NOT DESTROY IT! And so, his theme had to be perfect. It had to sound majestic, awe inspiring, but given the character, still a bit intimidating. And so he received Otani's blessing and got one of his best themes ever. As for Godzilla, holy crap. His theme in the film sometimes called Godzilla's Rage is almost as good as what Ifukube originally made for the character. This Godzilla is angry, and intentionally going out of his way to kill and hurt people. And his theme NEEDED TO REFLECT THAT! He needed to have a theme befitting of an angry god and he got the music of that god striking his revenge. Of course classic themes do return like Ifukube's original theme ending off the film as well as portions of the classic Mothra song throughout, this movie is defined by its bold new interpretations of the classic monsters, and while the classic themes are appreciated, they actually weren't necessary. Because even without them, the soundtrack is already perfect.

And guess what? Yeah, that's right. Now we're talking about the absolute best part: YOU BETTER BELIEVE THE MONSTERS AND EFFECTS OF GMK ARE THE BEST PART OF THE MOVIE! First we of course got Godzilla. Outside of very few interpretations of the character, this just might be my favorite appearance of the King of the Monsters. Of course, his original will push off some fans. But I think it's a fantastic way to adapt his history into the fantasy lens. Godzilla has always represented the monster of war, specifically how it ends. But this Godzilla is the beast of the conflict itself. The millions killed by the Japanese and the millions more who died defending their country, they believe Japan forgot the numerous war crimes they committed during WWII and deserved to be remembered. So what better to do to make a comeback as the thing they are the absolute most scared of? Nothing. There is no better comeback than that. The design is also perfect, especially the eyes. Haunting and dead, this revenant attacks the nation mercilessly and it is awesome to watch. I've seen a few take issue with his legs, and I will say they don't look amazing or anything, but, they aren't shown all that much. So you really can just ignore it no problem. So how about the other three monsters? Well, let's talk about Baragon first. Yeah, fun fact for anyone just introduced to the film, Baragon is in the movie and isn't in the title. Jerk move, Toho. He gets the least screentime out of all the Guardian Monsters, getting killed by Godzilla about halfway or so through the movie. But he puts up more personality than almost any of other monster in the entire series. Waking up too early and more tenacious than his peers, he fights Godzilla with sheer heart and determination, he gets to star in one of the highlights of the movie. Biting onto Godzilla and getting thrown around like a ragdoll, he tries his best and God bless him for it. He gets dispatched pretty soon because this Godzilla is overpowered, but it's a great fight. How about the other title monsters then? Well, Mothra's pretty cool. She gets a really interesting redesign and actually puts up a pretty solid fight, sneaking up behind Godzilla once and trying her best to throw him around and do some damage, even having a needle launcher in her thorax. She is inspired by a bit more of wasps as opposed to moths, which is, I'll say, an interesting choice, but it works well. Being a Guardian of the land and needing to fight any threat, it only makes sense she'd have such powers like this. But let's talk about the grand daddy of them all: King Ghidorah. An Orochi in sleeping, he hasn't even grown all eight of his heads that he needs in order to finish a fight. And yet he still wakes up and is determined to complete his mission anyway. Ghidorah gets one of my favorite moments in the entire movie during the final battle in Tokyo with he and Mothra against Godzilla. After getting blasted to hell, the currently deceased Ghidorah receives all of Mothra's energy, fully sprouts its wings and becomes KING GHIDORAH. I love how this film actually has a reason for the King in his name, aside from sounding cool. And this Ghidorah is cool too. I said I'd elaborate on the hero angle, so let's go. Look, here's the thing: Godzilla is a VILLAIN in this movie. He is fully sentient and aware of all the damage he is causing, intentionally murdering someone in a hospital basically to finish a job from early on in the film. This is not a Godzilla who is angry and might one day change his mind. This is an angel of death. And with Ghidorah being Godzilla's arch nemesis, it only makes sense that Ghidorah would revive and fight Godzilla as they seem to always be bound to do. And fight he does. He unfortunately doesn't get to finish the job, having the military kill Godzilla, but it's still an outstanding action sequence and battle.

Honestly, the flaws of GMK are minimal. A bit of goofyish ending and some computer effects that aren't perfect, and that's it. Outside of those two things, this is a perfect Godzilla movie. With Godzilla at some of his most evil and with a brilliant use of two of the best movie monsters of all time and a great action scene with the third, the price of the ticket's worth is right there. But then you get jaw-droppingly epic music supported by a strong cast that is excited to add to the film. What you get with GMK is some of the best the series has to offer. Do yourself a favor and buy it on Blu-Ray. Because GMK is that worth it.

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Well. That was a long one. Hope you liked the read. Tomorrow's not going to be AS exciting, but still a really good time. You might be saying to yourself "we watched a bunch of supplementary movies. Gorath, Dogora, Mothra, the list goes on! What was the purpose?!" The purpose was a leadup to the Kiryu Saga. Keep those monsters in mind as we journey to another reboot when Japan said they've had enough and decided to fight monsters with monsters in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla vs. Megagurius - Godzilla Modified Organism

After the series was brought back full swing the year prior, Toho wanted to reboot Godzilla again. So they did. Kind of. The third series, sometimes referred to as the Millenium series is kind of weird because with ONE exception, every movie in the series is a total reboot and only uses 1954's Godzilla as the base continuity marker. Weird choice, but okay. Godzilla vs. Megagurius is generally one of the weaker entries in the series, despite the fact I absolutely ADORED this one as a little kid and I can't explain why. There's nothing particularly memorable about this movie outside of a few sequences that can make new viewers forget they're watching a friggin' Godzilla movie. There's nothing super special going on here. Simple monster designs and a rather mundane plot that feels like a retread despite some originality, in general, this movie is just kind of okay. You're not going to walk out of this one jumping for joy and shouting to the rooftops of its brilliance like Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, you're not gonna find cheesy moments of classic monster movie gold that make it enjoyable like King Kong vs. Godzilla (outside of one REALLY funny moment), and you're not gonna end up bitter and disappointed like with TriStar's Godzilla. It just kind of is.

In 1954, Godzilla attacked Tokyo but was never destroyed. Over the years, the JSDF has been adapting to Godzilla and doing their best to protect their nation from the terrible monster, but to no avail. That is until the Dimension Tide, a weapon of capable of firing miniature black holes is debuted and is heralded as a weapon that can and will kill Godzilla. But all goes awry when a giant dragonfly from the Carboniferous Era leaves its egg in modern times and soon brings the arrival of the Meganulon, a giant dragonfly species that once dominated the Earth. Now armed with Godzilla DNA, the dragonfly queen is born; Megagurius. Armed with a modified atomic breath, Godzilla's regeneration and tremendous speed the question must be asked: has the monster king met his match?

The answer is no. Like, duh, but no. The big bad bug of this movie of course is Megaguirus and her underling bug minions, the Meganulon. If that name sounds familiar, it should. The Meganulon actually first appeared in 1956 along with Rodan in, well, Rodan. What we saw of them in that movie was VERY juvenile. Because as it turns out, these little jerks can grow into so much more. Pictured right is a Meganula, the evolution of the Meganulon. The more they kill and eat, the grow and sprout wings and begin to grow stingers that drain DNA. Their purpose is a drone for their queen; Megagurius. So, what's the deal with Megagurius, huh? Well, not much. She's not anything special, which is a huge bummer. Megagurius is the last new monster for awhile and she's not exactly a bad design, she just is kind of boring. She gets a variation of Godzilla's atomic breath in a great big fireball, but that's it. She's super fast and has big claws, but that is almost literally it. She's just not a very special monster. I like her design and look, but she just does not actively do anything that's super cool. I love the look and I love the colors, but that's it.

The main human cast of the movie isn't anything special. The main performance is Kiriko Tsujimori, played by Misato Tanaka (pictured right). Her arc is really simple: in 1996 when this Godzilla popped up, Kirko's commander was killed by Godzilla and she blames her self for his death. So she wants to do nothing but kill Godzilla. That's her story. Boom. Movie summarized. Simple arc that has basically been covered in a few movies, especially Gamera 3, a kaiju movie classic. She does get some moments out of this though, climbing Godzilla's back, and I believe she's actually the first person to actively touch. Well, outside of being stomped that is. The humans do get a big power in the form of the Dimension Tide, a weapon that launches miniature black holes. And that's cool and all and a fun way to spice up the military scenes, but it's just not used enough. Because then instead of watching the Dimension Tide tear shit up, then we just see more standard military scenes. It's just standard.

Standard is the word of Godzilla vs. Megagurius. It's nice knowing that it exists, but nothing about it sticks out aside from Megagurius really. Godzilla just kind of does his Godzilla thing and nothing is special. It's just super MEH. I say avoid it.

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Guys. Holy crap. We're so far gone, but I'm so excited. Tomorrow we're going to talk about one of my absolute FAVORITES. Outside of Godzilla and even Shin Godzilla, this one might ACTUALLY be my favorite movie in the series. The movie we're about to watch is just IN. CREDIBLE. Ladies and gentlemen and all in between, please be excited to join me in viewing Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!

Godzilla 2000: Millennium - Refreshing

So imagine this: you invent a character that is loved by all and a respected cultural icon. The only problem is, not everyone understands this character, so you give another company the rights to adapt the character to introduce him to a larger audience and gain more popularity. This adaptation comes out and no one likes it. Not fans and especially not the general public who now not only don't understand the character, but find him dumber than before and have sprouted misconceptions about who the character actually is. You'd be outraged, wouldn't you? Maybe even embarrassed. Your child who you created and shared with the world now seen as nothing more than a bad movie. That is definitely what Toho was feeling after laying witness to TriStar's Godzilla. A mockery of the character that actively went out of its way to be everything that the character was not. Toho in my opinion did exactly what I would have done: fire back immediately. With TriStar's plans for a sequel to Godzilla pretty much always destined to fall through, Toho got to work and made Godzilla 2000: Millennium, and aimed to restore the character to not only his home turf, but show the world who he truly is. And while Godzilla 2000: Millennium isn't anything spectacular, it is like when you've had a really crappy week and you clean up your room and feel rejuvenated. While it's not going to land in my top 10, this movie is a great palate cleanser after TriStar's embarrassing revision.

In 1954, the original Godzilla attacked. 45 years later, a new monster keeps emerging and attacking the world. This new Godzilla being slightly bigger than the original attacks the country often and is seen as a force of nature, being watched by the Godzilla Prediction Network. But when a 60 million year old UFO reemerges on the planet, this Godzilla must prepare for battle in this new era and make a stand as the rightful monster ruler of Japan.

Alright, let's jump right in. First and foremost, this is one of my absolute favorite Godzilla designs ever. I see a lot of influence from the KingGoji suit used in King Kong vs. Godzilla, and that's a good thing. I know a lot of people will and have made complaints about his dorsal fins. But I think they're a great evolution of the character's design. It's nothing too improbable, and with this Godzilla being just as, if not even meaner than the original Godzilla, then it makes sense his opinion would share in that. Which I think his dorsal fins do a good job representing. My only honest complaint about him in this movie is that his atomic breath is never blue, and with it having a fiery explosion whenever it is used, it is basically nothing more than a simple fire breath attack. Which in my opinion is a misstep, but, hey. At least he actually has the power in the first place. Something I find fascinating about this movie is that this is the second most screentime Godzilla receives in any movie, but it doesn't always feel like much. Most of his action is saved for the end of the movie with his big battle with Orga and on. Of course he still appears before, getting an awesome introduction scene and a pretty cool encounter with the military, but there's a solid chunk of the screen dedicated to figuring out Orga and what makes Orga up. But he's still mean as hell. My favorite part of the entire movie is how he just blows Orga up from the inside, being devoured like a snake's prey, and then BOOM! It's pretty awesome. He gets to kick a ton of ass in the movie, so watching this after TriStar's Godzilla is just refreshing. He's indestructible, he gets to blow stuff up, he gets some great city destruction and gets to fight another giant monster. This Godzilla is just awesome. He was one of my first versions of Godzilla I ever saw, so I'm glad he's always seemed to age well. I will definitely say he does get some rather crappy shots however with a few CG shots underwater that just look like garbage and a really weird shot that looks off of him chasing a jet, but, it's whatever. He gets in some awesome action, so I can kind of look the other way with some of the cinematography.

For anyone who hasn't seen the movie, seeing mention of another monster must be odd. So far, in Godzilla's introduction movies, he's solo. But yeah, ain't that a shock?! Godzilla does indeed have an opponent, and a pretty good one at that. The only issue about Orga is that the effects on him before he fully transforms are all CGI and look really bad. The interesting thing about CG in this series is how much we can see it affect the effects. Because we get two see two different varieties of effects: the great practical, and the sloppy CG. Tangent aside, Orga! In his UFO and Millenian form, he is entirely CG and he just doesn't look very good. It looks like an incomplete model of CG or from something before Toy Story came out. But then when Orga becomes Orga, he is awesome. Absorbing Godzilla's cells to try becoming the perfect organism, but is incomplete. With massive claws, what looks like a giant turtle shell and a giant hole in his shoulder that is used as a cannon to launch a flawed atomic breath, he looks really cool. I didn't really like him for a good few years, but I like him A LOT more now. There's a lot of intentional flaw in his design and it is inherently perfect for his character. Literally the entire purpose of the character is that he is a flawed failure copy of Godzilla. So when he has ridiculously huge claws and the reused roars of Cretaceous King Ghidorah that make him essentially sound like he's in pain, he has a good look about him. One of my favorite Godzilla channels on YouTube put it best in his review of the movie when he said it is "... at once both pathetic and unnerving." Fun fact, Orga's head was designed in a way to replicate "Godzilla" from TriStar's Godzilla, because Toho wanted to A, blow it up, and B, show the dominance of the real Godzilla over a cheap foreign knock off. It's a nice subtle jab you might not know, but I just love it. It's subtle enough and yet not subtle at all. It's hilarious.

A big plus for the movie is its genuinely interesting human narrative. With Godzilla commonly cropping up in recent events before the movie, people learn to adapt and survive the monster. Essentially, Godzilla is a storm. So what do you do when the storm is coming? You check the news and see how bad it's going to be. The people in charge of this task are the Godzilla prediction network, run by father and daughter team, Yuji and Io Shinoda, played my Takehiro Murata and Mayu Suzuki respectively (pictured right with Naomi Nashida as Yuki Ichinose). Yuji and Io have a really fun to watch dynamic in the film with them being parent and child. They get into a little bit of trouble, but all they want to do is keep people safe from the actual menace that is Godzilla. They even get to dive into the science of Godzilla a bit, diving into the G-Cells we first learned about in Godzilla vs. Biollante. They have a really fun partnership running this team together, but who really takes the cake in this movie is Hiroshi Abe playing the character of Mitsuo Katagiri (pictured left). He gets to have a lot of fun banter with Yuji, them both viewing the solution of Godzilla with two different perspectives: trying to kill the monster with Abe, and trying to simply adapt and protect others with Yuji. Abe just has this menacing "I'm in charge" type look that commands the room and makes you think that he's the one to get behind. As it turns out though he's just a nut and kind of crazy. But he gets one of my favorite direct deaths from Godzilla ever. Him angry at the destruction and death Godzilla causes, he just yells "GODZILLAAAAAAA!" as he knocks the building over and he falls to his death. Yes, this is the dub, please forgive me. It's kind of hilarious, but it's a great way to end the movie. Him realizing his mission is fraught and just accepting his death, it's great.

I feel like despite enjoying the movie, there just isn't a lot to actually say about it. Godzilla 2000: Millennium is basically the movie TriStar should have made. It adapts the character well, has a solid human cast and with the budget they had stateside, they could have made the digital effects look a lot better than they did coming from Toho. The movie is very solid and makes everything feel a lot better after the heartbreak of TriStar's adaptation. If you want a simple enjoyable movie and need a pick me up after the depression of TriStar's botched movie, then give this one a watch.

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With the third series officially under way, let's get the train rolling. Tomorrow we're going to meet an evolution of a monster first established a little over 60 years ago with the original Rodan. So let's get reintroduced to some giant prehistoric dragonflies as we watch Godzilla vs. Megagurius.

TriStar's Godzilla - I'm Upset

Alright, where do we start with this one? TriStar's Godzilla is infamous. It comes from the era of adaptations where if the creative team just wanted to not follow the source material, it was kind of expected, but also not frowned upon. Characters didn't get themselves on screen, they got a director's vision. Nowadays, we're spoiled. Between the MCU and its very solid treatment of the source material to even Godzilla's amazing treatment of the source material in the modern day MonsterVerse, it's easy to assume this was the norm and characters being treated as they are these days was expected. But this was never the case for a long period of time. And that brings us to TriStar's Godzilla. When Roland Emmerich was tasked with reimagining Godzilla for American audiences, he sure reimagined him alright. What we see in this movie is a character assassination that neuters the original character of his very simple, memorable and easy to replicate abilities, and was swapped out for more supposed "realism." A version of the character that doesn't look or act like the character we even know. Even if it was different, whatever, as long as he can still do his trademark abilities, but, nope. This movie is often paired with the line "Takes the God out of Godzilla," which I find completely true. But what about the movie itself? Well, overall the movie isn't exactly as awful as people hope. What we get is a VERY generic monster movie, and that's about it. But most every issue with this film we can boil down to the title of the movie: Godzilla.

After continued tests of nukes in French Polynesia, an iguana egg is exposed to radiation and births something frightening; a 50 meter monster who soon begins sinking sea vessels, one leaving only one victim who gives the creature its name; "Gojira." With the monster headed to New York City in search of a comfortable habitat for his young, the scientists and military of the US must band together to save the Big Apple from Godzilla, its young, and total destruction.

SO. Here we are. I really dread talking about this movie because it is so infamous, and with 21 years after its original release, practically everything about it has been said. So if it sounds like parroting, it probably is. So, let's talk about "Godzilla." This interpretation of "Godzilla" is known by many names. Evil, Zilla, Godzilla In Name Only just to name a few. And it all makes sense. By all accounts, Godzilla is not the most complex monster in the world. He is a big dinosaur that stands upright, has giant plates on his back, is indestructible and he breaths radiation that looks like blue fire. Easy as pie. So, what does "Godzilla" get? Well, is he a big dinosaur? Well, not really. He's a mutated iguana. It's not the most amazing change of origin or whatever, but sure, I'll bite. Well, does he stand upright? Nope. He walks around like an actual dinosaur would have, is a LOT smaller and focuses on agility and not being able to take the hits. Well, indestructible. He's gotta be, right? It's Godzilla! Nope. As I said, this "Godzilla" is frail, dying in the end from getting caught in the Brooklyn Bridge and being shot down by missiles. Most if not all of the city destruction done in the movie is from "Godzilla" dodging missiles and the MILITARY really doing the damage. So, take that army. You're never allowed back in Manhattan. Well, breath blue fire? What has been every answer so far? Oh, you bet he does not. Every defining characteristic of Godzilla is completely GONE in this movie. Roland Emmerich has openly stated before that he is not a Godzilla fan and wanted to make a "realistic" interpretation. I'm sorry (this is probably the most explicit I'll ever get in these reviews, so, you're warned), but that's bullshit. When you're dealing with a cultural icon of importance like Godzilla, you should not be allowed to fuck this up. When they first presented the design to Toho, the original design was met with shock, but was approved after reassurance that the movie would turn out great. This monster is not Godzilla. Imagine this: I'm going to make a Batman movie. Okay, well what are Batman's defining qualities? Well, he's a detective, he's wicked smart and he doesn't kill people. Okay, well, I have an idea: I don't want anyone of that. I want him to be a street thug bent on killing criminals because he's hardened by the world and thinks it's the only way to save it. So who cares about him being a detective?! It's not like that is his most defining subtitle! Oh wait, it is! You see the problem here? When you strip a character of their essential elements, the character is gone and you'll essentially made a legally distinct version. So tell me. When you look at this Lenozilla patrolling the streets of New York looking for MSG, do you think even for a fraction of a second that he could earn the title of King of the Monsters? No. Because this isn't the King of the Monsters. Because this is NOT Godzilla.

Oh, and don't even get me STARTED on the "BabyGodzillas". This is bad. This is really REALLY bad. Yet again, I apologize if this sounds like parroting, but it is completely true. THESE "BABYGODZILLAS"AND THE ENTIRE SEGMENT OF THE MOVIE ARE A TERRIBLE RIPOFF OF THE VELOCIRAPTOR PORTION OF JURASSIC PARK! Godzilla always has had a child in all of the series, Minilla will even be making another appearance in the third series (spoilers) but this is just ridiculous! Godzilla does not get pregnant! And while sure, this is maybe a slight improvement because, and I'll give them this, they do look like baby versions of their father, but mother of Mothra, this is just ridiculous! These guys are just horrendous overall, legitimately ripping off more from Jurassic Park than from Godzilla! They get pounce attacks, they outnumber you, they're six foot tall giant lizards, come on. These are just the raptors of Jurassic Park and there is no exaggerating that. Again, yes, Godzilla has always had a child in all the series. But he has never had A, this many, and B, produced an amount of young that so blatantly ripped off another intellectual property. For anyone who might not believe or agree with this, I absolutely DARE you to watch the final 30 minutes of Jurassic Park, and then skip to the MSG portion of this movie. You will be astonished how similar they are. So what we get here is after a good, very solid interpretation of Minilla and BabyGodzilla in the second series also receives a character assassination in the form of these little abominations.


So, we have that out of the way, so how about the rest of the movie? Well, those are definitely the low points. It just so happens that the low points are so low it drags down much of the rest of the film. So, how about the rest of the film? Well, by no means is this movie great, it's just mediocre. It's just a mediocre movie and that's all there is to it. Nothing about the movie is particularly outstanding, well, one exception. For such a waste of time, the score is not bad at all. It's not Akira Ifukube or anything and it does not retain the original Godzilla theme at all, but whatever. Make your own stake in history first, I guess. You can listen to it all here if you want. Not gonna win a Grammy or anything, but it makes sitting through the movie much easier. So, what else? Well, we got some good set pieces. "Godzilla's" boat destruction and first appearance, the chase leading to the Brooklyn Bridge, it's not bad stuff. The only problem is that the monster is not actively likable or enjoyable to watch and sprinkled throughout before any of these fun set pieces are really boring human scenes with some generic dialogue and some PAINFULLY unfunny jokes sprinkled in for good measure. Honestly, it's just mediocre. I find that the most I want to discuss with this movie is the monsters, but it's not positive. Of course all I want to do with these movies is talk monsters. That's why I love them so much. But when I find myself already talking about them and everything is just fine at best from the performances to the action scenes, I just get bored.

THIS MOVIE IS BORING! TriStar's Godzilla is definitely not AS bad as I remember it, and same for you too. But it's still just mediocre. If you go into it expecting more a remake of the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, you might turn out much more please. But if you're coming for "Godzilla," the title character like everyone did come for, then you're going to be disappointed. This movie is just disappointing now. Disappointing for what it couldn't be, disappointing I can never love it, disappointing I can never just purely hate it, the list goes on. I feel like an angry parent talking to this movie, because when I think of TriStar's Godzilla, "I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed." And if you are too, I completely understand.

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I can almost smell the popcorn of the theater when I go to see Godzilla: King of the Monsters. We're in the final stretch of not only the wait for the film, but of this review series. We have A LOT of great movies coming, so make sure to stay tuned. Tomorrow the gravy train is going to start rolling again as we begin a whole new series and meet a brand new Godzilla, as we take a look at a good revitalization in Godzilla 2000: Millennium.