GODZILLA, MOTHRA, and KING GHIDORAH: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Review

Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack (will be abbreviated "GMK" for the rest of the review) has a rather interesting reputation among fans. Some claim it to be one of the greatest of the films, likening it to a "masterpiece." Some say after the Baragon fight it quickly deteriorates into mediocrity. There is some truth to both these claims to be sure. It's definitely a good Godzilla film. It has many great things about it. This is because TOHO got the director of the fantastic 90's Gamera trilogy, Shusuke Kaneko, to direct. Sadly, TOHO is not generally not very loose when it comes to the big G, and it shows how little creative control the director had here. Still, it's one of the more notable entries in the franchise.

 Fifty years ago, the Japanese Defense Forces killed Godzilla or so they thought. When a series of terrifying natural disasters begin to plague Japan, including the inexplicable offshore sinking of a U.S. submarine, a mystic old man warns his nation that Godzilla has come back to destroy Japan as revenge for all the souls lost in the Pacific War. When mere military might cannot squash the monster, the mystic man awakens the Holy Beasts of Yamato — King Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon, sleeping giants that protected Japan in ancient times. These untamed mammoth beasts take on Godzilla with frightening supernatural brute power that has been 2,000 years in the making. Tradition and technology collide in this chilling high-tech, cutting-edge fable.

The most unique aspect is Godzilla himself. While previous Gs range from villain, hero, to anti-hero, never has he been displayed as pure evil before. He has never purposely targeted humans before, just buildings and nuclear plants. Interestingly, while there's so much destruction, very rarely do we actually see people dying in the movies. We see them running around, but rarely actual death. Here it's different. The most powerful scene is when after hearing a lady's scream, G turns around and gives her and the rest of the fleeing people attention. He then precedes to unleash his atomic blast on them. The film then cuts to a classroom where students and the teacher can see the explosion, which looks like the aftermath of a bomb. (With Japan's and Godzilla's history, it's even more powerful.)

The film has some of the best city destruction scenes in all of the franchise. In fact, it could be fair to say this might have the best and most thematic destruction since the original film. Godzilla's emergence is grand, and he continues on to be one of the most engaging Gs created. The design itself is fantastic, with the white eyes and no pupils further giving the impression that he's pure malice. The reason why he's evil is intriguing. Apparently he has the collective souls of World War II within him. How that works and Hirotoshi claiming that G is "still an animal" is quite an interesting and confusing thought. This spiritual aspect is representative of Kaneko's work on "Gamera," and it's a shame it wasn't explored more. Nonetheless, despite intriguing but too little explored concepts, this Godzilla remains one of the best.

Of course, it couldn't be called "Giant monsters all-out attack" if Godzilla was the only kaiju. Here's perhaps the most infamous thing about this movie: the inclusion of Mothra and King Ghidorah. You see, Kaneko originally wanted to use Anguirus and Varan to join Baragon. But TOHO decided that Mothra and Ghidorah, being much more popular, would be better for the film $ wise. From a business standpoint it makes sense. Still, it would have been great seeing those two monsters re-imagined. (Sadly Varan is still confined to only one movie and two flying cameos in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.) Some say having Angurius and Varan would have made it made better. After watching it again, I don't think it would have made much of a difference in the overall quality. Once you get past the fact that Ghidorah is a hero, the two actually aren't that bad.

Before diving into the two aforementioned monsters, let's talk about Baragon. (Who sadly wasn't popular enough to make it into the title) This is his first appearance since "DESTROY ALL MONSTERS" (33 year difference!) and his redesign is easily one of the best parts. It looks great, and his burrowing ability is used to great effect. The fight against Godzilla is probably the most well-done aspect of the film. Since Baragon is a non-beam fighter here, the battle was more traditional than compared to the climax. The viewer also greatly feels for Baragon, as he tries to hopelessly battle the evil Godzilla. In fact, this is one of those rare times when the viewer is rooting against Godzilla. When the director can pull that off, you know this is truly something else.

Mothra's redesign is truly beautiful. While Larva could have appeared more, the emergence of her Imago form makes up for it. (That, and the fact the Larva actually attacks a bunch of lawless teenagers in her one scene!) While Mothra makes sense as a guardian monster, Ghidorah does not. Still, Kaneko makes the best of what is given. While it may be appalling to see a version of the "King of Terror" who is basically a weakling when compared to G, (he wasn't even the one that finished off G in the end) it nonetheless makes for an interesting "what if." That, and one can't deny how realistic the suit looks. When it emerges in the city it just looks good. The climax with it being given wings thanks to Mothra's sacrifice (very well-done) scene makes for an exciting final battle. Underwater sequences can be very boring in kaiju films sometimes, but it's utilized well here. (The CGI for Godzilla swimming looks incredible. In fact, almost all of the CGI is fantastic, especially Ghidorah's transformation and then blast attack)

While the monsters are of course what make the film at the end of the day, the human characters either bring up the rating...or down. While not bad, the characters here aren't particularly too notable either. The main one is Yuri Tachibana, a reporter for a mockumentary show. She's okay, not particularly interesting but not bad either. I must give credit to the subplot with her father, Admiral Taizo Tachibana. It was quite emotional since she had the knowledge he was going to be the one attacking Godzilla head on. A lot of the side characters however need desperate help. There's some silliness that bring down the rather grim tone. For example, the owner of the Mt. Myoko park comes to force out Yuri and her crew, but is soon enticed by her saying that tourists will come. This is not bad, but he way over-acts. Another thing is Yuri's boss. Kaneko is no stranger to odd characters (Kurata in GAMERA III) and like that guy he's rather too unrealistic. A no-name character apparently wants to hang himself...and we're given no reason why. Another thing is the bathroom scene. It's just unnecessary and awkward. (But, I suppose the scene redeems itself when Godzilla's foot smashes the house, which was well-done.)

Godzilla movies almost always have notable soundtracks. This one is done by Kow Otani. (Who also did the music for the Gamera trilogy.) There are no complaints to be had. From Godzilla's fantastic new theme to the King Ghidorah's transformation, the soundtrack is very solid. (It was ingenious to include the classic ifukube theme at the end, which the 2014 film should have done!) As far as pacing goes, the film does a solid job with that. The tension for Gozilla's first appearance is well executed, which is also thanks to the excellent choreography. The scene when Yuri is riding her bike and sees Godzilla in the distance presents a great ominous picture. One character who deserves mention is Hirotoshi. He added to the unique spiritual aspect, but sadly this was not explored further. The film has that mythical atmosphere which separates itself from all other Godzilla films, but I have a feeling TOHO didn't let Kaneko go as far with it as he would have liked.

Overall, GMK remains a very solid entry in the series. The little problems and unexplored potential stops it from being aligned with the "greats"such as Gojira, Return of Godzilla, MONSTER ZERO, and Mothra vs. Godzilla. But it remains a step above almost all the Heisei films and most of the Millennium ones. The main monster has one of his greatest appearances yet. The fights have a thematic quality, and it has one of the best final scenes in the series. While GMK could have been a masterpiece if somethings were tweaked, fixed, and explored, it will always be an entertaining watch.

4/5

King Kong vs. Godzilla: A New Kind of Monster Fight

King Kong vs. Godzilla is one of the most influential kaiju films of all time. In some ways, it's the most influential. Sure, technically the original 1954 Gojira is, because without it, there would be no Godzilla sequels. (And if you want to go one step further, the original 1933 King Kong might be the most influential since it was the first cinematic giant monster movie, inspiring Godzilla to get made.) But 1962's King Kong vs. G is just as influential. For one thing, it gave Godzilla a personality. The previous two films had him just as the personification of the atomic bomb. Here we see his arrogant, loves-to-fight character. But the most influential aspect was the battle, namely the final battle between him and Kong. This introduced a new kind of fight style for kaiju films.

Yes, the previous film, Godzilla Raids Again had the first kaiju fight to grace the big screen. But it was basically just two animals going at it. To this day, no one quite remembers it as a series classic. The final battle in King Kong vs. Godzilla was the first kaiju movie to have two 'characters' duke it out. What I mean is that these weren't just overgrown animals fighting, they were thinking beings. Here's some examples: We have Kong, who literally grabs a tree and tries to shove it down Godzilla's throat. We have Godzilla, who literally jumps and double kicks Kong to the ground. We have Kong, who makes a strategy to hide from Godzilla and strikes at just the right moment. We have Godzilla, who claps his hands every time Kong gets knocked over. And then we have Kong, who back-flips Godzilla to the ground. Do you see what I'm talking about?

The fight as you can tell was fun. This is where Japanese kaiju battles get their inspiration from. This is what separates kaiju fights from American monster movies. Can you think of any American monster movie where it had a monster vs. monster fight as memorable as the one featured in King Kong vs. Godzilla? No, I didn't think so. Fast forward 45 years later, you can see in shows such as Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle  where the kaiju dance around, grapple, and laugh at each other. Where do you think this type of monster battling comes from? It all dates back to 1962. While the original Japanese version of the film isn't available outside of Japan, you can still experience the magic with the recent Blu-ray release of the American version. 52 years later, and that final battle is still one of the very best. 

Frankenstein vs. Baragon Review

The 60's were the golden years for TOHO kaiju films. It gave us some of the all-stars, such as Mothra vs. Godzilla, MONSTER ZERO, and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. One slightly overlooked film in that era is Frankenstein vs. Baragon. (Known in the US as 'Frankenstein Conquers the World.') Directed by one of the best directors of kaiju films, Ishiro Honda, this vs. movie is a truly unique one. It grabbed an American monster, much like what they did with King Kong Escapes, and turned his story into a Japanese giant monster movie. Its sequel, War of the Gargantuas. is much more well known. This film however is superior in a few ways. It features a great cast, compelling story, and some fantastic monster action.

The story has quite a unique start, with the prologue taking place in Nazi Germany back in 1945, World War II. The heart of Frankenstein, (technically Frankenstein's monster but like always we'll refer to the creature as such) is transported to Japanese hands. It is lost however in the midst of the Hiroshima attack. The heart later grows into a being and as the movie progresses he grows at such an amazing rate, to the point where he himself is nearly the size of Godzilla! It's a necessary thing, because he's going to have to battle an underground monster called Baragon. What I found interesting about the beginning of this movie was the very tiny use of monster scenes. Baragon gets a very small appearance in the first 50 minutes, besides that it's all about Frankenstein's story. In fact, before the climax hits, you're going to think Baragon was just put in to say the movie has a giant monster with no real relation to the story. The final fantastic half hour will change that mentality. The film does such a great job establishing Frankenstein's story that when Baragon shows up it's all the more satisfying. The primary reason why that was so well done is thanks to the cast.

Nick Adams is the main star, portraying Dr. James Bowen. You'll know him from his fan favorite portrayal of Glenn in MONSTER ZERO. Kumi Mizuno also stars, as Dr. Sueko Togami. You'll know her as Miss Namikawa also in MONSTER ZERO. They have such great chemistry together, it's very natural. Interestingly, all this time I thought this movie came out after Monster Zero, but this actually predates it. They must have done such a great job that TOHO wanted them back for the next Godzilla movie. Adams is by far one of the greatest actors of that era. He has sense of likability, authority, and plain cool demeanor throughout. The only line that bothered me was in the final scene when he said, "Perhaps, the best thing would be for him to die. After all, he's only a monster." After Frankenstein delivered Dr. Ken'ichiro Kawaji to him and Miss Togami, you would think he would have said something nicer about him. Mizuno appears to be such a veteran when it comes to acting her role to her best ability. Her motherly nature to Frankenstein was great, it's a shame she wasn't in much kaiju films post Monster Zero.

Baragon is what makes this a kaiju film, and he doesn't disappoint. The simple design is very effective, and I'm not sure making him 'cute' was intended, but it's a nice touch. One of the best scenes is when it focused on a group of chickens then the next scene it shows feathers coming from Baragon's mouth. It's rare that we see kaiju eating other creatures, so that was pretty neat. Overall Baragon is one of TOHO's best classics, it's truly a shame he didn't get to do anything in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.The climax of the film makes up for Baragon's lack of appearing, The fight is fun and satisfying. It's also unique, since it's basically a giant human battling a dinosaur. All of this is accompanied by Akira Ifukube's wonderful soundtrack.

Overall, Frankenstein vs. Baragon is definitely one of TOHO's best. The story is nicely developed with one of the best climaxes from any giant monster movie. The team of Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno act beautifully on screen. The International version is the one to watch, only cause of the completely random ending with the giant octopus. This is a definite must-see for any kaiju fan.

5/5

Gamera the Brave Review

I remember a few years when I first discovered Gamera the Brave. I was quite shocked to discover a new, modern Gamera movie. Thankfully Netflix had it. With the Blu-ray recently released, it was time for another watch. The gap between this and the previous movie, Awakening of Iris, was pretty big being 7 years. Kaneko had finished his spectacular Heisei trilogy, presumably ending the Game mythos. But Director Ryuta Tasaki breathed new life into the flying turtle with a modern kaiju film in 2006, two years after the last Godzilla movie, Final Wars, came out. Sadly this film did poorly in the Japanese box office, as did Final Wars. It goes to show that people just weren't into kaiju films anymore. So Gamera was put to rest after The Brave. This doesn't stop the movie from being a solid entry.

The story begins in 1975, when a much older Gamera was defending Japan from a herd of Gyaos. They prove too much for him to handle however, so he's forced to blow himself up to defeat them. All hope is not lost, because many years later a new Gamera rises, which is good since Tokyo is getting terrorized by a human-eating beast dubbed Zedus. The Brave's intro is easily the best part of the film. It starts out very grim, almost as a continuation of how Awakening of Iris ended. (Since the film went out of its way to homage that, they should have just made it a continuation.) It's a very exciting start, plus we get to what a very beaten and old Gamera looks like. After the incredible intro, the film changes gears quickly for a more light tone. Despite the previous trilogy being such critically acclaimed for its dark tone, The Brave chose to go a more Showa route, light in tone and kids being the stars. This is not a bad thing however, since part of what makes Gamera Gamera is that he's a 'friend to all children.' You take that out, you take out a piece of character. Thankfully the movie avoids all the cheesy pitfalls of the post Vs. Barugon films.

The main character is a boy named Tomioka. From the get-go it's established he's a little lonely since his mom passed away. His dad is good, but also extremely busy managing a restaurant. Having a kid be the main character could turn off some people, and maybe that's part of the reason it didn't do too well. But he's pretty solid. The relationship between him and Toto (baby Gamera) is established really well. The other main character is a girl, a little older than Tomioka named Mai. She's a nice addition, a soft voice in the bunch. (Though if you see the dub you are going to laugh at how she says 'Toto.') Her heart surgery is a minor plot point and it's handled well, the viewer actually cares about her.

This being made in 2006, it was very interesting to see how far Japan had gotten in special effects. The movie shows that suitamation still works. The monsters look realistic and the destruction is fantastic. It's a truly a shame this was the last Gamera movie, I would have loved to see what else they could have done special effect wise. Zedus is the antagonist monster. While never achieving 'classic' status, he's a really cool addition to the roster.The film succeeds in making him a threat from the start. When you hear the sirens followed by people screaming/running then his roar, you know things are about to get deadly. What's interesting is that he actually eats people. Believe it or not, kaiju eating people is a rarity. In fact, the only other kaiju movie I can think of where something eats a person is in War of the Gargantuas. So that was a very cool thing to see. (It's not gruesome, but viewers know what's happening.)

The Gamera suit succeeds perfectly in what it was trying to achieve: a cute thing for viewers to root and feel sorry for when he gets beaten around. Seriously, it's impossible to not "Awww" when he shows up with those adorable eyes. The fight scenes are both incredible set pieces and satisfying. Not only is there traditional wrestling, but there's some unique maneuvers by Zedus, such as figuring out how to crawl on top of a bridge and climbing up a building to get to Gamera. The soundtrack is pretty solid. There aren't too many themes played, but when there was music playing it matched the respective scene well. The only standout theme is the end credits song. Another important thing to mention is where the story takes place. It doesn't happen in a very industrialized city like we're used to seeing in Godzilla movies, rather it takes place in a kind of village. It makes for some unique scenery.

Overall, Gamera the Brave is a nice entry to Daiei's (later bought by Kadokawa) premiere kaiju series. It may not be as dark or 'epic' as the Heisei trilogy, but it's a fun and heartwarming adventure for the whole family. It's a shame it didn't ignite a whole new series, but I guess in a way when Tomioka said "So long...Gamera" it was also the audience saying farewell. Maybe when GODZILLA is a box office hit we'll see a Hollywood adaptation of the fire-breathing turtle!

4/5

Exactly One Year Until GODZILLA Stomps into Theaters!

Wow, here we are. In one year from now, the King of the Monsters comes to theaters worldwide. It's a pretty surreal thought for a big fan such as myself. I mention Godzilla in one way or another every day, I've seen all the films. The thought of actually going into a theater and actually seeing him on the big screen is a pretty amazing thing. It had a few rough patches among development. Believe it or not, it was originally supposed to come out in 2012. Pretty insane, eh? For awhile there was virtually no news and people thought it would never come to be. Last year's Comic Con was big, because it unveiled a poster, release date, and teaser. (Which for some odd reason still hasn't been uploaded online.) Slowly the ball got rolling. Casting came later, and they're currently filming. It looks like the movie will be here in time for his 60th anniversary after all!

Godzilla getting the big screen treatment means a lot of cool things. For one thing, we can expect plenty of merchandise. How awesome would it be to walk into Wal-Mart and see some G shirts? A DVD section? A watch? And all the new fans which will come out of the cinema. The Avengers made the general public superhero fans, GODZILLA can and hopefully will do the same. This year will be important, because we can expect a trailer, more posters, a website, and marketing. Contrary to popular belief, Godzilla is a household name, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't know the monster. The 98 film did leave a stain on the franchise, but that was over a decade ago. This new film will wash that away.

I'm confident Gareth Edward's will deliver a film of quality and worthy of the Godzilla name. It's been said countless times already that it will be in the spirit of the original, so we can expect a dark movie. That won't stop it from having monster action of course, since we'll be having two other kaiju. The countdown begins!

Ultraman Manga: Chapter Six Review

This is the big chapter for the Ultraman Manga, it's is the end of the first volume. Looking back, it established things pretty interestingly. It started off smoothly, slowly introducing us to the characters and setting, which is in the Original Show's continuity. Shinjiro, which is abbreviated as Shin, put on the Ultraman armor two chapters ago. He's been neither a great protagonist or bad one...he's just there. The last chapter was basically just a continuation of the fight between him and the alien, nothing big happened. This changes here, because not only one shocking thing happens, but another. This is definitely the best chapter yet.

The battle has concluded. Shin is tired, but so is the Alien, whom has lost part of his body. The latter cannot fight, so he retreats, but not without letting Shin know his true identity. (Holy moly!) Shin goes to his father, but passes out. Later in a hospital bed he is greeted by Ito...and a familiar looking thing. This chapter concludes the fight, it's more dialogue based, which is a good thing since not much happened in Five. The Alien's identity is revealed to be...are you ready for this...Bemular. History lesson for non-fans, this guy was the first ever monster Ultraman fought. (Famous for his immobile arms, but that was fixed in Mega Monster Battle.) This came as a huge shock for many reasons. The main one being that if this thing is Bemular, how the heck can he talk? The author succeeds greatly in capturing the reader by surprise, this was a truly shocking (and cool) twist.

The other big thing about this chapter is the arrival of Alien Z-Ton. Another history lesson, Alien Z-Ton appeared in the final episode of the original Ultraman. They are aliens which are famous for summoning the monster Zetton. So this was also pretty shocking, and an amazing plot point. (Is that really Ito? Is he being tricked? Manipulated?) Now this manga is really going with establishing very interesting plot points. The art improves upon the last chapter, there's some really nice detail. The splash page with Z-Ton and Ito was a true highlight. But the true thing of why this chapter shines? It successfully builds suspense with great dialogue and carefully unveils the twists. This chapter was surprisingly only 22 pages, yet it managed to have satisfying content.

Overall, Chapter Six of the Ultraman Manga is a true highlight. Fans really should be checking this out, lots of great stuff. The twists are quite shocking, but aren't forced. The story is taking its time with the plot, giving us information, good action, and big reveals. After this chapter, I am officially hyped to see what comes next.

5/5 

Monster of the Week: Zetton (Original)

Zetton is the most powerful monster in the Ultra-verse. Besides Gomora, he was the only to truly and completely defeat Ultraman. But unlike the battle with Gomora, there was no chance here. 'Space Dinosaur' Zetton was in complete control the whole time. He was far superior in power and strength. Zetton is the definition of 'final boss.' He's a merciless, evil, and just plain heartless brute. Thanks to Alien Z-Ton, Zetton came to earth. That is where the events of Farewell Ultraman takes place.

The Alien Z-Tons had invaded earth. Surprisingly their spaceships were pretty weak, a single missile could destroy one. Captain Mura, Arashi, and Hayata were chasing down Dr. Iwamoto. It turns out that he was an alien in disguise. After Hayata shot him, the alien shouted "Zetton" "Zetton." before fading away. Doing so made the final spaceship come and started blowing up some kind of space balloon....which then released the Space Dinosaur. (How they got the dinosaur part is beyond me.) Zetton is the Z-Ton's ultimate and secret weapon. He's the guy that was going to do the easy work of destroying everything that got in his way. Zetton is a cold brute, he obviously knows how powerful he is. If he were a human, he'd be the bragging type. You can see that he also enjoys some good destruction as he's waving his arms around when he rises out of that 'balloon.' Completely impervious to the Science Patrol's laser gun, he easily walks through, taunting with flaunting his arms. It's only until Hayata transforms into Ultraman that there's a glimmer of hope. Or so we had hoped...

Zetton isn't like Antlar, he's not one to show anger or quite as cunning. He's a brute, he doesn't bother dodging attacks. Why should he? He knows he's the most powerful monster in the Ultra-verse after all. Ultraman had come from behind and did this spinning attack which sent some rings onto Zetton. They managed to subdue him, making him immobile....until of course he turned around and shot some red beams that caused the dust around Ultraman to turn red. At that moment the most hardcore moment of the whole entire show happens, Zetton simply breaks out of the rings like a true boss. He knows Ultraman is a threat, so he jumps down to fight. He also likes to brag about his superiority. As he surprised Ultraman by teleporting behind him, you can see him taunting once again with flaunting his arms. He also has a bunch of surprising abilities, he can generate a barrier out of nothing, which helps quite a bit against Ultraman's mini ring attack, those little things break on contact. Ultraman then comes in for some close hand-to-hand combat, but Zetton just slaps him away. I will say it again, he just slaps Ultraman away like he's nothing other than a nuisance. This is when he comes in for the kill. Zetton isn't one to draw out fights too long, if the opponent is down, he will take that opportunity to finish them off. This time he went in to choke Ultraman to death. Ultraman fought and fought, but he just couldn't shake away this brute of a monster. Eventually he manages to throw Zetton off thanks to some encouragement from the narrator. But that wouldn't stop the Space Dinosaur, you can see he's one that's fully alert as he quickly rises up. Of course by now Ultraman uses his signature Spacium Ray. Zetton is pretty much laughing at this as he absorbs the beam, let Ultraman become shocked of what had just transpired, then fired the absorbed beam. This completely dazed Ultraman. Showcasing his cold and merciless demeanor, Zetton fired another blast after seeing him dazed from the previous one. Now he just stood there taunting with his strange robotic noises as Ultraman fell. Zetton looked down at his fallen oppenent, then left to destroy. This was just another battle to him, nothing more nothing less. He didn't truly care, Ultraman was just a minor threat that had stood in his way. However, somehow the Science Patrol had this monster destroyer weapon prototype that the real Dr. Iwamoto had brought. Zetton was caught off guard when it struck him, it had lifted him into the sky and and exploded him. (Imagine what the J.S.F. could do with that weapon in Godzilla world.)

So that was the un-dignified end of Zetton. Ironically, it wasn't Ultraman that stopped him, it was the Science Patrol. Nonetheless, there's no denying that he's one of the most original and powerful monsters out there. With such a unique look, evil demeanor, and creepy roar/sound, Zetton is as awesome as they get, he could give Godzilla a run for his money.