GODZILLA: One Year Later

It's amazing when you stop and think about how things come together over the years. I remember when the first announcement came that Legendary Pictures had acquired the rights to Godzilla to produce a new American film. After the 1998 disaster, many were rightfully skeptical. Four years later it arrived and put to rest any worries. Despite personal preferences, most agreed it was a well-made film.

The Godzilla fanbase is passionate. It's much like Star Wars when if you engage someone whom has years of knowledge, prepare yourself for an extensive conversation. Unlike Star Wars however, prior to the new film Godzilla was more of a niche in the States. Many associated G with being cheesy, a joke, and nothing to be taken seriously. That's why fans such as myself were looking forward to this movie, because with a new, serious adaption, the monster could finally have much needed respect in America. That, and the fact it would be the first G film since Final Wars back in 2004.

I was a bit skeptical when it was confirmed that Gareth Edwards would be directing. He had previously directed the independent film MONSTERS. That movie upon first watching was disappointing because the marketing portrayed it as a big monster flick. The alien creatures have very little screen time. It's essentially a drama with a monster backdrop. In retrospect it's a quality film, but at the time it was easy to see why many were skeptical. The Japanese Godzilla films pride themselves for its monster destruction, so there was some fear that Edwards would do the something like he did with MONSTERS. Thankfully, by the time the end credits had rolled, most viewers were convinced that the big G was in good hands.

The first ever look we got of G, back in 2012

I remember when the first teaser came out, and only a select few were able to view it since it was Comic Con exclusive. Eventually it was leaked online and everyone in the world quickly absorbed it. It was quite ominous, presenting G as a rather horrific figure against the Oppenheimer "Destroyer of Worlds" audio. This is perhaps the most infamous thing about the movie. Almost all of the marketing portrayed G as a terrifying, relentless monster of destruction, much like the original 1954 film. The movie shocked me and many others when Godzilla emerged as a hero, with even the words, "King of the Monsters - savior of our city?" displayed near the ending. Many were disappointed that G wouldn't be returning to his horror roots, while others like myself enjoyed the portrayal. Personally, I find Godzilla's heroic days in the 60's/70's to be the most entertaining era of the Japanese films. Legendary's portrayal in my opinion was a perfect blend of the heroic Godzilla from that era and the destructive force seen in films like Return of Godzilla and GODZILLA 2000.

The design for G was kept under wraps for a very long time. Arguably, it was the most hyped aspect. When fully unveiled, no major complaints were had. Still, some didn't like the elephant-like feet, and how little his eyes were. Any complaints I personally had were rendered moot when he was in motion. Right when he entered the airport to battle the Muto the design quickly became one of my favorites.

Speaking of Muto, one of the most intriguing parts of marketing was its reluctance to showcase the antagonist monster. When the film finally arrived, viewers were treated to very unique and awesome creatures for G to do battle with. The fights in this movie to me were a bit more on the mixed side. When G first arrives to battle Muto, it looks like a grand battle was about to take place but instead it's reduced to being on the news for a few seconds. This was funny the first time around in the theater, but in subsequent viewings it's a disappointment. The second fight is also a tease. The climax is very exciting, but suffers a little from the fact that it cuts away to the soldiers too often. Still, it's hard to deny the greatness of such scenes like G using his tail to slap the male Muto into a building and the first time he uses his atomic blast. (Both scenes garnered great cheer from the audience in the theater.) While the climax could have been better, it nonetheless was one of the more thematic battles of 2014 and showed what a modern Godzilla brawl can look like.

Contrary to popular belief, there are many Godzilla movies with top notch acting performances. Films like MONSTER ZERO and Gojira have Oscar worthy portrayals. While the new film doesn't have any award winners, the cast is nonetheless solid. Many were dismayed when the film killed off Bryan Cranston's character Joe Brody early on, whom according to many was easily the best character. His son Ford took center stage from then on. Many said he was too dull, with little emotion. While I can agree, I think it's important to remember that could be his character as part of being military. Either way, I think if he comes back for the sequel he'll be better.

It's already been confirmed that we'll getting two sequels, one of which is coming in 2018. The awesome part is that Legendary has the rights to classic TOHO monsters Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah for use. It's an exciting time for G fans, and will continue to be so as other companies capitalize. (TOHO themselves will be releasing a brand new film in the Japanese series next year!)

One year later has gone by, and every Godzilla fan remembers it like it was yesterday. It is unfortunate that the film only made $528 million worldwide. That may sound like a lot, but Transformers: Age of Extinction from that same year and the new Fast and the Furious both have made over $1 billion. GODZILLA doesn't rely on mindless explosions, sexual appeal, or sarcastic wit to tell a story. But, modern American audiences want the three things just listed rather than a serious adventure, which is disappointing. This doesn't change the fact that G was still a hit and will remain engraved in film culture. Now a fan can go around asking others, "hey have you seen Godzilla?"and get into good conversations, even though they might not have seen the Japanese films.

It was all thanks to this day, May 16th, last year that Godzilla has a resurgence of popularity worldwide. I look forward to seeing what Edwards and Legendary bring to the table in three years.

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

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!

On the Recent GODZILLA News and Manga

I will admit that Legendary's GODZILLA is my moat anticipated movie ever. (The record holder use to Spider-Man 3.) Last year was a pretty good year for updates, at the San Diego Comic Con they showed a teaser (which still hasn't been released for the general public) a poster, and a release date of May 16th, 2014. (Can you believe this film was originally meant to come out last year?) 2014 technically makes sense for marketing, it is the big G's 60th anniversary after all. Since then updates have been scarce, but this past week was full of them. Warner Bros. is committed to a March start date, which is just in two months. Casting has begun, no one has been picked yet, but the shortlist includes Henry Cavill (hey maybe Superman will come and try to save the day) and it looks like Aaron Johnson is being sought after now. (Believe it or not Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in discussions but he declined sadly.) All that is minor to these pieces of news...

Frank Darabont of THE WALKING DEAD has been hired to do a 'final re-write.' It's really quite scary seeing how many re-writes this thing has gotten, it definitely shows that TOHO isn't fooling around. It makes perfect sense, they've learned they can't fully put all their trust in us Americans when it comes to the big G. (And we all know why right? 1998 was an interesting year...) With Darabont re-writing, you can tell this film is going to put an emphasis on the gritty part. Now, we already know that Godzilla will fight another monster, but it looks like they'll be a second monster. And the key word here is 'new,' there will be two 'new' monsters. One of the age old questions for this movie was whether or not G would battle another monster from the TOHO universe. Well, it looks like we'll be getting two new monster creations. While I am disappointed that we won't see the likes of Rodan or Anguirus, it'll still be cool to get some new guys. I can't wait to see their official designs and names. 

The other piece of news and arguably biggest is the story will be about a soldier and that the film will be 'really different' than the TOHO movies. When I heard about the soldier part, Half Century War instantly came to mind. That mini-series follows a soldier as he narrates Godzilla's destruction over the years. This soldier will most likely narrate Godzilla's destruction too I would imagine. Now the second part, where it says it'll be 'really different' than the TOHO films is interesting. It might not have been the greatest thing to say, but I understand it. I do think this film should be its own unique thing, I'm not sure if it should be too different than the Japanese films, because we longtime fans still want to see the true Godzilla on the big screen. When they say TOHO they're most likely referring to the late 60s and 70s movies. They really want people knowing that this will be a very serious movie. With Gareth Edwards directing, I have a feeling we'll also have a strong human character. Unlike MONSTERS however, GODZILLA has to be about the title character, not just a plot device or an obstacle, but a character. I hope we'll see that.

While all that could be considered as good news, the bad news is that two producers have left the project, Dan Lin and Roy Lee. Now here comes the interesting part...they're actually attempting to stop the film from going forward. I've read the complaint and it doesn't look like they're going to win, but still a pretty intense thought. As you can see it's really all about the money, forget about the fans whom have been waiting since this was first announced four years ago. The case hasn't exactly happened yet, so it'll be interesting to see how much this sets back production.

Remember the Godzilla manga I talked about not too long ago? The one where it's set five years after Terror of Mechagodzilla? Well it turns out that it's actually a fan manga. It's a little un-surprising, since TOHO would probably never want to revisit the Showa timeline. Still, it's pretty impressive for a fan manga and shows there are still dedicated fans out there.

So Godzilla is Getting a New Manga

Whenever Godzilla gets something new, I always consider it to be a big deal. Right now the King is enjoying a revival in the IDW comic world...and that's pretty much it. We have the Monsterarts releasing, and not too long ago that Kaiju World Wars board game released. But, it is impossible to find any type of merchandise within stores. Once Legendary's film comes out next year, the ball will start rolling once more. Now this is interesting news I discovered on the TOHO Kingdom forums. Godzilla is getting a brand new, official manga series. he cool part is that it actually takes place in the Showa continuity!

What I can gather is that it takes place five years after Terror of Mechagodzilla. Now here comes the interesting part, Godzilla isn't the main character, it's Minya grown up. The story is that humanity has caused a nuclear war, leaving the Earth in a state of vulnerability. Intergalactic forces (aliens!) come, but Godzilla and the rest of the monsters of Monster Island force the threat to retreat. Apparently they get them to retreat at the cost of their lives. That's right, Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, among a few others die! (Godzilla is the only truly confirmed one, I'm just making an assumption since those other guys are part of Monster Island.) Ten years later, the same threat returns. Now Minya, whom has grown up to be the new Godzilla, and a whole new generation of monsters (?) rise up. So will Minya, now Godzilla, help the world or hold a grudge since they are the ones that started this mess to begin with and inadvertently caused the death of the only thing he could truly call family?

Technically this should be taking place after DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, since Minya is in that film. (DAMM takes place in 1999, while Terror takes place in 1975.) So I'm going to assume this will be an alternate timeline, unless they somehow explain things. First off, it's really quite interesting that this will actually take place within the Showa continuity, doesn't seem like something TOHO would do. This is pretty obscure news, I haven't been able to find out which magazine it's going to be in. I assume an official press release will follow soon. In the second picture which I'm most certain is Volume 1, the word 'Psychic' is there. I'm guessing the girl will be able to communicate with the monsters, or at least understand them. (Like Miki from the Heisei series.) I do wonder exactly what the 'new generation of monsters' is. If the old ones die, then will we see some new guys? Mothra appears as you can see, which makes sense. She is a timeless monster, there will always be Mothra. I think she will be the force that convinces Minya not to destroy the humans for revenge, with perhaps the girl. Of course, if we don't get an official announcement soon, this manga could just fade away from American news. It wouldn't be the first time, cool manga like these I and American fans will never get to fully read.

I don't know the full story behind these, but see how cool they are? (Biollante + Ghidorah = Biodorah? Ghillante?) I mean, Mechani Kong and Mechagodzilla teaming up? Godzilla with a samurai sword? Lots of good stuff we'll never see here. But, in today's day and age, I wouldn't count out the possibility of it coming to American shores. Maybe with the upcoming film it'll create interest? You never know. But, if I don't hear anything in the next few months, we can assume it'll be another manga Americans will never truly get to read sadly. (Unless you somehow import it through Ebay or something.) Still, the fact that Godzilla is getting a new manga that is set in the Showa continuity is astonishing.

Godzilla vs. Megalon Review

Ah, Godzilla vs. Megalon, a title fans cringe when hearing it. However, over the years, the fanbase has gained a liking for the film, becoming what the critics call a 'cult classic.' Back in the day I would hear fans call this the worst Godzilla movie ever. Today, things are different. Final Wars has taken its place and is the hated one now. (A lot of people tend to even like All Monsters Attack more than Final Wars, though most agree that it's still better than the 98 film.) Godzilla vs. Megalon is the most low-budgeted Godzilla film since All Monsters Attack. Thought Godzilla vs. Gigan had stock footage? That was nothing. Here the majority of Megalon's 'attacks' on the city are stock footage from Ghidorah and a few others. Also, you'll notice that Japan seems like a ghostown. It's like everyone died in the previous film and it's just these people that are left. Seriously, on the highway, it's just those two cars! This film defines the 70's for Japan. Just look at the groovy outfits and disco music. It's no surprise that this film has a slight comedy undertone. The monsters are representing the 70's with energetic moves and personality that put the Heisei era to shame. There are car chases in this man. You just can't dislike this movie, it's too entertaining.

I remember many years ago when my dad put on the Sci Fi channel, there was a Godzilla marathon airing. (Those were the days.) The scene that had always stayed in my head was when Gigan and Megalon did their monster 'high five.' The film never got an official North American DVD release, until now of course. Fast forward over ten years later and the awesome people at Media Blasters has released the first ever official American release of the film. Besides it being a bare-bone release with no special features, the video and audio are impressive. (Yes, you get to hear the horribly dubbed kid's high pitched voice in all its glory.) The story is also not something that would usually be found in these movies. Atlantis, I mean Seatopia, has decided to take revenge on the surface world for doing atomic tests. So they send their 'god' Megalon to cause destruction. It's a lot more silly than it sounds, trust me. While Zone Fighter is a second rate Ultraman, Jet Jaguar is pretty awesome. (The only Godzilla film where a robot gives a thumbs up.) Eventually Seatopia sends a message to Space Hunter Nebula M so they can borrow Gigan for a bit. (Apparently undersea people has connections with outer space.) With Megalon and Gigan ganging up on Jet Jaguar, Godzilla arrives to even the score and the stage is set for the most colorful battle in all of Godzilla history. If you're one of the people only remembering Godzilla has a hero of Japan, this is the film defining that. No longer do the people fear Godzilla, in fact, they welcome him!

First of all, there are three main characters. Goro, his kid brother Rokuro, and Hiroshi. The relationship between the two main guys is not explained. Friends? Roommates? Cousins? They never explain it. Whereas all the previous films had people living in the cities with traffic and everything, here it's like open country. Only once we're shown people, a little bit before Megalon attacks the dam. (Which was a pretty great scene.) Besides that, it's like these three guys are the last surviving members of the human race. At least they're funny to watch. (I'll take funny over boring, Heisei era.) The 'antagonist' I guess you can say is some guy that belongs in Rome. The dub's voice, you're going to die laughing at how seriously sad he sounds. In the end, he turns out to be the most laughable human antagonist in the series. With some character development, things could have been better. Then again, this guy just fits the film. He's really serious, and that's the funny part.

This is the first new Godzilla look in awhile. (The previous one lasted four films starting in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.) Isn't he just cute? It's amazing to think how far (or behind) the series has come in terms of tone from Gojira. There Godzilla was a horror icon, people feared him, he was scary. Now here he has a Pug-like face and people cheer him on. C'mon, this is good stuff. Godzilla is acting all 70's with his gestures and boxing like moves. He's really into it, in fact, this is the first time when he starts acting all karate like. This is the heroic Godzilla a lot of people know. He's there, ready for a fight, no retreats and helps his teammates. This Godzilla has so much personality, he's just a blast to watch on screen. This is also Jet Jaguar's film. Created in a contest, the robot is pretty darn awesome. For awhile fans disliked him, but over the years he's been more liked. Who doesn't love a robot that can magically 'program himself' to increase size? Despite what you might think, Jet Jaguar (love how Hiroshi just thinks the name out of the blue) has a lot of personality. When he's getting doubled by Megalon and Gigan, que sadness from the audience. Megalon is the new monster this time around. Excellent and unique concept, a giant beetle thing with drills for hands. (Gotta love TOHO and its crazy creations.) This weakling of a monster fits right in with this era. (Really should have been him instead of Hedorah in Final Wars.) The giant cyborg chicken Gigan returns. This guy is just awesome with his 'I-enjoy-killing-you' persona. He actually threatens to Godzilla that he will chop off Jet Jaguar's head if he comes any closer! (Godzilla then just blasts him away with atomic breath, good stuff.)

The final fight is what makes the film. It actually has a lot less stock footage than I remember. The actual battle is much better choreographed than the battle in Godzilla vs. Gigan. There it felt like it dragged on too much, the fight in this film is long enough, fun enough, and awesome enough. There's just so much energy and personality in the fight! You gotta love the monster expressions, like when Megalon watches Jet Jaguar in awe as he turns monster size. My personal favorite is when Gigan and Megalon think they have Godzilla and Jet Jaguar trapped in a ring of fire, they're dancing around mocking the two heroes, then Godzilla grabs hold of Jet Jaguar and they fly out! Gigan and Megalon stop dancing and look in disbelief to see the two flying. They're like "You've got to be kidding..." Man I LOVE this stuff. The soundtrack takes some ques from Godzilla vs. Hedorah. (Yes, Godzilla's goofy theme returns.) I was not a fan of the soundtrack in Hedorah, but here it sounds good cause it fits the non-serious, slightly (let's change slightly to very much) humorous tone. (At the end you'll hear Jet Jaguar's song, it is worth the wait for its amazingly cheesy lyrics.)

Godzila vs. Megalon is the type of film hardcore critics hate. It's not the most well-made movie, with stock footage throughout and non-existent character development and a pretty poor (but funny) human antagonist. However, as a fan of the genre and one who likes a fun time with a film, I, as many others, enjoy this movie. It's just too much fun, you will be left smiling. Critically it deserves a 4/10 because of its low production values, but it gets a 7/10 from me for having personality, fun, and most of all, heart. Plus it has Godzilla defying gravity with his famous and infamous double kick. (He's Godzilla after all.)

7/10

Happy 50th Anniversary King Kong vs. Godzilla!

What is the greatest movie crossover? Some may say Alien vs. Predator, some may say Freddy vs. Jason, but the truth of the matter is that King Kong vs. Godzilla stands above all cinematic crossovers. Some only know Kong from the Peter Jackson film of 2005, and some only know Godzilla as a giant iguana from the 1998 movie. Some don't even know this crossover exists! But that some is very few. King Kong vs. Godzilla may just be the most well-known Godzilla film in America, it still holds the record for highest grossing Godzilla film. (If we un-adjust inflation, Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth holds the record.) C'mon, it's Japan's premiere monster against America's premiere monster. (If only the Cloverfield monster could get a few more films.) Not everything was dandy though, this film does have some controversial origins. Originally this was going to be King Kong vs. Frankenstein. (Frankenstein had battled the Wolf Man, next step was King Kong.) The story by Willis O'Brian (the guy who animated Kong in the original 1933 film) was stolen and given to TOHO by John Beck, whom we know is responsible for the dub. TOHO replaced Frankenstein with their own monster and went on to make their most successful kaiju film to date. The original Japanese version to this day has still not been released in America, so many have not seen it. (I am part of that many sadly.) From what I know it's a satire of giant monster movies in general, and it was actually funny. When it was dubbed, Beck wanted to make it a 'straight up science fiction story.' The satire was removed and an attempt was made to make it into an adventure. What we got was a science fiction story with pretty bad dubbing comedy. While the dub is a complete joke, it's still magic when you see the two beasts fighting for the first and last time.

This film being a lot less serious than its two predecessors, the Godzilla suit was given a more cartoony-like look. Now don't think that's a bad thing, it's really quite awesome. Next to the GMK look, this one makes Godzilla look evil. In this film Godzilla was a complete jerk when it came to fighting. In their first encounter he was just laughing and clapping his hands and making Kong retreat thanks to his atomic breath. King Kong, well, as a kid I didn't really notice too much, but now I see how goofy the King Kong suit looks. There's no getting around it, it looks silly. But it's part of the film's charm. The final battle is what this film is known for. Unlike some vs. movies (any Asylum movie) where they wait until the final five minutes to show the two fighters battling it out and it ends up being disappointing, in King Kong vs. Godzilla the final fight is long and satisfying. America doesn't quite understand how to do giant monster fights like Japan does. Classic kaiju wrestling at its finest. King Kong is obviously no match for Godzilla, everyone seemed to know that, so they gave Godzilla a weakness against electricity just for the film, and made Kong stronger when struck by it. Godzilla was never without a doubt winning the whole time, easily outmatching Kong. Of course the biggest asset here was Godzilla's atomic radiation, whenever he struck Kong by it, the latter was like "The heck is this?" Meanwhile Godzilla is clapping at how futile the battle was. Godzilla even attempted burying Kong alive, and clapping while doing it! This is one of the few films where Godzilla is the definitive villain with his opponent being the good guy.

Originally the film was going to use stop motion animation, like with the original King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Sadly (though suitmation is awesome in its own right) it would have been too costly. (Japanese movies tend to have smaller budgets than American films.) So the classic suitmation was done. However, some stop motion is found, such as the famous Godzilla double kick on Kong. Unlike in the previous two entries, the monsters became 'characters' in the fights. This is where the crazy kaiju fights originated from. Instead of being dark where "Oh man, whoever wins we're screwed" with the dramatic music playing, here is a fight you'll be smiling at the whole time. C'mon, Kong tries to shove a tree down Godzilla's throat, you don't see this stuff like that anywhere else.

When one mentions King Kong vs. Godzilla, the infamous ending rumor comes up. Obviously it's been known as fake for a long time, but still a fun thought. In the end, as much as Godzilla fans dislike it, King Kong won the battle. They both plummeted into the ocean, and moments later Kong rose up and started to leave and head back home in time for King Kong Escapes. A rumor that had originated from the magazine Spacemen had stated that in the Japanese version Godzilla had won. Once Americans were able to get a hold of the original version, the rumor was destroyed. Still, a fun thought. Godzilla was more powerful than Kong, it was only when the latter was powered up by electricity when the tide had turned.

King Kong vs. Godzilla came out in 1962, seven years after Godzilla battled Anguirus in Godzilla Raids Again. After the film's success, Godzilla became a profitable character again. While Gojira was immensely successful, Raids Again was poorly reviewed by fans and critics alike, and the monster was laid to rest as TOHO did other monster films such as Rodan and Mothra. But after King Kong vs. Godzilla, TOHO decided to start a franchise starring the title monster, he went on to crossover with Mothra and in the same year turned into a good guy and battled Ghidorah. So without King Kong vs. Godzilla, it is quite possible that there will have not been as many films we see today. (Imagine that!) On August 11th, 1962, Godzilla went on to battle King Kong for a battle of the ages, fifty years ago. It was on that day that Godzilla was defined as a character, and c'mon, it's the greatest crossover in the history of cinema!

Monster of the Week: Kumonga (Showa)

Kumonga is the giant spider that hails from Sollgel Island. Like Kamacuras, Kumonga was once a little thing before mutating into this giant beast of a monster thanks to a failed government weather experiment. See, after all these years you finally realize that spiders are sinister creatures. If you give them higher intelligence, they become extremely sinister creatures. Kumonga was a feared name in Sollgel Island. Unlike Kamacuras, there was really no way to drive this thing away. Kumonga is one that sleeps a lot in his underground cavern, he only pops up every once in awhile to get some food. Sadly, due to unfortunate events, he was awakened unexpectedly. That's where the later events of Son of Godzilla take place.

It was one fateful day when Minya hatched. Sadly for him, he got beat up a lot that very day when Godzilla wasn't around. When Minya decided to go for an afternoon walk, he happened to run into a Kamacuras. The insect seeing Minya as easy prey quickly went to play around and torture the little guy. While he was backing up in fear, he banged into a few rocks. Those rocks would change everything that day. They fell into Kumonga's valley. They had disturbed the giant spider's sleep. Goro and Riko happened to be in the area, they were witness to the rise of Kumonga. They quickly ran away, but was stopped by Kumonga's unbelievably sticky webs. You see, Kumonga is the biggest spammer of all time. He will constantly use his webs. They are pretty much unbreakable except for one thing....fire. Goro happened to have a match, which burned the webs. Kumonga manged to trap the two into a very thin area. He could barely make them out has he attempted to claw and web them. Thanks to Goro's genius mind, they managed to allude the giant spider by climbing up. They had escaped, but the giant spider wasn't far behind...

Kumonga is one that holds a grudge. He will go after you until the ends of the earth. It wasn't long after that he knew the two had escaped. To everyone's horror, he had followed them to the cave where all the crew was staying and webbed the entrance shut! With his sword like claw, he attempted to grab anyone he could. But, he had then sensed a new prey: Minya. The poor little guy was off again, wandering around when he happened to run into Kumonga. The Son of Godzilla really did try to fight as he begged for mercy while getting webbed to the ground. Kumonga was then going to get his first kill when a Kamacuras showed up. You see, unlike Gimantis over there, Kumonga is a deadly, sadistic creature. Kamacuras is nothing other than a bully. When push comes to shove, they high-tail of there. Quick. This time was no exception. I'm going to say that Kumonga had most likely killed a bunch of Kamacurases in the past. Once this one saw the giant spider, he wanted to get the heck out of there. But Kumonga couldn't have that. As Kamacuras attempted to fly away, Kumonga webbed the preying mantis to the ground. As it tried to fly away pitifully, the webbing kept it down. You can see the horror on the insect's face, he knew he was about to die a painful death. You see that as he made a sound for mercy. But Kumonga is as merciless as they come, just driving his poison stinger into Kamacuras, scaring the living daylights out of Minya. After the demise of Kamacuras, the giant spider turned his attention back to a petrified Minya. The little guy was screaming and calling for his dad. Kumonga is one of the most sadistic monsters ever, he knew that Minya was really scared, he had then taunted him with his stinger, bringing it out and bringing it in. This guy must get a kick out of hearing his opponents beg for mercy. Good thing for Minya was that Godzilla had arrived. Kumonga had not realized it until he was hit in the head with a rock, knocking him over. However, he was quick to get up and started spamming his webbing. The amazing part is that the webbing can actually withstand against an atomic blast. When the two are put against each other, the webbing wins. Godzilla is not one to just give up to webbing, after a good blast of atomic blast to the head, Kumonga re-thought his situation and started to head back. He wasn't prepared for a fight where his opponent could actually fight back, he had never met someone like that. Godzilla on the other hand wasn't going to let Kumonga go anywhere. He followed him and shot a blast of atomic radiation to get the giant spider back at attention. At this point Kumonga knew that this guy wasn't going to leave him alone...until he had killed G of course.

This is where the real battle begins. Kumonga started, you guessed it, spamming his web, which eventually knocked down Godzilla. Minya really tried to help by shooting a blast of atomic radiation at the web, but to no avail. This is where Kumonga started to go after Minya again. This guy just loves torturing really scared souls. Godzilla, even having been tied to the ground shot two blasts of atomic radiation, which downed Kumonga, or so they thought. You see, not only is Kumonga a sadistic monster, he's also an extremely cunning one. He doesn't blindly attack his opponent, he makes plans on the fly. Godzilla had suspected something, but he wasn't expecting his right eye to be stung by Kumonga's stinger. The spider knew his plan would work and quickly flipped himself over to watch the King of Monsters revel in pain. Of course, they both hadn't expected the weather to start snowing. Believe it or not, Kumonga has insane strength. Godzilla had decided it was time to take down the spider by force. However, Kumonga had stood himself up to meet the challenge and tackled G to the ground. Godzilla was trapped with his right eye not working, he was practically defeated. Kumonga was on top of him, reveling in his victory. What he hadn't expected was a powerful blast of atomic radiation from Minya. He was sent flying off G. Of course, he wasn't defeated yet. From afar, he shot his web while G had gotten up and shot his atomic radiation for a web/beam war. Kumonga's web won out, and he presided to finish off a weakened Godzilla. The latter managed to get a good blast in, which halted the spider in his tracks. At this time, Godzilla and Minya combined their atomic blasts, which finally defeated Kumonga. The two then went into hibernation as the cold raged on...

But Kumonga was somehow preserved by the snow and lived peacefully with Godzilla and a bunch of other monsters who came to live on 'Monster Island.' Godzilla and Kumonga had made a pact of some sort, they were no longer enemies. Case in point with the great battle against King Ghidorah when all the monsters were transported to an island dubbed 'Monster Land.' Here Kumonga aided Mothra with his webbing. To this day, the giant spider lives in peace with the other monsters. Kumonga is a great monster. A cunning and sadistic villain, he almost killed Godzilla after all. In the end, Kumonga is also a smart monster. In a world where monsters are hated, it's best to have allies, as he and other monsters live on Monster Land.

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Review

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus had one of the worst box office showings in the franchise. To keep things fresh and to bring back all those un-loyal fans, they decided to go ahead and step out of the norm for this film. First off, this is the only really fantasy based movie in the series, no science fiction here. Now how exactly were they going to make this a standout film? Why, hire the guy who directed the Heisei Gamera trilogy of course, Shisuke Kaneko. Now there was something to look forward to here. Originally the film was going to have Anguirus and Varan instead of Mothra and Ghidorah. TOHO decided that to bring back the people, they would use two of their most popular characters instead of The Unbelievable and Godzilla's sidekick. GMK on its first viewing is one of the greatest things you'll ever witness. Repeated viewings loses a little of its greatness, but it's still a step above the average Godzilla film.

The official description from Sony TriStar:

Fifty years ago, the Japanese Defense Forces killed Godzilla or so they thought. When a series ofterrifying 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 asrevenge for all the souls lost in the Pacific War. When mere military might can not 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.

This is one of the G films where you can actually picture sitting down in a theater and watching. It has that cinematic feel that 2000 established. The film succeeds in making Godzilla out to be an actual giant monster. Camera angles help that, great perspective. You can see Kaneko's elements from his Gamera movies here. There's a great fantasy backdrop here. Earth guardians, 1,000 year old dragon, stuff you'd probably find in some random anime. Whereas Megaguirus was a more fun science film with giant insects, this one is dark and serious. While not as depressing as the original Gojira, it's one of the darker ones. The cast here is pretty good for the most part, but wasn't as great as I remembered.

Yuri is our main character this around. You'll notice that a lot of the same actors keep appearing in these films. She was.....okay. Then there's her level-headed friend Takeda. He's basically there to give us the scoop on the Guardian Monsters. There's also Yuri's father, the best character in the whole thing. He felt genuine. Then there's the mysterious old man. His role is basically to warn the characters that "Godzilla is coming!!!!!" With that said, with his limited appearances, he was definitely one of the better characters. There are a bunch of side characters (Actor Yukijiro Hotaru from the Gamera trilogy appears with a very similar role, another sighting of Kaneko's take here) but the majority of them are about average. The cast overall isn't that great, but still pretty good. The monsters on the other hand are pretty spectacular on the other hand. (Well maybe not so much Ghidorah.)

Godzilla is really GODzilla here. They really wanted to show the audience how powerful he was, he's portrayed as practically invincible. First off, the suit. You'll notice how different it is. Obviously the standout feature is the eyes, it's all white, no pupils. It's awesome and makes G look just plain emotionless. Here we have him actually attacking humans, you can see the darker approach to his character already. It's good to see such a drastic version of G, it's interesting to see him on the complete evil side. That itself isn't the most shocking part, the big thing here is that Ghidorah is a guardian monster. What that means is that he's the good guy and we're rooting for him. This is one of the most controversial things in all of Godzilla. Ghidorah's a wimp in this film, there's no getting around that. He only becomes half of what he should be when Mothra merges with him. Before that, he's pretty much thrown around like a rag doll. While he looks like an ancient dragon, it's hard to see him getting beaten up so easily. You don't go from being the 'King of Terror' to this weakling. Mothra gets a different look here, a lot more insect-like. It's a unique take and fits the film, but I wouldn't want to see it in a future film personally. And now we have Baragon. He gets a major redesign, he looks fantastic. His portrayal is great, and he's just a fun little monster to root for. He looks realistic, one of the highlights of the film. You really do feel for him as he's getting pummeled by Godzilla.

The soundtrack is a highlight here. We get some very powerful themes here. It may be different than the iconic Ifukube themes, but different is (usually) good. There's the amazing intro theme, King Ghidorah's theme, it's all good stuff. One must admire at how great they made the destruction sequences here, the special effects are some of the best in any G film. The scene where Ghidorah transforms into King Ghidorah is awe-inspiring. Godzilla's dramatic first appearance was great, and the carnage he leaves in his wake is felt. The battles are pretty cinematic, G's battle with Baragon is a nice throwback to the earlier fights in the series. It was also cool to see the jab they did at the 98 film in the beginning, only Godzilla fans would get it. It was also a very nice touch to have the classic Godzilla theme playing over the credits. Such a great ending, and the final fight is pretty climatic.

Overall, GMK is a very solid film. It has that cinematic feel and scope last seen in 2000. Godzilla's dramatic portrayal was great to see. We also get Baragon, a monster that hasn't been seen since DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, which was over thirty years ago. Mothra gets a unique design and Ghidorah.....shouldn't have been here. Rodan should have been here instead. Now that I think about it, that actually makes a lot of sense. Anyways, what's done is done. The special effects are some of the best in any G film, the CGI and the monsters look great. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is one of the most high quality of the G films. After repeated viewing, you do however realize that the cast is just above sub-par. Still, this film is a highly recommened entry.

8/10.

Godzilla vs. Biollante Review

I hope you've all had a great Thanksgiving. Usually on these big holidays, I watch a film. I was in a Godzilla mood, (then again, I always am) so I wanted to check out one I haven't seen in awhile. With the recent rumors that the rose monster would battle the big G in the upcoming reboot, I had this incentive to check out this film. (That, and it's been over twelve years since I've last watched it, lost the VHS awhile back.) It was one of the few Godzilla films I've only seen once, and was very small when I first popped it into the VCR. So without further ado, onto my Godzilla Thanksgiving special review.

Wow, I literally remembered almost nothing about this film while watching it, which made it a fresh experience. The Heisei era is known for going back to the original 1954 film's route of having a very serious tone and none of the light-hearted fun of the late Showa era. (Save for Terror of Mechagodzilla, that was a pretty serious one.) A lot of fans have a fondness for Godzilla vs. Biollante, which one of the reasons is that to this day, it still doesn't have an official DVD release. (C'mon Media Blasters, if you're gonna do Godzilla vs. Megalon, you should also do The Return of Godzilla and this film.) Anyways, I wanted to see just exactly why a lot of the fans appreciate this entry so much, and I got my answer.....well, I'm still trying to figure why it's regarded as one of the best.

The story follows the Japanese's governemt plan of creating a bacteria that could destroy Godzilla. However, one scientist decides to combine Godzilla's cells with that of a rose. The rose grows into a giant monster dubbed "Biollante," which is said to be exactly like Godzilla. Not only that, but she has the human spirit of a girl. Even though they are blood-related, when Godzilla and Biollante meet, there will be no happy family reunions.

A rather unique concept, you'll see a monster with a giant rose for head in this film. The problem was that the first half of the film was very interesting, yes, but in the second half, the plot kinda vanished for a bit. The early scene with Biollante's tentacles was intense and well-done. And just when you're getting a bit tired of the human characters, Godzilla shows up and makes his way to Biollante. After a very interesting confrontation resulting in Biollante's "death," the film takes a bit of a dull turn. See, the concept of Biollante was what made this film supremely interesting and different when compared to the rest. Once she was defeated in the first battle, she wasn't mentioned until toward the final act. What we have to do is endure the human subplot of Americans, (they never really look good in these films, do they?) attempting to steal the Godzilla cells. When Godzilla appears, he battles the Super X II, which was quite dull, being nothing more than back and forth beams. Don't misunderstand me though, it'still a pretty solid entry with a very interesting concept.

The Heisei era gave the human characters more of a focus, with deeper plots for them. The people we got here were pretty well-acted and well-scripted. There were some obvious and cringe-worthy dialogue, ("I think I've made a mistake") but was a very solid effort. The problem is that they get a bit too much screen time when we want to see the monsters. This was fan-favorite Miki's first appearance, not a bad performance at all. The problem is that they introduced a bit too many characters to give equally solid performances.

Godzilla himself looked pretty good, there are some amazing closeups in his face. Biollante's design is truly a unique one, the most unique since Gigan at the time. However, one flaw was that Erica, the girl whose spirit is in Biollante, isn't explained very well. It was never said exactly how her spirit went into Biollante's, it didn't make much sense. The final battle, while short, was definitely very well-done. Every move the monsters made was felt, truly epic. The scene where Godzilla stands in front of Biollante's evolved form was truly awe-inspiring. I also liked the scenes with Biollante somehow walking toward Godzilla, gave off a creepy feel.

One of the things that killed this film was the awful soundtrack. My goodness, a lot of these songs belong in some cheesy 70's flick. The sad part is, this film has a very serious tone, and these cheesy themes remove the tension in some scenes. (Especially in the first chase scene with the stairs, where this Scooby Doo-like theme plays.) The soundtrack is definitely one of the worst in the franchise. Biollante's theme might have been the only good theme, (aside from Akira Ifukube's Godzilla theme of course) giving off an eerie feel.

Overall, I think Godzilla vs. Biollante is a bit overrated. Too little monster sequences, too little Biollante, some poorly developed human side-plots, and an awful soundtrack. It had a dull atmosphere at times. (Apparently TOHO realized this, cause in the next film, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, became more fun and followed the Showa route of craziness.) Still, this film has some solid acting, a cool monster in the form of Biollante, and the final battle is supremely epic, especially when Biollante attempts to eat Godzilla's head. (Which Orga would attempt ten years later.)

7/10.

Godzilla: Final Wars Review

For my 16th birthday, I wanted to do something interesting. Instead of throwing some kind of party, I decided to revisit one of my favorite films: Godzilla: Final Wars. I've seen this film four times, (now five) and decided that for a special age, a special movie to revisit. So, let's start.

Final Wars has an interesting reputation. It's the 50th anniversary film. Truly a feat, fifty years of Godzilla. This film was meant to be the goodbye, the one where it ends on a high note. The one where you look back and say, "What a great end to a great franchise." Does it succeed? Read on.

The plot takes place in the near future. Monsters are the norm, and there exists "Mutants," the core of the Earth Defense Force. It's been several years since Godzilla was frozen in the South pole. Out of nowhere, Rodan attacks NYC, and before you know it, monsters galore! As the Earth Defense Force attempt to combat these beasts, a mysterious ship from outer space comes into earth's orbit. It "eliminates" the monsters and the beings inside, called "Xilians" say there here in peace. They explain that a planet called "Gorath" is en route to earth, and it will destroy the planet. However, things are not what they seem.....

Sound familiar? Veteran fans should instantly recall this plot. This film is basically a modern Destroy All Monsters combined with Monster Zero. Yes, so scratch all realism from the past Millennium films, this film is crazy like Showa. And that's a good thing. The past two Millennium films were deadly serious, Final Wars was a welcome change of pace and throwback to the 60's and 70's. I loved every second of it.

This film is a lot different than the ones you're used to watching. Not just Godzilla films, all films in general. Whereas other films gives you a breather, get to develop the characters, take time to explain things, Final Wars lets you have it with no stop of the action. Seriously, even the dialogue scenes, thanks to the music, doesn't feel like a "breather." It is nonstop. And I think that's the way to do it.

Everything about this film is different than the average Godzilla film. The characters have a certain cool "style." Think Matrix-type of fighting wouldn't mesh well with Godzilla? Think again. A lot of times in the previous films, the human screen time can get pretty dreadful. (I'm looking at you Destroy All Monsters.) Thanks to the fun characters and crazy fights, the human screen time I actually ENJOYED.

The main character, Ozaki, will remind you of Neo from the Matrix. A lot of the fights are reminiscent from it. Good or bad? I think it's great, a change of routine for the Godzilla films. Captain Gorden is such a fun guy to watch on screen. Sure, he may come off as corny sometimes, but it fits in with this crazy movie.

MONSTERS, MONSTERS, and MONSTERS! This is the selling point naturally. 50th anniversary? What better way to celebrate than with fifteen monsters?! Here we have the most monsters ever captured in a Godzilla film, or heck, all films. The monsters get some great screen time, and the effects are steps above anything TOHO has produced before.

Godzilla is looking his best, my personal favorite look after the 2000 one. He looks menacing, but at the same time, not evil like his look from GMK. Mothra is just about the same from the last film, Tokyo SOS. Thanks to the awesome effects, she hasn't looked more powerful. Gigan gets a big modern redesign, sporting a black and silver look rather than is classic green and yellow. He looks AMAZING. (Yes, he is my favorite monster) Showcasing his laser, something that was never showed in his early appearances. Rodan sports his Showa look, and flaps his wings with glory. Angurius sadly is the most disappointing. His look from Destroy All Monsters, a film over thirty years ago, looks better than this film. I am glad that they gave him a rolling ability, he actually doesn't look weak at all, boasting some impressive moves. King Caesar looks practically a copy of his look from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. A great modern update for Kamacurus, who now sports wings. Kumonga looks impressive, though his look from Son of Godzilla is equally great. (Amazing, considering that film came out over thirty years ago.) A great surprise was the inclusion of Zilla, a monster that looks strangely like the American Godzilla from the 98 film. The CGI is decent enough, and at least he actually looks impressive. (Remember the 98 film? Yeah, me neither.) Ebirah gets a nice modern look, but the film goes out of it way to show you how weak the monster is. (The only monster to go down by humanoid beings.) Manda gets a nice appearance, his first since Destroy All Monsters. His look is by far the most improvement, after that horrible look from Destroy All Monsters, this was welcome. Minya, well, it's pretty much impossible to make him look even a little feasible. Still, it's a lot less goofy looking than all of his previous appearances. New monster, Monster X, is a unique design. A new monster was welcomed, but who he transformed into was something else. I mean, how could we have a 50th anniversary without......

Even I was surprised when I saw this beast. Boasting an incredible menacing look, "Kaiser Ghidorah" made a satisfying final opponent for the King of Monsters. Not a fan of the four legged part, too similar to Mothra's Death Ghidorah. Still, Kaiser here was truly a great finisher for the film, standing even taller than Godzilla himself.

There are some really epic scenes no other film can surpass. You'll want to watch this with the speakers blasting. After a powerful opening featuring Godzilla, it only gets better. Rodan's attack on NYC is truly a standout moment I'll never forget. Gigan's rise was just cool, and just the monster scenes overall were a step above everything that has come before it. The monsters aren't slow moving at all, they are fast, and the fights are just top-notch. (Mothra's fight with Gigan being the best in the whole film.) Everything, from Manda attacking the Gotengo, to Monster X's transformation were some great scenes.

The soundtrack is (gets ready for a thrown tomato) I think, the best in all of the Godzilla films. It might be lacking the dramatic feel of the oldies, but the music here is just awesome, there's really no other word to describe it. Godzilla's new theme was excellent and greatly used. (They still use the classic one for the intro, which was nice.) The music is just energetic and keeps you entertained. (As it should, cause this film is pretty long, at two hours and five minutes.) We even get to hear a song from the band SUM 41, "We're All to Blame." That thing played during Godzilla's fight with his American counterpart. The fight only lasts about fifteen seconds, but that song makes it the most epic fifteen seconds of your life. (You'll want to really turn up the volume for this.)

The Xilians from Monster Zero get an updated look, even boasting the retro spandex and visors. The leader, (well, the one that takes charge later in the film) is an evil, emotionless villain, but at the same time, really funny. He makes the already great film even more enjoyable. "I knew that tuna-eating monster was useless!" Classic.

In closing, I can see why a lot of fans don't like this movie. It lacks the deepness of the ones before it, and some of the monsters lose too fast. Hedorah, who also makes a surprise appearance, gets finished very quickly. So I understand that. I on the other hand will always greatly enjoy this film. It's everything I've ever wanted in a Godzilla movie, lots of great monster destruction and fights, the humans are actually cool and fun to watch on screen, the music score is top-notch, no corny dubbing, it's just my film. Godzilla: Final Wars may not be the 50th anniversary "hurrah" everyone was looking for, but it's a darn fun film that will remind you why you got into the franchise in the first place.

I give this film a 9.5/10.