GODZILLA Movie Thread

[Eric Paddon]

I will be interested to see what Criterion does with the classic films.

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA 2000: MILLENNIUM (1999) - 7.5/10. Made four years after GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH, G2000 opens up with the Godzilla Prediction Network (a group headed by a father and his young daughter) attempting to predict Godzilla's movements in order to study him and give people fair warning as to where he will be (like predicting a storm or something). He and his daughter are accompanied by a female journalist who is unenthusiastic about her assignment, wishing instead that she could be given more important assignments from her editor. The GPN is in direct competition with the Crisis Control Intelligence (CCI) lead by a young, brash man determined to destroy Godzilla. His group discovers a meteor in the Japan Trench. Hoping it will provide an alternate source for energy, they bring it up out of the water only to discover it is a UFO which is powered by light (the sun). The UFO and the GPN scientist discover that Godzilla has regenerative properties that is coded in his DNA (Organizer or Regenerator G1), and the aliens want it so they can rule the earth. This leads to an epic showdown between Godzilla and Orga, the alien monster.

There are several things I really liked about this film; Godzilla's reveal early in the movie is fantastic. His solution to defeating the Orga alien is by far one of the most epic and enjoyable monster defeats I have seen yet in a 'Zilla film...lol...absolutely spectacular! Godzilla's appearance in this film has been revamped, and he certainly looks more menacing. His radioactive breath is also improved in a drastic way. I enjoyed the interactions between the flustered female journalist and the father/daughter. By the end of the film she has essentially joined their ranks as a surrogate mother/wife figure. The father and his daughter are both very sympathetic characters without being heart-stringy in their approach to acting out the parts. The relationships of the three of them (including the journalist) just naturally developed and was believable. G2000 pays homage to several films such as JURASSIC PARK, INDEPENDENCE DAY, DIE HARD, WAR OF THE WORLDS, and any number of others. There are moments of light comedy that I really enjoyed as well; the one thing I was not all that impressed with was the score by Takayuki Hattori. It wasn't very memorable (though kudos to him for bringing in Ifukube's theme during the climactic battle as Godzilla rises out of the water). The film is a little slow at times.

I did watch the American version of the film and listened to the commentary by the makers of the American version. They did treat the film very respectfully, and I enjoyed listening to all the decisions they had to make in order to tighten the film a bit and make their version respectable. I guess I am an elitist snob when it comes to dubbed versions, but even the most respectful ones I don't really care for. I like hearing the Japanese actors'/actresses' voices and reading the subtitles; even thought eh dubbing job was handled with great care, I just don't like it. Maybe something is wrong with me and I cannot appreciate the artistry of it all...lol...however, I applaud the efforts of the American team in their presentation of the film. They obviously love the Godzilla series and appreciate its history. This one is a strong entry into the series...the more I think about it, the more I like it.

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS: THE G EXTERMINATION STRATEGY (2000) – 4/10. As a response to Godzilla’s rampages, Japan decides to go from nuclear energy to plasma energy in the late 90s. The change, however, does not prevents destruction from Godzilla. After being saved by her commanding officer (at the expense of his life) during an attempt to take down Godzilla in 1996, Major Tsujimori of the G-Graspers (Misato Tanaka) is determined to get rid of Godzilla once and for all. She becomes employed by a team of scientists/organization who is working diligently to create a weapon that would eliminate Godzilla. Headed by a scientist who lost loved ones during the 1996 Osaka rampage, the team fashions a weapon which creates a black hole that will engulf Godzilla and send him away. During a test of the weapon (where it is discovered that the black hole leaves a residual wormhole…key plot point for the post-credit trailer), a dragonfly is sucked into the breech and mutates into a prehistoric dragonfly creature that lays an egg, produces tons of offspring, and eventually becomes Megaguirus, a fearsome insect opponent for Godzilla (there is more to the plot than that, but I will leave it there for now).

The strength of this film is in its battle sequences – the showdown between Megaguirus and Godzilla is truly epic, and the filmmakers use slow-motion and “Megaguirus vision” techniques to great effect, especially in the climactic moment. Godzilla wins (obviously), and he does it in fantastic fashion. I love how each film attempts to give Godzilla more of a personality. The rest of the film is a let-down from GODZILLA 2000. The human characters are less sympathetic; Major Tsujimori’s relationship with hot-shot Kudo never finds its “heart.” I suppose I understand why humanity is afraid of Godzilla and wants to get rid of him (which makes sense in the film’s universe), but as a viewer I found myself rooting exclusively for Godzilla and not at all for any of the human characters. The score is okay, but it is not Ifukube good. The insects reminded me of MIMIC a little; this is not the worst film in the Godzilla series but definitely not as good as GODZILLA 2000. Still, if you can sit through the dull human drama the epic showdown is really worth watching.

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (2001) - 5.5/10. Taking place fifty years after the original appearance of Godzilla, Japan is once again concerned about Godzilla returning. When a nuclear submarine is found missing, everyone fears that Godzilla has returned. An Admiral in the Japan Self-Defense Unit prepares his cadets for the worst. In the meantime, the Admiral's spunky daughter Yuri (played by the extremely lovely Chiharu Niiyama) works for a low grade movie/TV company on location at Mt. Myoko. While there her crew experiences an earthquake; many people throughout Japan also experience strange events. What Yuri discovers is that three Guardian monsters (Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah) have awakened from their slumber to protect Japan from Godzilla, who truly has returned to wreak havoc everywhere he goes.

The biggest change in this movie is in monster character/motivation: Godzilla is bestial, malevolent, demonic character. His eyes are milky white. He willingly/purposefully kills human beings for no other reason than that he wants to (including a young girl in a hospital). Baragon is a new character (something related a bit to Anguirus), and Mothra stays the same. But King Ghidorah is actually the "good guy" in this film. This flipping of Godzilla monster convention was a bit unsettling...lol...I am so used to everything going a certain way that it was hard to see Godzilla be so evil and brutal. The Mothra and Ghidorah monsters are spectacular; I did think the Godzilla costume was not as good as previous films though; he looks very awkward and, at times, like an oversized puppet. Previous filmmakers did a better job with some of his head and hand movements I think.

The monster battles are epic and spectacular; there are some really cool special effects in this one throughout the film (and a couple of moments of some small level gore). I felt that the suspenseful build up to the monster reveals were decent. There were several homages to GODZILLA '54 (including a hospital scene and the climactic battle underwater), and unlike the previous film I thought the human story, though clunky at times, had more heart and humor to it. Credit for the "heart" in the film goes to Niiyama's performance as well as the story's focus on her relationship with her father (rather than a love story with some other character). The score is very synth-y; I did not like it much. All in all this is a better film than the previous effort, but admittedly I did not like Godzilla's evilness (though I respect the director for taking the risk in going in that direction with the story). Because of that, the ending of the film does not have the emotional impact that GODZILLA '54 had (or even THE RETURN OF GODZILLA) when it came to Godzilla's demise. He is so evil in the present film that his demise isn't really tragic (as it was at least in GODZILLA '54). I gave it the 5.5/10 mostly for the human story as well as the battles (with a nod of respect to the director for taking the chance in changing monster characters and making it different).

[Eric Paddon]

The character of Baragon actually dates back to "Frankenstein Conquers The World" the Nick Adams film that "War Of The Gargantuas" is technically a sequel to (but only in the Japanese version).

[AndyDursin]

Gargantuas and Frankenstein Conquers The World are two of the best Toho efforts IMO. Can only hope Criterion includes them!

[Eric Paddon]

My understanding is that Gargantuas will be but Frankenstein and the other titles that Tokyo Shock did DVD releases of won't. So no go on titles like The Mysterians, Atragon or Dagora as well (along with never released titles like Gorath).

[AndyDursin]

Got it, that would make sense. So basically what Classic Media released on DVD?

[Eric Paddon]

Pretty much. This was the list they put out that they control. "Destroy All Monsters" is the lone Tokyo Shock title (and I hope this will have BOTH English language tracks like theirs did. In fact, I hope this will be the case for all of these films) and "Godzilla vs. Gigan" is left out along with "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster."

Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956)
Rodan (1956)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster (1964)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
War of the Gargantuas (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)
Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975)

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002) - 4/10. Godzilla will not stop destroying Japan. Once again the Special Defense Forces are out and trying to stop Godzilla when young female soldier Akane (Yumiko Shaku) freezes in the heat of battle, only to see her commanding officer and others killed by Godzilla. She accepts responsibility for their deaths and internalizes her guilt, rage, and desire for revenge against Godzilla. In the meantime, widowed biogenetic top-notch scientist Tokumitsu (Shin Takuma) is recruited by the government to become a part of a team of scientists who will take the skeleton of Godzilla '54 and use it to construct the ultimate weapon to defeat Godzilla: MechaGodzilla. Tokumitsu falls in love with Akane who he feels has a connection with his daughter Sara (Kana Onodera), who herself internalizes guilt and anger over her mother's death in childbirth. Akane ends up piloting MechaGodzilla even though her new crew does not trust her much, and it leads to a climactic battle between the two monsters.

This film has a lot in common with GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS plot-wise and main character-wise. The attempts of the scientists (who is older than Akane) to put the moves on a much younger woman come off as very weird and awkward. I never felt comfortable with that aspect of the story - too weird. The connection between Akane (who in this movie kind of looks like a Japanese version of Pat Benatar back during Pat's PRECIOUS TIME days...which in itself is weird...lol...) and Sara is there (both hold in guilt over the loss of close people in their lives), but again it seems very awkward. Akane came off to me as something of a Sigourney Weaver-type character in her squad and reminded me a little of ALIENS; the film also at times reminded me a bit of TOP GUN (distantly). Ultimately I just didn't feel the emotion or connection to the human characters in this film.

There are some interesting plot points; for example, because MechaGodzilla was built over top of Godzilla '54's skeleton, it ends up hearing Godzilla's roar, remembers itself from back in 1954, and then turns on Tokyo in a moment of epic malfunction. This was a really cool plot point but, unfortunately, a quick computer fix repaired the issue. I was hoping for the filmmakers to build on that aspect of the story better - to me it was a missed opportunity. The epic climactic battle is fantastic; it really did feel like two heavyweights going against each other, trading blow-for-blow punches. The special effects were consistently good, and the score by Michiru Oshima was pretty good (I was humming the MG v G theme after the movie was over). As it did in GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS though, the human story left me unimpressed, which again is a shame since I don't see why the human story and Godzilla's story cannot both be compelling to a degree. That is why I cannot give it any more than a 4/10.

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S (2003) - 2/10. MechaGodzilla sits in a hangar and is being repaired in case Godzilla shows up again (both it and Godzilla took a beating in the previous film). The Japanese government is convinced that MG is their best line of self defense against Godzilla, but not everyone thinks so. Enter the Mothra fairies from Infant Island, who visit Dr. Chujo (from the 1961 MOTHRA film), his grandson, and scientist/MG technician Yoshito Chujo and beg them to stop work on MG. The fairies promise that if they get rid of MG, Mothra will fight on their behalf. If not, then Mothra would fight against them. Yoshito loves and trusts MG, making it difficult for him to choose.

Again, there is more to the plot than this but that is the basic outline. This was a disappointing film on several levels, not the least of which was the human story. Unfortunately, Yoshito's story just falls flat. In addition, the movie never pays off on the ultimatum. Mothra does fight Godzilla, but the fairies actually end up providing aid to Yoshita which in turn enables him to repair MG when it goes down. So Mothra never follows through on what the fairies told the Chujo family. The battle with MG at its start is almost a complete rehash of the previous film. And instead of a female MG operator we have, in this film, a male operator...not that I really care except that the film seems in many ways to be a repeat of the previous film. When all is said and done, even the Godzilla moments are kind of dull in TOKOY S.O.S. Nothing new and inventive to be seen here.

I feel like the well is running dry - the visual effects continue to be very well done, but the storytelling seems to be very sloppy and/or lazy. Oshima's score is decent, but nothing really can salvage this movie for me. It has bits of entertaining moments in it, but overall I feel this is one of the weaker Godzilla film out of the whole canon. I am hoping FINAL WARS is better than this.

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004) - 6/10. Aliens have returned to Earth! After an all out monster attack across the globe, these aliens (called Xilians) come and rescue humanity from their plight. In return, the Earth agrees to enter into peaceful relationships with the aliens. But the Xilians are evil; they want to enslave humanity and use them for food. They control the monsters who were attacking the Earth, and when a team of Earthlings (made up of a Japanese mutant, a very hot Japanese female scientist, a very hot Japanese female reporter, and a Tom Selleck-like American Commander) discover their secret, the Xilians release the monsters upon the Earth in all their destructive force, including an updated Gigan and a familiar looking Zilla (from the 1998 American Godzilla film). The team of Earthlings have to escape the Xilians' grasp in order to free Godzilla from his icy grave in the South Pole, for only Godzilla can take on such a worldly threat.

This film came out for the 50th anniversary of Godzilla. It did very poorly at the box office, but to be honest, I have to admit that I was entertained by this movie. It is 30 minutes longer than the previous two Godzilla films so it basically adds an extra Act; the human story (as bad as it gets at time) is at its roots merely B-movie goodness with lots of humor. The fights at the end of the film are extremely entertaining; it seems to me the filmmakers purposefully had the "tongue in cheek" approach to this film, wanting to have fun with it. Godzilla tears through his opponents - I found myself smiling and laughing for some of them, especially the way he dispatches Zilla. Godzilla ends up teeming up with Mothra to take on the final two monsters while our hero Japanese mutant (whose race of people are related to the Xilians) fights the evil leader of the Xilians. In the end, I found the film to be a homage to all the Godzilla films and characters that had come before. The score by Keith Emmerson (of prog-rock's ELP) is absolutely awful. My grade of 6/10 is probably "controversial" (since this film probably deserves something lower like a 3/10), but what can I say? It is an entertaining B-film that gives Godzilla a huge stage in which to take down his biggest foes; and the final moments of the film between Godzilla, Minilla, and the human beings is actually kind of sweet. Chalk it up as a guilty pleasure. : )

[mkaroly]

SHIN GODZILLA (2016) - 2/10. This film is a re-imagining of the series, though it attempts to kind-of-sort-of re-imagine GODZILLA '54. In contemporary Japan an aqua line is flooded in Tokyo Bay while a mysterious abandoned yacht is discovered in the middle of the Bay. Government officials hypothesize what caused the damage, ignoring young government official Yaguchi's (Hiroki Hasegawa) suggestion that a large creature caused the rupture. Soon enough though the older government officials have to eat crow, for a large unknown marine creature appears. It makes its way to land, evolving from a marine organism to an unknown land creature, who proceeds to destroy ward after ward. Although the government cannot make up its mind as to what to do, impatient Yaguchi is given permission to run his own group to unravel the mystery of the creature - what it is, and how to destroy it. His team, made up of "nerdy" types, is aided by Kayoko (played by drop dead gorgeous actress Satomi Ishihara), the daughter of an American politician. They discover the abandoned yacht belonged to disgraced scientist Goro Maki, an anti-nuclear weaponist whose wife lost her life in the 40s when the atomic bomb was dropped. It turns out Maki theorized that a mutated creature which evolved from radioactive contaminants and nuclear waste (like the one currently in Tokyo) could become reality, though his findings were suppressed by the US government. He named such a creature 'Godzilla,' and it is this creature who inflicted incredible and epic damage to the city. Yaguchi's team races against time (and against a UN resolution which requires a thermonuclear bomb to be dropped on the creature in Japan) to stop Godzilla (and other outside forces) from further destroying their country.

The film is 120 minutes long, and most of it is filmed in a documentary-type way. The most annoying thing about the film is its editing pace. I swear there is an edit every three seconds or so - thus it was a difficult film for me to sit through (I pushed through two viewings). Godzilla is much larger and uglier than before; admittedly, his destruction of Tokyo (I think) was epic and disturbing. The sheer force of his nuclear breath was astounding. Instead of being a man in a suit Godzilla was performed through the use of motion capture. He is not on the screen much though; his weakness is that he wears himself out when he uses his nuclear breath. Once he has expended all that energy he has to cool down and recover (like a nuclear reactor), so for half of the film he is "sleeping." The film has several themes in it: the inefficiency/outdatedness of the current older government (with all its bureaucracy), the young political upstarts who love the exchange of ideas and want to act, the horrors of nuclear war/nuclear waste, Japan as a puppet state (this time controlled by the UN, back in the 40s controlled by the US), and Japan's determination and fight to take care of its own problems and keep its sovereignty are all in the film. I am okay with all of that, but the relentless editing was so distracting that I found I was not fully able to enjoy the film at all. The story seems to me to be more about Japan fighting for its identity and sovereignty than it was about Godzilla as well, which again is okay but ultimately I am watching this film for Godzilla more than anything else. The score by Shiro Sagisu is serviceable (the music does quote Ifukube's themes) but not every memorable. I respect the effort to do something different in this reboot, but I just didn't enjoy the film as a whole.

[mkaroly]

Going to wrap up the Toho Godzilla comments/reviews with a final list of rankings. There are only two Godzilla films I have yet to revisit: SON OF GODZILLA (1967) and GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA (1974). Hopefully Criterion will release these so I can complete the rankings. Until then, here are all my ratings for the 27 Godzilla films I have watched from best to worst:

[/Godzilla 1954-1975b]

1. GODZILLA (1954): 9/10
2. MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA (1964): 7.5/10
3. KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962): 6.5/10
4. GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964): 6/10
INVASION OF ASTRO MONSTER (1965): 6/10
6. DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968): 5.5/10
7. EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP (1966): 5/10
ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (1969): 5/10
GODZILLA VS. GIGAN (1972): 5/10
10. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955): 4.5/10
11. GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH (1971): 3/10
12. TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975): 2.5/10
13. GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (1973): 1.5/10

Godzilla 1984-1995

1. GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (1992): 7/10
2. GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH (1995): 6/10
3. THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984): 5.5/10
4. GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA II (1993): 5/10
5. GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE (1989): 3/10
GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH (1991): 3/10
7. GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA (1994): 2.5/10

Godzilla 1999-2004

1. GODZILLA 2000: MILLENIUM (1999): 7.5/10
2. GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004): 6/10
3. GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL OUT ATTACK (2001): 5.5/10
4. GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS (2000): 4/10
GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002): 4/10
6. GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. (2003): 2/10

Godzilla 2016-present

SHIN GODZILLA (2016): 2/10

I will post one last review later on today on GODZILLA 2014 from the USA, then I will take a break from Godzilla! Lol...

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA (2014) - 4/10. In this film Godzilla is an alpha predator who seeks to engage in combat with a couple of MUTOs (one male, one female) who have been awakened from their dormancy. These MUTOs feed off of nuclear energy/materials; the male ends up causing a catastrophic disaster at a nuclear power plant which leads to the death of Sandra (Juliette Binoche), the wife of American lead plant engineer Joe (Bryan Cranston). Fifteen years after those events, Joe (who takes direct responsibility for sending his wife to her death) is still in Japan trying to get to uncover the truth of what happened that day. His now grown son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Navy officer, is forced to leave his wife (played by Elizabeth Olsen) and go to Japan to bail his father out of jail. Ford ends up becoming involved in all that follows as the American Armed Forces attempt to stop the MUTOs from wreaking havoc in the US. And in the background are the Monarch scientists led by Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) who have been keeping their eyes out for MUTOs in the hopes of studying them. Although the US wants to detonate a nuclear warhead in order to destroy the MUTO threat, Ishiro believes Godzilla, acting as nature's way of "balancing" itself, can fight the MUTOs and eliminate them.

Although this movie is radically better than the piece of garbage called GODZILLA from 1998 (which I don't even consider a Godzilla film), it was a huge missed opportunity when all is said and done. The biggest issue I have with the film is what many on this board and elsewhere have stated: too little Godzilla fight time in addition to too much dark environments in the film. I watched the documentaries on the Blu-Ray and it seems that director Gareth Edwards purposefully meant to delay the big Godzilla fight by showing bits and pieces here and there, but seeing it now I feel it was truly a huge misstep. If this film was meant to pay tribute to and contribute to the canon of Godzilla films, Edwards undercut himself and the fan base by delaying the gratification of seeing Godzilla fight. In addition, the final battle would have been much cooler had Edwards decided to make the night time setting less dark. The Toho films showed that even when Godzilla fought at nighttime there was a way to accentuate the colors and characters so that you could readily see the details of the fight and enjoy it more. Edwards seemed too concerned with the human story and not concerned enough with Godzilla himself. These were huge minuses.

And speaking of Godzilla, I am not sure if the US was contractually obligated not to make his roar sound like the classic roar of the Toho films, but the roar they came up with just didn't cut it for me...sounded too much like a JURASSIC PARK T-Rex roar to me. Godzilla was also huge...which I don't mind, but he looked so heavy and thick (especially in the legs) that I am surprised he could move the way he did. His feet also looked weird to me - more elephantine than lizard-like. The human story was okay; the ending of Ford's journey was never in doubt so I didn't find it all that exciting. I know people have complained about Cranston's overacting, but to be honest I didn't mind his performance that much. I interpreted his over-the-top moments as "enthusiasm." Desplat's score is just really bland (still don't know why he was enlisted for this project), and Watanabe's Ishiro is about as exciting as a piece of cardboard paper. I did enjoy the skydiving sequence as well as how Godzilla's big battle with the MUTOs - Edwards should have cleared the stage for the fight and not worried about the human characters at that point. Toho's recent SHIN GODZILLA made him the embodiment of evil; it looks like the US will make Godzilla a hero. Here's hoping GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS learns what not to do from GODZILLA 2014, a watchable film but one that could have been so much better.