UserWiki:SuperZillaRealms: Difference between revisions

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File:Playmates Kong (SI).JPG| Playmates 6-Inch Kong (2017)
File:Playmates Kong (SI).JPG| Playmates 6-Inch Kong (2017)
File:Angry Kong.jpg|Playmates 12-Inch Kong (2017)
File:Angry Kong.jpg|Playmates 12-Inch Kong (2017)
File:Playmates_SpaceGoji.JPG|Playmates SpaceGodzilla
File:PolarLight.jpeg|Polar Lights Godzilla Model Kit
File:PolarLight.jpeg|Polar Lights Godzilla Model Kit
</gallery>
</gallery>

Revision as of 15:45, 3 July 2020

SuperZillaRealms trademark icon
SuperZillaRealms
SuperZillaRealms
Alternate names KaijuOfTheElements, Shin, SuperZilla1975
Species Human
Allies AlphaRper
Enemies Stupid People (Most Customers)

Who Am I?

My Life As A Godzilla Fan

2005

At a young age most kids are first introduced into the world of Superhumans from the likes of Marvel and DC comics. I however was not one of them, instead of me being introduced to a world full of Superheroes, I was introduced into a world of Titans. And what sparked that interest was the 1993 film we all know and love, Jurassic Park. I loved how massive and realistic these creatures were. This also introduced me into Mythical creatures from the likes of dragons, cryptids like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra and cheap monster movies. One I do remember watching was Dinocroc.

2006

I don’t really remember that much from that day (as it was over 13 years ago). My mom came home with 4 specific movies which introduced me into the world of Godzilla. These movies were the following, Mothra Vs Godzilla, Godzilla 2000, GODZILLA (1998) and my all time favourite, Terror Of Mechagodzilla. She assumed I would like them because the covers included a giant dinosaur of some sort. As you can tell I loved them all, but my opinion on some of these films have changed.

2007

Since then, Blockbuster (R.I.P BlockBuster) became my favourite store to visit as they provided tons of Godzilla films many of which were from the Millennium series (Godzilla Mothra and King Ghidorah Giant Monsters All Out Attack, Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S. and Godzilla Final Wars) and some were from the Showa series (Godzilla Vs The Sea Monster, Godzilla Vs Hedorah, Godzilla Vs Gigan and Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla). I would use these little dinosaurs to act as the monster while playing, I specifically remember using a green Compsognathus to act as Godzilla. One day on Christmas, I received a gift from my aunt, I was honestly surprised when I found out it was a Godzilla figure (Bandai Creations Godzilla 1954 Wave 1 in case your wondering). It was the happiest moment in my life as I had an actual figurine of my favourite hero but that didn’t last long.

2008

In less of a year, I lost the figure. And the thing is, I don’t know where I left it. I was incredibly sad about this but luckily that didn’t last long as my mom got me another Godzilla figure (Bandai Creations Godzilla 2001). I would take that thing in the bathtub with me but the downside of it was that water would get in the figure, so I would have to remove the tail to drain it. It was a pain in the ass to get it back on. But unfortunately I lost it but it didn’t bother me this time. On Christmas Eve my brother got me another Godzilla figure (Bandai Creations Godzilla 2004) and promised myself not to lose it (Funfact: Its still on my shelf to this day but in bad condition).


2009-2010

Of course being a Godzilla fan, it did leave me a few options in terms of friends with the same interests, at least where I was. My mom applied me for a camp called “Camp Cheerful” and that is where I met my best friend AlphaRper who also had an interest in Godzilla. We spent the whole summer together and we even kept in touch by giving me his moms phone number. We would schedule get togethers from time to time, and my mom became good friends with his mom so my mom got her email address. I even went back next summer however there was sudden rift between us and I don’t even know what caused that. That rift caused us to lose contact with one another for 5 years. This rift also changed my interests entirely, I suddenly wasn’t interested in Godzilla anymore and that gap was slowly filled up with LEGO.

2012-2015

One day, my mom called me down and showed me a trailer and was shocked to see that it was for an upcoming American reboot of Godzilla. That reignited my love for Godzilla and that caused me to look for my Godzilla 2004 figure for the next hour and I slowly got into collecting figures eventually getting into the SH Monsterarts line in 2015. Anyways May 16, came around and I came out of the theatre smiling like an idiot. My mom informed me that she had AphaRpers mom’s email address and I could talk to AlphaRper again. We both got Skype and kept in contact ever since.

2017-2018

It wasn’t long before I would see AlphaRper in person again as we both planned to go to Chicago for G-Fext XXIV and it was an amazing time. We both met one of the Directors (Shinji Higuchi) of Shin Godzilla and got my Shin Godzilla figures tag signed by him. And Alpha did the same. I even went back next year for G-Fests 25th anniversary and got my Hedorah figure signed by Kenpachiro Satsuma but this time Alpha couldn’t make it.

2019

Since then, I have a great collection of figures, own almost all the movies and even got into the Ultraman and Gamera series. Personal favourite Gamera film would include Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, as for Ultraman its Ultraman Geed. I’ve been watching so many monster films so much (including the ones you see on SyFy) that I’ve understood and accepted each film despite its flaws, no movie is perfect. Love or hate these films but one thing that we agree on is that giant monsters are f*cking awesome, nothing is going to change that. The G-community is a bit derisive when it comes to “which Godzilla movie is the best” or “which is the strongest incarnation”, honestly I don’t care about that stuff. I have my opinions and they have theirs, so we should respect that.

Quotes

The Bigger They Are, The Harder I Fight
Shut Up, Otherwise I'll Beat The Skreeonk Out Of You
Fusion Rise, Legendary Godzilla! Shin Godzilla! Primal Godzilla!

My Collection

Figures

Video/Board Games

Movies

Posters

Books/Comics

Medalions

My Favourite Godzilla Films

Reviews

Godzilla Series

Godzilla (1954)

Gojira 1954 Japanese poster.jpg

Godzilla is one of the great granddaddies of most giant monster films, it gave birth to “Tokusatsu” which would involve miniature sets and rubber suits and is still used to this day in most Japanese media including Ultraman. This movie was made by people who witnessed and lived through the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and it shows, it reflects the horrors of what occurred after the bombings and its sad to watch. This isn’t really about a giant monster knocking over buildings, this shows that it was meant to be a disaster movie.

It’s important to note that I never saw the original until I was 16, it was probably for the best as it is really dark tone wise and depressing as in it should be Rated R. Whenever someone gets trampled or passes away its very sad, there is one scene that I’ll never forget and that is when a little girl cries after sees her mom pass away when Godzilla attacked Tokyo. The characterization was really good, I enjoyed the love triangle between Serizawa, Emiko and Ogata, but it doesn’t really go into much depth. The soundtrack was done by Akira Ifukube, one of my favourite themes is “Prayers For Peace” and of course the classic Godzilla theme (which started as a military march).

Just like King Kong before hand, the monsters are meant to be sympathetic as it was mankind’s recklessness that gave birth to Godzilla, it makes you question who the real monsters are. When both monsters are killed there isn’t any celebrations, cheering or anything like that, its meant to be sad despite Godzilla being a symbol for the destruction of nuclear weapons. I recently saw the American cut of the film and it most of it was cut down and new scenes were filmed, not only that, its message about nuclear weapons was watered down. Needless to say I prefer the original (1954) compared to the American re-cut (1956).

Overall, Godzilla (1954) is a cinematic masterpiece that takes inspiration from previous films like the original King Kong movie and has a fantastic message on the horrors of nuclear weapons. I would highly recommend seeing this film for a mature audience, but as for younger viewers I would stay away at least until they’re older. 4.3/5

Godzilla Raids Again

Godzilla Raids Again Poster A.png

Godzilla Raids again otherwise known as Gigantis the Fire Monster for some reason came out shortly after the original, the original did so well that a sequel was made but instead of it taking place in Tokyo, it takes place in Osaka, unfortunately it wasn’t a very good one. I do feel that Godzilla Raids Again is the Son Of Kong to the Godzilla franchise, both films were rushed and lost the tone of the previous films, it felt like this was supposed to be some sort of cash grab lacking the heart of the original like some recent Disney remakes. The film starts out with the discovery of a new Godzilla along with a new monster called Angilas (now Angurius), a giant mutated anyklosaur that has been rivals with the Godzilla species for millions of years and both monsters were awakened due to nuclear tests. To prevent both monsters from reaching Osaka, they enforce a blackout of the city but unfortunately a factory catches fire and both monsters are lured to Osaka where both monsters fight.

I should also mention that this movie created another staple in the franchise, that being giant monster fights. The fight between both monsters are really good, both utilizing their claws and teeth to make things interesting, unfortunately the framing was sped up and that ruined the illusion of them being massive, not only that, there was a major lack in sound design. Anguirus is a tough opponent and evens shatters buildings by roaring at a high pitch, unfortunately we never see it again in future movies but he does use it in Destroy All Monsters Melee. In the American version, Anguirus and Godzilla have the same roars, this was supposed to imply that somehow Godzilla and Anguirus are related, I don’t think that’s the case because Godzilla snaps Anguirus’ neck with his jaw.

A plan is set to bury Godzilla in ice, there is a great aerial shot of Godzilla from a helicopter but for some reason he isn’t moving. The movie ends with a very neat scene where fighter jets fire at a glacier to seal Godzilla in ice but one complaint is that it was a bit anti-climatic, there was no proper buildup and nothing was played over it. Ironically Godzilla would be hibernating for the next 7 years as Toho would be making more monster movies from the likes of Mothra, Varan and the Mysterians.

Overall, Godzilla Raids Again losts its dark tone in favour of giant monster battle. While it still has heart but not as much as the original did. I do consider it to be one of the worst but not THE worst Godzilla movie. Anguirus was a really neat add in and was utilized well but falls to easily. 2.9/5

King Kong vs. Godzilla

King Kong vs. Godzilla Poster A.png

King Kong vs. Godzilla is one of the biggest Godzilla/Kong movie in both franchises, mainly because it pitted two of the most famous monsters to come out of cinema. It was the American monster vs the Japanese monster, West vs East, Mammal vs Lizard, Primate vs Dinosaur (I’m running out of titles ok, cant blame me for creativity). I do consider this movie to be an immediate classic for multiple reasons, because of its plot, pacing and of course its fun fight scenes. The film does build things up for both monsters to converge on one another but luckily, it doesn't drag and the story itself is interesting to keep you hooked.

It starts out in the Bering sea where its temperature is mysteriously increasing, and its causing the ice caps to melt eventually freeing Godzilla who was trapped within the ice since 1955. During this time, another monster is discovered on Faro Island, this new monster is known as King Kong and is worshipped as a deity by the islands inhabitants. The first fight in the movie occurs between King Kong and a Giant Octopus and it was played by an actual Octopus but unfortunately the green-screening to make the Octopus look big does look pretty bad. After the fight, Kong is drugged by some sort of berry juice and is taken to the mainland as some sort of mascot, this could be a nod to the original King Kong where King Kong was drugged and brought to the mainland as some sort of attraction.

Kong does break free and heads to the nearest source of land which for convenience is Japan which is where Godzilla is heading. Both monsters battle twice in the movie both in a valley far away from cities, to be honest I really wanted Godzilla and Kong to fight in some sort of city however the only building that gets destroyed in the cross fire is Atari Castle. The fight itself is entertaining, I do love the special effects and the practical effects that were used in the fight but in some scenes, its looks like someone was bashing two toys together. I should also mention that in the first part of the fight, Godzilla has the upper hand but in the second half, Kong has the upper hand because apparently electricity makes King Kong stronger, this was from the first draft where Godzilla was going to fight Frankenstein instead of Kong, this was a lazy script change but luckily it fits unlike what happened in Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster. The fight ends when both Godzilla and Kong plummet in the ocean and only Kong surfaces, there was a rumour that two endings were filmed where in the US, Kong wins but in the Japanese release, Godzilla wins, but it was confirmed by Toho that Kong won and there was no alternate ending.

Overall, King Kong vs. Godzilla is a fun movie with an entertaining battle. But the human characters do take a back seat when it comes to the monster action only interfering when relocating Kong or rescuing someone from Kong’s grasp. The story is good but most parts do drag, I would like to see a modern interpretation of the movie but luckily, 2020 is around the corner. 3.9/5

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Mothra vs. Godzilla Poster A.png

Another crossover, Mothra originally came from a novel of the same name and was adopted in the film which was successful. The film has a great message on greed which only upset not one but two giant monsters. A giant egg washed up on shore and a bunch of greedy businessmen buy it from the village and plan to use it as a tourist attraction. To be honest these are probably the dumbest characters in the series, it seemed that it didn’t come to mind that whatever layed that egg, it wants it back. It gets worse, radiation levels were detected at a beach and of course greedy businessmen step in and accidentally wake up Godzilla.

The movie does lose track sometimes focusing more on its message on greed then anything else. Anyways Godzilla is very clumsy in this film, he’s gets his tail stuck and falls into a ditch, that happens because the suit actor was located in the neck of the suit and couldn’t see anything. The fight between Godzilla and Mothra is decent but all that happens is that Mothra is beating her wings and drags Godzilla around but unfortunately dies. The egg hatches and reveal two larvae who in case Godzilla in a cocoon and fall into the ocean.

Overall, it has a great message on greed but focuses too much on it. There was once scene where part of Infant island is practically dead due to nuclear weapons, so there’s a bit of a message of nuclear weapons as well but wasn’t focused on as greed was the main message of the story. The casting of Mothra vs. Godzilla was excellent but some parts do drag. I wouldn’t mind seeing this cast agin in the future. 3.4/5

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Ghidorah1-1.jpg

Ghidorah, the Three headed monster was a huge game changer in the Godzilla series, he went from a metaphor of nuclear destruction to defender of planet Earth. And that is because it introduces one of Godzilla’s most popular villains, Ghidorah, a three headed golden space dragon that shoot lightning, he has become a recurring villain in the series and I can totally see why. As mentioned before, Ghidorah comes from outer space and has brought multiple civilizations to extinction including Mars and intends to do the same to Earth. Martians who escaped Ghidorahs wrath fled towards Earth and integrated with humans however with each generation, the Martians grow weaker losing their abilities except for a psychic linkage that the Martians use to warn the people of Earth about the upcoming monster crisis.

However the person that the Martian is inhabiting is being targeted by assassins, so it does makes thing difficult especially when the Martian is making her go public. Godzilla and Rodan show up but they immediately start fighting each other and one of Mothra’s larvae is sent to be some sort of peacekeeper for the monsters. I should also note that in between films the other larvae somehow died and it isn’t explained when or how this occurred. There is this one scene where we see the monsters perspective of things, with Godzilla and Rodan agreeing that the humans are “bullies”.

But Mothra is unable to make Godzilla and Rodan cooperate and faces the newly awoken Ghidorah, and it doesn’t so well for her. But you know what they say ”four monsters are better than two”-Cinemassare, so Godzilla and Rodan join the fight in a royal rumble against King Ghidorah, there are some good moments, my favourite is when Mothra spews hers webs at King Ghidorah while riding on Rodan’s back. Unlike past films, none of the monster die, King Ghidorah retreats when he’s overwhelmed by earth’s monsters.


Overall, I loved the change of direction in the series, this does indicate that the Godzilla series is now leading towards a younger audience. The fights were really good with some memorable moments, it does show that sometimes size doesn’t matter but sometimes, big numbers can. King Ghidorah was awesome and you know what they say “two heads are better than one, but three heads are better then two”. 4.4/5

Invasion of Astro-Monster

Invasion of Astro-Monster Poster A.png

Despite the last film giving introduction to alien life (Ghidorah), Invasion of Astro-Monster was the film that introduced the series in the space genre. Its starts out with the discovery of a new planet behind Jupiter called Planet X that is inhabited by an alien race called the Xiliens. The Xiliens have been threatened by an alien monster they call Monster Zero, who turns out to be King Ghidorah, unlike Earth, on Planet X everything is numbered Godzilla is known as Monster Zero-One while Rodan is referred as Monster Zero-Two. The Xiliens asks for Godzilla’s and Rodan’s because both monsters successfully drove off Ghidorah in the last movie, however Mothra was never mentioned as she also had a role in driving off King Ghidorah.

In return the Xiliens will give Earth a “miracle drug” that will cure all illnesses, including cancer. Godzilla and Rodan were sent to Planet X and honestly its a nice setting for a fight to take place, its a nice change of pace when it comes to location, because for most of the series, most fights take place in Tokyo. Godzilla and Rodan successful drove King Ghidorah off and Godzilla does this victory dance that is really hilarious and iconic, even though it doesn't fit into context of the movie. However it turns out, the “miracle drug” was really a demand to surrender Earth to the Xiliens and King Ghidorah was under the Aline’s control this whole time (I dIdNt SeE tHaT cOmInInG). Now Earth gave the Xiliens Godzilla and Rodan who now under the Xiliens control, but it turns out the Xiliens are weak to a specific frequency that also has a role in freeing the monsters.

The monsters do have a minor role in the second act, mainly because the Xiliens put them on stationary and only cause a rampage due to a prediction from the master which is basically a computer. When all three monsters are freed from the aliens control, they all start to fight with all three monsters falling into the ocean but Ghidorah is the only one who emerges from the sea and retreats while Godzilla and Rodan don’t surface however it is implied that both are still alive.

Overall, Invasion of Astro-Monster is a fun film with its own goofy and serious moments. Ghidorah makes a return which I am happy about (favourite villain). The human story was really good and getting involved around the monsters especially when they freed them from mins control. But unfortunately I still like Ghidorah, the Three-Headed monster more. 4.3/5

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

Godzilla vs sea monster poster 01.jpg

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep also known as Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster was meant to be a King Kong movie as Toho still had the rights to the character during that time. The movie takes place on an island which is home to a terrorist group called the Red Bamboo that manufactures nuclear weapons and in doing so created the Giant Condor and a giant lobster named Ebirah. Red Bamboo has also been kidnapping the inhabitants of Infant Island as slaves to produce a yellow liquid that comes from the fruits of the island that keeps Ebirah away. Unknown to them, Godzilla is sleeping in a cave under the island.

Throughout the movie, its mostly the Red Bamboo chasing a group of three men throughout the island, those scenes are fun but it gets old rather quickly. There is a spy-like tone in the film as there is a lot of sneaking around. When Godzilla and Ebirah fight, they basically play volleyball with a rock. Mothra is included in the film but only gets a minor role and only appears in the third act. One thing I absolutely loved the movie was that Godzilla ripped both of Ebirah’s claws off during their final confrontation.

Overall, I liked the island setting for this film, its a nice location to make some fun chase scenes with a fun soundtrack that plays over it. The monsters didn’t blow me away as much like Ghidorah did, but it was fun to have them around. Except for the Giant Condor which could possibly the worst fight I’ve ever seen in a Godzilla film. As mentioned before, this was originally going to star King Kong but was scrapped for Godzilla. This is shown that there are many of Kong’s traits that doesn’t fit Godzilla. Its a very weak entry in the series with lazy script changes but to fun to watch. 2.9/5

Son of Godzilla

434px-Son of Godzilla 1967.jpg

Son of Godzilla yet again takes place on an island, however instead of it being home to a terrorist group, its home to a group of scientists that are testing a top secret experiment, a device that controls the weather. This miracle solution to global warming was going to be used to combat world hunger by growing food in unsuitable terrains and climates. Somehow a news reporter got a hold of this and landed on the island, but it turns out this island holds a lot more surprises, there is a species of giant praying mantises, a native girl and a mysterious signal that halts progress on the experiment. This signal causes a balloon that is carrying a radioactive sonde to explode, causing a nuclear storm and mutating the praying mantises eventually dubbed Kamacuras.

The source the the signal is coming from some sort of egg that the Kamacuras’ bash open, revealing itself to be a baby Godzilla but it isn’t confirmed if this is really Godzilla’s biological son. Godzilla does fight all three Kamacuras and they fall way to easily, not only that it seems Godzilla doesn’t care for his unconfirmed newly born son but shortly after Godzilla gives the little one a ride on his tail. This is when things get bad, while the film has a really good balance on the human and monster story it backfires horribly, the human story is really good but unfortunately the monster story is horrible but here are some moments where Godzilla is a bad parent to a good parent. At first Godzilla threatens to hit him just because he’s unable to use his atomic breath unless he steps on his tail, but while Godzilla is asleep he plays jump rope with his tail.

To make matter worse, it appears here a giant spider on the island named Kumonga and is a much better challenge for Godzilla, there is a great moment of practical effects where the staff built a in-scale model of Kumonga’s leg. Things do improve in the third act with both the human and monster story, in order to escape the island they freeze the monsters by altering the weather. This is a pretty unique monster fight as it does show that Godzilla really does care for Minilla especially at the end where they both embrace each other for hibernation.

Overall, it does have a good human story, the monster story not so much. Minilla is one of my least favourite monsters and I was dying to get back to the human story and normally that doesn’t happen with me when watching these films. One thing I did like in this movie was the use of a fully scaled model of Kumonga’s leg. One of my least favourites but its still a fun movie nonetheless. 2.6/5

Destroy All Monsters

Destroy all monsters.jpg

Destroy All Monsters was meant to be the last Godzilla film, but it did so well sequels were, some bad and some good. Anyways the movie takes place in the future and all of Earth’s monsters are contained on Monsterland. Every monster that has appear in a Godzilla movie is there, well except for Ebirah, Kamacuras and of course King Kong. Anyways despite the film having the title “Destroy All Monsters” there is actually less monsters in the movie with some of them basically getting cameos.

Despite this, its a amazing movie with a really good story. Aliens have invaded the Earth and are now using monsters to destroy the world and have brainwashed a few people. This creates a specific heaviness that reminds me of Pacific Rim’s tone. This creates a good human story, one I can get behind on. To make things better, King Ghidorah returns and faces all the monsters and even dies. Unfortunately there is a flaming space craft called the Fire Dragon and to be honest this felt like the movie was trying to add more action before the move ends, it was anti-climatic and personally the movie would be better without it.

Overall, Destroy All Monsters is an excellent film with a good human story and great monster scenes. Unfortunately its last few minutes doesn’t leave an impact as rest of the movie did. I was also upset that monsters like Varan and Manda were only in for cameos and didn’t join the final battle at Mt.Fuji. Despite these flaws this is one of the best Showa movies Ive ever seen. 4.3/5

All Monsters Attack

Godzilla's Revenge 1969.jpg

All Monsters Attack also known as Godzilla’s Revenge was a movie that completely took the franchise off of its tracks. Part of the Showa series was aimed towards children to get a bigger audience. Some work well but this isn’t one of them, the film has a message on bullying and the movie is centred around it. I own the English dubbing of the film and I’m not sure if it has the English subbing on it as well.

I saw the dubbing and it was GOD AWFUL, I know that the companies distributing the film is responsible for the dubbing and the subbing and not Toho’s. Anyways the movie mostly consists of a kid dreaming of him being on Monster Island and he made friends with a talking Minilla. The other part is when he is kidnapped by a group of bandits. The scenes constantly drag and each fight that Godzilla has, is recycled from previous films, the only fight that’s original is the fight between Godzilla and Gabara.

Overall, while the message was good it was poorly executed. The human scenes constantly dragged, I had to pause the movie multiple times and had to convince myself to finish watching. The first and second acts were extremely bad, however the third act was better but it wasn’t enough to redeem the movie. I saw this movie when I was much older, so do get that this was made for a younger audience. I would have enjoyed this when I was younger but right now.....not so much. 1.4/5

Godzilla vs. Hedorah

Godzilla vs Hedorah 1971.jpg

Godzilla vs. Hedorah is one of the many Godzilla films I saw as a child, I can describe this movie as weird, entertaining and scary. What I meant by weird was there were sometimes these short animations between scenes that doesn’t really do anything with the plot this would also include the infamous Godzilla flies scene. It is entertaining with its monster fights but Hedorah last long at least until the final fight. I even said that this movie was scary because of Hedorah, when he flies over you, people melt leaving nothing but bones and this always scared me this combined with its mostly creepy soundtrack and you get one very terrified child.

This movie carries a strong message of pollution with its monster Hedorah, an alien life form merged with all the pollution of Japan and Godzilla is the only creature able to stop it. Hedorah does prove to be a match for Godzilla and it took the combined efforts of humanity and Godzilla to finally kill Hedorah. The cast of the movie isn’t that great, its a step up from All Monsters Attack but it could have been better. The director wanted a sequel to the film where Godzilla faces another Hedorah in Brazil, but that didn’t happen. The 2014 film was originally going to be a short film featuring Godzilla facing a giant monster named Deathla.

Overall, Godzilla vs. Hedorah is a fun, weird and scary film. It introduces Hedorah who is one of my favourite monsters because he is the only monster that scared me as a child, heck not even the Xenomorph pulled that off. it introduced a really good message about pollution. It had some decent characters but Ill take them any day over the last films characters. I would like to see Hedorah return someday in a big role, not just a small cameo in Final Wars. 3.8/5

Godzilla vs. Gigan

Godzilla vs Gigan 1972.jpg

Godzilla vs Gigan is another strange film but not as strange as Godzilla vs Hedorah. I cant really say what the tone of the film really is because it constantly shifts throughout the movie. Not only that the pacing of the movie was slow and the story isn’t that special. It has the same premises as some Godzilla movies, aliens have a legion of monsters and try to use them to take over Earth. Unfortunately they didn’t give an explanation why they need Earth specifically. Oh and the aliens are cockroaches (basically unkillable aliens). Their base is located in Godzilla Tower an amusement parks landmark.

The story reintroduces King Ghidorah who previously died in Destroy All Monsters but the extended Showa series from Godzilla vs Hedorah to Terror Of Mechagodzilla are prequels to Destroy All Monsters. It also reintroduces Anguirus who hasn’t been seen chronologically since 1955, and it also introduces a new monster named Gigan who has blades for hands and a buzzsaw on his chest he is mostly famous for being the first monster to cause Godzilla to bleed. Anyways Godzilla and Anguirus somehow learned to talk and it sounds like a scratched record player, the tag team between the monsters is really good but the story itself wasn’t that good.

Overall, while this movie introduces and reintroduces other monsters it didn’t really make up for the inconsistent tone and the constant fast and slow pacing, it really throws you off. The movie also uses stock footage and unfortunately future movies have the same problem. The characters weren’t that memorable but they at least did something that moved the plot forward. The villains weren’t good and when watching a movie we do need to feel some sympathy for the villains to understand why they did this. 3/5

Godzilla vs. Megalon

Megalon-big.jpg

Godzilla vs Megalon despite it starring Godzilla, the main focus is a size changing robot named Jet Jaguar. The story is somewhat different from Godzilla vs Gigan actually, there are some elements that were from the last film, inconsistent tone, overuse of stock footage and another tag team battle in the third act. Despite the movie having the same flaws as the last one did, I did find this film much more enjoyable. I did understand the Seatopians motives were primary because of fear because of what happened to their capital, they even called the Space Hunter aliens to borrow Gigan to help their own monster Megalon, a giant beetle with drills for hands who is also worshipped as a deity.

Like previous films, the main characters take a back seat whenever the monsters are involved. The only time the humans really do anything is when two of our protagonists gets kidnapped and regain control of Jet Jaguar. Megalon is not a smart monster, he needed Jet Jaguar just to figure out where he’s going and when he’s gone he just goes on a confusing rampage, whenever Megalon battles the military stock footage from Godzilla vs Gigan is used, I get it that this is used to reduce the budget but I’m not used to seeing Gigans claw when Megalon is destroying the jets. Speaking of Gigan, he comes back to assist Megalon while Jet Jaguar teams up with Godzilla. But just like the last film Gigan flees leaving his teammate to deal with both monsters, Godzilla does this drop kick and is funny to watch, he does this a few more times before Megalon finally retreats. The movie does end on Jet Jaguar and plays this pretty dope song.

Overall, while retaining the flaws that Godzilla vs Gigan had, I found this film to be a bit more enjoyable. Godzilla isn’t really the main monster in the story despite being in the title, that honour goes to Jet Jaguar, actually Godzilla only appears in a major role in the third act. I don’t know that this was meant to be build up for the final battle but it didn’t feel like it. I did like the inclusion of two old and two new monsters, but some scenes like Megalon vs the military could have been better as it was mostly Megalon swinging his drills around and cutting to Gigans blade destroying the jet instead. 3.1/5

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

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Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla did bring Godzilla back on track while appealing to younger audiences, the movie brings in a small plot twist along with a pretty good story. The story involves a prophecy about a giant monster destroying civilization and trampling anyone that gets in its path, the only hope against this threat is a guardian named King Caesar. I should note I saw this film when I was little about 7-8 years old but I recently found a DVD release by TriStar in awesome condition for a great price on eBay for $20 despite the DVD’s rarity. The movie goes beyond just a prophecy about a giant monster destroying the planet, it involves a bit a spirituality while introducing sci-fi elements with the discovery of a new metal called Space Titanium.

It is believed that Godzilla is the monster that will destroy humanity but this is quickly proven wrong when Anguirus attacks Godzilla, knowing that he wouldn’t attack his friend and Godzilla doesn’t have metal under his skin. There is this really great fight between two Godzillas, one of them revealed to be a robotic doppelgänger dubbed Mechagodzilla that was built by a dying race of aliens that look like they came from Planet of the Apes, it’s explained that their home is about to be destroyed by a black hole that is slowly approaching their planet causing them to search for a new home, this introduces strong sympathy for the aliens which is something we don’t see that often, with their home literally on the brink of collapse they’ve become desperate to find a habitable planet in order to wipe it clean to make it a new home to themselves. The third act finally introduces King Caesar who was sleeping in a mountain this whole time, Godzilla soon returns to have a rematch with Mechagodzilla, even with their combined forces they are no match for Mechagodzilla, Mechagodzilla has an entire arsenal of weapons that causes Godzilla to bleed from finger missiles to laser beams. Mechagodzilla is soon destroyed when Godzilla turned himself into a giant magnet and twists Mechagodzilla’s head off.

Overall, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla is a movie that got Godzilla back on track while appealing to a more modern/younger audience. The plot is great, with strong villains and great monster action. The movie is colourful with a jazz-like soundtrack, however the only complaint I do have is that sometimes the pacing is off and some of special effects don’t look good (about 5%) while 95% of the effects are really good. 4/5

Terror of Mechagodzilla

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First off Terror Of Mechagodzilla is the very film that got me into the Godzilla franchise, it has a darker tone than the last film, and while all the monster action happens in the third act, it is actually really good build up for the final battle. I wasn’t able to see Terror Of Mechagodzilla for at least over 10 years since 2006, mainly because the disc got scratched, but eventually I found a Toho Master Collection of the DVD and I still loved every second of it despite me maturing during that time. It also introduces a new monster named Titanosaurus who is under the control of the Black Hole Aliens from the last film along with Dr.Mafune who was kicked out of the science institution because of his colleagues mocking him about the existence of Titanosaurus and wants revenge.


However one thing I cant get over is that there is this plot hole where he said “they came 15 years to late”, so assuming that he was kicked out in the year 1960, before that time, Godzilla appeared in 1954 and another one returned in 1955 along with Anguirus then giant insects along with Rodan a giant pteranodon appeared in 1956. So they saw giant radioactive monsters wreaking havoc upon Japan but somehow don’t believe that a giant aquatic dinosaur lives on the ocean floor. Anyways the aliens were using Titanosaurus to scavenge the remains of Mechagodzilla in order for it to be rebuilt but this time more powerful and more destructive, Godzilla doesn’t appear until halfway through the second act but I expected that as it is a common occurrence in the series and this time he faces two monsters with no backup this time, this makes really good and fun fight scenes in the movie. The special effects are as good as the previous films however somehow Titanosaurus is bigger than a mountain but its something minor and not a big deal over.

Overall, Terror Of Mechagodzilla is a really good film and from what I’ve seen its a fan favourite despite it doing poorly in the box office. While the plot hole in the film does uncover a major flaw in universe, it doesn’t ruin the movie. It has memorable characters such as Dr.Mafune and Katsura, Titanosaurus was also sympathetic as he was forced to do the aliens bidding. While it does start off a bit slow but it is totally worth it 4.7/5

The Return of Godzilla

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The Return of Godzilla is a soft reboot of the series basically ignoring the entire Showa series except the original and brought Godzilla back his roots, a force of nuclear destruction. About 30 years have passed since the first Godzilla attacked Tokyo in 1954 and being killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, its also important to note that this takes place during the Cold War as this is the movies message. It all starts with a boat being attack by mutated sea lice and the survivor claiming he saw a giant creature which is later revealed as another Godzilla which is kept under wraps by the government to prevent a panic, this new Godzilla has been sinking nuclear submarines from Russia and blame it on the Americans. To prevent another war, the government had to come clean about another Godzilla, and both nations pressurize Japan’s government for the permission of nuclear weapons but refused even if Godzilla attacks Japan’s mainland.

The first time we see Godzilla is when he attacks a nuclear power plant as a source of food, Godzilla is terrifying in this film which was something I was happy to see. Anyways it is later discovered that Godzilla follows the Earth’s magnetic field (a little nod that birds are close relatives to dinosaurs) similar to birds and a plan is set into motion to lure Godzilla to a volcano and trap him in with a controlled eruption. There is a new weapon introduced into the movie called the Super X that was built in secret to prepare for another attack, its main weapons are cadmium missiles which are used to control nuclear reactors and does take down Godzilla but is only revitalized after the Russians accidentally launch a nuclear missile towards the heart of the city only to be intercepted by a missile that the Americans fired. Godzilla is eventually lured with a magnetic transmitter and falls into the volcano, however he lets out a blood curdling scream before falling in and is incredibly sad basically telling us who the real monsters are.

Overall, The Return of Godzilla had a great message of the Cold War which is a slight adaptation of the dangers of nuclear weapons from the first film. One moment I did like was when Prime Minister was under the pressure of the Russians and Americans about the usage of nuclear weapons but goes with his convictions, if I was him I would’ve broke very easily. Godzilla is terrifying but some closeups on him do look dumb on certain camera angles, he acts more animal-like in this movie but still has the impression of a giant monster but also being sympathetic in some ways. It is a good movie but it doesn’t live up to the original film despite it carrying a similar tone and message. 4.2/5

Godzilla vs. Biollante

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Godzilla vs. Biollante takes place 5 years after the second Godzilla’s attack in 1984, the plot centres around a terrorist group, a Sandarian agent, a dead girl and Godzilla’s cells. The terrorist group is called Bio-Major and what they want with the G-cells is unclear as it was never mentioned, while a Sandarian agent wants them as an attempt to create a tropical plant that can withstand the desert heat as they only sold oil. Unfortunately the lab was bombed by Bio Major, the cells were destroyed and the scientists daughter died, to keep her “alive” he spliced her daughters DNA with that of a rose bush and after an earthquake that almost killed the roses, he joined the ANEB project and combined Godzilla cells with the rose and as we all learned from these types of movies, this was a bad idea. The rose mutates and grows into a giant monster named Biollante, during this time Godzilla is stirring inside of the volcano and the terrorist group threatens to release Godzilla if they don’t hand over the G-cells. But after a gun fight between SSS9, Bio Major and others, Godzilla is released once more.

I should point out that this movie does drag a bit for things to get interesting, despite the story being really good it drags in the first act but it does improve in the next two acts mainly because now all the drama is centred around Godzilla and Biollante, After resurfacing in Osaka, Godzilla attacks Biollante and evaporates into spores. The ANEB is recovered but unfortunately it has no effect on Godzilla as it is only activated to high temperatures, the military is sent to raise Godzilla’s body temperature for the ANEB to take full effect, a newly modled Super X II is sent but unlike the first one, it loses. Biollante returns in her beast form and looks gorgeous, the fight between the two behemoths evolves a lot of tooth, claw and vine but embrace it while we can because for the next 5 movies it will be mainly beam spams. Because of Biollante’s acid spray, the ANEB finally takes effect and takes Godzilla down, Biollante evaporates into spores and flies into space while Godzilla walks back into the ocean and isn’t seen for the next 2 years.

Overall, Godzilla vs. Biollante has a great story and message on the warnings of genetic engineering, unfortunately the tone of the movie was executed poorly especially when it was trying to be serious. Both monster designs were gorgeous and loved the tooth and claw fight scenes they had, unfortunately we wouldn’t be seeing this throughout the rest of the Heisei series because of the suit limitations for each suit. 3.3/5

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

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Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is another film that introduced the franchise into more sci-fi elements such as time travel. Anyways a group of people travel back to 1992 to warn Japan of Godzilla’s return. They travel back to the year 1944 to prevent a dinosaur called the Godzillasaurus from turning into Godzilla. However by doing this, they accidentally created the Heisei Godzilla that attacked Japan two films prior. So if they hadn’t gone back in time, there wouldn’t be a Heisei Godzilla. I don’t know, time travel is confusing in general especially on what Avengers Endgame did with it. Turns out everything was a scam and in Godzilla’s place, they replaced him with Dorats which then merged into King Ghidorah because of the radiation.

I’m not a big fan of this origin, it takes his extraterrestrial origins away and turns him into a genetic experiment gone amok. As mentioned before neither Godzillas were erased from history, and only need to expose him to more radiation in order for him to fight King Ghidorah. To their surprised Godzilla is still alive and sinks a nuclear sub that was sent to revitalize him, because of this the ANEB is gone and Godzilla increases in height. Godzilla does triump over King Ghidorah but unfortunately Godzilla’s back and goes on another rampage, so they decided to travel back to the 30th century and bring King Ghidorah back to fight Godzilla, however this time he’s cybernized and is now Mecha-King Ghidorah.

He has a vast amount of weaponry and the fight is honestly pretty awesome despite both monsters spamming the beam button. Mecha-King Ghidorah then grabs Godzilla with theses giant claws made to restrain him and flys off, but Godzilla lands one final attack in the air and both plummet into the ocean.

Overall, Godzilla vs, King Ghidorah is a very fun movie, it has really good fight scenes despite most of it being beam spams. And despite the time travel plot, it fits nicely in the Heisei timeline. If I only have one complaint is that I didn’t like King Ghidorahs new origin, however in an early script, the Dorats were created from the remains of King Ghidorah found on Jupiter, a sequel titled “The Return of King Ghidorah” was planned but never saw the light. Mecha-King Ghidorah would have a role in creating another monster in 1993 but for now I’m just going to leave it at that. 3.9/5

Godzilla vs. Mothra

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Before the movie was set into production, Toho had a voting contest and Mothra won out because she is the most popular monster amount women. Godzilla vs. Mothra also has the repeated message about protecting the environment just like Godzilla vs. Hedorah before hand, but unfortunately this was poorly executed due to multiple reasons. One reason is because that it was brought up in almost every scene, we always hear about “mankind’s destruction” upon the Earth, it feels like the movie was trying to force it down your throat with no breaks in between. To make things worse, the message of the movie doesn’t correlate within the events of the movie basically making the message worthless and I don’t think this hasn’t happened before in any movie I’ve seen.

The plot of the movie is basically a repeat of Mothra vs. Godzilla with slight changes, the most noticeable change is the inclusion of Battra which I can only describe as an anti-Mothra character wise. Mothra is usually a benevolent monster that doesn’t usually attack humans unless you threaten her followers but Battra is the exact opposite, he seeks to destroy humanity and I don’t blame him. Godzilla is of course the bad guy again along with Battra who then teams up with Mothra to defeat Godzilla, it took the combined efforts of Mothra and Battra to beat Godzilla but sadly Battra is killed after Godzilla bites his neck.

Overall, while Godzilla vs. Mothra tried to have a good message on protecting the environment, it was unfortunately poorly executed actually now that I think about it, it wasn’t even executed at all heck it didn’t have any proper correlation throughout the film. Battra was a cool monster to include, it feels like he’s a yin to Mothra’s yang but Mothra wasn’t the center of attention in the first two acts despite being in the title. The fight scenes were good but It did have a major lack of fisticuffs and just plain beam-spams which is common throughout the Heisei series but there is one good scene where Battra uses a Ferris wheel to knock down Godzilla. I haven’t talked about the human characters at all but one I just hated just because she always brings up mankind’s destruction. 2.7/5

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

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Despite the title saying Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, this is the third time they fought in the whole series...during that time. This Mechagodzilla is built by humans rather than alien in this timeline, the Japanese government recovered the mechanical remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah that was sunk by Godzilla back in 1991 and used that technology to build Mechagodzilla. There is also another weapon called the Garuda that was previously built to kill Godzilla but failed, it does have a big role but it really gets to shine in the third act. To make things more interesting, there are two more monsters in the film, Rodan with his new form Fire Rodan, Baby Godzilla and Mechagodzilla’s form called Super Mechagodzilla who is extremely powerful

Baby Godzilla is adorable, and honestly extremely better than Minilla in the Showa series and is one of my favourite things about this movie. Rodan looks good but he doesn’t do well against other monsters even when he gets a power up, he still gets his tail whipped. The characters in this film are really good, I loved the interaction between Azusa and Baby Godzilla it adds a lot of depth nd development for the chapter in this movie. In fact Baby Godzilla is the reason that Godzilla turns into some sort of anti-hero despite causing one major destruction but its important for the next two movies, actually this movie was meant to the film where this Godzilla dies and the story would continue with his son but that was saved for Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Overall, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla has a really good story that ties in extremely well with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. The characters were really good and as mentioned before I loved the interaction with Azusa and Baby Godzilla it makes really good scenes that makes me warm and cuddly. The monster action was good but just like previous films had a lot of beam-spams, but the final battle was really good with Super Mechagodzilla and Godzilla using the Red Spiral Ray. I should mention that the soundtrack featured the return of one of my favourite Godzilla films and that is Prayers Of Peace. 3.9/5

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

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Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla is an underrated movie, it first introduces a new mech called M.O.G.U.E.R.A who is supposed to be an improved Mechagodzilla which is quickly proven to be false. Anyways a space monster is quickly approaching the earth and M.O.G.U.E.R.A is sent to stop it but loses very quickly. The space monster resembles Godzilla and it turns out the space monster is a clone of Godzilla, because of this the space monster is named SpaceGodzilla , it is said that the cells came from Biollante while it is said that somehow the cells ended up on Mothra. The story itself is complicated as it does merge multiple story element in one movie and the pacing is all over the place.

The characters are underdeveloped but are pretty good compared to some future characters. The monster SpaceGodzilla is designed very well and does hold his own against Godzilla and that I mean he keeps on using his crystal shield to reflect his atomic breath. Speaking of, this movie has a lot of beam battles in each confrontation, I don’t know I just like it when its up close it makes things more entertaining. Baby Godzilla makes another appearance but this time, he’s grown up into Little Godzilla and looks even cuter but is imprisoned by SpaceGodzilla, yeah that’s how evil he is.

Overall, the film does merged multiple story elements and because of this the pacing is off which is a similar problem in Avengers: Infinity War. The monsters were good but M.O.G.U.E.R.A sucked he doesn’t even win an single fight and just looks dumb in general, compared to the original, I like the original more. The music was good but forgettable except for SpaceGodzilla’s theme, the tone is off as well compared to the previous Heisei films probably because most of the music in the Heisei series was done by Akira Ifukube. 3.2/5

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

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This is the final Godzilla film of the second series and they sent off our favourite monster it’s a bang, literally. Godzilla first appears at Hong Kong and is glowing orange, Godzilla’s heart is like a reactor and is melting down and if anything isn’t done to stop it, he’ll explode and will destroy the Earth. During this time, strange microscopic creatures were found in Tokyo Bay, the location where the Oxygen Destroyer was first detonated. Godzilla appears and the problem is, they can physically attack him because they run the risk of him exploding and decide to go with a chemical approach. So the newly built Super X III is sent to cool Godzilla down, literally and succeeded

New crustacean-like creature then emerge from the ocean and they look like a mixture of scorpions, crabs and even the Xenomorph and go on a rampage. Turns out the creatures are weak to extreme cold and use this against them, but unfortunately the creatures then merge into one and is now named Destoroyah. Little Godzilla returns but now he looks like Godzilla and is now named Godzilla JR who does beat Destoroyah. Godzilla and JR have a short but sweet reunion, only to be interrupted by the adult Destoroyah who looks like the devil himself and kills JR. This is when we see Godzilla show grief and sadness something we really haven’t seen in a long time, Godzilla then fights Destoroyah and both go left and right, claws, teeth, horns and beams.

But in the end, the military gets the kill shot on Destoroyah, in the original ending, the combination of the military firing freeze rays and Godzilla’s increasing heat would’ve turned Destoroyah into mist but Toho believed that it took the focus from Godzilla’s death which is the highlight of the movie. Anyways Godzilla starts to meltdown and the amount of radiation he emits causes Tokyo to be uninhabitable, Godzilla literally melts and the radiation disappears for unknown reasons. It turns out Godzilla JR was revived by the radiation emitted by Godzilla becoming the new Godzilla for the new era.

Overall, a very great and emotional ending to the Heisei series, the characters were great with all the major characters throughout the films completing their arcs. The monster action was really good and it got horrifying at times when Destoroyah was killing the fish. Losing Godzilla JR was extremely sad when I first watched it but in the end I was feeling a lot better. 4.5/5

GODZILLA (1998)

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Back in 1992, TriStar obtained the rights to produce a Godzilla film however the script was completed in 1994 by Terry Rossio. When directors Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin came aboard, they rewrote the entire script and changed Godzilla’s design, was that for the best, probably not. Anyways the film starts out with a really good introduction of atomic testing but not from the Americans, its from the French, it did feel like Roland Emmerich wanted to shift blame but turns out this really did happen in real life. Ships in the South Pacific haven been disappearing leaving one survivor who claims it was “Gojira”, and ancient sea monster from Japanese folklore which was a nice nod to Godzilla originating from Japan.

I’ve read some reviews online with someone complaining there there was too much rain, I honestly don’t mind because its just there to create the mood. Speaking of characters, we are introduced to Dr.Nick Tatopoulos a scientist that study’s the effects that radiation has on worms, Audrey a reporter who wants a good story but the actress that plays her does an extremely terrible job, a Frenchmen named Philipe who is probably the films best character but he still does some pretty dumb things that makes me cringe. Enough with the characters, Godzilla is the one I wanted to talk about the most, I saw this film when I was young so I did like it but I did not love it. Godzilla looks too much like a T-Rex in this movie and even acts more like a giant animal rather than a giant monster in-fact, the military does more damage to the city than Godzilla does, I should also note that Godzilla in this movie lacked his atomic breath and wasn’t immune to conventional weaponry.

There are some pretty neat moments in the film but some are heavily based on Jurassic Park even though it wasn’t intentional, what I mean by that is that this Godzilla can reproduce asexually and his young can overrun the world making him a worldwide threat. The baby are quickly killed by an air strike and this pisses Godzilla off causing his to be lured to the Brooklyn Bridge, get trapped in the cables and shot down with missiles. This was suppose to be an emotional scene just like how King Kong died but it doesn’t even work at all. One baby did survive the air strike and it went to star in the 1998 animated series which in my opinion is so much better.

Overall, while this does make a good monster movie, it doesn’t make it a good Godzilla movie. The characters were pretty bad especially Audrey, in-fact the actress won the award for worst supporting actress. Godzilla didn't really feel like Godzilla and felt like a giant animal trying to find food, I did enjoy the soundtrack, my personal favourite being the introduction. Despite what some say, the film didn’t flop it just didn't do so well at the box office. 2.95/5

Godzilla 2000: Millennium

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Godzilla 2000 was immediately released after the last film, and to be honest I wish this was the film we saw and not the 1998 film, I now I’m sounding a bit harsh but its true. Anyways this was the first Godzilla film to be released theatrically in the U.S since 1985 with The Return of Godzilla. The plot focuses on a family consisting of a father and his daughter dedicated to tracking Godzilla and to study him, a reporter comes along but just to get a story for her article luckily this reporter is more likeable than Audrey in the last film. Anyways like the Heisei series, this is another timeline, a soft reboot of the series to appeal to a new generation of moviegoers, including myself.

There are some scenes in the movie where Godzilla is portrayed using CGI mainly used underwater and to be honest, it doesn’t look good its just better when there’s something in front of the camera. When there’s a remake of a Godzilla movie, he’s usually the only monster in the movie but not his time, his opponent is first a UFO incased in rock but after the UFO absorbs some of Godzillas DNA it becomes Orga who is possibly one of best monsters of the Millennium series. Speaking of monsters, Godzilla looks incredible, he looks different but still kept the impression of who or what Godzilla is, his atomic breath is orange this time and is a nice touch. There are some pretty good action scenes between Godzilla, the military and Orga himself and is very well balanced.

Overall, Godzilla: 2000 is a fantastic start to the Millennium series, it has really good characters and I did like the drama between the GPN and the CCI about their beliefs on what to do with Godzilla. The action in this movie was well done and well balanced and was built up perfectly. If I do have some complaints, its that the CGI is pretty bad at some scenes and does takes a bit for tings to get interesting and to be honest, this movie may have the best dubbing I’ve seen in a Godzilla film. 4.1/5

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

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When the Millennium series kick off, I thought there going be be consecutive sequels but it’s turns out, its another remake, ignoring all the previous films except for the original, this is going to be consistent throughout the Millennium series. However the events of the original are retconned, this takes place in an alternate timeline where Godzilla attacked Japan and the Oxygen Destroyer was never used to kill him, so Godzilla just appears over and over again for the next few decades. The reason is because Godzilla is attracted to nuclear reactors, so the government founded a science institute and created plasma energy but unfortunately, Godzilla went after that as well. A new anti-Godzilla weapon is created in the form of the Dimension Tide, a satellite that can fire a concentrated black hole however when its first tested it accidentally mutates a dragonfly and turns into a Meganulon.

I should also note that the Meganulons first appeared in Rodan (1956), it was nice to see a return of these giant insects. Just like Godzilla 2000, Godzilla is portrayed using CGI underwater and it looks awful however there is one neat scene where a pilot climbs onto Godzilla’s back and fires a tracer on him. Godzilla’s opponent is a giant dragonfly named Megaguirus and it is said to be the most dangerous creature during its time, during the fight, Godzilla leaps in the air and does a body slam WWE style. Dimension Tide does succeed in trapping Godzilla however in an after credit scene, its show that he escaped.

Overall, probably not the best Godzilla film in terms of the plot, it may sound interesting but it was poorly executed. The soundtrack was ok, but it doesn’t really stand out like previous OSTs. I did like the fight between Godzilla and Megaguirus but it does take a bit to build. 2.7/5

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

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GMK otherwise known by its full title Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is another remake, ignoring all previous films except for the first one. The film starts out with the disappearance of a nuclear submarine and the culprit is Godzilla who is now revived by the enrages souls that the Japanese killed in World War II. This incarnation is hatred-incarnate and seeks to destroy Japan because its people prefer to forget what they did to those people. To save Japan, Godzilla is pitted against a trio of beasts called the Guardian Monsters, they consist of Baragon the God of the Earth, Mothra the God of the Water and King Ghidorah the God of the Sky, King Ghidorah has a role reversal with him being the good guy, while Godzilla is the bad guy, some G-fans weren’t happy with this idea but me personally, I like it, this has happened many times before in other media as well.

Unlike past Godzilla films, we actually how much damage the monsters cause, we see people get crushed underfoot, a girl dying in a hospital because of Godzilla’s tail and he notices fleeing civilians and kills them with his atomic breath, this really does show how evil this incarnation is. The fights in this movie are one of the best I’ve seen, with really good special effects, cinematography and the soundtrack, the most noticeable battle amount the fan base is Godzilla vs. Baragon where Godzilla pummels Baragon into the ground and it is sad to watch. The story and the characters are engaging and never got tired or bored seeing them which is something we never see in some Godzilla films. Another thing I do love is the soundtrack done by Kow Otani which adds a unique sound and voice to the franchise and I do consider this to be one of the best soundtracks in the entire franchise.

However this movie does have its faults, the ending for example, the movie does a really good job portraying Godzilla as this unstoppable force of nature but he is killed with a drill missile that makes a hole in his shoulder somehow causing him to self destruct. That’s ok I guess but I do wish that this incarnation was taken down with a bit more climax something that would make the ending more satisfying. The ending doesn't totally ruin the movie but I expected the movie to go out with a different kind of bang.

Overall, this movie is definitely the best of the Millennium series, the characters are great. It has a great dark/spiritual tone that correlates with its message, as mentioned before I love the soundtrack and is probably one of the best OST’s in the entire series. While it does take a bit to get things going, in the end its worth it. I should also mention I have this little tradition where I watch GMK on Remembrance Day which is fitting. 4.5/5

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

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Godzilla X Mechagodzilla is another reboot of the series ignoring all the previous films except for the original, I don’t know why Toho kept on doing this, it was probably because they wanted to avoid a stale audience by introducing fresh-new ideas to the series. Like Godzilla vs. Megaguirus beforehand, GxMG is retconned, in the original film, when the Oxygen Destroy was deployed it erased every single trace of Godzilla, including his bones, but in this new timeline, only Godzilla’s bones remained, why I’m mentioning this is because it’s important to the story later on. Like previous films, a second Godzilla appears and starts causing destruction, and it turns out since the event of Gojira, Japan has suffered attacks from other giant monsters from the likes of Mothra, the Gargantuas and other giant monsters. Unlike past Millennium films, GxMG has a strong continuity between films like Mothra and War of the Gargantuas.

Because of this new Godzillas return, the Japanese government recovers the skeleton of the original Godzilla and to use to create a bio-robot named Kiryu otherwise known as Mechagodzilla in order to combat Godzilla and other giant monsters, Kiryu has an extremely powerful weapon in his chest called the Absolute Zero Cannon that smashes the targets atoms when fired. If you’ve seen Jurassic Park and Pet Semetery then you know that this is a bad idea, it turns out the spirit of the original Godzilla is still attached to the bones and on some occasions, took control of the mech and went on a rampage. I really like this concept, its basically the old Godzilla vs. The new Godzilla and this does lead Mechagodzilla to have some sort of character arc.

The main character is Akane Yashiro who I can relate to any anime protagonists, Akane is considered to be one of the franchises best characters and I do agree on that. I will say that the film does take its time building things up when it comes to the monster action, there is one brief fight in the second act but it gets interrupted when Kiryu goes berserk. The final battle combines fisticuffs with some pretty good visuals both special and practical.

Overall, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is a satisfying entry in the Millennium series, it did so well that there was an actual sequel in 2003, Akane was a really good character and can relate too. The soundtrack was good and fits within the context of the film. The action scenes were good, not only that this Mechagodzilla can be considered to be A unique incarnation due its development which is something we don’t usually see in monster movies. 4/5

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

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Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is probably the most unique film of the Millennium series because its the only film that is an actual sequel to a previous movie. Not only does Godzilla and Mechagodzilla return to duke it out, Mothra is included in fact this Mothra IS the original Mothra that appeared in 1961. We also do have returning characters like Akane, the Shobijin even Chujo who was also in the 1961 film, anyways the Shobijin warns the Chujo family that building Mechagodzilla was a mistake as Godzilla’s bones were used in the mechs construction and have disturbed the balance between life and death. Mothra wants the Mechagodzilla Project to cease and for Godzillas bones to the sea, in return shell replace Mechagodzilla as Japans protector, however if they refuse, Mothra will wage war on the human race.

However as mentioned before this IS the same Mothra that appeared in 1961, if you recall, Mothra attacked Japan because a group of people kidnapped the Shobijin that same year, I do love the continuity of the Kiryu Saga it really does save some trouble for world building. Since 2002, Kiryu has gone under major repairs and unfortunately, Kiryu lost its Absolute Zero Cannon because the diamond that is used to power it was damaged so they replaced it with a triple maser cannon. A carcass of a Kamoebas (more callbacks) then washes up on shore, it was deemed to be killed by much a larger predator, presumably Godzilla, the government was planning to have Kiryu fight Godzilla in Shinigawa as it was still being rebuilt and would have less casualties but according to the title, this is not the case as Godzilla appears in Tokyo Bay being lured here by Kiryu (OG Godzilla’s bones).

Mothra is summoned in the same way in the original Mothra film and there is a really good fight between Mothra and Godzilla, however the ending is just Mothra using her scales to attack Godzilla which she uses as a last resort. Kiryu finally enters the fight and has an amazing battle just like the last film, one of my favourite moments is when Kiryu slams his tail into Godzilla, causing him to fall into a building and surprisingly, Mothra’s larvae make an appearance in the final battle and they witness there Mother get vaporized by Godzilla’s atomic breath (that’s pretty messed up). Just like the last film, someone is sent to fix Kiryu when he gets knocked down, and Mothra’s larvae distract him long enough to get Kiryu back on his feet. Godzilla is eventually defeated when Mothra’s larvae wrap Godzilla up in their webbing (an obvious callback to Mothra vs. Godzilla), unfortunately Kiryu takes control of the mech again but this time, he picks up Godzilla and both sink to the ocean floor, Mechagodzilla is one of the ONLY monster characters to get some sort of character arc and I did like it when instead of destroying Japan, Kiryu (Ghost Godzilla) decided to return to the ocean in peace.

Overall, this was a satisfying sequel to the previous film, while Akane has a minor role compared to the last film the Chujo family were good replacements. The action was really good and loved it how Mechagodzilla threw Godzilla over his shoulders. It had a good message between the boundaries of life and death. I do like it more than the previous film because it does finishes Kiryu’s character arc which was something I was looking forward to. 4.1/5

Godzilla: Final Wars

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Godzilla: Final Wars marks the 50th anniversary of Godzilla, its like a remake of Destroy All Monsters which is considered to be one of the best Showa movies. Since then G-Fans always suggested a remake of Destroy All Monsters but to round up all the monsters to date, it wasn’t all the monsters but there was a ton of them. It wasn’t the ultimate final battle/royal rumble that could put any G-Fan in a fanboy attack but it was satisfying, I should also mention that 64% of the monster roster hasn’t been seen since the Showa series, it was really nice to see them again. As mentioned before, this movie has a similar plot to Destroy All Monsters except it has more monster screen time and lots of human action, its literally all fighting.

The United Nations forms a special task force called the “M Organization” composed of enhanced human beings called “Mutants”, to take down the monsters and they actually do it, most of Earth’s monsters have been eliminated excluding Godzilla who was buried in the Arctic ice. All of a sudden monsters start appearing all over the world but shortly after, they were “eliminated” by a race of aliens called the Xiliens who wants to cooperate with the Earth, unfortunately the Xiliens replaced most the World leaders with fakes and were controlling the monsters this whole time. To be honest I saw this plot twist coming from a mile away simply because of a gut-feeling, it a common occurrence in most movies including Invasion of Astro Monster and I don’t trust aliens with the “X” being the first letter their names as it does always spell trouble. Godzilla is then freed from the ice and the Gotengo is used to lure Godzilla to the other monsters, the fights between them are really short but some-what entertaining with the longest fight in the movie at the climax, there is a new monster called Monster X who then transforms into Keizer Ghidorah one of the strongest monsters in the Godzilla franchise and is honestly one of my favourite fights in the series.

If I do have some complaints, this movie uses a lot of elements from previous sci-fi movies like the Matrix and Star Wars, its alright to use it for inspiration as long as your not ripping it off. Not only that this movie is balls-to-the-walls action, there is hardly enough room for a proper human story as most of it is filled up with monster action. However there is a really good side story involving a father and his son traveling with Minilla who was found on Mt.Fuji, it does add some backstory to Godzilla and Minilla as it is explained why he hates humanity so much and it does lead to Godzilla’s character arc within the events of the film. While there are some good human scenes, most of them just moves the plot forward, its really isn’t that compelling.

Overall, Godzilla: Final Wars is the second best Millennium just behind GMK. Some parts did feel rushed like the monster fights except for the final battle, I can describe this as a monster mash but the movie focuses way too much on action leaving little room for a story. The characters were good but when they jump around, it reminds me way too much of the Matrix. Despite these complaints it is a fun, entertaining and satisfying film. 4.2/5

Godzilla (2014)

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Godzilla (2014) is the second American Godzilla movie, unlike its 1998 predecessor, this movie takes Godzilla seriously and isn’t a movie that lacks heart to the series. This movie has a dark/apocalypse tone to it with the help of its atmosphere and its monsters, the film starts out similarly to 1998 with old atomic test footage but this time they were not tests, those “tests” were actually attempts to kill Godzilla and according to the prequel novel, the Shinomura as well. In 1946 a secret organization known as MONARCH was formed to track down Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organim or M.U.T.O.s, which leads us to the year 1999 where a giant skeleton was discovered in the Philippines along with two spores, one dormant while the other seemed to hatch.

This creates a great opening to the first act, it builds up to the collapse of a nuclear power plant and the loss of Joe Brody’s wife which helps bring strong characterization but unfortunately he dies after the MUTO hatches 15 years later and for the rest of the movie, we are stuck with Ford Brody, I really want to say that he’s a good character but he isn’t. He’s a typical hero, works for the army and defuses bombs for a living but he’s doesn't have any development and the story doesn't lead to him having a change of heart or a character arc. Unfortunately this is a common trend with the films other characters as well, no development, barely any emotion and no character arcs. The films only good character in the film s Dr.Serizawa who doesn't have that much dialogue.

The monsters however are really good, I do like this modern interpretation of Godzilla, it makes him more realistic while retaining the classic silhouette and it does get better in 2019, the MUTOs were also really good, I do like the idea of a monster capable of launching an EMP making Godzilla the only hope against the MUTOs. The problem is that they have s small amount of screen time despite it being a monster movie, the other complaints I have is that 2014 has a major lack of colour scale, its mostly dark colours and both monsters are black. I don’t have a problem with fights taking place in the dark but I do wish to see what’s going on. While the story is really good, some scenes do drag a lot, especially when we’re around very dull characters.

Overall, this is a great attempt at making an American adaptation to the monster king, but unfortunately while it does have a good story, most of the characters sucked and that caused a major drag in the film. The movie was shot with a grey/black colour scale for most of the film, while that did help with the tone, Ild like to see what is happening during a monster movie. 3.9/5

Shin Godzilla

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Unlike past Japanese Godzilla films, Shin Godzilla is a full on reboot, ignoring previous films including the first one. When Shin Godzilla was being marketed, Toho was careful not to spoil too much of the film such as his new forms and footage of him using the atomic breath. And unlike past Godzilla films, this is a plot-driven, political satire film but some people still compare 2014 with Shin Godzilla even though both are different kinds of films and the only similarity they have with one another is the character Godzilla himself. The film was directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, who directed Neon Genesis Evangelion, the soundtrack was done by Shiro Sagisu who also composed for the Evangelion series.

Because of this, Shin Godzilla does have a similar tone to the Evangelion series but the reason the movie was made is to insult the Japanese government’s sluggish response to multiple disasters. Anyways enough ranting, the movie is meant to get back to Godzillas roots, that being a force of nuclear destruction just like the original and this does hold a candle when compared to the original. Godzilla himself starts out in multiple forms and over the course of the film, he evolves becoming bigger and stronger with each stage, this is to imply that we need to work as a species to stop an ever-evolving threat from taking down humanity. But when all of this is happening, there are multiple boardroom meetings, some Gfans have criticized about this because its “so boring” while I do understand that, its shows us what goes on behind the scenes when the government is handling a crisis.

There are lots of Easter eggs in the movie, some require a mass amount of knowledge of Toho films, which I do not (at least not yet). One of my favourite moments in the film would be when Godzilla first uses his atomic breath and to be honest this is the first time I’ve seen scared of a giant fire breathing lizard in a long time. I did like it when the Prime-Minister is left with two choices, to let the U.S drop a nuclear bomb that is many times more powerful than the one that was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki or to take a risk to immobilize Godzilla in order for less casualties. And I also loved the soundtrack, my personal favourite s Persecution Of The Masses and Who Will Know.

Overall, Shin Godzilla is a cinematic masterpiece of a film, while it does hold a candle to Gojira, I prefer Gojira more for multiple reasons. I do agree that the constant board meetings does make this movie drag but its still interesting. I loved the CGI in the film and it looked like something was in front of the camera which was something I missed in previous films. As of right now, Shin Godzilla has won 14 awards and for good reason. 4.3/5

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

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Shortly after the release of Shin Godzilla, Toho announced a partnership with Polygon Pictures to produce a Godzilla anime, technically this isn’t the first animated Godzilla we’ve seen over the years but it was exciting to see Godzilla getting the anime treatment. Before the events of the film play out, since 1999, humanity has been threatened with the appearance of giant monsters and things only get worse when Godzilla appears decimating city after city. There is a prequel novel called Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse and Godzilla: Project Mechagodzilla that goes into detail about those events but unfortunately there hasn’t been an official translation nor has there been any news about one. Even with the help of two alien races called the Exif and the Bilusaludo, they were unable to stop Godzilla and were forced to evacuate the planet, in hopes to find an inhabitable planet for humanity to flourish again.

Even without the events of the prequel novels in the film, this movie does have a great story that is executed well. After finding out the plant it uninhabitable, the United Earth were forced to use a space warp jump to travel back to Earth only to find out that 20,000 years on Earth has passed and the environment has gone over a drastic change that forms around Godzilla who lives up to the title “King of Destruction”. Our main character is Haruo Sakaki who hates Godzilla because apparently, he killed his parents at the launch of the Aratrum. This does deliver some character depth as it shows, he really, really hates Godzilla so much that he was the reason why the United Earth decided to abandon its mission to find another planet.

There are also new monsters that spawned from Godzilla’s cells called the Servum, basically winged Godzilla-like monsters which make great side villains. There are some great action scenes where the United Earth lure Godzilla into the cannon to trap him and inject him with EMP Probes which does cause him to explode, similar to what happened in GMK. But PLOT TWIST, that was a subspecies that looks like Godzilla and the real Godzilla (now 300 meters) shows up and with just one swing of his tail, he annihilates the entire fleet leaving some survivors. There is an after credit scene where Haruo wakes up in a strange hut right next to a girl in a mask.

Overall, this was a great start to the Godzilla anime, it has a really good story and I loved the role-reversal between Godzilla and humanity, usually humanity is on the defensive while Godzilla is on the offence but this time, its vice versa. One problem I do have with it is its characters, however it does leave room for future characterization. 3.6/5

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle

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Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle takes place immediately after the first one, after Godzilla Earth’s attack, Haruo and his group were scattered, after the United Earth learned of Godzilla Earth, they gave out a 48 hour time limit to remain in Earth’s orbit if there were any survivors. The film introduces us to a tribe of evolved human called the Houtua that worship a giant egg as their God. Not only that, the Houtua have arrow-tips that are made out of nanometal, automatous metal that was used to build Mechagodzilla, the ultimate anti-Godzilla weapon. It was presumed destroyed after Godzilla attacked Mt.Fuji 20,000 years ago but the metal itself survived and has been growing since then.

This is where the marketing lied to us, Mechagodzilla was advertised all over the place but it turns out Mechagodzilla doesn’t appear, well he does but in the form of a city called Mechagodzilla City. The first act and the second act of the film start off extremely slow and found myself looking at my phone a few times, there is a lot of talking and a bit of pointless dialogue however some does add depth and development. I should also note that the plot of the film is similar to the last one, heck even the new plan is similar to take down Godzilla, its just on a larger scale. Things do dramatically in the third act, where Haruo and two others use these mobile suits call Vultures to lure Godzilla to a trap.

Meanwhile this is happening, the Bilusaludo are assimilating themselves into the nanometal and there is a huge argument on keeping your humanity intact especially when fighting a monster, you don’t want to become the thing you’re trying to kill. Haruo is given this choice to rather sacrifice himself to the nanometal or to prevent the metal from consuming everything, it does add development to Haruo’s arc by the end of the series. Yet again there is another after credit scene where its a teaser for the nest film but what got G-fans stoked is the word we all know and love.......Ghidorah.

Overall, not the best sequel in the series as it does repeat the same story in the previous but on a different scale. The first and second act are incredibly slow and dull and I haven’t even talked about Godzilla who has two minutes of screen time in the whole film. When making a monster movie, its important to balance the human scenes and Kaiju scenes to make sure nothing overshadows the other. 2.7/5

Godzilla: The Planet Eater

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The finale of the anime trilogy, Godzilla: The Planet Eater goes into depth of the Exif’s race, as mentioned in the last two films, their home planet was destroyed by a monster called Ghidorah and now worship it as their God and has been converting other worlds to their religion, sacrificing their planet in order to appease their God and plan to do the same to Earth and it turns out the Exif have been manipulating events even before the appearance of the Kaiju. Most of the survivors that weren’t assimilated by the nanometal convert to the Exif’s religion believing that it was a miracle that they were immune to the nanometal, but it turns out the only reason they survived is because of the Houtua’s treatment but Metphies wants for the survivors to believe it was a miracle from God (Ghidorah) himself in order to unite everyone for one cause and that is obviously to take down Godzilla. To make things worse, the Bilusaludo want Haruo dead for what he did in Mechagodzilla City but the other members of the United Earth do agree for some form of punishment but not death and because of this Haruo is unable to take a public stand, goes into hiding and he...uh.......”cuddles” with one of the Houtua girls (Ill just leave it at that), I don’t know why that’s important to the story but I can say that not even Miana and Maina are safe from rule 34. The film does a good job building up to Ghidorah and Ghidorah himself is executed well, he does appear as a long neck in the film but he’s still an extraterrestrial dragon. Ghidorah is then summoned to Earth, Godzilla wakes up and we expect them to fight....right? Well yes and no, Godzilla fires his atomic breath rice only for Ghidorah is deflect his attacks and Ghidorah bits onto Godzilla but he is unable to touch Ghidorah as if he’s not really there. The movie mainly focuses on the human drama with Haruo and Metphies and honestly its actually really good with Metphies trying to convince Haruo to become a vessel to Ghidorah. Mothra finally comes into play but doesnt have a big role as I was hoping for as she really manifests in Haruo’s dream in order to break free from Metphies. But when Haruo does break free from Metphies’ influence, Ghidorah basically becomes glass, Godzilla is able to beat Ghidorah with just a few hits. Honestly I was expecting a better fight between the two monsters but this is a sci-fi/drama series so I cant really be mad about it.

There is a time lapse near the end that shows the surviving humans have integrated with the Houtua’s culture. There is a selfless scene where Haruo sacrifices himself along with the vulture and a comatose Yuko to prevent humanity from regaining there destructive capabilities which will bring Ghidorah back. And like the last two films, there is an after credit scene but it doesn't really set anything up.

Overall, Godzilla: The Planet Eater delivers excellent character drama between Haruo and Metphies but was lacking in terms of monster action as this is considered to be a sci-fi/drama series. But I do wish we got a better fight between the two monsters, despite this complaint I really did like this incarnation of Ghidorah considering his can mimic space-time itself. Will this change peoples mind on the anime trilogy, probably not. 3.3/5

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters was one of the most highly anticipated films of 2019 among audiences and G-fans but unfortunately it didn't do so well at the box office, it wasn’t a flop either but it did make less than 2014 did. It’s far from a perfect movie-movie but it is within distance of being a fantastic Godzilla movie, the monster action is near non-stop and the characters are more likeable an interesting, unfortunately the movie introduced too many characters, so it was difficult to give everyone the proper treatment, but thankfully they’re fun to be around. The story itself takes a back seat in this one in favour of monster action, but its at least an easy to follow kind of story, the story focuses around the ORCA, a device that can communicate, awaken and somewhat control the Titans via sonar. Speaking of monsters, we have a ton of them about 18 to be exact but most of them aren’t seen in the movie and some are seen through monitors and near towards the end.

The monsters that we are mainly focused on is Godzilla Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah and all are executed perfectly, Ghidorah is malevolent and terrifying, Mothra is beautiful and elegant, Rodan is destructive and ferocious while Godzilla is well, Godzilla. Monsters like Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah retain some of their classic sound effects and even the classic Godzilla and Mothra themes comes back, it really does fit into context of the film and I do like it that there are these god-like chants in the song as these monsters were once worshipped as ancient gods. Some of the characters from 2014 make a return, Dr.Serizawa, Dr.Graham even Admiral Stenz, however we are focused on the Russel family that does have a dynamic of some sorts, Mark Russels starts out hating Godzilla because apparently he killed his son Andrew during the events of 2014, but throughout the course of the film he learns to make peace with Godzilla in order to let go of his anger. Emma Russel is one of the human antagonist believing that the Titans will fix all the danger caused by humanity, but has a change of heart after seeing what King Ghidorah really is.

I will say however that this movie felt like it was made for fan-service than anything else, I do wish that this was a good movie-movie just so that way it made more at the box office. As mentioned before the story takes a back seat in trade of more monster battles, while the human story was better than 2014, it still wasn’t that great despite it being more compelling than 2014. I’ve read some complaints about most of the fights taking place in the dark, I’m alright with it because we can ACTUALLY see what’s going on, I believe this is because it helps with the overall tone of the move. Despite these complaints, I’d still prefer a good Godzilla movie than a bad Godzilla movie.

Overall, while this movie is a fantastic Godzilla movie, it wasn’t a good movie-movie. It captures a lot of aspects of the Showa and Heisei Godzilla movies alike, while it does fix the problems that 2014 had, it doesn't do it fully. I do recommend seeing this film if you want to be introduced into the series, its show why he is the undisputed King of the Monsters. 4.5/5


King Kong Series

King Kong (1933)

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Son of Kong

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King Kong vs. Godzilla

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(REPOST) King Kong vs. Godzilla is one of the biggest Godzilla/Kong movie in both franchises, mainly because it pitted two of the most famous monsters to come out of cinema. It was the American monster vs the Japanese monster, West vs East, Mammal vs Lizard, Primate vs Dinosaur (I’m running out of titles ok, cant blame me for creativity). I do consider this movie to be an immediate classic for multiple reasons, because of its plot, pacing and of course its fun fight scenes. The film does build things up for both monsters to converge on one another but luckily, it doesn't drag and the story itself is interesting to keep you hooked.

It starts out in the Bering sea where its temperature is mysteriously increasing, and its causing the ice caps to melt eventually freeing Godzilla who was trapped within the ice since 1955. During this time, another monster is discovered on Faro Island, this new monster is known as King Kong and is worshipped as a deity by the islands inhabitants. The first fight in the movie occurs between King Kong and a Giant Octopus and it was played by an actual Octopus but unfortunately the green-screening to make the Octopus look big does look pretty bad. After the fight, Kong is drugged by some sort of berry juice and is taken to the mainland as some sort of mascot, this could be a nod to the original King Kong where King Kong was drugged and brought to the mainland as some sort of attraction.

Kong does break free and heads to the nearest source of land which for convenience is Japan which is where Godzilla is heading. Both monsters battle twice in the movie both in a valley far away from cities, to be honest I really wanted Godzilla and Kong to fight in some sort of city however the only building that gets destroyed in the cross fire is Atari Castle. The fight itself is entertaining, I do love the special effects and the practical effects that were used in the fight but in some scenes, its looks like someone was bashing two toys together. I should also mention that in the first part of the fight, Godzilla has the upper hand but in the second half, Kong has the upper hand because apparently electricity makes King Kong stronger, this was from the first draft where Godzilla was going to fight Frankenstein instead of Kong, this was a lazy script change but luckily it fits unlike what happened in Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster. The fight ends when both Godzilla and Kong plummet in the ocean and only Kong surfaces, there was a rumour that two endings were filmed where in the US, Kong wins but in the Japanese release, Godzilla wins, but it was confirmed by Toho that Kong won and there was no alternate ending.

Overall, King Kong vs. Godzilla is a fun movie with an entertaining battle. But the human characters do take a back seat when it comes to the monster action only interfering when relocating Kong or rescuing someone from Kong’s grasp. The story is good but most parts do drag, I would like to see a modern interpretation of the movie but luckily, 2020 is around the corner. 3.9/5

King Kong (1976)

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King Kong Lives

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King Kong (2005)

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Peter Jackson’s King Kong is the second remake of the original movie (not including The Mighty Kong), this was my very first Kong film I ever saw before I got reintroduced to the series 12 years later. To be honest, I haven’t seen this film in a long time, I recently saw the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (also directed by Peter Jackson) with my friends and I didn’t like it, I have seen more of his work like District 9 and I loved it. With that in mind I had mixed emotions on how this movie was going to turn out, luckily this is a fantastic adaptation to King Kong. Keep in mind, I still haven’t seen the original or the 1975 remake, so I cant really say if this is better or close than the original, what I can say that this is a fantastic King Kong movie.

The movie does take its time building up and I mean it REALLY does take its time, compared to the original, this movie is almost two times longer than the original and I can appreciate that, it takes a full hour to introduce the cast and get them to Skull Island. Some would complain about the movie taking its time but luckily, it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the film and the characters themselves are interesting, I will say however that there were some moments where things did drag and things really did get interesting when we finally arrived on Skull Island. I loved every single detail of Skull Island, from the natives to the monsters that inhabit the island. The monsters were awesome, the V-Rex was treated as an actual monster rather then a dinosaur and when Kong broke its jaw, it was more brutal than the original.

I really loved Kong in this movie, there were a bunch of touching moments in the film with Ann Darrow and Kong, one of my favourites included the ice rinks and when he used sign language a The Empire State Building. The action self was really good, unfortunately my favourite scene which was the swamp scene was cut from the final product. When Kong dies at the end, its meant to be sad, no cheering no happy music just nothing, Kong himself wasn’t the monster, mankind was the monster as they were the reason for Kong’s downfall. The last time I felt sad for a giant “monster” was when Godzilla died in the original film, as mentioned Kong was meant to be sympathetic and there were a few moments where I admired Kong and moment where I sympathized with him.

Overall, this is a wonderful adaptation to the original, the action was great, the characters were great but Kong really does steal the show. I will say that the first hour does take its time, while I didn’t mind this, I truly got invested when we got to Skull Island and when we got back to New York. Out of all the remakes I’ve seen, I will say that this film is one of the best, I highly recommend watching it but bring some tissues, just in case. 4.2/5

Kong: Skull Island

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Unlike past movies like the remakes were meant to be respectful, however this one, the directors wanted to have fun with this one. The film takes place in the 1970s and is canon to the 2014 and 2019 Godzilla films, the thing that is loosely connecting is the secrets organization known as MONARCH which is on the brink of being shut down by the government. An uncharted island is discovered in the South Pacific and Bill Rand convinces the senator to allow to piggy back on LandSat’s operation to map the island along with a military escort from Vietnam. I really do lie the setting for this film, while it does take it time to introduce its characters, they’re fun to be around but unfortunately some of the soldiers have a bad sense of humour. Like I mention before, things really do get interesting when we arrive on Skull Island, there is some great sound design when it comes to its music and I loved returning themes from the 70s.

Kong himself gets introduced in the second act and takes out an entire fleet of helicopters after they were dropping bombs to “map the island”, splitting the humans into two groups and stranding them onto the island. They have 3 days to get to the North end of the island, otherwise they’ll be stranded on the island forever, this is when we are introduced to Hank Marlow who was stranded on the island since World War II along with a Japanese solider who became good friends with, brothers even. There were a lot of moments in the film where its the humans fighting a giant spider, or Kong facing a giant squid, the characters themselves are good but not as much compelling as other characters, in fact the films best character is Hank Marlow. The island is also inhabitants by ancient subterranean predators called the Skull Crawlers and the big one called well....The Big One killed his whole family leaving Kong an orphan (basically he’s gorilla Batman), Skull Island: The Birth of Kong does in depth with that event.

Most of the fights takes place during the day time which is the best setting for a fight to occur to get a better scope on things and how Kong kills the Big One is honestly one of my favourite kills, its even better than the Meat Eater getting to jaw broken. The film has a bright colour scale compared to its spinoff sequels Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, things do look better if it’s brighter. I will say however, I didn’t like some of the cast because some I’d feel out of place and some of the jokes were pretty bad.

Overall, a really fun Kong movie that still retains respect to the franchise. The action was really good with the final battle between Kong and the Big One being my favourite, I will say that some of the characters were good but Hank Marlow was definitely the best and despite all the crazy action, my personal favourite scene happens at the end is when Hank finally reunites with his family, its a very happy moment when his wife recognizes and finally got his hot dog with a beer. The island itself was beautiful and I loved all the creatures including Kong who was really good and even without the events of the sequel comic, I still felt sympathy for him. 4.2/5

Mothra Series