Somewhere between 1954 and today, Godzilla lost his meaning. Originally a symbol of nuclear destruction, foreboding and terrifying, Godzilla has played a number of roles, such as hero, villain, father, and everything in between. So it's only fitting that on his 50th birthday, and his retirement party, he gets to be a little of everything and pretend he's nothing all at the same time.
This is said to be Godzilla's final theatrical appearance, and like any big star stepping out of the lime-light, his presence will be felt long after he's gone. But instead of one last curtain call or final bow, the King of all monsters isn't walking away with grace and dignity- he's throwing the biggest monster-filled party you could possibly imagine. Now, to be fair, if you're a huge fan of Godzilla movies, there's a huge chance you won't like this film. However, as a devoted and loyal G-fan for the last two decades, I can only say this- WHAT A WAY TO GO OUT!
Helming the film is the amazing director Ryuhei Kitamura, director of such great cult classics as "Versus" and "Azumi". And, while he may seem an odd choice for a kaiju-director, he makes the best of everything he's got to use. His cast is excellent, especially Kazuki Kitamura as the X-Alien leader who damn near stole the show, or rather, he would have if he didn't have to compete with the worst, but greatest actor ever- Don Frye. The clichéd action hero of the group, Frye rocked out loud delivering such great one-liners as "Listen Kid, there are two things you didn't know about the Earth. One's me, and the other's...Godzilla!". Sure, all his lines are delivered terribly, but that didn't matter. He was just a cool-as-ice presence on the screen.
For the first since 1968's classic "Destroy All Monsters", the human characters actually seemed to matter in the film, doing more than just tracking monsters or building weapons. But, what about the monsters? Well, first of all, Kitamura breaks the "most monsters in a single movie" record set back in 1968 (over 12!) and brings back some of the fan favorites you've been dying to see again- King Caesar, Anguirus, Kumonga, and of course, the awesome cyber-kaiju, Gigan. The visuals in this movie are great, and the action is non-stop. The monster fights are stunning and cool, yet cheesy and campy at the same time. The suits (with the exception of maybe Caesar) are incredible, and Godzilla finally gets to trash monsters in the way we only imagined he could. Even Godzilla's adopted son Minilla (you know, the little aborted Godzilla fetus) gets some screen time that really makes you like the ugly little monster.
The story is simple- Aliens try to take over the world with giant monsters. But it's executed with such style and raw power that the old clichéd story works so well, and even takes the liberty to poke fun of itself when it doesn't (the word "somehow" seems to get tossed around a lot!). Think of it as a going away party for a friend- you invite everyone you know, they bring their friends, and they bring even more friends, things get a little out of control, and in the end you're not really sure what happened, but you know it was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime ride. That pretty much sums the film up.
All in all, I've never had more fun watching a Godzilla movie in my entire life. I don't know if Mr. Kitamura set out to make a great movie, but if his goal was to make the most entertaining film ever, then he succeeded and then some!
Long live the King!
This is said to be Godzilla's final theatrical appearance, and like any big star stepping out of the lime-light, his presence will be felt long after he's gone. But instead of one last curtain call or final bow, the King of all monsters isn't walking away with grace and dignity- he's throwing the biggest monster-filled party you could possibly imagine. Now, to be fair, if you're a huge fan of Godzilla movies, there's a huge chance you won't like this film. However, as a devoted and loyal G-fan for the last two decades, I can only say this- WHAT A WAY TO GO OUT!
Helming the film is the amazing director Ryuhei Kitamura, director of such great cult classics as "Versus" and "Azumi". And, while he may seem an odd choice for a kaiju-director, he makes the best of everything he's got to use. His cast is excellent, especially Kazuki Kitamura as the X-Alien leader who damn near stole the show, or rather, he would have if he didn't have to compete with the worst, but greatest actor ever- Don Frye. The clichéd action hero of the group, Frye rocked out loud delivering such great one-liners as "Listen Kid, there are two things you didn't know about the Earth. One's me, and the other's...Godzilla!". Sure, all his lines are delivered terribly, but that didn't matter. He was just a cool-as-ice presence on the screen.
For the first since 1968's classic "Destroy All Monsters", the human characters actually seemed to matter in the film, doing more than just tracking monsters or building weapons. But, what about the monsters? Well, first of all, Kitamura breaks the "most monsters in a single movie" record set back in 1968 (over 12!) and brings back some of the fan favorites you've been dying to see again- King Caesar, Anguirus, Kumonga, and of course, the awesome cyber-kaiju, Gigan. The visuals in this movie are great, and the action is non-stop. The monster fights are stunning and cool, yet cheesy and campy at the same time. The suits (with the exception of maybe Caesar) are incredible, and Godzilla finally gets to trash monsters in the way we only imagined he could. Even Godzilla's adopted son Minilla (you know, the little aborted Godzilla fetus) gets some screen time that really makes you like the ugly little monster.
The story is simple- Aliens try to take over the world with giant monsters. But it's executed with such style and raw power that the old clichéd story works so well, and even takes the liberty to poke fun of itself when it doesn't (the word "somehow" seems to get tossed around a lot!). Think of it as a going away party for a friend- you invite everyone you know, they bring their friends, and they bring even more friends, things get a little out of control, and in the end you're not really sure what happened, but you know it was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime ride. That pretty much sums the film up.
All in all, I've never had more fun watching a Godzilla movie in my entire life. I don't know if Mr. Kitamura set out to make a great movie, but if his goal was to make the most entertaining film ever, then he succeeded and then some!
Long live the King!