Toho got a lot of things right with this film. For a start (for me, at least) they maintained the feel of the old Godzilla flicks quite nicely. Next, even though the movie does have quite a bit of CGI, they stuck, for the most part, with men in suits for the monsters and miniature landscapes for them to destroy.
There was also a nice dig (tastefully done) at the Hollywood version of Godzilla, who lasts about two second against the "real" Godzilla.
The film does drag a little bit, though, with a little too much emphasis on the human goings-on in the story and not enough monster-time. However, the film is reasonably entertaining even when the world isn't being trashed by the monsters, so all is far from lost.
The subtitling is also pretty good, with only a few dubious translations here and there.
I can't say I was pleased to see Minilla though. Not having seen all the Godzilla movies (and not the ones that explain his presence, for sure) my only exposure to this mini-godzilla was from the cartoon Godzilla series where it was called Godzuki. I never liked it there and here it is just too cute and annoying to be of much use. Less Minilla and more Godzilla would have been nice.
Anyway, I can't see any but the real die-hard fans being disappointed by this. Them, and the current generation of people that expect to see nothing but CGI in every film they watch. For them, I suspect the best thing to do would be to give it a miss. For the rest of us, Final Wars is a worthy addition to the franchise.
There was also a nice dig (tastefully done) at the Hollywood version of Godzilla, who lasts about two second against the "real" Godzilla.
The film does drag a little bit, though, with a little too much emphasis on the human goings-on in the story and not enough monster-time. However, the film is reasonably entertaining even when the world isn't being trashed by the monsters, so all is far from lost.
The subtitling is also pretty good, with only a few dubious translations here and there.
I can't say I was pleased to see Minilla though. Not having seen all the Godzilla movies (and not the ones that explain his presence, for sure) my only exposure to this mini-godzilla was from the cartoon Godzilla series where it was called Godzuki. I never liked it there and here it is just too cute and annoying to be of much use. Less Minilla and more Godzilla would have been nice.
Anyway, I can't see any but the real die-hard fans being disappointed by this. Them, and the current generation of people that expect to see nothing but CGI in every film they watch. For them, I suspect the best thing to do would be to give it a miss. For the rest of us, Final Wars is a worthy addition to the franchise.