On 15th May 2014, Toho’s greatest monster will return to the big screen in an American reboot. With just 1 week to go, we here at THN are counting down the GODZILLA back catalogue.
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikukawa, Don Frye, Maki Mizuno, Kazuki Kitamura, Kane Kosugi, Kumi Mizuno, Akira Takarada, Kenji Sahara, Masakatsu Funaki
Plot: The world is attacked by giant monsters in what seems like a simultaneous attack. Could the recent aliens that have arrived on Earth have anything to do with these events? If they do, then it looks like our only hope is the only monster on Earth not under their control…GODZILLA!
And so it was decided that Godzilla was to come to an end, for at least 10 years anyway. Toho decided their biggest beast needed some time off, probably in order to create scarcity for future offerings. Sort of like those “Limited Edition” flavours of crisps. 10 years on, and we can see that Toho stuck to their guns, although that probably wasn’t too hard to do. As much as we all love the giant radioactive lizard, his returns were proving that people just weren’t that interested in Godzilla anymore. It was decided then, just like the death of Godzilla back in 1995, that a big push for one last box-office haul was needed. To pull off such a task was going to involve throwing absolutely everything at the screen, with multiple monsters, the return of aliens, the inclusion of mutants, and even a song by Sum 41. Despite all this, the film produced a lacklustre box office return. It was the least attended film of the Millenium Series, and the least attended in 29 years. Not exactly what Toho were hoping for, especially as this was the most expensive Godzilla film ever produced by Toho.
So was it that bad? Where did it all go wrong? Hell if I know, as the film is a delightful trawl through the world of fan service…and maybe that’s the issue. You certainly can’t please everyone, and just throwing stuff at the screen is only going to please so many. The inclusion of so many monsters, I count roughly 14 (with one having two forms to make it 15), you’re also alienating people who aren’t Godzilla savvy. If Gareth Edwards had tried to drum up excitement by listing off the names of all sorts of monsters, then he would have run the risk of making it too esoteric. Be careful where you tread Warner Bros. and DC, at least where THE JUSTICE LEAGUE IS CONCERNED. The film may also have not appealed to audiences given that most of the references and monsters were from the Showa Era, completely skipping the Heisei and Millienium series of films. The Showa Era wound up becoming a bit of silly fun, and many directors had tried to bring Godzilla back to his darker roots. Ryuhei Kitamura directed GODZILLA: FINAL WARS. He’d given us the bonkers blend of bullets and zombies in VERSUS as well as the well received AZUMI. His later films, including English language horrors THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN and the brilliant NO ONE LIVES, shows that he probably wasn’t the best choice, given his rather unique approach. You certainly don’t think “Godzilla,” when perusing his other offerings.
The film starts with some musical excellence in the form of Akira Ifukube’s classic score which gradually gets rockier. From here on out, the music is by the wonderful Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame. An interesting and worthwhile choice certainly. The first scene is an action sequence of Godzilla getting trapped in the South Pole during a battle with the Gotengo, a massive drill ship later piloted by Douglas Gordon, a man who looks and dresses a lot like Joseph Stalin, and is played by MMA fighter Don Frye. It’s been a while since the Godzilla franchise put a foreigner in such a predominant role, and although Frye doesn’t exactly nail line delivery, he does at least command some presence on screen. It was also his first ever screen appearance, and it has been claimed that he only got the role because the director was a fan of MMA. Godzilla looks notably svelter in this instalment than he did previously, and a tad more like a costume than he has done in the past. It’s possibly a throwback to the Showa Era days, but it may also be for more practical and economical reasons.
This scene leads into a prologue which is full of exposition as we now have mutants thrown into the mix. Most likely attempting to ape the success of the X-MEN movies and the growth of the superhero genre in general, these super humans have a range of powers which does allow for some wonderful human focused action sequences. However, it is a double edged sword as it detracts attention away from the monsters. It could easily be seen as Kitamura sticking with what he is comfortable with, rather than making the kaiju movie he’d been hired for. We then have loads of stock footage and talk of monsters attacking the world and how the mutants are in the employ of the Earth Defense Force (EDF) as part of the M-Organization (M for mutant) division. If that wasn’t enough to take in, pop-punk band Sum 41 get a huge credit, despite only contributing one song, which didn’t even appear on the soundtrack release. I guess this was another attempt to get the kids involved, but when you show your love for current pop-punk and for 1970s prog rock, you’re once again sending out those mixed signals.
After the Gotengo dispenses with Manda, the large dragon who is often underappreciated as a kaiju, in what is actually one of the best battles in the film, we’re taken to a martial arts training facility for the M-Organization. Here there’s a fight between our lead character, Shin’ichi (Matsuoka) and Katsunori (Kosugi), two sides of the same coin. Shin’ichi believes without compassion they can’t possibly be expected to protect, whereas Katsunori claims that Mutants were simply born to fight. Their conflicts are minimal throughout, but you can bet they’ll put differences aside ready for a generic sacrifice at the end. Their fight is well shot, but after jumping in to a bullet time sequence it is clear that GODZILLA: FINAL WARS, despite being an enjoyable throwback, is also a slave to early 2000s clichés. Although it may not sound like it, THE MATRIX and X-MEN references are minimal, but less than subtle. We learn that Gordan has been imprisoned for punching a senior officer and Shin’ichi must babysit a biologist (Kikukawa) who has come to look at a mummified monster. This monster turns out to be Gigan, who is now being kept in a “secure” lock-up. Suprisingly, this seems to be something that TRANSFORMERS took for their take of Megatron. I love Gigan as the main antagonist monster in this film. He may have started life as a bizarre chicken/robot crossbreed, but he fits the plot nicely here, as well as looking badass in his redesign.
Very suddenly monsters begin attacking the Earth in many major cities. There are too many to name, but let’s see what we get through. Rodan attacks New York, which is represented as a bizarre blaxploitation film, as we see a police officer giving a ticket to a poorly parked pimp. The destruction looks incredible and the CG flying is very welcome for its fluid motions. 1998 GODZILLA’s Zilla attacks Sydney, confirming the monster as canon. Once again shown entirely in CG, the monster doesn’t look too convincing, but it just serves to show how great men in suits can look in comparison. Anguirus destroys parts of Shanghai, King Caesar returns for the first time since GODZILLA VS. MECHAGIDZILA, attacking Okinawa. Kumonga takes on Arizona, for some reason, and Kamacuras arrives in Paris. Quite why Kamacuras was used is anyone’s guess. It’s clear the lack of Heisei and Millenium series monsters was intentional, although there have been rumours that characters such as Destroyah were considered for inclusion. The main action focuses on Ebirah’s attack on Tokyo, which is handled by the mutants who attack without the aid of their ship. They’re flipping off buildings with gigantic guns, jumping onto Ebirah and shooting pieces off him, and generally raising the question as to why these mutants can’t just handle all the monsters without big ships. Just as it looks as though Ebirah is set to be killed, all the monsters on the planet are beamed away. Oh, and Minilla also appears before a grandfather and grandson combo, does his annoying schtick. He’s only here for the ending, but it does mean we have to suffer many awkward shifts in tone throughout the running time.
Let’s cut to the chase here. The monsters have been removed by aliens, who may seem nice at first, but obviously have evil intentions. They warn Earth that another planet is going to collide with Earth, and that humanity should fire all of their weapons at it in order to divert the course. Meanwhile, the top brass of humanity have been replaced with alien doppelgangers. This includes the UN Secretary, played by Akira Takarada, the star of the original 1954 film and who will also be appearing in the upcoming Gareth Edwards feature. Eventually, when it looks like humanity is doomed, Shin’ichi frees Gordan and members of M-Organization decide to free Godzilla from his icy prison, leading him to fight and destroy all the monsters now rereleased under the aliens’ control. This leads to an hour of smashing and crashing fights, but most of them sadly short. It undermines a lot of the kaiju, as Godzilla just walks on, slaps them, and moves on to the next battle. This works brilliantly in his first fight against Zilla, as Zilla is quickly disposed off and has the alien leader announce “I knew I couldn’t trust that tuna breath,” poking fun at the 1998 incarnation. But when we see Kumonga thrown aside without effort, it seems a bit needless to have them around. Gigan gets a few good fights, but then the bizarre trio of Rodan, King Caesar and Anguirus take on Godzilla in a fight that ends in the recreation of a football match.
Having Godzilla be overpowered is fun for the fan service roster of fellow Toho creations, but it does feel rushed. Especially when earlier there was time for a lengthy motorcycle chase between Shin’ichi and an alien controlled Katsunori. It seems especially rushed when Godzilla is joined by Mothra, and Monster X (the approaching “planet” having been a monster all along) turns into Kaiser Ghidorah. This is no doubt incredible and weird fun, but it plays to such a niche audience while also branching out, that it seems messy as well. For a 50th anniversary film, this certainly contains a lot for fans to gawp at, and the inclusion of Zilla is worth every penny of this most expensive Godzilla film by Toho. It should be watched with tongues firmly in cheek, and a genuine love for the king of the monsters.
Dub-Misstep: It seems as though the dub wanted to go back to the silliness as well, with poorly cast voices which strain hard to match facial expressions. Some syllables are dragged out for ages to make the voices fit, and the entire production seems like an out of body experience for the cast we see and the cast we hear.
Monsters: How can I possibly name them all? Godzilla, Minilla, Mothra, King Caesar, Rodan, Anguirus, Kumonga, Zilla, Kamacuras, Ebirah, Hedorah, Gigan, and Manda. Even more monsters are included in stock footage. The only new addition is Monster X, a large skeletal humanoid summoned from the approaching asteroid. However, even Monster X reveals himself to be a form of King Ghidorah, here known as Kaiser Ghidorah. Whether this is a different species of Ghidorah it’s never fully elaborated on. It’s almost as if the film makers just had to cram him in.
Notes For GODZILLA (2014): This, along with DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, is THE AVENGERS of Toho monster movies, and it’s what we should be leading up to. Give Mothra and Rodan their own films, introduce Anguirus into the GODZILLA sequel, and have some (seemingly unrelated) space film introduce maybe Gigan and King Ghidorah. Then bring them all together…I can dream.
G-RATING:
So that ends our THN Godzilla Countdown. It’s been an emotional 60 years worth of films stuffed into 29 weeks and we can only hope that next week’s GODZILLA matches up to some of the fine entries in such an awesome series. Personally, I can’t wait and I’m already far too excited. In the words of Ken Watanabe in the latest trailer “Let them fight!”
View all the articles in our countdown right here!
GODZILLA will be released 16th May 2014. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Akira Takarada, and David Strathairn.
