033 4 Awesome movie ! All the monsters are in this movie ! Fun for the whole family ! The kids love it ! Easy menus , english dubbing available as well as original Japanese version ! Worth the money for a classic movie lover !
103 4 Fun movie with all of the monsters . The kids loved it . There are a few bad words , so have the mute button ready .
162 4 This Godzilla movie is one of the greatest . It is a worthy way to end the series . Fun , exciting , and classically cheesy , with all the greatest monsters in it . This deserves all 5 stars .
056 4 Final Wars is a fun film ; But , I'd really like to address an important issue here . The fact that most Americans still believe that Godzilla hasn't made
a new movie since the mid seventies . I often meet people who express total surprise that that the series is still in production . And I also meet people who have a total misconception about Godzilla films in general .
When discribing a Godzilla film it is common for ( young people in particular ) to exagerate the quality of Godzilla's movies . Its a guy in a fake looking rubber suit with a visible zipper down the back stepping on cheap toys , I often hear . Its all just a big misconception really , and the criticisms seem to be only pointed at japanese made sci fi films . Are the special effect in , Oh , say Monster Zero that far off in quality from Disney's Moon Pilot or You Only Live Twice ? Of course not . are rubber suits such an awful way to create a monster ? The ALIEN is a rubber suit . So are the PREDATOR , Chewbacca , Jason etc . ( and Ive never seen a zipper on Godzilla . ) It is obvious to me that , despite the availability of most of Godzilla's movies on DVD , this is a generation that was brought up without these films . As a child in the 1970s and ' 80s I saw the movies on TV regularly , and it was common for the kids in the neighborhood to drop everything and run inside if a Japanese monster film was showing on the afterschool 4 o'clock movie .
The image that is in americans minds is the Dean Devlin 1998 abomination ( which , despite the huge effects budget resembles a man in a suit more than any Japanese film ) , and I'm afraid this will probably not change for a very long time .
Why ?
Because of the low profile release of every Godzilla film in the US
since GODZILLA vs . MEGALON in 1975 . SInce then , all G films were released with no publicity at all ( G vs . Gigan / Mechagodzilla ) , very little publicity ( G 1985 / 2000 ) , Directly to TV ( Terror of MechaG ) or in most casses since the 1980s directly to home video or DVD . As a result of this , the few who remember GODZILLA 1985 arent awhare that the series even continued after that year at all . Columbia / Tri-Star even
blocked the release of the previous 5 Godzilla films ( G vs . King Ghidorah 1991 - vs . Destoroyah 95 ) while promoting their own movie in 1998 . It's all so sad . The empoyees at a video store I frequent ( ages 16 - 27 ) didnt even realize that the DVD's they have been stocking and selling were of new Godzilla films . They simply assumed these were all old movies . When I asked two of the kids when they thought Godzilla films were made / released . They said that they really weren't sure and settled on the generic in the OLD DAYS answer . ( Boy , did I feel old , and I'm only 34 ) One of them said that he assumed that all the Godzilla films were in BLACK & WHITE ! ! ! ! ! and believed that they started making them around the same time as KING KONG ! ! ! ( I pressed these two knuckleheads further and learned that they had no idea when the Atomic Bomb was invented and all they could tell me about World War II was that it started because of racism and that we dropped the A-Bomb to whipe out the Japanese race . They weren't really sure who was on which side and were surprised when I told them Italy was involved and about the battles in North Africa . Scary . I guess I shouldn't worry so much about monster movies . )
Anyway , people really should see the new ( and OLD ) films in the Godzilla series . Maybe then the misconceptions would stop .
But I doubt it .
For the record , there have been 13 Godzilla films released from 1985 to 2004 . Thats 28 total . 29 if you count the Tri-Star piece of cr @ p . ( and
about a hundred spinnoff monster movies and cartoons )
James Bond still has only 20 . 22 if you count Never Say Never Again ( Just a remake of Thunderball ) and the comedy Casino Royale .
Jason Voorhees still has only 11 .
Halloween / Michael Myers has just 8 .
King Kong has 7 ( and two animated movies )
Jaws has only 4 .
Psycho has 5 ( and 1 TV movie )
Freddy Krueger has 8 ( and a TV show )
Amityville Horror has 7 ( and 2 TV movies )
Exorcist has 5
The Howling has 7
Hellraiser has 8
Puppetmaster has 8
The Omen has 3 ( and 1 TV movie )
Robocop has 3 ( and 5 TV movies and a series . Oh yeah Cartoons also )
Terminator still has just 3 .
Texas Chainsaw has 5 .
Dirty Harry has 5
Mad Max has 3
Universal's Frankenstein had 8
Hammer's Frankenstein has 6
Universal's Dracula has 7
Hammer's Dracula has 9 ( and 2 spinnoffs )
Universal's Wolfman has 5
Invisible Man has 4 ( and 3 spinnoffs )
Universal's Mummy has 8 ( and 1 spinnoff )
Hammer's Mummy has 4
Creature from the Black Lagoon had 3
and for the record , BRUCE LEE only made 4 1 / 2 . And I mean the real Bruce Lee , Not Bruce Li , Bruce Le , Bruce Lo , Dragon Lee , Bluce Ree or whoever . Just Bruce lee himself .
006 4 If you're a Godzilla fan , I suggest you skip this flick . I couldn't wait for it to come out on DVD in the USA , and when it did , I watched it right away . Boy , was I disappointed to find out that during this movie that is OVER 2 HOURS all of the monsters , except for Godzilla , had an AVERAGE OF ABOUT 74.5 SECONDS OF SCREEN TIME EACH . Godzilla HAD ONLY 12 min and 53.3 SECONDS OF SCREEN TIME . THAT IS CORRECT - 12 min and change of screen time for the title character . As a matter of fact , here is the breakdown by monster & their screen time :
Hedorah ( smog monster ) - 12.5 seconds
Kumonga ( giant spider ) - 35.4 seconds
Gino ( American Godzilla ) - 35.4 seconds
King Seesar - 39.5 seconds
Manda ( Giant lizard / snake thing ) - 34.6 seconds
Anguirus - 1 min 50.6 seconds
Kamacuras ( giant grasshopper ) - 43.7 seconds
Mothra - 50.9 seconds
Rodan - 56.6 seconds
Ebirah ( Sea Monster ) - 1 min 17.8 seconds
Monster X ( new monster ) - 1 min 54.8 seconds
Keiser Ghidorah 0 3 min 11.8 seconds
Minya ( Baby Godzilla ) - 4 min 2.5 seconds
Gigan - 3 min 24.1 seconds
Godzilla - 12 min 53.3 seconds
I say unless you're into a sub-par Star Wars / Matrix movie , avoid this , and find your Godzilla fix in some of the other Godzilla movies . Save yourself the disappointment .
018 4 Okay , to put it bluntly , it really seems like the creators spent about 5 minutes on some of the special effects sequences . If that bothers you , well , too bad . Even if it does , you can still admire at how unspeakably COOL the fights are - i.e . when Godzilla roasts the American Godzilla with heavy metal guitar blaring in the background .
This movie is all kinds of fun , and I feel SORRY for anyone who can't just grab some popcorn , sit back and enjoy it .
019 4 OK LISTEN I LOVE GODZILLA MOVIES , AND HAVE BEEN A DIE HARD FAN SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID . BUT THIS LAST MOVIE . . . WELL ? IT WASN'T VERY GOOD ! IF YOU'RE THINKING IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER GODZILLA 2000 YOU ARE VERRRRY WRONG ! TRUE GODZILLA FANS LOVE ACTION , AND CORNY COSTUMES . NOT COMPUTER ANITMATED CREATURES AND SUPER HUMAN PEOPLE ( wich was what the movie was mainly about ) . I WAS REALLY DISAPOINTED IN THIS MOVIE AND I HOPE IT ISN'T THE LAST . BUT IF YOU'RE A FAN . . . WELL ? YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET IT OR WATCH IT .
DAVID
023 4 I dont know what really to say except . . . if u like MIGHTY MORPHINE POWER RANGERS then this movie is for u . . . It truely was a bad movie . . . I feel sorry that Godzilla has to end like this . . . I was so excited when i first here about this movie . Boy was I sold a load of crap . . . If this is a fine example of Japanese movie making , I can see why they like American movies so much . If u r a godzilla fan , u know u are going to see . . . u will sit there an keep tellin yourself that it is good just to fight the bad reviews . . . But in the end u are going to be like the rest of us n say . . . I want my 2 hours of my life back .
029 4 Let me start by saying this : Final Wars is the first Godzilla movie I've watched in about 10 years . Besides 2000 , I have not seen anything past 1985 . However , after watching this film , I think I will try to catch up .
[ . . . ] - some of you may already know him as the angry video game nerd ( check this guy out ) . Anyway , he has a comprehesive review list on that website of what I believe are most if not all of the Godzilla flicks . Watching that , I felt my interest rekindled , and it just so happened that Final Wars was the only one in the whole series being sold at the local video store . I got it , watched it , and I got to say that I have not have that much fun watching an action flick in YEARS !
This movie just kicks ass the whole way through . I was entertained non-stop . Many of the reviews here hate the fact that Godzilla is not on screen for much of the film , but when he is on , it is simply killer . By the way , how can one measure a movie by how long the title character is on screen ? By that logic , Alien , Predator , and Jaws must all suck because the title entity is hardly ever there .
Now , I'm not oblivious - I know I've just refered to three classics . But classic or not , these movies are in my collection because I loved watching them . And that's why I give Final Wars 5 stars . Make no mistake about it ; by it's very nature , this is a bad movie . But that is what Godzilla flicks are - bad movies that we love to watch ( except for the American Godzilla , because that one was just plain BAD ! ) This movie gets a five score because I absolutly had a blast viewing it . This was probably the most fun I had watching an action flick since Die Hard with a Vengeance .
Bold ? Sure , but honest . I will not bother with a plot synopsis . Suffice it to say that if you have a love for fun movies , this will satisfy yoiur craving and then some . I've already ordered three more Godzilla movies on this site since watching this one . And Don Frye was awesome !
067 4 I had been waiting for this movie to come out for a year , but it seemed to be forever for me . So when I first saw it on the shelves , I was ecstatic and ran to get my Mom . We rented it , but she had to watch it first . Warning : All kids under thirteen , you will probably not get to watch this movie alone . There's an extreme amount of language all throughout the movie , so don't get your hopes up . This movie is good and for the first time the ACTORS are good . the story's very good as well . Minila is back and he's still very strange . The very last line in this movie is It's just the beginning . So you can tell that in a few years , Toho will hire the big G again . I can't wait .
074 4 This is the greatest movie I have ever seen . Ever . And not just greatest Godzilla or daikaiju movie , either . The monsters in it are Godzilla , Anguirus , Mothra , Rodan , Monster X , Keizer ( pronounced like Kaiser ) Ghidorah , Minya , Gigan , Kumonga , Ebirah , Kamacuras , Hedorah , Zilla , King Caesar , Manda , Baragon , Varan , Megaguirus , Gaira , Titanosaurus , and a squid infected by Yog whose name I can't remember . It's really too bad that Toho blew it in so many ways in the 70 ' s , or so many more people would watch them . If they hadn't taken Godzilla away from his roots as the embodiment of man's careless mistakes and made him a comic-book superhero for kids ( don't get me wrong - I love the Showa series ) and basically stopped all publicity for their movies whatsoever after Godzilla vs . Megalon , people'd probably not think that all of them were in black-and-white and stopped production in the 70 ' s for crying out loud ! In any case , Ryuhei Kitamura definitely knew what he was doing . All the rip-offs from the Matrix , Star Wars , Independance Day , X-Men , and all the countless others were done on purpose . Kitamura was just paying homage to all the other sci-fi hits from over the years . He also does much the same thing with the fact that Godzilla truly is the King of the Monsters , both in and out of the battles ; take a close look at the toy that that evil kid threw in the fireplace . This is also why he wins most of his battles within 30 seconds , another commonly criticised part of the movie . Kitamura used this with great effect at many parts ( the Godzilla vs . Zilla battle comes to mind ) . Besides , did you FW-haters expect each battle to be 20 minutes long ? Come on . And has anybody noticed that the people who hated this movie also HATED THE SHOWA FILMS ? Those people can't accept Godzilla for what he is . Besides , this version of the Big G is mostly a mix of all his past incarnations ; at times wonderfully cheesy , others the deadly force of nature from the Heisei series ( which was also great ) , yet people still complain about how this makes Final Wars so bad . It was done on purpose , like every other thing in the movie that gives G fans the pleasure of rolling their eyes to themselves . Many also complain about bad CG . WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE ? Every computer-generated shot ( okay , except for that one shot of Monster X's foot transforming ) looked amazing ; Godzilla's atomic nuclear radioactive heat fire plasma ray beam breath weapon ( try saying all that 5 times fast ) has looked completely real in every movie since Godzilla 2000 : Millenium . Final Wars has better CG than Gamera 3 , and all the reviews for that say it has flawless special effects . Manda , Rodan , Zilla , Anguirus's Thunderball attack , and many others look awesome . Manda really looks cool when he's charged with the heat from the lava and he snaps his teeth right in your face , and they actually made Zilla cool ; it was nice to see him do something other than eat fish and bolt like a rabbit whenever he sees something bigger than a bread box . His death was still one of the highlights of the movie , though . BOOM ! And speaking of which , another commonly criticised thing about Final Wars is its soundtrack . Rather than the traditional classical soundtrack , most of the music is techno-rock . Once again , I don't know why people automatically trash their DVD , log on to Amazon.com , and type a bad review as soon as they hear an electric guitar . In the Godzilla vs . Zilla battle , they played a rock song by Sum41 . But nobody has apparently listened to the lyrics . IT FITS THE IDEA THAT ZILLA IS IMPERSONATING THE REAL KING if you actually listened , my gosh . Godzilla's new theme for this movie is one of my all-time favorites ever . In many ways this sets the mood for the movie in ways the ( albeit , great ) classical music couldn't ; consider Rodan's rampage scene . The new Godzilla has the head of the 2000 : Millenium one ( thankfully , his snout isn't , like , bent like in the two Kiryu movies ) and the spines / breath color of the original , Showa , and Heisei ones . Gigan looks wicked-awesome and Ghidorah is finally as he was meant to be ; he's finally one of the few monsters in history who has pushed Godzilla to the brink of death , which is more impressive than actually beating him . I wish that they had remade Megalon instead of King Caesar , though . Oh well . The film's aliens are remade versions of the ones from Godzilla vs . Monster Zero , the Xilians . The main villain , X , is without question the coolest and funniest bad guy in any Godzilla flik . He also gives almost every one of the best lines in the movie hands-down , particularly right after Godzilla nukes Zilla . Captain Gordon is also really cool , like when he's just normally walking when the ship he's inside is blowing up while holding his samurai sword on the back of his neck . This was a great way to celebrate Godzilla's 50th birthday and the end of the Millenium series . Who knows ? Maybe Peter Jackson will remake the first Godzilla movie then finish it off by remaking King Kong vs . Godzilla , the filmmaking genius . He's definitely done the greatest version of King Kong ever . All he has to do is make Godzilla look like himself , but with CG . That'll give the Final Wars haters and real G fans alike something to worship . If this really is the last Godzilla movie ( which I highly doubt ) , he sure went out with a BANG !
P.S . I'm not really under 13 . I AM 13 ! Hahahahaha !
082 4 Yeah Baby ! ! a 5 Star giant monster free for all , . . I Love this movie , from its jumping around Godzilla Responders human mutant fighters , . . to the endless monsters through out this movie . . and there are alot , . . Zilla ( Matt Broderick wimpy godzilla ) show downs with the real Godzilla with a P - OFF atitude , . original
ultimate Fighter Don the Predator Fry ! ! way cool ! ! and they got him sporting the Captain of the Armada ( Star-Blazers ) Uniform way cool ! ! cool looking Monster Resistor aircrafts , and submarines , kick butt martial arts fights , top of the line monster suits with cool working parts ( Weapons ) all on an excellent widescreen format , . . I Likee . . awsome price ! ! these are the guys I want in charge of the Godzilla portion of my fantasy movie ( hopefully I cry enough it might be done ) GODZILLAvsGAMERA ! ! GODZILLAvsGAMERA ! ! will they stop fighting each other , . . in time to save the universe from destruction by an diabolical ALIEN threat ? ! !
105 4 EARTH INVADED BY ALIENS . ALIENS CONTROL ALL MONSTERS EXCEPT GODZILLA AND MOTHRA . MANKIND NEEDS HELP . MANKIND GETS HELP FROM GODZILLA AND MOTHRA . I HAVE SEEN JUST ABOUT ALL OF THE GODZILLA MOVIES AND THIS IS MY FAVORITE . IT HAS PLENTY OF MONSTER ACTION WITH GODZILLA TAKING ON ALL OF HIS PREVIOUS FOES . THE HUMAN RACE IS BEING INVADED BY ALIENS WHO WANT TO RAISE THEM AS CATTLE AND THE ALIENS CONTROL THE MONSTERS . MANKIND NEEDS HELP BECAUSE THEY CANNOT DESTROY THE MONSTERS SO THEY REAWAKEN GODZILLA TO DEFEND THE HUMAN RACE.THE MONSTER BATTLES ARE GOOD ALTHOUGH SOME ARE TOO SHORT . THE SPECIAL EFFECTS INCLUDING THE COMPUTER GRAPHICS ARE GOOD AND FIT IN NICELY WITH THE STORY . ALL IN ALL , THIS MOVIE IS A FITTING WAY FOR GODZILLA TO END HIS STORY . ONE LAST THING - - WHERE WAS KING GHIDORA ?
107 4 WOW ! WHAT A WAY TO CLOSE THE SERIES . GODZILLA AND DON THE PREDATOR FRYE ROCK HARDCORE BABY ! EVERY MONSTER IN TOHO HISTORY EXCEPT GOROSAURAUS , UNFORTUNATELY , EVEN HEDORAH , AND EBERAH SHOW UP . ALL ACTION ALL THE TIME . ITS LIKE EVERY SCIENCE FICTION ENTITY THAT I LOVE ALL ROLLED INTO ONE FILM . V , STAR TREK , STAR WARS , POWER RANGERS , EVEN GIJOE . WHAT A MOVIE . I HAD A HARD TIME BELIEVING REPORTS ABOUT THIS BEING THE BEST OF ALL . BUT IT REALLY WAS . 2 THINGS YOU FORGOT ABOUT THIS PLANET , ONE OF THEM IS ME . THE OTHER IS GODZILLA GODZILLA FOREVER !
119 4 This is by far the best of them all , unlike most there's lots of fighting with aliens , humans , and monsters .
This is my favorite movie , just see my title . I can't put in words how much I love this movie . Give me more , especially the KAIZERS , they were so cool.Just grab some popcorn extra butter , turn down the lights and slide in the DVD .
135 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
You may've heard this was a stinker . . . . DON'T LISTEN !
Hey , If you are a Godzilla fan , you already have a great imagination !
15 Monsters ! Old school fights ( albeit short ones ! ) And Godzilla whups every last one !
Good character developement too . . . so you don't mind that you'd like more Godzilla . Many differnet views and the music is modern and even tho it's not Ifukube , fits this picture . It's just a lot of fun !
136 4 You may've heard this was a stinker . . . . DON'T LISTEN !
Hey , If you are a Godzilla fan , you already have a great imagination !
15 Monsters ! Old school fights ( albeit short ones ! ) And Godzilla whups every last one !
Good character developement too . . . so you don't mind that you'd like more Godzilla . Many differnet views and the music is modern and even tho it's not Ifukube , fits this picture . It's just a lot of fun !
138 4 This is supposed to be the last Godzilla movie for the next decade or so . I was very skeptical , as I have never seen any of the newer Godzillas , but was pleasantly surprised . I enjoyed much of the movie and some parts made me remember why I loved Godzilla so much as a kid . The fight scenes were pretty amazing , especially later on in the movie . The special effects have been updated significantly and prodution values were obviously very high . Yes , Godzilla is still a suit , but he wouldn't be Godzilla any other way . It's an amazing feeling watching Godzilla make short work ( sometimes too short ) of his advesaries . It's an all against one , a la Destroy All Monsters , but much darker and extremely flashy .
As much as I was impressed with those aspects of the movie , there were those that just made me cringe with horror . The acting can be especially horrible at times , and the lack of charisma among the lead characters ( except the General - - his delivery was extremely cheesy and corny , but he actually became my favorite character ) did not help . Story isn't very good , and it seems they tried to tack on a love story , which is not nescessary in a Godzilla film . Speaking of unescessary , the martial arts scenes brought about images of suicide . Okay , they're not that bad , but its just not what people want to see in a movie of this genre . Glad to see them try to add new elements to the series , but maybe this could have waited .
Final Thoughts :
~ Plot : 6 - Nothing very interesting , love story attempt ? ? weak at best
~ Presentation : 6 - DVD has few features , acting is good to horrible
~ Special Effects : 10 - It's not Star Wars or T3 , but it has awesome Godzilla effects that make the fight scenes that much more enjoyable
~ Sound : 8 - Enjoyable at times , and sometimes just average
~ Action : 9 - Some questionable scenes , and some monsters are defeated too easily , but very well done
OVERALL : 8.4 ( not an average )
144 4 I'm guessing if your reading this review you have probably heard both good and bad things about this movie , I'm happy to report many of the good things are true , but so are the bad .
WARNING SOME SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW
The movie started off good enough , with an impressive battle between Godzilla and the Gotengo ( human battleship ) the ship manages to incase Big G in ice ( they were battling in antartica ) . Fast forward a few years and when have yet another impressive battle between the Gotengo and this time Manda , underwater I might add , and even though we don't see Manda very long , he was none the less impressive .
I won't go into to much detail , but eventually we found out that their are a bunch of mutants running around with very Matrix like powers and then eventually a bunch of monsters start running around major cities , it was great to see some old faces .
I won't say anymore about this , but eventually the Xillians show up who are aliens and they claim do destroy the monsters . Then it's found out that their the real bad guys , yeah didn't see that coming . Anywho there are lots of human fight scenes in hear , which comes to the point I disliked most about the movie .
GODZILLA WAS A SUB PLOT ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Yes faithful Godzilla lovers , itleast thats what it seemed like to me . Eventually the few surviving humans decide to go free Godzilla and make him follow them around and defeat all the other kaijum this is where the movie picks up .
Yes the fight scenes are incredible and although they are different they feel fresh and new . Again I won't go into details , but this movie is a let down at parts , yet it exceels at some parts . The human / alien fight scenes are neat , but they are clearly X-Men , Matrix parodies and thats not what you watch a Godzilla movie .
To sum it up Godzilla Final Wars is a very enjoyable film , which is a let down at some points and a triumph at others . It focus to much on the humans and aliens , and the whole plot in itself . And lets not forget whose 50th anniversary it is , Big G doesn't have near enough screen time . He truly is the star however and the movie exceels whenever he is on screen , and then plummets when he is absent .
I think this will sum it up better , is GFW the best Godzilla film , no it is far from it . Is it the worst G film , most certainly not . It is a very fun movie that I would highly recommend , but it is not the masterpiece of a Godzilla movie I suppose I was hoping for , falling well below King of the Monsters and G vs Destroyah , but exceeling over many . Don't go by my review though , go judge for yourself , it's more of a popcorn movie than anything else .
153 4 Man , what a mess .
This is a GODZILLA film , for sure . . . from the jagged and ragged ( and totally fractured ) plot , to the battles , to the ending - it takes everything a GODZILLA film is , kicks it up a notch , and then kicks it in the crotch to bring it back down again . By the closing credits you can't help but feel cheated that , after all these years , with all the advancement in effects , and this being the final GODZILLA film for at least a decade , they dropped the ball here . More blood , sweat and tears seems to have been shed upon a story which does not even feature GODZILLA as a major player .
GODZILLA is knocked out of the plot before the opening credits , and doesn't roar again until nearly the closing ones . In between we are treated to a series of tributes to far better and larger films : THE FIFTH ELEMENT , INDEPENDENCE DAY , THE MATRIX , THE X-MEN and most glaring of all : V . Aliens shod in human skin who have come to enslave humantiy as cattle for their larders - Earth , to them , is nothing more than one large farm . It's a nice idea , but done - and well done by V before it , so there is no reason for it to appear here , but for a majority of this final GODZILLA film - this is the story . In fact , the film comes across as nothing more than a pilot for another series of films , books and comics featuring the mutants here , their M organization and their high tech STAR BLAZER type weapon ships ( look VERY closely at the Russian Captain in this film and then compare him to CAPTAIN AVATAR of the YAMOTO in STAR BLAZERS - eerie ) .
If you're looking for monsters - they're here ( and yes , even the US GODZILLA manages to knock a few buildings down . . . before being totally slapped down by the original - and still the best ) , and while they don't get the screen time they deserve ( and we as the viewer expect , nay , demand ) when they are the screen the film really comes alive - and the effects help to sell this . Excellent model work abounds in this film , and for the first time the destruction here seems very real . People actually die here , not just run , stumble and fall , but are killed by the thousands by these monsters . There's a real sense and feeling that these monsters are making a very real impact on the cities they are trashing . But it's almost over before it begins and the film sinks back down into the alien plot and until GODZILLA is brought back , you'll just be watching the clock - waiting . . . and waiting . . .
When the final battle arrives it's a solid piece of work ( with some beautiful model and background work - the area is totally destroyed and harkens back to the manga backgrounds of AKIRA with its toppled , lopsided and off kilter skyline ) , but short . GODZILLA saves the day and the film attempts to tie up the plots ( a better title for this film would have been : CRISIS ON INFINITE GODZILLAS - as the film tries to cram every bit of GODZILLA lore into the final few frames - right down to the odd plot with yet another GODZOOKIE type baby GODZILLA ) as quickly as it can . GODZILLA literally walks off into the sun set and shows over folks - see you in ten . . .
Overall the film is a GODZILLA movie , and that's it's biggest problem . Neither man , alien , beast or an awful US remake have been able to topple GODZILLA . . . but a declining box office has managed to do just that . We leave GODZILLA exactly where we first found him - big , mean and green , and here to try and teach us that we're pressing our luck , we're pushing it too far , and we're now paying the price for our folly . We've taken him for granted , and now he's gone . . .
157 4 First of all , having read some of these reviews I am forced to wonder how the heck some of these guys got to see this film before it was actually released ( :
Anyway , I found this film overall quite good as Godzilla films go . I mean come on people we arn't talking about Ocar winning cimema film here and if you are expecting this you will be better to spend you money somewhere else , but for those of us who grew up watching Godzilla and Mothra in the afternoons and on weekends this film is a real hoot .
First of all I found the special effects greatly improved . I especially like Rodans wings and Godzilla's death breath
I found the action sequences fun and just right for picking on as is the most fun in just about all Godzilla films . I was also quite impressed with the nostalgic factor of seeing most major monters in one film for the first time ( some I havent seen in a while having only so far bought 8 on DVD ) ( SPOILER ) I also got a real kick out of Mothra's sacrifice .
On the whole this film was a hoot and ALL Godzilla fans should see it one way or another . It would be interesting if we could all catch this on on the big screen .
Ryuhei Kitamura is one of my favorite directors . He's the Japanese equivalent of our Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez . He has an eye-catching visual style , the talent to write entertaining dialogue , and nobody in Japan does action better . He's also able to take pure cinematic cheese with elements of other genre films and meld them together in exciting ways that seldom fail to entertain , even if you occasionally roll your eyes . I'm also a lifelong kaiju fanatic who grew up watching Godzilla and Gamera on Saturday afternoons and saving up my shoddy allowance to buy the films on VHS . Ah , memories . . .
That said , my excitement level over this film was naturally huge . I consider the millenium series of Godzilla movies to be among the greatest , boasting decent special effects and serious storylines which past kaiju films were known for lacking . This movie takes all of the improvements in those areas and throws other aspects waaaaay back to the sixties and seventies , when the movies weren't afraid to not be taken seriously . The funny-dressing aliens we all remember are back with a vengeance , looking like cosplayers at a Matrix convention . Hilarious . Speaking of The Matrix , Kitamura flaunts it's influence on his filmmaking shamelessly throughout this movie , creating a team of mutant humanoids that could have stepped right out of the film and have all of the over-the-top abilities we saw in that series . This makes for some very exciting non-kaiju fight scenes ; a first in a Godzilla film . The characters are also among the first truly memorable heroes and villains in G-film history . After this , I might get into some minor spoilers , so if you want to see the movie without knowing anything about the plot , now's the time to leave . Just trust me , the movie's good . Check it out .
Now , onto the monsters . Every major ( and most minor ) classic era Godzilla foe puts in an appearance ( except for Kong , Megalon , and Mechagodzilla ) . As a bonus , the infamous American Godzilla even gets a guest-starring spot . Needless to say , he doesn't last long against the real thing . Then again , neither do any of the other monsters , aside from the uber-powerful Monster X . There is also a hilarious dig at long-time Godzilla competitor Gamera in the film that made me laugh out loud , but don't blink or you'll miss it . Godzilla is largely absent for most of the film after being buried in Antarctica in the first scene . But once he's unleashed as humanity's last weapon , following a kaiju-powered alien invasion resulting in the destruction of all civilization , he wastes no time leveling every single foe in the film , one after the other . The fights are short and occasionally riotously cheesy . There is one shot reminiscent of Shaolin Soccer that I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it . I giggled about that one shot like a schoolgirl for , like , 2 days afterwords . As I have stated before , Kitamura embraces the cheese in the best possible way . The lead villain is also a riot . The guy throws an honest-to-god hissy fit nearly every time his monsters lose , which is always . It's hilarious to watch . He's also pretty much insane in typical Kitamura villain fashion which just adds to the entertainment value . However , this film isn't perfect ; the pacing is off and many scenes feel like they were slapped together too quickly , a common problem in the budget and deadline-plagued Japanese entertainment industry . The balance between kaiju action and human action becomes hectic to in the second half of the film with so much going on . Some of the kaiju battles could have been a little cooler , too ( Ebirah and Hedorah come to mind ) . Also , Mothra looks extremely good in this film but her performance as Godzilla's only non-human ally leaves much to be desired . Altogether , this is pretty much a no-brainer for old-school Godzilla fans and new-school sci-fi fans alike . Despite it's flaws , there is just too much damn fine entertainment in this film to pass it by . This isn't the ultimate Godzilla film ( in my opinion , that's GMK ) ; but as a celebration of 50 years of Godzilla stomping Tokyo , kicking ass , and taking names it is a rousing success .
001 4 This remake of the classic Destroy All Monsters maintains the wonder of all those monsters but is darker in nature . Monsters are springing up all over the place attacking civilization . Then aliens arrive and eliminate the monsters . Are they our saviors or something much worse ?
Eventually the truth about the aliens is learned and all out war ensues . The monsters return and it is up to a small group to go to Antarctica and release the imprisoned Godzilla . Hopefully Godzilla will handle the monsters while the people can handle the aliens . Monster mayhem ensues .
This movie is far better than Tokyo SOS . We see Manda in a more active role than previously as well as a number of other monsters from the early years of Godzilla . We even see the American Godzilla and an upgraded Gigan . There is a montage that shows Godzilla through the ages . The only thing I didn't like was seeing King Seesar as a villain . Seeing the alien leader have fits when things don't go right was almost priceless . All in all this is the Godzilla movie that really delivers what all the hype promised . Check it out .
002 4 I'll just get this out of the way right now : Ryuhei Kitamura is one of my favorite directors . He's the Japanese equivalent of our Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez . He has an eye-catching visual style , the talent to write entertaining dialogue , and nobody in Japan does action better . He's also able to take pure cinematic cheese with elements of other genre films and meld them together in exciting ways that seldom fail to entertain , even if you occasionally roll your eyes . I'm also a lifelong kaiju fanatic who grew up watching Godzilla and Gamera on Saturday afternoons and saving up my shoddy allowance to buy the films on VHS . Ah , memories . . .
That said , my excitement level over this film was naturally huge . I consider the millenium series of Godzilla movies to be among the greatest , boasting decent special effects and serious storylines which past kaiju films were known for lacking . This movie takes all of the improvements in those areas and throws other aspects waaaaay back to the sixties and seventies , when the movies weren't afraid to not be taken seriously . The funny-dressing aliens we all remember are back with a vengeance , looking like cosplayers at a Matrix convention . Hilarious . Speaking of The Matrix , Kitamura flaunts it's influence on his filmmaking shamelessly throughout this movie , creating a team of mutant humanoids that could have stepped right out of the film and have all of the over-the-top abilities we saw in that series . This makes for some very exciting non-kaiju fight scenes ; a first in a Godzilla film . The characters are also among the first truly memorable heroes and villains in G-film history . After this , I might get into some minor spoilers , so if you want to see the movie without knowing anything about the plot , now's the time to leave . Just trust me , the movie's good . Check it out .
Now , onto the monsters . Every major ( and most minor ) classic era Godzilla foe puts in an appearance ( except for Kong , Megalon , and Mechagodzilla ) . As a bonus , the infamous American Godzilla even gets a guest-starring spot . Needless to say , he doesn't last long against the real thing . Then again , neither do any of the other monsters , aside from the uber-powerful Monster X . There is also a hilarious dig at long-time Godzilla competitor Gamera in the film that made me laugh out loud , but don't blink or you'll miss it . Godzilla is largely absent for most of the film after being buried in Antarctica in the first scene . But once he's unleashed as humanity's last weapon , following a kaiju-powered alien invasion resulting in the destruction of all civilization , he wastes no time leveling every single foe in the film , one after the other . The fights are short and occasionally riotously cheesy . There is one shot reminiscent of Shaolin Soccer that I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it . I giggled about that one shot like a schoolgirl for , like , 2 days afterwords . As I have stated before , Kitamura embraces the cheese in the best possible way . The lead villain is also a riot . The guy throws an honest-to-god hissy fit nearly every time his monsters lose , which is always . It's hilarious to watch . He's also pretty much insane in typical Kitamura villain fashion which just adds to the entertainment value . However , this film isn't perfect ; the pacing is off and many scenes feel like they were slapped together too quickly , a common problem in the budget and deadline-plagued Japanese entertainment industry . The balance between kaiju action and human action becomes hectic to in the second half of the film with so much going on . Some of the kaiju battles could have been a little cooler , too ( Ebirah and Hedorah come to mind ) . Also , Mothra looks extremely good in this film but her performance as Godzilla's only non-human ally leaves much to be desired . Altogether , this is pretty much a no-brainer for old-school Godzilla fans and new-school sci-fi fans alike . Despite it's flaws , there is just too much damn fine entertainment in this film to pass it by . This isn't the ultimate Godzilla film ( in my opinion , that's GMK ) ; but as a celebration of 50 years of Godzilla stomping Tokyo , kicking ass , and taking names it is a rousing success .
003 4 As you may have gathered from my title , this movie is awesome . I suppose I'll get my two complaints out of the way . First of all it's not got quite the proper ratio of monster violence to other stuff . There's a whole lotta monster mashing , yes , but at 2 hours and 5 minutes it could've stood to have a little more , or just have been a bit shorter . The monster's generally look great , and they are , as a whole mostly of the rubber-suit variety , though there is quite a bit of CGI too , particularly for Zilla and the flying monsters . Still , they usually tried to use conventional fx so long as they were feasible , and they generally allow for the best results . I dunno about you , but there's just something about watching two dudes in rubber suits have a fist fight that makes me very , very happy . The only notable absence with regard to the monsters is the lack of Megalon , but what ya gonna do . Ya got Rodan , the Seamonster , Anguirah , King Ghidorah , Gigan , Mothra , the G-Man himself and more . I also would've liked to see a bit more city smashin ' . If there's anything that I like more than watching to rubber-suited men duke it out , it's seeing a besuited man smash a miniature city . Particularly the tanks , definitely needed more tank smashing . My other major complaint is the lack of classic Godzilla music . The modern stuff is okay , generally , but I love the classic Godzilla themes , so they shoulda had more of that stuff . Nevertheless , these complaints are lost in a sea of deliciously cheesy dialogue , costumes , sets and monster action . Seriously , how anyone could watch this movie and not have a helluva good time is beyond me . Yes , it's got a bit too much people , not quite enough monsters , but that's always been the way with Godzilla movies , from my experience . And the non-monster stuff here is generally a whole lot more entertaining than what you'd find in other Godzilla movies .
The movie does have a lotta hand to hand action , generally of the ' Matrix ' knockoff variety . ( This was directed by the dude who directed ' Versus ' , so this should come as no surprise . ) It's pretty damn over the top , but that's the manner of the whole film , of course , so I can't knock it too much . It's got amusingly hammy performances too , particularly from the main villain with evil eyebrows and the American captain .
Again , this is a very goofy film , but it's goofy-fun rather than goofy-moronic , so it works very well . Personally , despite the very modern nature of most of the film , I still think it manages to have the same basic tone of an older Godzilla film , which makes it a fitting enough anniversary feature .
Yeah , this is fun . Check it out .
Grade : B +
004 4 I really hate that this movie is as bad as it is . I'm a huge Godzilla nut ( have been since I was 4 ) and have even gone so far as import Godzilla DVDs from Japan and Hong Kong in order to see films before they were released stateside . In fact , I originally saw this film in the form of a : : cough : : archival copy from Thailand . Rest assured , however , that I also have the U.S . release , so I'm not basing my review on a bootleg version .
Final Wars is Godzilla's 50th anniversary film and was intended to blend the best aspects of the Godzilla series into a single movie and allow the character to bow out in style . Instead what seems to have happened is that Ryuhei Kitamura was making a cheap Matrix rip-off and was then hired to paste a few scenes with Godzilla in them into his lame martial arts film . Rest assured that though there are more than dozen monsters in Final Wars , most of them are around for mere minutes before being obliterated so we can quickly get back to the badly scripted , poorly choreographed human action . Bizarrely , GODZILLA HIMSELF barely makes an appearance until the final act of the film . Beloved monsters such as Hedora , Anguiras , and King Seesar really , truly , have maybe 8 minutes of screen time total between them . All the while , however , Kitamura's cookie cutter heroes drone on and on and fight battle after unimpressive battle .
When the monsters do finally get to fight ( And it's rare - There's about 30 minutes of monsters in this 2 hour long film ) , the action is solely based on the goofy , Showa era films of the 60s and 70s , with monsters smiting each other with pro wrestling moves , doing comic takes and pratfalls , and even having goofy sound effects like tires squealing when they come to a stop . This movie was not made for Godzilla fans : It was made , by all appearances , to cater to the stereotypes about giant monster films as silly kiddie fare . If you actually want to see a good modern Godzilla film , I would recommend Godzilla , Mothra , King Ghidorah : Giant Monsters All Out Attack . You'll enjoy it far more than this farce . If you like goofy monster wrestling , then buy all means look into the classic Godzilla films like Godzilla vs . Gigan and Godzilla vs . the Sea Monster - they're far more entertaining as well .
Godzilla Final Wars is a terrible film , doubly so for actual Godzilla fans . I recommend it only for the morbidly curious or completists who absolutely have to have every Godzilla film .
005 4 Another fun movie from Toho . Good effects , interesting special features . Fits well with Godzilla movies made within the last few years . As always great minatures , and I enjoyed Kieth Emersons soundtrack . Keep the snickers down and just enjoy .
008 4 When I read the mixed reviews for this film I figured I'd either love it or hate it . Well , put me in the LOVE IT category .
This film is different from most kaiju movies because it's more of an action adventure story than a man vs . monster tale . And there's plenty of action going on , including a great scene where five mutant commandoes take on a giant roach ( Megalon in his first appearance in decades for all you fanboys out there ) . There's some neat wu shu martial arts stuff , and a pretty decent story , too .
But of course , it always comes down to the monsters in a film like this . And I think they did a terrific job of showcasing a huge cast of creatures . True , most don't last very long against Godzilla , but that's part of the melding of genres . Here , Godzilla is an action star and his opponents are just the minions to get in his way until he faces King Ghidora at the end . It's worth it . And cool to see so many familiar monsters popping up . My personal fave is King Caesar , who is transformed into a sorta kung fu kaiju .
I guess not every Godzilla fan will like this film , so I advise renting it before deciding if you want to add it to your collection . But for me , this is a must own .
009 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars
GFW was an OK film , but I think it could have been better . Being a life , long Godzilla fan ( I have all 28 G-movies ) it was real great to see all of the older Godzilla foes back on the screen , but their screen times were too short to truly appreciate ( especially the Hedorah scene ) . It was also great to see Toho legends Akira Takarada ( from the first Godzilla 1954 film ) and Kenji Sahara . I like the way the film seemed to play homage to past films like the Atragon-like sub-ship encounter with Manda ( from Atragon ) and even a tribute to Kitamura's own movie Versus when actor Don Frye ( who looks like Jesse Ventura ) holds the samurai sword over his back , but I think most people interpreted the majority of the movie as popular film rip-offs of the recent Matrix movies . The villain aliens & heroes are dressed in black leather coats and dark sunglasses , off the wall martial arts fights complete with Matrix-trademark rotating camera angles and there is even a scene when one of the mutant heroes ( actor Masahiro Matsuoka ) stops several laser shots like Keana Reeves did with bullets . You could also see elements of Return of the Jedi and Independence Day during the Atragon ship's final assault on the mother ship .
The film is generally OK and the monster fights ( although short and few between ) were entertaining to watch . The killing of the Tristar Zilla was a pleasurable sight to see ( there's only one King of the monsters ! ) . I sensed a short tribute to Raymond Chow's Shaolin Soccer during the Angilas kick ball fight between Godzilla , Rodan & King Ceasar . Again like in many other past Godzilla films there is an alien race with a sinister plan against good-old Earth with all of the monsters involved . It sounds like a plot repeated many times before ( Destroy all Monsters , G vs . Monster Zero & G vs . Gigan ) , but how may times can you re-invent the Godzilla story that has already been done 27 times ?
As far as the DVD concerned it's another great quality product of G-films by Sony pictures . The special effects b-roll in the special features is basically the same as the one featured in the Godzilla Tokyo SOS DVD . Despite what the Amazon features advertise above , I could not find any trailer for GFW , just the same Godzilla compilation trailer featured on past Sony Godzilla DVD's .
I appreciate Kitamura's effort for putting his own special flavor in a long , historical list of Godzilla directors who created the longest , running movie franchise in history ( gotta stay ahead of James Bond right ? ) . If this is truly the last Godzilla film ( I'm still waiting for a Godzilla vs . Gamera movie ) let's just savor it for now until the hopeful moment when we hear that all too familiar roar again .
010 4 I love Godzilla movies . I have since I was a kid . I've found some of the ' Millenium ' series movies to be quite entertaining .
So , when I first read about Final Wars , I was pretty geeked . All of my favorite monsters ( with the exception of Megalon ) engaged in a ' Destroy All Monsters ' style rampage through the cities of the world . Sounded great . And , it seemed like an idea that could not be screwed up . Big guys in suits fight in detailed miniature cities . Kids of all ages rejoice . Pretty straight forward .
So , it was pretty darn disappointing when it was clear that the film-makers forgot the most important ingredient in a Godzilla movie . . . namely , monsters . For a 2 hour long movie , it felt like the monsters ( including the Big G himself ) had little screen time . Another reviewer actually added up the amount of screen time per beast and let me tell you , it felt like even less . I do not want to see aliens in capes fighting mutants in X-men knockoff armor . A good story and acting can work in a kaiju movie ; see Godzilla : All Out Monsters Attack or any of the new Gamera films for examples . But the film makers responsible for these movies knew that the main reason people are watching is to see guys in suits crushing model cities . They are not tuning in to see some sub-Matrix fights and interpersonal melodrama that is both confusing and boring .
So , if you are a fan of the Big Green Guy , stay away from this movie . Otherwise , you will be disappointed .
Oh and as a bit of a ps , I agree with all the reviewers who were critical of the score . Godzilla films have almost always had strong scores . Not G : FW , which had a generic techno-rock soundtrack .
011 4 I have been a Godzilla fan ever since I was a little kid , watching badly dubbed and edited versions on early morning Sunday TV . Get a couple of guys in big suits beating each other up , and I am happy as can be .
Godzilla : Final Wars was the first Godzilla flick I ever actually saw in a movie theater . I was living in Japan when it was released , and there was no way I was going to miss the chance to see the big green guy battling away on the big screen . Man , was it cool .
This flick is the end of the Millennium series , which was one of the best of all the Godzilla incarnations . I loved how they established some continuity , including paying homage to the original ( and best ) 1954
Godzilla
. Modern special effects were used to enhance the man-in-suit action , without ever giving in to CGI and taking away everything that makes Godzilla cool .
Paying homage is what Final Wars is all about . Pretty much every big boy that Godzilla has faced down makes an appearance , with the notable exception of Mechagodzilla , who disappeared at the end of
Godzilla - Tokyo S.O.S .
. Even the obscure ones like Ebira get a turn on the stage before getting dispatched . Sure , some of them fall a little bit too quickly , but that is a lot of monster to pack into a 125 minute flick .
Supposedly , this was going to be the true final Godzilla flick , but you just can't keep a good monster down . I am looking forward to 2014 , the 60th anniversary of Godzilla , when the waters will boil again and that fantastic scream will come booming out at meaning , signaling that Tokyo better watch out because some buildings are about to come tumbling down .
012 4 In 2004 , it was announced by Toho , that yet again , they would be retiring their famous star monster , Godzilla . Fans such as I were disappointed , but excited to hear that big shot director of Versus Ryuhei Kitamura would be helming the film , which would have the biggest budget of any previous Godzilla film , with an all star monster cast . It looked as if Godzilla was gonna go out with a bang . Godzilla : Final Wars was meant to be a collage to all previous films , especially the showa era . While it had some good concepts , the film kind of let me down . It is a decent enough pic , but wasn't good enough to be the final godzilla film . . .
NEGATIVES :
First off the biggest problem with the film was that Kitamura didn't seem to understand that this is a KAIJU film , not an action / martial arts film . There is far too much human action . Yeah it was cool , and in limited amounts it would have been find . But it was far too excessive . There seems to be more human fighting than monster fighting , and i often find myself having to fast forward through it to get to the good parts . Secondly , some of the simple matte shot effects look like they were done in the 60 ' s . They are of such poor grade . It's disappointing . Also , this film brought back some of the camp ( notably the whirling noise effect in the new york scene when the cop and gangsters hats blow off ) . This movie had the chance to show that godzilla was more than just campy cheesy sci fi and real entertainment . Also , the monster battles are so short . Especially Hedorah , who doesn't even fight Godzilla . I was most excited to see Hedorah , one of my favorite monsters return , and was sad that he got about 2 seconds of screen time . How is it that one of Godzilla's toughest opponents is killed so easily ?
POSITIVES :
We get a ton of classic showa monsters , an international approach at Godzilla , Anguirus ! , an awesome new monster , a creative updated approach at King ghidorah , an awesome performance from the actor who played The young lead Xian , a return of the Xians , awesome monster choreography , Don Frye has a cool character , cool style , three veteran showa actors , Updated monster designs .
As you can probably tell , the movie unfortunately is outweighed by the negatives . The movie had so much potential , but was a great let down . While I respect Kitamura as a director , I just don't think he was right for the film . They probably should have just brought back Kaneko , our modern day Ishiro Honda . It's really too bad . . .
013 4 A funny thing happened a few years ago : Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin made a big-budget re-imagining of the 1954 Japanese classic , Gojira . It made $400 million dollars at the box office , and yet a few years later , if you ask 80% of internet fanboys about it , they'll scream and whine about how It's not really Godzilla , It sucks ! Man in suit forever ! or It's Godzilla in name only ! . And if you even hint that you might slightly LIKE the movie , they will tear you a new one .
So it's quite funny that a few years later , Toho decides to send the franchise back into hibernation with Godzilla Final Wars . Despite what you may have read , this isn't really a Godzilla movie , or at least no more so than the 1998 re-imagining was . Godzilla is in it , sure , but it's not his movie . The movie is actually about a unit of elite genetically enhanced soldiers who have to wage battle against evil aliens , who concoct a James Bond-esque plot that somehow involves giant monsters instead of having their finger on a button . It's true that there are A LOT of monster battles in this movie , but unfortunately , they're all crammed into a montage that lasts all of five minutes .
No , the real bulk of the action scenes in the movie are centered around the super soldiers . And for what they are , they are very cool . Ryuhei Kitamaura definately knows how to assemble a good action scene involving HUMANS , no matter how ridiculous in concept they may be , and that is where the movie truly shines . It's just a shame that the monster battles , which are supposed to be the highlight of a Godzilla film , end up getting completely overshadowed by the battles featuring the human stars . While the human action scenes are fast , energetic , and acrobatic , the monster battles are for the most part slow and hokey just as they would be in any run-of-the-mill Godzilla film , which is a disappointment coming from an action director . It's as if Kitamaura just wanted to make a sci-fi karate movie , and the only way he could get the budget for one was by going through the Godzilla franchise .
In all , if you go into Godzilla Final Wars expecting a derivative chop socky sci-fi movie with really flashy martial arts fights , you'll get what you came for . But if you are one of those internet fanboys who called the American re-imagining an abomination , you should by all means despise this with almost as much mis-directed passion . Personally , I'll take both films for what they are - - decent , but flawed action flicks that don't really go out of their way to re-capture what made the first ' Zilla flick special . Grab some popcorn , unplug your brain , and don't expect to see much of big G , and you might just enjoy yourself . But remember , this is a Matrix-wannabe action movie first , and a monster movie last .
If you really want the best Godzilla movie of the past 10 years , go and get the newest version of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla . That movie actually had some great new ideas in it , and has just about everything that make a good Kaiju film . If you haven't seen it , I highly recommend it over Final Wars if you just want to see a recent Godzilla movie .
014 4 I loved final wars first of all godzilla vs everyone and watching him blast gino the rip off monster to kingdom come was worth it and the background story was great it would have been an anime classic even without the monsters
015 4 August Amaterasu !
Godzilla , faster than light ! Other people seem to just not like this one as much as me , but i also just sit there adoring Godzilla . And i was kind of dissappointed that they didn't return to the old theme even to the end of the credits . . . but oh well , its still a cinema breakthrough .
016 4 The monster designs and the effects were great , plus there were a few cool action scenes and some humor too . But there was way too much of that Yuen Wo Ping style wire-fu and the John Woo bullet ballet going on . It got old really quick . And when the giant monsters started doing it too , along with New Japan Wrestling moves , it was just a little much .
Actually , this movie almost seems like a remake of Destroy All Monsters , where aliens unleash the monsters from Monster Island upon major cities in an attempt to take over the world . Except in this film , the monsters hardly show up ; especially the star of the show , Godzilla . He appears in the first 5 minutes , but is not seen or mentioned for about another hour into the movie . By this time you're thinking , Wait a minute , isn't this a Godzilla flick ? Where's Godzilla ? ! .
In the meantime , we're subjected to the angsty mutant Earth Defense Force ( starring Kane Kosugi , son of Sho Kosugi . . . star of many 80 ' s ninja flicks ) , and alien invaders who look like rejects from The Matrix ; complete with black plastic trenchcoats . When the Big G does finally show up , his fights with the other monsters were way too short . . . except for Godzilla's last fight which was pretty good . But it kept getting interrupted by the final fight between the mutant human character and the aliens ; whom I could care less about at that point in the film .
Overall , this film has some nice visuals and some great monster cameos ( King Seesar . Gigan , and the american Godzilla ) , but the plot is lacking , unoriginal and is heavily influenced by The Matrix films , with some Independence Day , Star Wars , Equilbrium , and Mission Impossible 2 , thrown in , with a dash of Destroy all Monsters . I guess I shouldn't expect much from the director of Versus .
017 4 This movie does very well as a modern update of the 70 ' s flicks with plot elements from the 60 ' s . The title sequence is awesome . However , as the final Godzilla movie , celebrating fifty years of film history , made in 2004 , I expected more . Most of the monsters appear too briefly , the stuff with Minilla just doesn't fit well , and Monster X / Kaiser Ghidora is almost as uninspired as Orga . Ghidora deserves a better incarnation .
020 4 I've been a Godzilla Fan since I was 4yrs old ( I'm in my 30 ' s now ) , and I have to admit , after all the hype about this movie from Toho , including the premier at Man's Theater in LA , and the star on the Hollywood Walk of fame , this movie was a big disappointment .
The film that marked the 50yr anniversary of Godzilla turns out to be at the same standard ( story , special effects , etc ) as watching the Power Rangers tv series . The only thing going for this movie is some of the updated designs of some of the monsters , but their appearance on screen is so short and fleeting , that it makes you annoyed by the main story , which highlights a band of mutant special forces ( amalgamated rip-off of X-Men , Matrix , & Power Rangers ) that fight an alien invasion . Very Cheesy .
Oh , and it's hard to forget the terrible score ( using mostly irritating organ music ) , as much as you might want to .
Toho USED to be innovative with Godzilla and the other Kaiju ( monsters ) back in the 50 ' s and early 60 ' s , but the studio is still stuck in believing they still live in that era in their glory days . Godzilla and the rest of the monsters definately deserves upgrades and more innovation that these monster films have the potential to be , but Toho definately dropped the ball on this one . Plus , they claim this is to be the LAST Godzilla movie . What a huge disappointment .
Sincerely ,
Dennis Mace
021 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
Let me just say this about Godzilla Movies in general : Forget about trying to understand the plot , if there was one to start with , it gets lost in translation / dubbing to English and none of these Millenium Series movies makes any sense at all . They seem to be an odd mix of fantasy , sci-fi , horror and drama . You really need to take a leap of faith into the Godzilla Universe to sit through an entire movie , the dialog and themes are hard to take . I'd say it probably boils down to nothing more than a difference between Japaneese and American story telling sensibilities . After watching the whole thing , My son and I like to watch it again a time or two , but we jump right to the best Monster battle scenes - that's the beauty of the DVD format , you can go right to the good stuff and pass up all the weird parts in between .
That said , the MS movies are absolutely awesome . Compared to the older guy-in-suit Godzilla Movies , the new ones ( 90 ' s - 2000 ' s ) are cutting edge . They have mind blowing special effects , huge sets of cities built with models , and they seem to have a creepy , chilling , & darker look to the night scenes . The behind the scenes part is neat , showing how they shoot the films - just as enjoyable as the movie .
Final Wars is great because Godzilla tears through an entire army of bad monsters by crushing , throwing , stomping , and blasting away with his Atomic breath . The new improved Gigan with buzz saws for arms is awesome .
022 4 Let me just say this about Godzilla Movies in general : Forget about trying to understand the plot , if there was one to start with , it gets lost in translation / dubbing to English and none of these Millenium Series movies makes any sense at all . They seem to be an odd mix of fantasy , sci-fi , horror and drama . You really need to take a leap of faith into the Godzilla Universe to sit through an entire movie , the dialog and themes are hard to take . I'd say it probably boils down to nothing more than a difference between Japaneese and American story telling sensibilities . After watching the whole thing , My son and I like to watch it again a time or two , but we jump right to the best Monster battle scenes - that's the beauty of the DVD format , you can go right to the good stuff and pass up all the weird parts in between .
That said , the MS movies are absolutely awesome . Compared to the older guy-in-suit Godzilla Movies , the new ones ( 90 ' s - 2000 ' s ) are cutting edge . They have mind blowing special effects , huge sets of cities built with models , and they seem to have a creepy , chilling , & darker look to the night scenes . The behind the scenes part is neat , showing how they shoot the films - just as enjoyable as the movie .
Final Wars is great because Godzilla tears through an entire army of bad monsters by crushing , throwing , stomping , and blasting away with his Atomic breath . The new improved Gigan with buzz saws for arms is awesome .
024 4 I'll put this mildly - I never wish anything bad to anyone , except in this case that the director and producer of this movie never get work again for what they did to Godzilla .
I am a hardcore Godzilla fan - I even liked the movies with the smog monster , Megalon , and the kid who daydreamed that he was a friend of Godzilla's son but Final Wars I hated like Bush sr . hates brocolli .
The movie pretty much tries to be an update or remake of the classic Godzilla movie Destroy all monsters , where aliens come to this planet and pretend to be our friends but the only one who can save us is Godzilla .
Seems like a good premise but unfortunately they try to add in mutants ( ala X-men rip-off ) , an alien take-over conspiracy , and the hand-to-hand combat between the people is a mix of Power Rangers and Matrix-wannabe . The acting is stilted and terrible , to match with the terrible direction of the movie .
At least the director did not mess up the monster battles and the only bright spot was Godzilla whooping the US version with a flick of his tail .
Whatever you do - Just rent this movie ! ! !
Then form a petition to Sony / Toho Studios to make another Godzilla film using the same creative group that made that GMK ( Godzilla-Mothra-King Ghidorha ) , they also made that recent excellent Gamera trillogy - let's see if we can get a Godzilla Trilogy to properly send the Big G off .
025 4 The whole monster fraction is playing in this Video . Like aliens and EarthDefenders and Mutants even Kungfu , Godzilla is like a really powerful monster . I gave this Five Stars because a Monster called King Gidhora the three Headed monster Dragons were AWESOME in it . . Even Baby Godzilla is in it .
026 4 I really do not know how to rate this movie . At first I really did not care for the movie but recently it has begun to grow on me and it has become a guilty pleasure to enjoy . Therefore , I can see both sides of the issue of whether this was either a spectacular and extravagant way to end the Godzilla series or was it a catastrophic dud and cinematic train wreck ?
This is basically a remake of the late 60s Godzilla classic Destroy All Monsters with hyped up special effects and nods to such modern day popular movies as The Matrix and X-Men . This movie has the flavor of the late 60s Godzilla movies which tended to be campy and way over the top while still being enjoyable . This tone marks a departure from the manner in which more recent Godzilla movies were made which tended to have the level of camp toned down to at least a digestible level .
This movie does play like a Saturday morning episode of Power Rangers hyped up on cough syrup with Godzilla and all of his friends thrown into the mix along with Law of Physics defying Ninja mutants and Matrix style aliens all vying to destroy the world and each other . So if that sounds like an enjoyable way to spend 2 hours then you may like this movie . If that doesn't sound like fun , then I suggest staying away .
Yes , this movie is silly , over the top with pretty good special effects , bad acting and cheesy corny dialog with an implausible story and many monsters fighting and trying to out maneuver one another with professional wrestling tactics which would make Hulk Hogan proud . As I said this movie has grown on me and falls under the category that it is so bad it is good . This movie appeals to my inner nerdiness and I can accept it for what it is : a 50th Anniversary all-star campy Godzilla extravaganza .
027 4 This is one of the best Godzilla movies of all-time , in my opinion . It's got everything including a surprise visit from GINO ( Godzilla In Name Only ) , the American version of Godzilla . It also has Kung-Fu Fighting aliens , Super-Powered Mutant Humans , Star Wars inspired space battles , Giant Monsters galore , and even a cute little baby Godzilla . Any movie that packs all of that into one package is okay in my book . This movie is just one big zany , fun-filled , action-packed giant monster slug-fest perfect for a Saturday Night monster movie marathon !
028 4 This movie is OK for what it is . If you want action packed popcorn entertainment and some monster fights get it . Personally , I would have liked to see the movie take itself a little bit more seriously , but really , the only serious godzilla movie I've seen in the first . It is true there could have been more monster fighting , but I think part of the problem if the movie length . If we had the same amount of monster fighting in a 90 minute movie I don't think there would so much complaining , but this film is 2 hours . Another issue is that the movie rips off the Matrix and Star Wars , and is full of cliche . . . ( if they took that out and made it more dramatic ) . Don Frye is as badass as as anyone could be , otherwise the other characters didn't interest me too much . . . they were too cliche .
Look , it's a fun action movie , if you are going to enjoy it on that level you'll be happy .
030 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
I should probably give this 4 and 1 / 2 stars . Some of the characters are a bit derivative but the action ramps up and just keeps going . What does my title mean ? After 2 viewings it occurred to me that Don Frye's character of Capt . Gordon is the human incarnation of the Big G : a foreign monster who just won't stop . Fortunately for the Japanese , this monster is on their side . In one scene , Gordon looks at the oncoming monster and states that : He just won't stop . There is a very understated admiration and recognition of a kindred soul in that statement . I also got a big grin out of the surviviors ' discussion around the table as to what they need to do to win the war . Gordon minces no words and everyone just has to swallow a very big pill if they want to defeat the aliens . Don Frye has a wonderful supporting role in the new Dillinger movie . Doesn't say much , but every word counts .
031 4 I should probably give this 4 and 1 / 2 stars . Some of the characters are a bit derivative but the action ramps up and just keeps going . What does my title mean ? After 2 viewings it occurred to me that Don Frye's character of Capt . Gordon is the human incarnation of the Big G : a foreign monster who just won't stop . Fortunately for the Japanese , this monster is on their side . In one scene , Gordon looks at the oncoming monster and states that : He just won't stop . There is a very understated admiration and recognition of a kindred soul in that statement . I also got a big grin out of the surviviors ' discussion around the table as to what they need to do to win the war . Gordon minces no words and everyone just has to swallow a very big pill if they want to defeat the aliens . Don Frye has a wonderful supporting role in the new Dillinger movie . Doesn't say much , but every word counts .
032 4 Sony has now released Godzilla : Final Wars with thier ' 5oth Anniversary ' collection , along with Godzilla : Tokyo S.O.S . and several of the Showa ( classic for the non-experts ) films . The menu is unexciting , having no music or clips what so ever , but overall the quality is good . The end credits are included , translated , something I'm grateful for . Plus the original Japanese dialouge is an audio option , another great feature . Special features kind of lack , the only real one being the very cool behind-the-scenes featurette . Though an audio commentary wouldn't hurt , this DVD is great .
034 4 Being one of those kids who were introduced to Godzilla at the height of the popularity in the mid 1970 ' s , when my local video store got in the new Millennium collection , I couldn't help but check this title out . The last Real Godzilla movie ( Toho production over the American debacle ) in the series I got to see was Godzilla 2000 . Though the stories and dubbing were still wanting , I was impressed by the new Godzilla suit and much improved effects ( still not up to U.S . film standards , but a vast improvement over past entries ) . Not seeing anything more recent on the vast trash of modern cable channels , I feared that the rumors of the Godzilla series might be over . I was delighted to see I was wrong !
From the very first moments this movie began to play , I realized that this was indeed , THE MOST ENTERTAINING Godzilla movie of all time ! Everything from past to present we all love , with the best Godzilla suit so far , and upgraded versions of the entire calliope of Toho studio monsters . Godzilla fan or not , this film is all out fun !
We begin with the explanation of Godzilla being sealed in ice , from a craft reminiscent of Captain Harlock . We then shift to all the monsters ( sans Godzilla ) attacking the major cities around the world ( including a monster poking fun of the American travesty of Godzilla ) ! The most priceless scene during this time is a New York cop trying to arrest a pimp ! From therein , we get 90 minuets of filler story , but the one thing I guarantee is that you are going to have fun seeing both throwbacks to the ' 70 ' s movies and plying From what movie did they lift that material !
Highlights include : A scientist straight out of Inframan , aliens in plastic / plastic armored trench-coats and wearing Devo shades , a group of mutants that resemble grey suited Power Rangers ( and at times , dressed in Hugo Boss Nazi officer uniforms , and the first non-dorky American character ( the captain of the battle ship who is a Sergeant Slaughter characterature ) . What keeps the 90 minuets alive is the fun of guessing from what other movies were the action scenes lifted ( The Matrix , Mission Impossible , Die Hard , Independence Day and a number of Japanese movies / Anime , just to name a few ) .
Finally , we get down to the monster mash , which is the best yet ! Godzilla , in his best incarnation yet , is unfrozen and unleashed to take on each and every monster . The spider and the preying mantis have new abilities and are much improved over their appearance on Monster Island . Godzilla makes quick work of them , as he does with Zilla ( American version of Godzilla , done with much tong and cheek ) , Hidora , The Lobster , Gillera , Rodan and King Cezar . The final battle takes place between Godzilla and Gigan / Gigan II and a monster right out of Alien , with a little intervention by Mothera . I won't spoil the fight , other than the Alien monster turns into the best version of King Ghidora yet ! Oh , yes , and Godzilla has a new wind up and delivery of his atomic breath ! Not only that , but aside from the standard WWE moves , Godzilla , even though a guy in a rubber suit , now fights with Monster-Fu and moves more like a character out of Anime , making for much better fight scenes !
Over all , two big thumbs up to the folks at Toho for producing the BEST Godzilla installment yet ! No matter who you are , this movie is going to keep you entertained for the entire 2 hours and 5 minuets ! I'm just surprised this one didn't make it into American theaters , , , this one was definitely good enough , and the big green guy definitely has the fan base . Oh , and one other thing . . . I was delighted to see a movie that didn't contain all the smut and debasement contained within every modern Hollywood feature . Keep it up , Toho , you're definitely on the right track , and keep the Godzilla dynasty going !
035 4 I don't know why some people are complanning about this movie . It's like a upgrade version of the seventies Godzilla films . You get all the monsters you could think of , as for not seeing munch of Godzilla . What about monster zero and sea monster He didn't apair munch in these films . But there fun to watch . Godzilla needs to be upgraded , it would be pretty boring to keep doing the same thing over and over again .
036 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
My 8 yr old son loves Godzilla movies and he has watched this one over and over again . It's worth the time to watch . hope you enjoy it as much as we did .
037 4 My 8 yr old son loves Godzilla movies and he has watched this one over and over again . It's worth the time to watch . hope you enjoy it as much as we did .
038 4 A convoluted plot line that doesn't make sense some of the time , cheesy aliens , over the top acting , and more rubber suit monsters than Destroy All Monsters . In other words , a classic Godzilla film that shouldn't be missed . It has everything in it that makes Godzilla films great , and as the last Godzilla film , it's a fitting final tribute to the big guy .
If you loved the original series ( 1954 - 1974 ) , or ever wondered what would happen in a fight between Toho's Godzilla and Sony's Godzilla , then this is a must see film .
039 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
I love this Godzilla , and any that try to stick to that less than serious tone . Some have been fairly straight and though they may be cool and just as good , I just love the ones where it's silly .
Case in point , Godzilla and kung fu / pro wrestling moves ! You can't go wrong . Although , as some will find out or attest to , this one has too much human portrayal . Now I don't mind watching Maki Mizuno ( news lady ) at all , she can act throughout the whole movie and I'd be satisfied ; p . Kaiju action scenes were awesome , thoroughly enjoyable .
A bit too international for my tastes , but at least lends to it's camp factor .
Great to see Tak Sakaguchi , albeit an extremely minimalistic role but look for his Death Trance 1 - 2 months of this posting .
040 4 I love this Godzilla , and any that try to stick to that less than serious tone . Some have been fairly straight and though they may be cool and just as good , I just love the ones where it's silly .
Case in point , Godzilla and kung fu / pro wrestling moves ! You can't go wrong . Although , as some will find out or attest to , this one has too much human portrayal . Now I don't mind watching Maki Mizuno ( news lady ) at all , she can act throughout the whole movie and I'd be satisfied ; p . Kaiju action scenes were awesome , thoroughly enjoyable .
A bit too international for my tastes , but at least lends to it's camp factor .
Great to see Tak Sakaguchi , albeit an extremely minimalistic role but look for his Death Trance 1 - 2 months of this posting .
041 4 Best Godzilla movie I've seen . Plenty of action and the special effects are incredible . If you enjoy Godzilla movies or live-action ( rather than CGI ) giants beating the heck out of each other , you need to see this .
042 4 Godzilla is always a hoot , but you don't see enough of him in this movie to hoot much . He's literally put on ice within the first ten minutes , then , in the last half-hour of the movie , he's broken out by the same people who put him there to fight off a variety of monters unleashed on the world by invading aliens who want our mitochondria for food . It is great fun to see him quickly dispose of said monsters , particularly the American Godzilla . The traditional Godzilla theme music is heard only in the opening title ; the rest is techno-pop and generally pretty poor , except for the climactic final scene .
The intervening sixty minutes is spent unveiling the alien plot and how a special group of mutants attempts to thwart it . Way too much Matrix-style fighting .
The bulk of the movie is a series of rapid scene cuts ; seriously overdone and ultimately annoying .
Generally a fair Godzilla movie , and not what I might have hoped for as the fire-lizard's swan song .
043 4 Godzilla-Final Wars is a good final installment of the Godzilla franchise . This movie pays tribute to just about every Toho monster movie . I like to think of this one as a combination of Godzilla versus Monster Zero and Destroy all Monsters . Your basic Toho alien controls monter film with great special effects . The head alien after bragging about their superiority throws one of the funniest hissy fits when his monsters lose . Like most giant moster movies you can't get enough of the monsters . Some of the fights are just over too quickly . If you watch the credits you will see some fight scenes not in the movie . If you like the Toho monster movies you will not be disappointed with this one .
044 4 Purposively this is the last installment of the 50 year Godzilla series . Which is disappointing enough in itself , but this one fails to deliver a good ending . It seems as if the director thought it was more important to emulate Hong Kong action / fighting flicks than make a Giant Monster movie full of mass destruction and maybe even a have a point to it ( as did the original ' 54 version , the Smog monster , and few others ) . Somebody should have taken a clue from the latest Gamera series : make a movie that works for both kids and adults that entertains , is exiting , and doesn't insult the audience . Some good scenes here and there , but over all it feels disjointed and uninspired .
045 4 Wow ! ! ! ! ! Godzilla is back and better than ever.The special effects in this movie especially during the fight scenes between Godzilla and the other monsters are AWESOME . It's good to see Godzilla again and Mothra battling for supremecy . Also , Godzilla's little son is soooooo cute and he's pretty tough for a little guy ( don't count him out ) . I think this is a very good addition in the Godzilla series .
Godzilla still rules after some 50 years later ! ! ! ! ! ! !
046 4 Wow . That's all I can say about Godzilla's 50th birthday movie . This movie is so good that it has left me speechless , it was so good . my only actual complaint is that Rodan and King Seesar were bad guys . Other than that , this is a great way to celebrate 50 years of Godzilla .
Sorry , I have to go now . Why ? Because I HAVE TO WATCH THIS MOVIE AGAIN !
Long live the king and his monster friends !
047 4 the movie was extremely entertaining , and picture quality / color was fantastic . one thing that stood out for me was that this DVD has an extra , which is very hard to find among many godzilla DVDs
048 4 What can I say ? Even with varying CGI , mediocre acting , and lame ideas , this made be the most ( . . . ) movie that came out in 2004 . Most people already know the plot , so I don't need to get into it . But , as I said , this is one mighty action film . No , it isn't good by movie or Godzilla stards , but as an action flick , this totally rocks .
049 4 Gojira : Fainaru 。。zu - a.k.a . Godzilla : Final Wars - can be summed up in one word : ' different ' . Actually , make that two words : ' very different ' . In 2004 , the 50th anniversary of the original 1954 classic Gojira , Toho announced that they would be making the final Godzilla movie for a period of at least a decade . The film would feature many - most , in fact - of Godzilla's classic friends and foes , to celebrate the anniversary , as well as the end of the Millennium series of G-films .
So how does Final Wars do as a finale to the latest and , arguably , greatest of the Godzilla series ? Well . . . read on .
The premise of Final Wars is far more complex than that of any other Godzilla movie . It's the near future . Godzilla has been imprisoned in ice for about forty or fifty years . Other monsters have remained hidden in the darkest corners of the Earth . A race of superhuman mutants have been created and used by the government to battle crime ; the group has been named M-Unit . Suddenly , the Secretary General of the United Nations ( Akira Takarada ) disappears . When he returns about a day later , he presents to Earth an alien race called Xilians . The race seems peaceful as they warn Earth about an asteroid heading towards the planet which will destroy it upon impact . They suggest that we unite and form the Space Nations . But a group of government workers suspect that all is not as it seems . . .
Godzilla : Final Wars is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura , an apparently skilled director who also directed the popular cult film Versus . Kitamura also contributes to the script , which is for the most part well-written , though it features some definite weak parts ( most notably when a character makes a miraculous , seemingly impossible escape from imprisonment , and then explains it with I managed to escape somehow ) . The storyline is basically a re-working of Monster Zero ' s story , with certain new elements added . The film starts off well and continues along well until the action really gets started ; at this point , the train goes flying off the tracks and then keeps going . What I'm trying to say is that this film eventually becomes way too wacky and it keeps getting wackier . Towards the end of the film , the movie becomes an obvious rip-off of The Matrix .
The greatest part of the film is the monsters . We see many monsters which we haven't seen since the original series , including Angilas , Gigan , Kumonga , Ebirah , and even Hedorah and King Shisa ! Unfortunately , we also see Minilla , who really does nothing for the film at all . The monsters look cool and the special effects are very good . Unfortunately , the monsters get very little screen time ; even Godzilla is in the film for a grand total of about ten minutes . A very interesting thing about the film is that it features the American Godzilla - here called Zilla - as one of the monsters ! He is eliminated very quickly by Godzilla , though . It's a wonderful way for the Japanese to show Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin that their Godzilla is still the King of the Monsters .
The only other high point of the film which I can recall is the score , which includes new music by Keith Emerson . Very little of Akira Ifukube's classic music is used . There is quite a bit of American music used in the film , including a song by Sum 41 .
Godzilla : Final Wars is a bizarre film . It feels more like some weird Japanese Matrix rip-off than a Godzilla film , primarily because the monsters have little screentime and are not essential to the storyline . It's a unique and interesting film to be sure , but it's flaws and the near-absence of anything we've come to love in the Godzilla films makes this a less-than-spectacular way to close of the Millennium series . Had this been just another entry in the series , I might like it more . And had the series closed with the fantastic Godzilla , Mothra , King Ghidorah , all the fans would be much happier .
050 4 Some people really have a problem with this film , but Godzilla fans are a diverse bunch and I've found every fan has a problem with some Godzilla movie . Some are charmed by Son of Godzilla or Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster and don't like Destroyer . Some admire the original Godzilla as true classic cinema and shudder at the antics of Godzilla versus King Kong . This Godzilla film borrows lots from everywhere , and is hard to classify . Over the last 50 years we've seen just about every Godzilla imaginable , and none are right or wrong , just different film experiences . To those that have a big problem with this movie I say 1 ) watch one of the 25 or so other Godzilla movies instead and 2 ) be thankful this was the end ( for now ) and that this type of Godzilla film didn't lead to another series of Godzilla films just like it !
My biggest complaint was that the film was a 50 year anniversary tribute to the Big Guy , but the film could have treated him better . When he was on-screen he wasn't presented in an awe-inspiring fashion , with a proper sense of scale-which is the Godzilla I favor . The monster battles definitely harken back to the late 60 ' s or mid - 70 ' s Godzilla films , you knew they were guys in suits and not much was done to cover for it . But I suppose you could say that about Destroy all Monsters as well .
The film moves real fast and is a little heavy on the human side , especially the final kung-fu battles . With so many monsters I would have like to see some of my old friends on-screen for a little longer . I gave these film 3 stars as it boils down to a very average Godzilla film . But , the film is definitely an original and has its own place in the gathering of Godzilla movies . I can hardly wait to see what he comes back as next . . .
051 4 I read alot of the other reviews of this movie and wasn't really sure what to expect . Some said it was the worst G flick ever , others say it was the best . I say it is neither .
The Good :
1 . ) The opening credits intro for this film is awesome , absolutely awesome .
2 . ) The special effects at times are quite good , though even more out of reality than even previous G flicks .
3 . ) I like the Russian ( assuming he's Russian ) captain , I know he's a Sergeant Slaughter ripoff but I think he's cool .
4 . ) They build the suspense up a bit ( though nowhere near enough ) to Godzilla's final fights .
5 . ) We get to see older Godzilla monsters updated which is kinda cool , although King Seesar looks like he's a deer caught in the headlights .
6 . ) Gigan does look way cool .
The Bad :
1 . ) Godzilla is MIA for more than 60% of the film , this I found rather disappointing .
2 . ) The Japanese actors don't do a very good job , they must have been underpaid or something .
3 . ) The fights Godzilla does have are way , way , way too short .
4 . ) The special effects go from being really good to really bad in a heartbeat .
5 . ) Way too much Matrix influence in the film to the point that it's sickening . A decent amount would have been ok , but it's just way too much .
6 . ) The plot is predictable even for a G flick .
The DVD is very good , with the widescreen edition of the film with both English and Japanese audio tracks . Special features are worth the money with the making of the scenes worth it's weight in gold .
If you are a G fan fanatic , you have to have this film , period .
If you like Godzilla but you liked the Matrix as much if not more , you might like this film .
If you like lots of Kaiju fighting , this film might not be for you as you won't be satisfied by it .
If you're not sure , rent it , then decide . I definitely bought it , I'm not regretting it either as I'm a fanatic .
052 4 I was really excited about getting this flick . As was my 11 year old monster fan son . After watching it , we were sadly disappointed . What the hell was all that Matrix rip-off stuff ? I don't want a lot of cheesy dialogue and people fighting in my Godzilla movies . Especially when you're bringing together some of the greatest monsters of the series . It's a freaking Godzilla movie , for crying out loud ! All that other stuff was lame , boring and completely inane . Give me a Godzilla movie that's about Godzilla , not those ridiculous storylines about aliens and monster fighting Matrix-wannabe BS .
The parts with the monsters were great . This flick desperately needed a whole hell of a lot more of those moments .
053 4 OK , so it was Don Frye , a guy that resembles Jesse Ventura ! This was for me the best Godzilla movie so far , bringing the big G into a modern action movie . Who could ask for more - a bunch of monsters , baby Godzilla ( Minilla ) , evil space aliens , a mutant army , martial arts battles , submarines , spacecraft and missiles , decent special effects explosions and flames , and guys in rubber suits slugging it out in balsa wood cities ( maybe some plastic construction in there now ) ! It shouldn't be too realistic , just entertaining .
The behind the scenes featurette first showed the backstage view and followed with the completed scenes for comparison .
054 4 The hapless Earthlings have finally found a way to keep Godzilla on ice and all seems right with the universe . Then some evil aliens ( are there any other kind ? ) unleash a horde of Toho monsters against the cities of the world . A grumpy but well thawed Godzilla proceeds to do battle against those funky names well known to all Godzilla fans : Ghidrah , Rodan , Gigan , Ebirah , Hedorah . . .
For those who weren't fans of the American Godzilla movie a reasonable facsimile of that critter , dubbed Zilla , is thrown against our hero . . . with very pleasing results to say the least .
As Godzilla movies go this is near the top .
055 4 Wow , monster galore ! After reading some of the reviews , I was hesitant to buy this . We have a few other Godzilla's , and alot of them had way too much talking . This one was perfect . It had alot of monsters , the fights didn't last long with these , but it was wonderful to see them all .
The alien subplot was a little annoying , but there was enough action to keep it interesting . There were a few scenes with a bit more human blood than I would have liked to have the little one see , but it is PG13 . It may have been too intense for a kid under eight . Basically , they shoot an alien , and he vomits a little blood and a little more goriness happens .
I think there was alot more monster action than some of the reviewers say . I would have to say three quarters of the movie had some sort of monster in it .
It got a thumbs up from the neighborhood kids that range from 8 - 16 .
057 4 Since most people looking at this product already know what to expect from the movie ( Gojira ! ) , this is strictly a review of the US-released DVD :
VIDEO : AVERAGE
Blurry is the first thing that comes to mind . It isnt so much a problem when Godzilla is on the screen , but any time there are people ( or aliens ) , it is immediately obvious .
Another problem is that during dark scenes , there is a LOT of grain and even some artifacts . It is quite watchable , but you shouldnt be expecting much when you put this disc in .
AUDIO : AVERAGE
The included Japanese ( I'll explain the quotes later ) 5.1 track doesnt sound very good , and is sometimes even confusing . Effects are spread around like butter on toast , like the mixer wanted to use every channel regardless of whether or not it was appropriate . I actually switched my receiver over to stereo for the second half of the movie and found it to be better ( as in : no longer distracting ) .
Bass seems to be great in some places and nonexistant in others - one of the latter is part of the biggest explosion in the movie , totally neutered by the almost complete lack of bass .
I did not try the English 5.1 track .
FEATURES : POOR
Aside from some previews ( that are played before the disc menu loads anyway , Joy ! ) , there is a behind the scenes of some godzilla fights . It can be interesting to some to see how the fights are made and then see the end result , but if you have any of the other Sony-released Godzilla movies on DVD , then you've seen it all before . Those are all the Special Features .
Also , I find animated and fancy DVD menus to be annoying , but it is a decent judge of how seriously a publisher takes a particular DVD . In this case , you get an ugly static image and no music . If there were no Special Features , then I suspect they would have gotten rid of the menu altogether .
ANNOYANCES :
- As most know , the twins on Orphan Island speak the same words at the same time . When english subtitles are enabled , there are subtitles for each twin . Of course the subtitles say the exact same thing . It is technically correct , since there are two people speaking , but it is just stupid . They dont say anything separately or differently . Annoying .
- The Japanese track is edited . They dubbed out some swear words that were spoken in english . This isnt really a big deal in that it doesnt affect anything , but it is just annoying that this sort of stuff keeps happening . After respectable releases from Sony in the past few years , are we going back to Edited for Americans R1 Godzilla DVDs , or is this just a Godzilla is for kids , so lets take out the swearing edit ? Dissapointing , either way .
OVERALL . . .
this is a very dissapointing release . For what is supposed to be the last Godzilla for the next 20 years ( yeah , right ) , they released one of their worst Godzilla DVDs .
With no features that are special , a crappy video transfer , a chaotic 5.1 Japanese audio track , and some stupid subbing and kidding-down problems , all we can do is hope that theyre just messing with us and will release a real DVD ( 2 - disc with some real extras ? ) after everyone has bought this one up . Unfortunately this is about the only option anyone has , because the Japanese DVD has no English subtitles , this is the only non-bootleg Godzilla Final Wars DVD that has English subs .
058 4 I received Godzilla Final Wars for Christmas as a present from my son and it was fantastic . I've read reviews of the film on the internet for the last year while I waited for the U.S . DVD release . It's safe to say that based on these reviews my anticipation declined and my expectations were lowered . I can sum up my reaction to these ' reviewers ' in four words , having seen the movie for myself . . . They were all wrong .
Final Wars has everything that a Godzilla fan is looking for : monsters galore , just enough human drama ( not much as usual , but just enough ) to ground the story , and plenty of kaiju fighting . There is some criticism of how quick some of the fights are . They are missing the point : we need to establish that Godzilla is truly king of the monsters or he can never defeat the final alien opponent .
Another criticism . . . there are homages to the Matrix and Star Wars . . . etc . Who cares ? I sense them to but they are not forced into the plot nor do they detract from the story . . . they advance it . There a bits of Japanese film imagery in George Lucas ' movies , why can't it work the other way around ?
If you go into this movie understanding what a true Godzilla flick is . . . plenty of monsters , cheezy dialog and human catastrophe . . . you will not be let down . This movie had more monster action than many G-films put together , and it was spiced up by some quality human fighing as well . Speaking of humans , the characters were interesting and likeable . The head villain's tantrums are fantastic . . . we need to establish that the enemy is insane and dangerous .
I am so glad that this movie emerges from the rubble of poorly conceived criticism and fires an energy blast that obliterates the doubters .
If you still have that childhood spirit in you , the one that grew up knowing what a Godzilla film was and what you could expect , you are in for the best ride yet .
Buy this movie . . . don't let the overly serious critics deny you a great time ! You are going to have a blast . . . trust me .
059 4 Godzilla Final Wars is one of the best Godzilla movies yet . I really advise you to watch it . It is definitely worth it . I like that almost every single monster was in it . I also thought that the alien villain was pretty good - like a Marvel Comics villain . I also thought that the human fights were really good . Some people hate this movie . Don't listen to them . They take Godzilla way too seriously . This movie has a lot of humor in it .
060 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
I watched two flicks this weekend . One where Jane Fonda fights J Lo ( Monster-in-Law ) for trying to steal her son and another where Godzilla vents his anger on the world for developing nuclear devices ( Final Wars ) .
Similar : Both were entertaining . Both had laughable acting . Both were funny at times even while attempting to be serious . And both included stars ( Jane and Godzilla ) whose shared claim to fame is sending the world political messages from Asia .
Similar : Both had fighting . The battle scenes between Jane and J Lo were not quite as action packed as the battle scenes between Godzilla and his foes , but they were definitely funnier .
Similar : Jane and J Lo acted as well together as Godzilla and Mothra ; the supporting cast in Monster-in-Law was on par with the acting of the supporting cast of Final Wars .
Opposite ends of the spectrum : In Monster-in-Law the predictable you-go-girl style of comic relief provided by Wanda Sykes ' character Ruby was as good as any of the Jane / J Lo battle dialogue . But in Final Wars the , drawn out , predictable campyness and unintentional comedy of the dubbed dialogue took away from the cool monster battles .
Opposite ends of the spectrum : In Final Wars there were political overtones over The World's use of nuclear devices , but in Monster-in-Law Jane checked her political views at the door .
If I had to do it all over again with the choice of watching only one of the two films I guess it would be Monster-in-Law . After all , while the politics of Jane and Godzilla are equally silly , at least Jane doesn't use Monster-in-Law to express any of her views .
While political films clearly aren't my thing , I must say that I am relatively excited about a new blockbuster in the works . . . . It's a joint sequel to two recent films ( Fahrenheit 9 / 11 & King Kong ) with the preproduction operating title of Moore Kong . The two respective giant monster stars from both of their original films return and battle each other over control of US popular opinion . Can't wait ! . . . I know who I'll be rooting for !
061 4 I watched two flicks this weekend . One where Jane Fonda fights J Lo ( Monster-in-Law ) for trying to steal her son and another where Godzilla vents his anger on the world for developing nuclear devices ( Final Wars ) .
Similar : Both were entertaining . Both had laughable acting . Both were funny at times even while attempting to be serious . And both included stars ( Jane and Godzilla ) whose shared claim to fame is sending the world political messages from Asia .
Similar : Both had fighting . The battle scenes between Jane and J Lo were not quite as action packed as the battle scenes between Godzilla and his foes , but they were definitely funnier .
Similar : Jane and J Lo acted as well together as Godzilla and Mothra ; the supporting cast in Monster-in-Law was on par with the acting of the supporting cast of Final Wars .
Opposite ends of the spectrum : In Monster-in-Law the predictable you-go-girl style of comic relief provided by Wanda Sykes ' character Ruby was as good as any of the Jane / J Lo battle dialogue . But in Final Wars the , drawn out , predictable campyness and unintentional comedy of the dubbed dialogue took away from the cool monster battles .
Opposite ends of the spectrum : In Final Wars there were political overtones over The World's use of nuclear devices , but in Monster-in-Law Jane checked her political views at the door .
If I had to do it all over again with the choice of watching only one of the two films I guess it would be Monster-in-Law . After all , while the politics of Jane and Godzilla are equally silly , at least Jane doesn't use Monster-in-Law to express any of her views .
While political films clearly aren't my thing , I must say that I am relatively excited about a new blockbuster in the works . . . . It's a joint sequel to two recent films ( Fahrenheit 9 / 11 & King Kong ) with the preproduction operating title of Moore Kong . The two respective giant monster stars from both of their original films return and battle each other over control of US popular opinion . Can't wait ! . . . I know who I'll be rooting for !
062 4 Godzilla Final Wars is FAR from perfect . I , perhaps the biggest Godzilla fan from where I live , am the first to admit it . However , I AM willing to give this movie such a high rating because it's just pure FUN ! All these G-fans who give it a low rating because the acting , sfx , and kaiju fighting time are low need to take a deep breath and let it go . What's done is done . Kitamura made a very UNIQUE Godzilla movie , adding his own stamp to the series that , frankly , was getting tired and worn out . Tokyo SOS , this movie's predecessor , was an excellent movie , but it appeals mostly to us diehard fans and wouldn't be too interesting to the casual view . Plus , it had nothing highly original in terms of fighting and spfx . There are a few highlights , but nothing innovative . With GFW , we get a fresh outlook by a Toho outsider , and tons of elements that have never been tried before .
I liked the story as a throwback to the epics of Toho's Golden Era of the ' 60s , when alien invasions with monsters were commonplace . And yes , the characters are pretty much one-dimensional but there's no much happening here that we don't have the time to go in-depth .
The action is fresh and vivid . . . I really didn't mind the Matrix rip-offs because they fit for this type of movie . If GMK were to have this type of action , then I'd be complaining . GFW is already so far out that it just seems to go along with it . Plus , it was a relief to finally CARE about what was going on with the humans , rather than just having them stand off to the side and stare and react stupidly to the battle in front of them . At least here we get action on both fronts , and they somewhat interlock storywise . For the most part , the human fighting is on par with most action movies like The Matrix or any other Hong Kong flick .
The monster fights , too , are fresh for this time period in that they are a throwback to the ' 70s . Kitamura has said that his favorite Godzilla movie is Godzilla vs . Mechagodzilla ( the 1974 version ) , so don't expect the fights to be slow paced . And while I'm a little disappointed most of the battles are short , at the same time I'm glad because 6 10 - minute battles would have been overkill , not to mention boring ( c'mon , how many moves does Godzilla have up his sleeve ? Not many , folks ! ) Each battle also has a small gag to keep us interested , be it his flinging Kumonga over the horizon or playing Anguirus soccer with King Seesar . It made me care about this Godzilla as an actual character in the story : he has an almost human personality , something that we can identify ourselves with .
SFX are mostly good , with a few cringe moments , but then again every Godzilla movie does . Plus , it's good that they were about the same as the previous adventures because despite the increased budget this was still the fastest-produced G-Film since Megalon , and most of the money went towards the location shoots . As such , Eiichi Asada does a fantastic job with the resources he is given and , for the most part , delivers .
In conclusion , GFW is not the quintessential G-Film , but it is a good celebration of the history of our favorite monster . It's essentially a 70 ' s G-film modernized and mashed together with everything but the kitchen sink . It has it's bad parts ( particularly those involving Minilla . . . good effort , but alas I'm not converted from the anti-Minilla front ) , it's weak in many places , but it is just pure plain fun . Come on , people , it's JUST a MOVIE !
063 4 From the outset let me say that I will not include any spoilers in my review . As a long-time Gojira affectionado let me say that it is a fitting culmination of the Godzilla saga , as director Kitamura captures as much of the movie series ' spirit in one gigantic extravaganza . Reviewer N.Verboon stated it most accurately in his October 8 opinion concerning the essence of the film . This movie is not meant to be a focus of a titanic battle between Godzilla and an arch-nemesis , but rather a celebration of the various metamorpheses our favorite big guy has taken in his 50 year cinematographic career . This results in some rather hectic storylines at certain points of the movie but when it is over and you have a chance to digest all of the overt and subtle allegories you find yourself examining Godzilla's career as a whole , which I feel is the purpose behind Kitamura's work . When you view this film enjoy it for what it is , a fun-filled , action-packed Battle Royale with the King of Monsters getting the final roar over his most famous rivals .
064 4 This movie is awesome .
Do yourself a favor and see it .
Probably the 3rd best Godzilla film of all time.Has a ton of action from beginning to end and is actually quite humorous as well . Fun for all ages .
065 4 I love Godzilla . I've loved his movies for most of my life . I won't rehash what others have said . Just don't sit down to watch this movie with high expectations for the last ever Godzilla flick . You will be severely disappointed . Too much Matrix , not enough monster action .
066 4 Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura , famous for such movies as Versus & Azuma , Godzilla-Final Wars is a movie that celebrates Godzilla's long history ( 50 years ) and proves why Godzilla is ' King of Monsters ' . The story begins with many giant monsters being created as a result of Nuclear Tests . During this time , a group called The Earth Defense Force was created to do battle with these monsters , one of which was Godzilla . In the 60s , the Earth Defense Force used a Machine called the Gotengo to battle against Godzilla in Antartica . Ultimately winning by burying him under the ice . Move forward to a day in 2004 , when all at once , the many monsters the Earth Defense Force once battled began attacking major cities all over the world . As the Force begins to battle them , the monsters begin to disappear in a flash of light & UFOs rush away from the scene . At the Force's Headquarters in Tokyo , the UFOs mothership appears and a group of aliens known as the Xilians introduce themselves to the world . They proceed to tell them that a planet is headed for Earth but , only with their help , will it be saved . Only you find out later that their intentions weren't like that at all . When the Xilians began attacking the Earth with the giant monsters it had previously saved the Earth from , the Earth Defense Force realizes the only way they can save the day is by releasing Godzilla from his icy tomb . Save the day , Godzilla does , as he goes onto fight the likes of Gigan-Zilla ( our american Godzilla , which wasn't Godzilla at all ) - Kumonga-Kamacuras - Anguirus-Rodan-King Caesar-Hedorah-Ebirah-MonsterX - & finally Kaiser King Ghidorah . Mothra tries to aid Godzilla , as he does in many Godzilla movies , by fighting a new improved Gigan . While Mothra is hurt by Gigan , Mothra still manages to beat Gigan . Without giving away too much about the rest of the movie , let me just say that this movie has to be the most intense and serious Godzilla movie I've seen in years . Departing from the normal Godzilla movie fare , Final Wars is nothing but wall-to-wall action scenes . After seeing it in original Japanese language with English subtitles , I'll probably never watch another Godzilla movie with English voiceovers ( which is a good thing , anyway , as most of the English voiceovers make it seem too campy ) . Sadly , Godzilla-Final Wars marks Godzilla's last appearance on these shores ( or Japan's for that matter ) for-at least - five to ten years to reignite interest in the franchise . What a way to go out , though . This has to be my most favorite Godzilla movie of all-time next to Godzilla-King of Monsters . It's a movie that gives me hope that Toho will take Godzilla in a new and exciting direction ( with new monsters & storylines ) when they do decide to bring the franchise back . Who knows , maybe Godzilla will last another 50 years . You never know . Even though there have been great movies as well as crappy movies in the franchise , Godzilla has lasted this long . There's something to be said for that .
If you're a diehard fan or someone who hasn't seen a Godzilla movie since the 70s when he was hugely popular here , you've got to see this movie . It will renew your interest in the series . Trust me .
068 4 This move was released to clebrate the fifth Annevrsary of one of the biggest Japanese icons of all time the all power indestructable godzilla . A word of warming this movie has heavy profanity extremly heavy and intense scifi action sequences and a couple scenes with heavy bruce lee slash Jackey chang like fighting seqeunces.As a result I do not recoomend this godzilla movie to any one under the age of 13 unless suprevised by at least two or more parents or guardians . In this movie a group of aliens come to earth . At first they seem peaceful but them things get ugly . The alien take control of several monsters and use them to take control of earth . There's only two things that can save earth the power and strength of earths two mightest monster . The tough and indesctuctable Godzilla and the ancient strong but peaceful monster Mothra . Can these to monster save the world . Fine out in the breath taking out of this world conclusion .
069 4 The fact that Godzilla is in the movie and whipped Kaiser Ghidorah in the end is one of two things that makes this a fun movie ( I'll get to the other thing later ) . The problem with this movie is the damn director ( who's idea within TOHO PRODUCTIONS was it to give this project to him ? ) didn't really care that it's a 50 year tribute to the awesomest science fiction character in history , compared to how he cared that everyone should think he's a great action movie director who could make great action scenes , of people . 5 other people have said it and they're right , this movie thanks to the makers of it comes across like it's about people , not about Godzilla . I don't know who's idea it was to put this scene in the movie , but everyone before you decide on a total ~ stink ~ rating , I must draw your attention to one part of the movie where Godzilla IS treated with awe , as a powerful monster with senses , and intelligence even : THIS SCENE is when Monster X , in the form of a big meteor is coming down from space , and Godzilla stops in his tracks . . . pauses . . . looks up , with a deliberateness about him . . . sees the meteor . . . pounds his clawed feet into the earth , to brace himself and unleashes a super intense blast of his radioactive breath that blasts out into space and hits the meteor . In this powerful moment it's shown Godzilla inherently knows this is something very bad , this is something unknown but a threat . . . he may not be able to destroy it but he's gonna blast it with all his might . ( Notice when Monster X does appear , he appears to have his right eye out - it's not red . . . G's blast did something ) . This scene is magnificent . The whole movie wasn't like that , as the first part of my review explains , but if it would have been it would be a five star . The frustration is the makers didn't know or didn't care that that scene , that type of stuff is THE REASON people watch a Godzilla flick . Having said that , the above mentioned scene shows what Godzilla IS - and there's NOTHING like that in the joke ' 98 American flick
070 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
Long wait to see this what with no US release . It was worth the
wait . Long-time Godzilla fan and can never get enough of the
big guy .
071 4 Long wait to see this what with no US release . It was worth the
wait . Long-time Godzilla fan and can never get enough of the
big guy .
072 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
Movie was loaded with lots of monsters ( including the US Godzilla ) , but battles were too short . Stole a lot of elements from other movies , should have done a much better job for the final Godzilla movie .
073 4 Movie was loaded with lots of monsters ( including the US Godzilla ) , but battles were too short . Stole a lot of elements from other movies , should have done a much better job for the final Godzilla movie .
075 4 I recently rented this video , and I was disappointed . The effects are generally really good , but there is such a clear influence of Anime on this film , as well as cheap TV shows like Power Rangers . For example , there are many scenes in which the monsters are running , and it looks like the stuff came right out of a Power Rangers battle . Likewise , the music is very modern - - lots of electric guitar - - rather than a more traditional Godzilla score . Worst of all , the human mutants are very much stylized to look like Anime characters , right down to their hair styles . It was cool to see a few of the monsters in action again , but overall I didn't think this film did them justice .
076 4 There is too much to be said about this movie and I don't want to write an ultra-long review , so I'll do my best to give a rough description of what to expect from this movie , and the reader can decide for himself if he thinks this movie is worth seeing .
This Godzilla film is very different from all the other Godzilla films . This is the only Godzilla film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura . Unlike previous Godzilla films , the human scenes also feature heavy-duty fighting / action sequences , sort of like the Matrix Trilogy , or some Hong Kong Martial Arts flicks . The film's original music and overall style are consistent with that feel as well .
In terms of the length of the monster fighting footage contained in this movie , it is above average for a Godzilla movie , but not tremendously so . There are many monsters ( about 16 ) but most die quickly . In the end , this movie ends up being Godzilla vs King Ghidorah , Part 7 so it's not a complete Battle Royale monsterfest . But it's still a respectable monsterfest , and lots of fun for fans of Godzilla . The fight choreography and style is fairly unique as well . The monsters move faster than in most other Godzilla movies . Some even do karate . They don't move as fast or cheesily as some of the Godzilla movies of the 70 ' s ( those were a lot of fun , I was a fan of that style myself ) but it is close . There are also some interesting scenes preceding the final fight between Godzilla and Ghidorah that totally rip off from Dragon Ball Z which I thought were really cool .
This movie sort of works as a tribute to the old Godzilla movies of the 60 ' s I think , so there are some really campy things in it like cheesily-dressed aliens and mutants . But it's funny , and done on purpose . The aliens look sort of cool and cheesy at the same time , and the same goes for their spazzy leader . If you don't mind a bit of silliness in your shows you'll probably like this movie . But the style isn't for everyone , and some viewers will be turned off by the idiocy and straight-forwardness of the plot . Godzilla Final Wars is almost like a parody of the earlier Godzilla movies , it is so silly at times .
A friend of mine commented that Godzilla Final Wars feels like it was intended for little kids . I don't totally agree with that , but I'll agree that being able to enjoy a fairly mindless silly show is a requirement to enjoying this show . However , if you do like this type of show , this movie is amazing and will be a lot of fun .
There's also a trailer for Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children on this DVD . That was an unexpected bonus , too .
077 4 What can I say , I just love this movie . Growing up with Godzilla it was a rerospective look at all those critters he had done battle with . Unlike some others of late , this one didn't take itself so seriously . And to top it off a PG13 raing with more action and martial arts violence too boot ! The funniest scene is where old G fights the Americanized Godzilla . I'm sure every Japanese kid stood up and applauded when NY G got his butt kicked ! Serious tribute to the legacy , as well as X-Men , ID4 , and Matrix . A must for any fan ! ! ! Thanks Santa for an early X-mas Present . Now if we can get that pesky flying turtle and the big guy to fight . . . hum imagine the possibilities , the box office , the camp !
078 4 I have to say that Godzilla : Final Wars is the best movie out of the Millennium series , at least in my opinion . I loved how they used the Xillians from Godzilla vs . Monster Zero and knocked up their coolness factor up a lot . There was so much action in this movie that the parts that didn't have any kaiju in it could have been used for a separate movie and still would have been just as cool . They have many action scenes between the humans that keep this movie very entertaining . Mainly when the main hero is fighting his friend who was brainwashed and they are fighting while riding motorcycles . That action sequence is fantastic . A lot of the story is .
X , the main Villain of the film , is probably the coolest villain I have seen on a Godzilla film . He just has this evil sneer about his face that makes him seem diabolical yet cool at the same time . I didn't watch the movie in sub-title , but in dub so I don't know if it would be the same , but the dubbed voice of X really fit with the character , I especially enjoyed his laugh . Frye , the American in this film , did a great job in it as well . It was nice to see an American once again in a Godzilla film that is actually supposed to be in it and not just added for the American version .
The music of the film also was some of the best I have heard . Everything about the music in this film fit the scenes they were put into .
The monsters fights themselves were pretty good , but short . The only problem I had with the fights that Godzilla had was that they were too short , some fights only lasting maybe thirty seconds . But who's to argue , this movie featured 15 different monsters , even the American Godzilla labeled as just Zilla on the DVD box . Even Minya returned in this film . He pretty much acts the way he usually does , but he isn't much in the film so the Minya haters shouldn't be too upset about his presence in this movie .
It's overall a great movie to end the Millennium series . From the awesomely cool opening credits that pay homage to all of the previous movies throughout the years to the end credits , it's all fantastic and I really do enjoy the film .
079 4 Godzilla Final Wars is the purported send-off for the granddaddy of all Japanese giant monsters . Toho plans on retiring the Big G for the next 10 to 15 years in hopes of generating interest in Gojira as his latest cinematic forays have not been very financially rewarding . I originally saw this film on DVD via the Region 2 release . Sure what one may see as Kitamura paying homage to various Hollywood blockbusters can also be construed as plagiarism , but he delivers a very solid entertaining ride for two hours . Kitamura's biggest problem , as any of his casual fans are certainly aware of , is his pacing and editing . Films that should be no longer than 90 minutes ( Alive , Sky High , Versus ) are stretched beyond the two hour mark . Godzilla Final Wars manages to sustain the pace and is never boring . For Godzilla fans it certainly is a love letter to previous incarnations . Plus , Kitamura even was kind enough to add the American Godzilla , therefore ensuring its place in the Japanese continuity of films . Some viewers may be surprised at how little Godzilla is featured in the film . However , holding back on screen time does create tension and anticipation , so when Godzilla does finally enter into the action it is very satisfying . Again , this may not be one of the best Godzilla films ever ( I reserve that title for the original 1954 film , Godzilla Vs . Hedorah , Godzilla Vs . Mechagodzilla II , and GMK ) but it is fun . It definitely ranks as one of Kitamura's highlights ( along with Azumi and his short film The Messenger ) . I recommend anyone interested to give the film at least a rental . Relax and just enjoy this wacky celluloid treat !
080 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
This movie is a loose re-make of Destroy All Monsters , which just happened to be my favorite Godzilla movie while growing up . From what I understand , this movie starts off where the last movie ended , with Godzilla buried under the ice in Antarctica . The classic repertoire of Toho monsters appears , and they start to destroy the world . Then some aliens appear , extinguish the monsters and call for earth to join the united universe or something - behind a ruse that a planet is on a collision course with earth . A group of earthlings expose the plot of the aliens , and the aliens unleash all the monsters , which are under their control , as well as a group of mutant humans because they all share a common gene .
The humans respond by waking up Godzilla , who then proceeds to tackle on his rival monsters one on one , or one on two , until they are all destroyed . The humans do their part and destroy the aliens . Godzilla turns on the humans in order to finish the last fight , but Minya , or Minilla ( current name ) , steps in and convinces Godzilla to leave the humans alone .
Do we watch monster movies for the human actions ? Generally , no , but this one has some pretty good fight scenes . You can see the influence of the Matrix films , and a little bit of Tarentinoesque action in this film . Score one for that . Don Frye knows how to use a samurai sword - bonus points for that .
Now onto the important aspects of the film : the kaiju fight scenes . Overall , I am disappointed on many fronts . 1 . That it was Godzilla and Mothra against all . If it wasn't going to be Ghidorah vs all like Destroy All Monsters , it should have been earth monsters versus space monsters . But this is a minor nit . 2 . Many of the monster fights were too short , including the non-fight with Hedorah and Ebirah because these two took each other out before the fight with Godzilla began . But then again , Godzilla vs the Smog Monster started a rapid decline in the enjoyment of this franchise and should Hedorah even have been included in this ? 3 . Mothra was her noble self , but for taking on Gigan 12,000 years ago , she should have been a little bit more help to Godzilla . 4 . Ghidorah is a much stronger opponent and especially that fight should have lasted longer . 5 . I think Minya should have put the finishing touches on Ghidorah - that would have been icing on the cake . Disappointments aside , this Bruce Lee , Enter the Dragon type , one after the other type of fighting done by Godzilla was really enjoyable to watch , and a nice tribute to the essence of the Godzilla franchise .
On fight scene I did like though , and , it must be an inside joke because Angurus is strong against humans , but he is always the weakest monster , and I think it is a fight with Gigan that Angurus is treated like a soccer ball between the other two monsters .
When the movie was over and done with , I was very satisfied at the end .
081 4 This movie is a loose re-make of Destroy All Monsters , which just happened to be my favorite Godzilla movie while growing up . From what I understand , this movie starts off where the last movie ended , with Godzilla buried under the ice in Antarctica . The classic repertoire of Toho monsters appears , and they start to destroy the world . Then some aliens appear , extinguish the monsters and call for earth to join the united universe or something - behind a ruse that a planet is on a collision course with earth . A group of earthlings expose the plot of the aliens , and the aliens unleash all the monsters , which are under their control , as well as a group of mutant humans because they all share a common gene .
The humans respond by waking up Godzilla , who then proceeds to tackle on his rival monsters one on one , or one on two , until they are all destroyed . The humans do their part and destroy the aliens . Godzilla turns on the humans in order to finish the last fight , but Minya , or Minilla ( current name ) , steps in and convinces Godzilla to leave the humans alone .
Do we watch monster movies for the human actions ? Generally , no , but this one has some pretty good fight scenes . You can see the influence of the Matrix films , and a little bit of Tarentinoesque action in this film . Score one for that . Don Frye knows how to use a samurai sword - bonus points for that .
Now onto the important aspects of the film : the kaiju fight scenes . Overall , I am disappointed on many fronts . 1 . That it was Godzilla and Mothra against all . If it wasn't going to be Ghidorah vs all like Destroy All Monsters , it should have been earth monsters versus space monsters . But this is a minor nit . 2 . Many of the monster fights were too short , including the non-fight with Hedorah and Ebirah because these two took each other out before the fight with Godzilla began . But then again , Godzilla vs the Smog Monster started a rapid decline in the enjoyment of this franchise and should Hedorah even have been included in this ? 3 . Mothra was her noble self , but for taking on Gigan 12,000 years ago , she should have been a little bit more help to Godzilla . 4 . Ghidorah is a much stronger opponent and especially that fight should have lasted longer . 5 . I think Minya should have put the finishing touches on Ghidorah - that would have been icing on the cake . Disappointments aside , this Bruce Lee , Enter the Dragon type , one after the other type of fighting done by Godzilla was really enjoyable to watch , and a nice tribute to the essence of the Godzilla franchise .
On fight scene I did like though , and , it must be an inside joke because Angurus is strong against humans , but he is always the weakest monster , and I think it is a fight with Gigan that Angurus is treated like a soccer ball between the other two monsters .
When the movie was over and done with , I was very satisfied at the end .
083 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
What have they done ? ? ? I would of preferred Godzilla versing one ultimate monster or just by himself than watch this . I really wanted to like this movie but there is just so many things wrong with it I just couldn't . The battles are too short one minute if lucky some lasting only 15 seconds . The only battle worth watching is Godzilla vs . Monster X . I don't know why they put that Matrix crap in it that was just a complete waste it was soo boring and when could humans beat a giant monster ( Ebriah ) with a few guns ? This is just a horrible movie to finish off Godzilla , if they concentrated more on the monsters than the already ridiculous plot it would of been much more fun .
084 4 What have they done ? ? ? I would of preferred Godzilla versing one ultimate monster or just by himself than watch this . I really wanted to like this movie but there is just so many things wrong with it I just couldn't . The battles are too short one minute if lucky some lasting only 15 seconds . The only battle worth watching is Godzilla vs . Monster X . I don't know why they put that Matrix crap in it that was just a complete waste it was soo boring and when could humans beat a giant monster ( Ebriah ) with a few guns ? This is just a horrible movie to finish off Godzilla , if they concentrated more on the monsters than the already ridiculous plot it would of been much more fun .
085 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
I bought this as a birthday gift for my six year old son . He loves Godzilla so I thought I'd get this dvd for him as one of his gifts . I think the movie had a bit too much hand to hand Matrix-style crap which is OLD . Seeing all the different monsters got him excited while his mother was sound asleep from the lame script . LOL .
This movie didn't feel like it had enough Godzilla and that Minilla monster was the silliest thing I ever seen . After THIS movie , please don't knock the American Godzilla as I think it was seriously underrated . All Monsters Attack Out was far better than this .
My son normally says Let's see it again ! after seeing something he likes but he didn't say anything about this movie except to copy the movie scenes with his toy monsters . I wonder if he'll write a better script too ?
086 4 I bought this as a birthday gift for my six year old son . He loves Godzilla so I thought I'd get this dvd for him as one of his gifts . I think the movie had a bit too much hand to hand Matrix-style crap which is OLD . Seeing all the different monsters got him excited while his mother was sound asleep from the lame script . LOL .
This movie didn't feel like it had enough Godzilla and that Minilla monster was the silliest thing I ever seen . After THIS movie , please don't knock the American Godzilla as I think it was seriously underrated . All Monsters Attack Out was far better than this .
My son normally says Let's see it again ! after seeing something he likes but he didn't say anything about this movie except to copy the movie scenes with his toy monsters . I wonder if he'll write a better script too ?
087 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
If your looking for a lot of Godzilla this may not be the movie for you . Godzilla sort of takes the backseat in this til the end . But this movie is so cool and over the top you just gotta love it . It has freakin ' Don Frye !
088 4 If your looking for a lot of Godzilla this may not be the movie for you . Godzilla sort of takes the backseat in this til the end . But this movie is so cool and over the top you just gotta love it . It has freakin ' Don Frye !
089 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
I absolutely LOVE Godzilla and all the monsters ! For the first half of the movie , there are english subtitles . This is OK because the movie went slow . Thankfully , when it actually started to be real good , everything changed over to English . It is worth knowing this before hand as I did not . It is also worth buying .
090 4 I absolutely LOVE Godzilla and all the monsters ! For the first half of the movie , there are english subtitles . This is OK because the movie went slow . Thankfully , when it actually started to be real good , everything changed over to English . It is worth knowing this before hand as I did not . It is also worth buying .
091 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
The latest entry into the long standing Toho Godzilla series , Final Wars packs so much into the two hour film , fans of the giant lizard are bound to find something in here to love .
The film opens with Godzilla being buried in ice by the latest group of human assigned to stop these rampaging monster , the EDF ( Earth Defense Force ) . Only this time , these guys may have the edge because they aren't simple human beings , they are mutants . Not sure how this gives them an edge against towering monster . . . but it does provide for some awesome kung-fu fight scenes sprinkled throughout the film . When an entire slew of monsters begins attacking major cities around the world , it seems even the EDF might have too much to handle . . . and that is when the aliens show up . Are the aliens here to help . . . . what has caused the monsters to suddenly begin attacking at once ?
This movie is a lot of fun ! If you love Toho's kaiju films , you MUST see this film . Almost all of Godzilla's former foes make an appearance , from Manda to Ghidorah and even Hedorah ( The Smog Monster ) makes a brief cameo .
Sure , the storyline is kind of a re-hash or mish-mash of earlier films ( specifically Invasion of Astro Monster aka Godzilla vs . Monster Zero ) , but that is part of the fun . If you are looking for a deep storyline , with a heavy plot and character development look elsewhere . The storyline serves it's purpose in putting almost all of Toho's giant monsters in play . And they look great ! Enhanced with some CGI , but still clearly Toho's Suitmation special effects . The budget was much bigger for this film and it shows . The scenery looks great , the action non-stop and the special effects are great . There is some decent character development , and the actors do a great job in not getting completely overshadowed by the mutant beasties .
If you haven't seen the newer Godzilla films , give this one a shot . There is a good reason this film series has now stretched over 5 decades .
092 4 The latest entry into the long standing Toho Godzilla series , Final Wars packs so much into the two hour film , fans of the giant lizard are bound to find something in here to love .
The film opens with Godzilla being buried in ice by the latest group of human assigned to stop these rampaging monster , the EDF ( Earth Defense Force ) . Only this time , these guys may have the edge because they aren't simple human beings , they are mutants . Not sure how this gives them an edge against towering monster . . . but it does provide for some awesome kung-fu fight scenes sprinkled throughout the film . When an entire slew of monsters begins attacking major cities around the world , it seems even the EDF might have too much to handle . . . and that is when the aliens show up . Are the aliens here to help . . . . what has caused the monsters to suddenly begin attacking at once ?
This movie is a lot of fun ! If you love Toho's kaiju films , you MUST see this film . Almost all of Godzilla's former foes make an appearance , from Manda to Ghidorah and even Hedorah ( The Smog Monster ) makes a brief cameo .
Sure , the storyline is kind of a re-hash or mish-mash of earlier films ( specifically Invasion of Astro Monster aka Godzilla vs . Monster Zero ) , but that is part of the fun . If you are looking for a deep storyline , with a heavy plot and character development look elsewhere . The storyline serves it's purpose in putting almost all of Toho's giant monsters in play . And they look great ! Enhanced with some CGI , but still clearly Toho's Suitmation special effects . The budget was much bigger for this film and it shows . The scenery looks great , the action non-stop and the special effects are great . There is some decent character development , and the actors do a great job in not getting completely overshadowed by the mutant beasties .
If you haven't seen the newer Godzilla films , give this one a shot . There is a good reason this film series has now stretched over 5 decades .
093 4 Calling Godzilla : Final Wars a disaster is a bit of an understatement . With a $20 million budget , GFW was Toho's most expensive Godzilla film to date , and it shows . Visually , GFW is easily the most impressive film of the Millennium Series ( which isn't saying much ) . But is it really a Godzilla film ? Out of this 125 - minute sci-fi epic , Godzilla gets a whopping . . .13 minutes of screen time ! This is absolutely inexcusable , especially for the big guy's 50th Anniversary grand finale .
Perhaps the problem was with director Ryuhei Kitamura , who was obviously more interested in copying The Matrix , X-Men , Independence Day , and various other Hollywood movies than making a kaiju film . While the monster scenes we do get are fun and visually spectacular , they're incredibly brief . The worldwide destruction scenes last maybe 10 seconds each , and are usually followed by kung fu sequences or dialogue scenes that drag on for far too long ( and are far too campy ) .
In defense of Kitamura , he was easily the most talented director of the Millennium Saga . Unlike Tezuka and Kaneko , who have no real artistic sensibilities , Kitamura crafts GFW with arty camera angles , color filters , quick editing , and flashy music video-style visuals . Unfortunately , this isn't enough to hide GFW's unoriginality , its awful , scene-ruining performance by Don Frye ( whoever allowed him to star in the film should have their head examined ) , and all-too-brief kaiju sequences .
GFW bombed at the box office , pulling in the worst numbers since the 70s ( barely a million tickets sold , resulting in about $10 million in revenue ) . Its failure was deserved , because it's a lousy film . While its visual flair and ( sometimes ) clever nods to previous Godzilla and Toho films lift it up above the rest of the Millennium films , GFW is one giant mistake in the end . After being Toho's top draw for five deacdes , Godzilla deserved better than this .
094 4 I write this review as warning and because I spent two
hours of my life viewing a film that I hoped would improve .
It evolved from Godzilla into the fifth unofficial Matrix
sequel . Someone should have reminded the director of exactly
what he was directing .
So , who's mocking who ? Apparently , the U.S . was mocking
Japan's revered creature with their weak-fest , CGI version
starring Mathew Broderick and some terrified giant iguana .
Now , supposedly , Japan has ended their cash cow with this
sporadic mess , in which the director was possibly seeking
revenge by mocking the Matrix ? We'll do to Neo what you did
to Godzilla ? I don't think this is the case . I would say
the director reveres The Matrix series and sought to outdo
the Wachowski Bros . with a lesser budget of course .
All of the essential , aesthetic ingredients are here : black
attire , emotionless acting and gravity-defying martial
arts . Instead of the Japanese Neo stopping primitive bullets ,
the director had him freeze lazers in mid-air . . . I was waiting
for him to grasp one and stare at it dumbfounded . These
things make up about an hour and a half of Godzilla
Evolutions , and it is done ineffectively . The remaining 30
minutes is spent on what we paid for : monsters . The cameos
they have are rushed and comical to the point of cringing .
The only highlight being the climactic end battle between
Godzilla and King Ghidorah , the scenes that the director
probably did grudgingly .
Every once in awhile I enjoy a good campy Godzilla flick ,
watching model buildings being destroyed and people running
around frantically is good quality entertainment . . .
unfortunately this movie isn't it .
096 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
This movie had a script that seemed to have been written by a particularly shallow twelve year old , less acting skill than a fast food level dinner theater , and the special effects expertise of the original $50 budget and a super8 camera borrowed from my parents , films . I feel ashamed for having watched it to the end .
In short , it was everything that I'd hoped it would be .
I grew up watching Godzilla , and this movie took me back to those days . I loved every painful moment of it .
097 4 This movie had a script that seemed to have been written by a particularly shallow twelve year old , less acting skill than a fast food level dinner theater , and the special effects expertise of the original $50 budget and a super8 camera borrowed from my parents , films . I feel ashamed for having watched it to the end .
In short , it was everything that I'd hoped it would be .
I grew up watching Godzilla , and this movie took me back to those days . I loved every painful moment of it .
098 4 I like this movie . violence swearing ( not alot , mostly gordon ) and violence . the violence was : xillians head splits , punching people , shooting people , kicking people , and the whole movie really . AAA + + + + + + + + for violence . FFFFFFFFF - - - for pacifism . couldve been more exept for minya being all no fighting like . audio was great . but the monster fights lasted up to 3 min.every other moster seemed evilexept mothra . dont watch if hate violence and / or swears . watch if you like the above . also godzilla and mothra have a history full of destroying each other so it was a surprise that their working together . Tokyo SOS , Godzilla and Mothra : Battle for the Earth , GMK , Godzilla VS Mothra , Mothra VS Godzilla ect are all examples .
099 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
This movie is more about the poeple rather than godzilla who only appears at the beginning and end . But thats okay because theres alot of action going on . The human fights resemble that of power rangers sort of and the monster fights are collosal . With the exception of one goofy scene between Godzilla and king ceasar that I wont even dignify with a reveiw the rest of the movie is good .
100 4 This movie is more about the poeple rather than godzilla who only appears at the beginning and end . But thats okay because theres alot of action going on . The human fights resemble that of power rangers sort of and the monster fights are collosal . With the exception of one goofy scene between Godzilla and king ceasar that I wont even dignify with a reveiw the rest of the movie is good .
101 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
What else can be said about a Godzilla movie . You either love ' em or hate ' em . Toho was once asked why they never decided to make Godzilla a C.G.I . Monster , they replied that Godzilla will always be a guy in a rubber suit . That's the charm of a Godzilla movie , but if you have never seen any of the Godzilla films made after 2000 you are in for a very big suprise ! This flick , claiming to be the last in the saga , is a fitting end , if this is truly the case ( we hope not ) . The plot is simple , Aliens , who claim to be friendly at first , come down to earth only to wreak havok by briging back all the world's monsters to destroy mankind . A special breed of super humans with great powers are sent to fight them off . When they can't do it alone , they have no choice but to awaken the sleeping Godzilla to help defend earth . Plenty of fast action , in fact the first 15 minutes of this film's sets the stage for what is to come . If you are a godzilla fan , I'm sure you will find your fav monster here . One great scene has the Amercian version of Godzilla appear , and our Japanese counterpart nails him with one quick blow of the tail ( are the Japanese trying to tell us something ? ) . Anyway , you will love the film , the action , the monsters , the soundtrack is very fast paced , perfect for a modern Godzilla movie . A great view by all . Highly reccomended !
102 4 What else can be said about a Godzilla movie . You either love ' em or hate ' em . Toho was once asked why they never decided to make Godzilla a C.G.I . Monster , they replied that Godzilla will always be a guy in a rubber suit . That's the charm of a Godzilla movie , but if you have never seen any of the Godzilla films made after 2000 you are in for a very big suprise ! This flick , claiming to be the last in the saga , is a fitting end , if this is truly the case ( we hope not ) . The plot is simple , Aliens , who claim to be friendly at first , come down to earth only to wreak havok by briging back all the world's monsters to destroy mankind . A special breed of super humans with great powers are sent to fight them off . When they can't do it alone , they have no choice but to awaken the sleeping Godzilla to help defend earth . Plenty of fast action , in fact the first 15 minutes of this film's sets the stage for what is to come . If you are a godzilla fan , I'm sure you will find your fav monster here . One great scene has the Amercian version of Godzilla appear , and our Japanese counterpart nails him with one quick blow of the tail ( are the Japanese trying to tell us something ? ) . Anyway , you will love the film , the action , the monsters , the soundtrack is very fast paced , perfect for a modern Godzilla movie . A great view by all . Highly reccomended !
104 4 In the first few minutes of this movie , you get to see a cool submarine type ship with a drill bit nose battle a dragon , then nice martial arts fight , and a ghetto pimp , and cop get blown away , by what I think is Rodan . Not a bad start ! This movie is very fun , I never got bored . I wish there had been more Godzilla and less Human / Alien drama , but still beats anything that has come out over here in a while . Lots of action , lots of creatures , and a decent sci fi plot . Our sci-fi channel could take some serious lessons , and make some man in suit movies rather than that lamer than lame CGI swill they pump out every other month ! And Hollywood wouldn't touch a movie like this ! What do us Americans get in the line of big screen fantasy . . . . . . . TWILIGHT . . . . . Oh be still my beating heart !
106 4 I really liked the first Godzilla movie , But during the 60 ' s and70 ' s they made a joke of the Great Lizard . Now they are doing the movies over and they are spending a lot more on effects , The movies are very good again and I am atempting to get all the ones from Biolanti , thru the latest one up next , so if you liked Godzilla , but became disenchanted , Its time to give him another look , I did and Iam glad I did . . .
108 4 The best Godzilla movie ever ! ! ! ! He is unstopable . He is after all Godzilla the king of Monsters .
109 4 I thought this was the worst Godzilla movie of all time . Even with all the monsters , SPFX . First the monsters werent on screen long enough . 2nd the music was totally out of place . 3rd the characters are totally unlikeable . 4th Godzilla takes forever to show . 5th this movie just sucked . There were a lot of Hedorah fans who got to see their monster come back , looking different , and a screen time of 1 minute . Who was this Hedorah I would have liked to have known more . Ebirah gets a minute in the movie . King Caesar ( sp ) why ? ? Minya Why ? ? ? Gigan , Rodan and Mothra were cool . Monster X was neat , and became Kaiser Ghidorah at the end . . . Being a G fan to the fullest , I was thoroughly disappointed with this piece of junk . Nothing traditional about this .
110 4 but in a mindless fun way . the whole movie is pretty much pointless and pretty much goes no where . some of the scenes in this movie are so ridiculous that its hilarious , like when the leader of the army raises his sword like hes gonna fight godzilla . keep in mind that he is a normal human and isnt even as big as godzillas toe . the fight scenes are all very flashy and unrealistic and the plot is almost nonexistent . but there in lies the magic of this movie . its plot may be stupid . but i guarantee u this movie is never boring . i a must watch for fans of movies that are pure fun .
111 4 This is a great film the actors are awesome the fights are cool and the special effects are the best yet . The main character is a mutant and plays his role amazingly . The story starts as aliens invade earth claiming they're peaceful . After earths protection force exposes their scheme to use humans as a food source , they must unleash godzilla ( they froze him two years ago . ) Then godzilla kicks all other monsters butts and fights the aliens unlimate weapon , Monster x . Later in that fight monster x evoles into monster x two . After a huge face off godzilla wins . During this the mutant fights a vey cool karte fight and just by a split second survive . This movie is great but has some flaws such as short fights ( only beggining ones ) to much humans not enough monsters and gigan has chain saw hands at a point . But overall this is a good movie and a very good choice for any godzilla fans if you don't mind waiting for monster action . I highly recomend it .
112 4 Excellent delivery service and well packaged . I actually gave the film away as a gift . Pleased overall with this and would certainly recommend other shoppers to you .
113 4 Great effort to make an interesting human side to the story and the monster fights are well done and look relaly cool but it seems to drag a bit in the middle as godzilla is absent from most of the film .
114 4 this is an awesome godzilla movie . everyone shows up and the fights are awesome . you need to see this , anyone who has not seen this and loves godzilla . . . . you must watch this !
115 4 The film can be viewed with original japanese language or american dubbed . It is good that Sony pictures gives the viewer that option .
Extras include : - previews of other Godzilla films that are available
( mostly from the Millenium series )
The battle scenes are enjoyable but some of the Godzilla pairings against other monsters is short and disappointing ie . , Godzilla vs . American Godzilla , Godzilla vs . giant insect ( forgot name ) - looks like a wasp / bee to name a few . The movie concentrates an awful lot on the xliens than the monsters and their battles itself . This may be disappointing to fans who really want to see more of the kaijus .
The fighting sequences between the mutants-persons who posess the M gene and later the lead mutant character against the xliens and their eventual leader appear to be very matrixy . These subplots detract from the main feature-our beloved kaijus .
All in all , Final Wars is a very entertaining , no holds bar , out with a bang ending for Godzilla . Until 2012 that is . . .
116 4 Having seen ALL of ' G's movies , I have come to accept Final Wars for what it is , The sign of the times , a new generational era , Matrix , Mutants , CGI's , ( computer generated images ) loud heavy metal sound tracks . I enjoyed final wars , but I was looking for Closure ! ! a fitting end to 50 years of pure enjoyment , excitement and mesmorizing entertainment . We must always remember the 4 men who were responsible for 25 of the 30 Godzilla films . 1 - Inoshiro Honda ( Director & Scripts ) , 2 - Eiji Tsuburaya ( Special Effects Master ) 3 - Akira Ifukube ( Musical Genius ) 4 - Tomoyuki Tanaka ( Head of Toho Studios ) last but not least ' New Yorks Titra Sound Studios ' responsible for Dubbing and voices . The aforementioned ensemble exists No More . May they all rest in peace , Final Wars is a product of Japans ' Hollywood ' young film makers catering and reaching out to their movie going patrons , We baby boomers should accept & embrace this new artistic expression that allows the ' Greatest ' movie monster ever conceived to continue to be apart of our lives , our childrens lives and our grand children's lives . Thank you Toho for a wonderful 50 years of treasured memories . Godzilla deserves a rest , and perhaps in 10 years or so the saga will begin again . ' Godzilla Final Wars ' was a good starting point for my grand kids . I hope to be around to watch many more ' G ' films with them .
117 4 I Liked This Movie . The Action and Special Effects were Awesome ! The Upgrade of most of the older monsters were great . The only Ones That didn't make the Millenium upgraded cut Were Gabara , King Kong , Gorosaurus , Biollante , Battra , Space Godzilla , Destroyah , Titanasuarus , Megalon , Varan tell me if there's others . The Martial arts and people / alien Action could of done without . I would of liked a laser fight just fine . It was good movie cold of done without a few things . I didn't like the mutant , keizer crap . It said on the back that japan had a surprise for godzilla that they were going to finish him off . never had such thing . It also said happy birthday big g , but he had a crappy birthday present . In the first seen he got barried in ice .
118 4 My son love the movie and has been a fan of Godzilla movies for a long time . He said the movie to him was a 5 Star and would like to recieve more movies with Godzilla . He was please in the time it took to recieve more Godzilla movie .
Thank you
Kelly Wilbanks
120 4 First of all , apart from the first few mins , Godzilla only appears in the 2nd half of the movie . The movie itself aint bad , with some nice action . It almost feels like watching a Japanese version of the Matrix movie featuring Godzilla and some monsters , because the main plot of the movie doesnt revolve around Godzilla . If you're looking for some gd fun action , and not a typical Godzilla flick . . . this could be the movie for you . . . .
121 4 I saw this movie for the first time the other day it's INCREDIBLE ! ! ! ! This is the best of all 28 movies and what a way to celebrate Godzillas 50th in such style . I loved the return of almost all of his past enemies and even the additon of the take-off Godzilla . The fight scenes are great I love the Matrix touch they have . I did'nt fully understand the appearance of Minilla at first but it wrapped itself up in the end . My family and I were glued to our seats the whole time .
123 4 The plot has been more than adequately covered elsewhere , so I won't repeat it here . Suffice to say whether this is the best Godzilla film ever , is really down to personal choice . I thought the monsters looked the business the fight scenes were good but could have been longer and there was more to the film than previous G films , which made it more interesting . My kids loved it and I confess I did to . I also bought King Kong v Godzilla and the kids cheered that to !
Don't get to hung up on the anorak stuff and just enjoy a well made big G outing .
124 4 I would definitely rank this movie the best in the Godzilla series hands down . It's immediately engaging , but as ther movie progresses the scenes begin to hurry up . Many of the monster fight scenes are far too short . Some fight scenes leave the viewer wondering why some of the monsters were even included . I would definitely recommend this film to any Godzilla fan . I would suggest the film to non-Godzilla fans with the following reservations :
- The main characters , although interesting ( especially the lead alien ) , are somewhat two dimensional
- The plot weakens as the film progresses
- The monsters are cheesy ( On purpose )
- The film is a bit long
- The ending is somewhat silly
- The American actors are awful
- There are a few scenes that may disturb small children
Now , if you want to see a BAD monster film , watch the newer version of Yonggary or Godzilla vs . Space Godzilla ! These actually made me feel somewhat sick to my stomach ( literally ) .
125 4 I love all of the Godzilla movies except yes Godzilla's Revenge I own every single movie on DVD and or VHS so of course I was excited about the final send off knowing this is it for a long time . This was typical Godzilla fashion he is imobile for a good part of the movie but when he does awake he does his thing and that's stomps monster but and seeing all the old monsters who have given him so many battles stand in his way with the world in ruins was great Gigan was welcome sight , and the Monster X transformation was sweet . I wish like most that the battles lasted longer , anyway if you are a fan of Godzilla I recommend this it's been a fun ride here's to the future of Godzilla .
126 4 The Earth is doomed when a bunch of metrosexual aliens in bondage come to enslave the planet and use humans for food . They managed to alter the DNA of the monsters and are using them to destroy the civilations of the world . What they did not account for was Godzilla , Mothra and the resistance led by someone that looks like Stalin . About 90% of the movie deals with the aliens and the mutant human resistance and how one of the main characters is a super being ( Neo ) ; don't ask me to explain it because it really makes no sense nor does it matter . The alien part of the movie is essentially a rip-off of the Matrix , right down to the fighting scense , and also a bunch of other popular American movies . The music score is horrible . Where is Godzilla's theme ?
The final battle between Godzilla and Monster X is OK , but very brief . Godzilla also makes short work of the fake Godzilla that was in the US movie . This is why I gave it 2 stars instead of one ( because I can't give it 0 it seems ) .
The world is left in ruin , as the Metrosexuals are defeatd and Godzilla stands alone after defeating all of the monsters . Thankfully , Milla , the Son of Godzilla convinces him not to kill Stalin and Neo and the rest of the team and everyone lives happily ever after .
Of the modern Godzilla films , this is the worst one by far . A shame really , because they have been getting pretty good . I don't know if it really should have been called a Godzilla movie because very little of it actually has to do with the monster at all . Nearly two hours of it is all about the aliens . This film could be condensed into about 15 - 20mins , which would include all of the monster battles and remove the Matrix story line .
Just to note , I am a die hard Godzilla fan , I own all of the movies and have seen them numerous times . I wanted to really enjoy this film , but unfortunately , it is simply awful .
Ah well . They said this is the last one . I highly doubt it . I hate to say it , but in a way I hope it is . Toho buried the franchise with this movie .
128 4 I have been a Godzilla fan since the time I first saw the Raymond Burr version on TV . The local UHF station used to show Godzilla movies , and I loved them . I even stayed with him when he went from villain to Earth's defender ( although I never cared for him in that role ) . I think my interest wained when Godzilla's son Minya came along . And then came the saddest bunch of villain monsters that ever stomped across a movie set .
When he was reborn in Godzilla 1985 , I was thrilled . He had been returned to his roots . An unstoppable force of nature that had to be dealt with .
Then came the second round of reborn Big G flicks - starting with Godzilla vs . Biollante . Wow . Up to date techniques and a cool looking Godzilla ! Over the next few years , many cool Godzilla movies with him as the bad guy were made .
Then things started to drift again - about the time they made Godzilla v Space Godzilla . I still caught all of them , though . And in many cases , TOHO said that this would be the last one .
Well , now we are up to Godzilla Final Wars . I looked forward to it . However . . . fellow Godzilla fans were sensing a disturbance in the force . There were some that were saying this movie was . . . lousy ! Despite these dire warnings , I bought it .
Words cannot express my disappointment . Toho had jump started their Big G series by dumping the stupid monsters of the 60s and early 70s - Gigan , Hedorah , Varan , Ebirah , King Caeser etc . They had even dumped Minya . Well , here they all were again , and it wasn't a Happy Homecoming .
The plot was basically a reworking of the 1960s Destroy All Monsters . There were a lot of homages to past Big G films . But it didn't click . The SPFX ranged from passable to lousy ( the monster Zilla , based on the American Godzilla , was downright awful CGI , and didn't blend in with its scenes with Big G ) . 1 / 3 of the story is filled with Matrix style fighting between humans and aliens . And the worst part was they brought back Minya - here called Minilla or some such . Ugh .
I wanted to like this movie . I really did . But it was a chore to endure this film .
Toho has said before that they were making the last Godzilla movie . I am hoping that Big G does come back again . He deserved a better ending than this one .
Maybe Peter Jackson will do a decent remake of King Kong v Godzilla ? Now THAT would be a great movie .
129 4 Lots of cities being demolished . Impressive special effects for what it is . . Particulary Mothra - actually looks amazing . Silly and over the top . A $ # ! tton of monsters . A good hour and a half . . or however long it is of fun . Works well as a small gathering movie too . At least it did for my friends and I after our own destructive party died down a bit . Oh yeah as usual there are a lot of scenes involving humans talking . . its not as boring as it usually is for these films . . in fact its just as comical as watching all the monsters brawl . .
Easily one of the more entertaining Godzilla films .
Oh yeah and the review title comes from a song by Fingathing . . fans of this movie might like it , check it out .
130 4 This remarkably lame entry into the Godzilla franchise apparently marks the end of the second run of movies , and it slams the door shut with a resounding thud . The last several movies were excellent , particularly Godzilla , Mothra , King Ghidorah : Giant Monsters All-Out Attack , which marked the return of the evil , scary Godzilla . Final Wars is a lame pastiche of The Matix and X-Men , framed with relatively stingy Kaiju battle scenes . While the idea of the Kaiju Godzilla facing down his digital American alter ego is amusing , the actual execution was amateurish . All in all , too little of Tokyo being destroyed by giant monsters and too much moody expository dialog by sullen mutants .
Let's hope they re-charge with some more fun movies next cycle .
131 4 There is only one word that sums up this movie : amazing . This movie has so many monsters in it , I lost count ! Godzilla , Rodan , Anguirus , King Seesar , Mothra , Minilla , Manda , Baragon , Monster X , Gigan , Kamakuras , Kumonga , Varan , Titanosaurus , Gaira , Kaiser Ghidorah , Zilla , Ebirah , Hedorah , Megaguirus , anf more ! Also , there are amazing battles in this film ! This film is the best of the Millennium series ! Happy birthday , Godzilla !
132 4 The Godzilla film that all of us fans have all been waiting for . While the plot seems to be stereotypical for Godzilla films , it is nice to see the Big G make quick work of almost every monster that appeared in his early films . And most of them are there as well as a few others . However , my favorite part of the film is GINO's ( Zilla in FW ) demise . The monster everyone loves to hate makes his first appearance early in the film as monsters begin to ravage the globe . Zilla is shown crashing through the streets of Sydney and causes more destruction in about a minute then it did in New York . One of the reasons the film Godzilla ( 1998 ) failed . Later on when East meets West GINO is dispatched quickly with a tail whip and a blast of fire from The Real Godzilla much to everyone's delight .
ROCK ON GODZILLA !
133 4 Godzilla : Final Wars features the green giant going up against all his former enemies - though to get to that point , one has to sit through an interminable opening hour that couldn't possibly be more dull . When the various monsters from Godzilla's past ( including Rodan , Gigan , and even Roland Emmerich's Godzilla ) begin simultaneously wreaking havoc , all seems hopeless - until a group of seemingly friendly aliens effortlessly take care of the problem moments after arriving on the scene . As it turns out , the aliens are - in fact - even more dangerous than the monsters , leaving the surviving humans with little choice but to revive Godzilla and send him on an abomination-killing rampage .
Given that Godzilla is almost entirely absent from at least half of Godzilla : Final Wars , it's certainly possible for the viewer to forget that they're even watching a Godzilla movie . Kitamura seems far more interested in imbuing the film with wildly over-the-top action sequences and Matrix-inspired shenanigans than offering up anything resembling a traditional Godzilla flick , which lends the proceedings a dated , unrelentingly tedious vibe .
Having said that , the battles - when they finally arrive - are admittedly quite entertaining , though they invariably wind up overstaying their welcome by going on far longer than necessary ( however , it's hard not to get a kick out of the sequence that finds the old-school Godzilla dispatching the American Godzilla with a flick of the tail ) . But Kitamura's inexplicable need to revel in excess ( there's a space battle , for crying out loud ) will undoubtedly alienate Godzilla neophytes and most likely irritate even the most die-hard fans of the legendary creature .
134 4 Alright when I bought this movie I was expecting a movie that had big Kaiju battles , but I was I my expectation was wrong . Instead we get the ultimate Toho tribut featuring references to the movie Gorath and Atragon .
Final Wars is not a Godzilla movie , infact Godzilla is used as the last solution against the Xillians , so don't start watching this film thinking it's going to be another Godzilla movie .
The film mainly focuses on human , mutants , and of course the Xillians but the story will keep nonkaiju and Kaiju fans interested with interesting but cleary inspired by the Matrix battle scenes . Well even a little of the plot is inspired by the Matrix , but that will only bother you at first . Anyways when Godzilla finally appears he takes on all 12 monsters , but even though the battles are quick it still entertains and makes you forget about the humans for a bit . The only monster battles the last long is the battle between Godzilla and Monster X , which is pretty awesome by the way .
Anyways ways this movie is excellent film , it features tons of sci-fi elements and it also features the very cute Minilla . I bought this movie to my English class in school and it was recieved well by the students and teachers , this is defintly a movie to show to your friends , so they could start getting into Godzilla too .
137 4 Take every good Godzilla monster from the past 30 years , throw them in a wrestling ring with Godzilla in one corner and everyone else in the other , and you've got Godzilla - Final Wars .
My Godzilla collection is expansive , and almost complete . Out of the new breed of Godzilla movies ( the ones I didn't grow up on ) , this is clearly one of the best , with perhaps Godzilla 2000 claiming that prize . . . but maybe that's because I got to see it in the theater . . . salivating . . .
My favorite scene in Final Wars has to be when the Americanized Godzilla ( gag ) shows up and dukes it out with the real deal . I think the guys in Japan were trying to make a statement when , with little effort , Godzilla puts an end to the little American runt . I was clapping .
Over all , Final Wars is fairly fast paced and very stylized . In many ways this smacks of Manga / Japanimation cartoons , but that's fine by me , because those are beautiful movies too . So , five stars for Final Wars . There's nothing better than popping in a Godzilla flick and working on novel ideas .
- - Jeremy Robinson , author of Pulse ( A Chess Team Adventure ) and Kronos
139 4 Through the rosy lens of nostalgia , Godzilla movies always seem better than they actually were . It never fails . Godzilla vs . Megalon was WAY more entertaining when I was five years old . I can't sit through it now . So I didn't expect much more from Godzilla Final Wars . However , I ended up enjoying it .
Final Wars isn't the greatest movie ever , but it's pretty engaging - - partially because of the appearance of so many monsters ( yeah , they're still cheesy rubber suits ) , but also because of the campy action storyline .
A team of mutants created to help rid the world of monsters isn't the most original idea . . . and the execution was fairly laughable at times . But after 50 years of Godzilla flicks , I didn't expect a sci-fi masterpiece . I just wanted a touch of nostalgia , some eye candy , and a good laugh or two .
Godzilla movies are basically cartoons , and this one was fun . If you're already into Godzilla , you'll LOVE this movie .
As a side note , watch for the American tough guy - - he embodies the stereotypical mustachioed commander found in so many old anime ( Starblazers and Robotech spring to mind ) . He'll probably make you chuckle .
140 4 As some of my esteemed fellow reviewers have stated before , this movie's plot is quite similar to 1968 ' s Destroy All Monsters . However , unlike Destroy all Monsters , the aliens in this one , called the Xilians , present themselves as the saviors of the planet and kindly dispose of numerous monsters that are wreaking havoc all over the planet , including Rodan , King Caesar , Anguirus , and Ebirah . One particularly good action sequence has several humans battling Ebirah ( the giant lobster ) using bazooka-like weapons .
Eventually , we the audience learn that the Xilians want to conquer the planet , and their current leader wants to do so in a non-violent way , not wanting to use force as a first resort . However , his second-in-command , the typical young , brash , arrogant would-be-commander , murders his superior in a who-didn't-see-that-coming moment , and takes over command of the Xilians . He then releases the monsters , who proceed to start trashing the planet . A group of soldiers , led by Captain Gordon ( played perfectly by former UFC champion Don The Predator Frye ) , conclude that the planet's last hope is to release Godzilla from his icy prison in Antarctica , where he has been slumbering for decades . Afterwards , a series of brief monster fights ensue as Godzilla is lured towards the Xilian's mothership , culminating in the climactic battle between Godzilla and Monster X , the film's new antagonist . There have been mixed reactions on Monster X , but I think he looks pretty cool , and his meancing appearance and method of arrival definitely signal that he's not going to be a pushover like the other monsters .
This is perhaps the longest Godzilla movie , clocking in right around 2 hours , and despite this the human characters are not developed very well , even though the actors do an adequate job . Godzilla himself doesn't appear until well after the 1 - hour mark , not counting his brief appearance at the very beginning . The numerous Matrix knock-offs didn't bug me nearly as much as Godzilla's lack of screen time : this is supposed to be his 50th birthday bash , right ? I actually thought that the motorcycle fight scene was pretty cool ; in all , there is actually quite a lot of action in this movie , just not a whole lot of giant-monster action .
As for the monsters themselves , most of them look pretty good , redone after long absences , in some cases over two decades . The redone Gigan is easily the most improved over his original appearance , and you can tell a lot of effort went into revamping his look , even if he has limited screen time . I think that the makers intentionally made the CGI-rendered American Godzilla look a little more fake , to signal that he isn't the real Godzilla , right before he gets roasted in what is generally considered to be the shortest giant monster fight in history ( the Xilian leader's reaction to this is priceless ) . Godzilla himself looks pretty good in my opinion ; his look is closer to the 90 ' s Godzilla as opposed to the millennium Godzilla , even if his facial expressions aren't as obvious and his head has a rat-like appearance . Of course , a movie such as this wouldn't be complete without an appearance by Godzilla's arch-nemesis , Ghidora , who appears looking quite menacing in his blue-trimmed Kaiser form towards the end . It's rumored that Mechagodzilla was also going to make an appearance , but time and budget constraints forced it to be left out . Excluding Mechagodzilla , all of the classic Godzilla monsters and enemies are here . I guess nobody's upset that the likes of Titanosaurus and Megalon didn't come to the party . Mothra's appearance is so brief that I wouldn't call it much more than a cameo , and her death while aiding Godzilla against Gigan and Monster X is so sudden that it lacks any impact , probably because the human's don't express anything about it .
My gripe about this movie can be summed up like this : Not enough Godzilla , and surprisingly little giant monster action . Given how long it takes for Godzilla to appear , the subsequent fights are necessarily short ( or else the movie would have been over 3 hours long ) , making Godzilla seem over-powered and the other monstsers , except for Monster X and Kaiser Ghidora , seem like pansies . The movie has plenty of good points : the concept and story are pretty good , the visual effects are well-done , and Don Frye effortlessly delivers all of the best one-liners . If a few things had been done differently here and there , this film could have easily been a five-star one . All in all , it's not the worst Godzilla flick , but a times I got the feeling that it was trying really hard to be the best and just fell a little flat .
141 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
It was good to see the whole cast of Toho monsters ( some very briefly ) in this movie , this movie suffered ( as many of them do ) with not enough of Godzilla . He pretty much shows up half-way through .
I hope Toho isn't serious about this being the Big G's last movie .
142 4 It was good to see the whole cast of Toho monsters ( some very briefly ) in this movie , this movie suffered ( as many of them do ) with not enough of Godzilla . He pretty much shows up half-way through .
I hope Toho isn't serious about this being the Big G's last movie .
143 4 Evil aliens pretend to be humanity's friends , but then sic countless giant monsters on us , and of course , it's up to Godzilla to save the day , Slasher Villian style ! It focuses more on Matrix style kung fu fighting and not enough on the monsters , but still makes a darn good weekend rental .
145 4 If you could separate the two stories . The human vs . alien vs . monster vs . monster . Get the picture . The actual Godzilla fighting scenes were minimal . Most monsters found their arses handed to them in a matter of minutes . The movie centered mainly on the human versus alien conflict . Lots of thuggy characters fighting macho characters . . . mix and match in cheap Matrix like fashion .
This could have been really good . . . but sadly it fell short . I didn't hate the movie . It is worth seeing as a rental , but buying it may be to much a push . Power Rangers go !
146 4 My son and I love Godzilla ( Yes even the American version ) . While this is not the best of the series it is still a great movie . Although the fight seqences are frustratingly short and Mecha-Godzilla is absent . If this is supposed to be the last movie for ten years why leave out one of Godzilla's greatest nemesis ? Also absent is the Mothra larva ( or baby Mothra as my son calls them ) . As implausible as the story line is I'm sure the could've squeezed them in . All in all not a bad movie . Now my son and I have to sit back and wait for Peter Jackson's rendition of ' King Kong ' .
147 4 Having grown up with Godzilla , as well as many other giant monster figures , knowing that a new movie starring the Big G is always an anticipated moment . Realizing that it has been half a century since he was introduced to the world , Godzilla : Final Wars was supposed to be a major event and a blockbuster hit . When Ryuhei Kitamura was hired to direct the movie , it was thrilling to know . Unfortunately , such hopes for it to be the ultimate Godzilla movie were immediately dashed . This is clearly not the way to commemorate 50 years of a long-going series .
Final Wars excited everyone by announcing that a fairly large number of monsters from previous Godzilla films will be making a comeback . It was conceived that we were going to see some long and amazing battles , some of the most memorable yet . It's just too bad it didn't actually happen in this movie , since most of the action was concentrated away from them and on the humans instead . Many of the monsters are only onscreen for a few minutes or even less , which makes you wonder why they even bothered to feature them in the first place . The monster battles themselves are very lackluster and extremely short , and hardly anyone puts up a fight worth watching .
One good side to Final Wars are the weathering effects , while the computer-generated imagery blends quite well with the man-made backgrounds and rubber suits . However , some of the CG-created models look less convincing than the suits themselves . Despite the campiness and cheesiness , the Godzilla series have always been known for their rather beautifully sweeping orchestral scores and militaristic marches . Unfortunately , there's none of that to be found here , as the soundtrack is dominated by annoyingly implemented techno-inspired prog rock . Also , the Godzilla main theme is almost nowhere to be found . And whose idea was it to feature Sum 41 in this movie ?
Final Wars also borrows noticeable elements from other movies ( Star Wars , The Matrix , Predator , Mission : Impossible , and Independence Day come to mind ) . Godzilla always developed a cult following , so why all the pop culture references ? If you're looking for great giant monster movie greatness , then look elsewhere . Everything here takes a backseat to the story between the humans and the aliens , which didn't even deserve to be focused on that much . There was way too much emphasis on such a simplistic plot and uninteresting characters , when most of the screen time could have gone to showing more of the monsters in all their glory . The inclusion of American actors was also a questionably terrible idea . They even try to attempt comedy but fail miserably . A commemoration ? Far from one , actually .
148 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
There is a rumor that this is the last movie ( yeah right ! )
Heres stuff i really liked
1Godzillas showdown with monsterx
2Godzilla and kingceaser kicking angirus like a soccer ball
3A cool motorcycle fight
4The opening credits
5Godzilla killing the amercian veirzon .
There are some bad stuff like
1The short monster fights
2The absents of godzilla for a while .
Dont listen to the bad reviews even thow i love godzilla i dont take him so seriously .
Good Bye Godzilla for Now . . .
149 4 There is a rumor that this is the last movie ( yeah right ! )
Heres stuff i really liked
1Godzillas showdown with monsterx
2Godzilla and kingceaser kicking angirus like a soccer ball
3A cool motorcycle fight
4The opening credits
5Godzilla killing the amercian veirzon .
There are some bad stuff like
1The short monster fights
2The absents of godzilla for a while .
Dont listen to the bad reviews even thow i love godzilla i dont take him so seriously .
Good Bye Godzilla for Now . . .
150 4 um . . . this isn't going to be about the Godzilla Final Wars movie but more about the future of the big G . I'm seeing a lot of reviews about this movie compaired to the past Godzilla movies . I'm wondering how this movie rates next to that stupid Americanized version that the ID guys did . If this should be the last Godzilla movie that Toho puts out I'd really liek to see another go by someone here in the states . . . now hear me out on this one . I just went to see the new King Kong movie the other day and I have to say that you can see the love Peter Jackson had for the character . While a Peter Jackson 3 hr Godzilla movie shall only be a dream of mine I figure there has got to be someone in Hollywood that could make a Godzilla movie with the same care that mr . Jackson put into Kong . I really don't see why they couldn't make an American Godzilla movie using the same Godzilla that they use in Japan except use CGI instead of a man in a suit . I recall years ago a rumor of Spielberg talking about a Godzilla movie . . . . instead we got the garbage that was put out under the name of Godzilla by someone else and Mr . Spielberg is making Transformers . There have been a lot of Japanese movies remade in America over the past couple of years that have done pretty well so maybe it's time for the Big G to get a second chance over here .
151 4 I have been a Godzilla fan since the age of 4 . I am now 18 . I have seen every one of the Godzilla films ever released and I must say that I have loved almost every single one ( besides Godzilla's Revenge ) .
When I first heard about this movie in 2003 . . . I was excited beyond belief . A big BANG for Godzilla to end on . . . or atleast to end on until they start the series back up again .
But I just finished watching the DVD . . . and I must say . . . I was not impressed with this film . The newer films feel less and less like Godzilla films and more like films with Godzilla as an afterthought . I was disappointed to see the Big G head out with such a film .
If you're looking for a good film , you should buy this movie . If you're looking for a great send-off movie for Godzilla , DO NOT BUY this movie .
In my opinion , GMK should have been the film to see Godzilla off , and is possibly my favorite Godzilla movie of all time .
In closing , this movie was pretty good and interesting , but I did not see it as a good ending for the series .
152 4 This film contains all of the worst elements of the 1970 ' s Godzilla films ; which were generally the worst of the bunch . Silly aliens wearing absurd costumes speaking ludicrious dialogue . Granted , alot gets lost in the translation from Japanese to English , but the people talking scenes are truely painful to listen to . All of the sword fighting is ridiculous and unneccessary in a Godzilla film .
Godzilla's fights with other monsters early in the film had too much monster humor for my taste . It was cartoonish , the way Godzilla would celebrate , and the defeated monsters would crumple on top of eachother . Rather than being battles between vicious monsters , they came off as pro wrestling matches .
The only serious , and good , monster action was at the end when Godzilla faced Monster X , and Kaiser Ghidora ; but by then the climactic battles seemed out of place , since the first hour and a half of the film was so silly .
154 4 I went from watching what I consider the best Godzilla movie ever ( Giant Monsters All Out Attack ) , to watching the worst Godzilla movie ever ( Final Wars ) . I really wanted to like this , but it wouldn't let me . I gave it to a friend after 1 hour of viewing . I had enough . If you are into fast MTV style editing with no point , then , God bless ya , this is for you . Don't say you weren't warned !
155 4 If you have friends who think Godzilla is just a joke , this is the film you must show them . Sure , everything and the kitchen sink is thrown in , but the film actually is a joy ride of destruction .
The plot involves aliens coming to earth to turn us into food , and with them they've got all of Godzilla's old villains . Throw in some mutants , Mothra and the American Godzilla and you got a movie that moves at a brisk pace and is more action packed than any other Godzilla film before it .
For all you old Godzilla fans , this film takes everything we love about the film franchise and cranks it up a notch or two . It may irritate some purists , but this is the Godzilla movie that's going to bring in a new crowd .
156 4 This movie is really great . It shows godzilla as what he is , the king of the monsters . This is my kind of godzilla movie . Rock & techno music ( I wish they could get bands like metallica , megadeth , iron maiden , ect ) , Humans aren't boring and do some matrix style fighting , a cool american , clasic monsters , godzilla beating the tire out of monsters with no effort whale still having a challenge at the end , gigan's chainsaw arms , anguirus's thunderball attack , and lots of other things . One thing I find very Hypocritical of the g-fandom on this movie is when they complain of not that much monster action . I can name off several kaiju movies that have less monster action then this movie and is still well loved . Here are a few .
Destroy all monsters
gamera 3 : revenge of iris
Godzilla vs . mechagodzilla 74
Terror of mechagodzilla
Godzilla raids again
Godzilla king of the monsters
The daimajin movies
Godzilla vs . monster zero
rodan
mothra
I rest my case your honor .
158 4 Man ! Godzilla returns for his 28th time in this great movie ! I got this movie from Ebay and when I saw it , I fell in love . Here's the story .
The Gotengo ( a ship basicaly ) shoots missiles at a glacier in the North Pole and buries Godzilla . Later , tons of monsters attack the world . And , as soon as the monsters come the monsters dissapear . It is soon discovered that aliens called the xilians have saved the world from the monsters .
Now , if you're a Godzilla fan , you would probably guess that the aliens are not sincere . If you guessed that . . . You're right ! Soon . the xiliens release all the monsters on to the world again . The monsters completely destroy the world . Some survivers take the Gotengo and decide that in order to kill the monsters , they have to unleash . . . GODZILLA ! ! ! ! ! ! When they arrive , Gigan ( a bird cyborg ) attacks the Gotengo .
But , not before the Gotengo fires missiles at the glacier that buried Godzilla . Godzilla awakens and kills Gigan . Then , he follows the Gotengo to where the other monsters are . Godzilla battles Zilla ( a giant iguana ) , Rodan ( a pterodactyll ) , Anguirus ( ankylosaurus ) King Caeser ( a giant lion ) , Kumonga ( a giant spider ) , Hedorah ( the slog monster ) , and Ebirah ( a giant lobster ) .
Godzilla finally arrives at the mothership , kills all the xilien and along with Gigan II , and Monster X / Kaiser Ghidorah . At the very end , Godzilla swims away with Minilla ( Godzilla's son ( , showing that the Godzilla saga will never end .
Overall , this movie deserves 5 stars . the only Godzilla movie better than this is King Kong vs Godzilla .
159 4 This movie is one of the best Godzilla movies ever ! ! ! ! I have been a lifelong Godzilla fan , and was anxiously awaited my movie after ordering it . My favorite part in this movie , happened when Godzilla completely destroyed the crapzilla monster from the failed Mathew Broderick movie . I had to skip back a couple of times for this , and watch it in slow motion .
The storyline is the patented evil alien invasion , but the fight scenes are what you buy the movie for anyway .
Order this movie now , you will not regret it .
160 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
My wife and I couldn't wait for this to come out in the US , so we got the Japanese version with English subtitles . . . and . . .
THIS MOVIE ROCKS ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It's got it all : Evil space aliens bent conquering the Earth , lots of excellent kaiju battles , a young couple who can't stand each other when they meet but you know they're meant for each other , mutant kung-fu on motorcycles , Anguirus trashing Shanghai , an American soldier whose demeanor and attitude is a match for Godzilla , cheesy science , big explosions , an oil refinery going up in flames , the twin fairies from Infant Island , and the most powerful kaiju opponent Godzilla has ever faced !
This movie was clearly made by people who deeply love the Showa series ( 1954 though late 70s ) Godzilla movies and related Toho kaiju movies of that era . Almost all of our old friends from that period show up ( the major exceptions being Megalon and Mechagodzilla ) , including some little-known kaiju such as Manda and Ebirah . And many important characters and plot points turn out to hark back to those movies .
GFW also reminds me of Twin Peaks , in that it's packed full of media and cultural references . Many are to Showa-era Godzilla movies - and not just the Japanese versions , but the English dubs . For instance , in one scene in the Japanese version , two guys are sitting there , and one notices something and says , Glenn ! Glenn ! in English to his buddy , in exactly the same way Fuji said it to Glenn in the English dub of Godzilla vs . Monster Zero . You can also play recognize the actor , since the actors for many of the major and minor characters appeared in various Godzilla movies from the 60s to the present .
It would be great to see this in a movie theater . And if Toho really is going to give the Godzilla movies a few years ' break , this is a terrific movie to go out on .
161 4 My wife and I couldn't wait for this to come out in the US , so we got the Japanese version with English subtitles . . . and . . .
THIS MOVIE ROCKS ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It's got it all : Evil space aliens bent conquering the Earth , lots of excellent kaiju battles , a young couple who can't stand each other when they meet but you know they're meant for each other , mutant kung-fu on motorcycles , Anguirus trashing Shanghai , an American soldier whose demeanor and attitude is a match for Godzilla , cheesy science , big explosions , an oil refinery going up in flames , the twin fairies from Infant Island , and the most powerful kaiju opponent Godzilla has ever faced !
This movie was clearly made by people who deeply love the Showa series ( 1954 though late 70s ) Godzilla movies and related Toho kaiju movies of that era . Almost all of our old friends from that period show up ( the major exceptions being Megalon and Mechagodzilla ) , including some little-known kaiju such as Manda and Ebirah . And many important characters and plot points turn out to hark back to those movies .
GFW also reminds me of Twin Peaks , in that it's packed full of media and cultural references . Many are to Showa-era Godzilla movies - and not just the Japanese versions , but the English dubs . For instance , in one scene in the Japanese version , two guys are sitting there , and one notices something and says , Glenn ! Glenn ! in English to his buddy , in exactly the same way Fuji said it to Glenn in the English dub of Godzilla vs . Monster Zero . You can also play recognize the actor , since the actors for many of the major and minor characters appeared in various Godzilla movies from the 60s to the present .
It would be great to see this in a movie theater . And if Toho really is going to give the Godzilla movies a few years ' break , this is a terrific movie to go out on .
163 4 My title sums it . This is a very bad movie . Very bad . I can't really begin to describe how bad it is because I don't know where to start . I'll name ten things about it that suck right off :
1 . The absence of Godzilla ( throughout half of the movie at least )
2 . The presence of Minilla ( always bad )
3 . The absence of the original Godzilla theme ( come on ) .
4 . The soundtrack ( horrifying in the extreme and deserving of its own paragraph )
5 . The unexplained appearance and continued inclusion of a Japanese guy dressed as a minute-man from the American Revolutionary War
6 . A horrifying alien villian , X , who ranks among the most despicable film characters I have ever seen
7 . Short monster fights ( with the exception of Godzilla vs . GINO , which was realistically short )
8 . An equally annoying , wussy Neo-ripoff as a hero .
9 . Don Fyre as the baddest man on earth who is consistently annoying , since he dresses like Stalin and is constantly in his ' bad man ' pose . Not to mention that he seems to think near the end that he can fight Godzilla with a samurai sword .
10 . Overuse of bad CGI
Don't get me wrong ; there's plenty more wrong with this movie . But I can't really review it . You know what the story is about - aliens invade and convince a host of mosnters to fight Godzilla . I don't really care about this movie ripping off the Matrix since the sequels ruined that movie to begin with , but it's really tiring and irritating to see that the human sub-plot ( not really a sub-plot , since it takes up about 75% of the movie ) is basically an alien invasion movie with the heros and villians wearing Matrix-style costumes , with a little bit of Star Wars thrown it . But the fact that they negate Godzilla himself through most of it is what really grieves me ; this sould just be called Final Wars and not allude to Godzilla at all . The fights are too short and Showa-ish , though seeing him take down GINO was the highlight of the movie ( all six seconds of the scene , anyway ) .
It sucks , just trust in the reviews of those before me who were better able to sum it up . Don't see it if you like the more serious Godzilla movies ; however , if ' Destroy All Monsters ' and ' Godzilla vs . Megalon ' were your type of G-movies , then by all means see it ; you will love it .
But even though it sucks , it is still a fun movie to watch . It doesn't offer the corniness and campiness of any Godzilla movie , but an over-abundance of it . A good example it the New York scene . You probably will have fun watching this movie , like any other G-movie , but just not for the reasons you would find any other G-movie fun . And by the way . . .
WE ARE NOT CATTLE !
164 4 GFW is a very entertaining film . Dont go watching this movie thinking this will be a big story or anything . SPOILER - Its a traditional kaiju alien invasion movie with more than 10 monsters . You even get to see the American Godzilla in the movie . The movie really is nonstop from beginning to end . Finally this movie is only for someone that wants to be entertained and Godzilla fans . This 50th anniversary G film gets * * * * * ' s
165 4 As a huge Godzilla fan , I pretty much collect everything that involves that giant radioactive-breathing leviathan including G-FAN
magazine ! What is G-FAN ? It's every Godzilla's fan's dream come to life in the form of a magazine founded by J.D.LEES that deals with
everything GODZILLA , GAMERA , Japanese Sci-fi and fantasy oriented ! It
sometimes even gives you coverage on Japanese superheroes like
ULTRAMAN for a good example.So , needless to say I was horrified when J.D.LEES and other main G-FAN scribes and subscribers
had completely already had it set in their minds that this was a bad movie just because they found out that Ryuhei Kitamura was going to direct instead of Masaaki Tezuka who had helmed 3 of
the previous entries in the Shinsei ( aka : Millenium ) Godzilla series !
And as I continued to read further issues as they came out , especially when GODZILLA : FINAL WARS had its premeire in
Hollywood rather than in Japan , like Toho usually does with their
kaiju eiga epics , the reviewers for G-FAN pretty much gave this one
completely BAD REVIEWS ! But when I finally got a chance to see the
film myself on DVD , I was TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY by the awesome scope of this movie ! This is without a doubt , one of Godzilla's GREATEST ADVENTURES IN THE MONSTER'S ENTIRE FILM LEGACY ! And it has an all -
star giant monster cast that also includes : RODAN , ANGUIRUS , EBIRAH ,
KING CAESAR , KAMACURS , KUMONGA , MANDA , HEDORAH , MINILLA , GIGAN , MONSTER X ,
the American GODZILLA , and KEIZER GHIDORAH ! And not only that the
film has plenty of action , story , and monsters that more than likely
should please any GODZILLA enthusiast.Like it did with me.Should
you want to subscribe to the Godzilla fan magazine ( G-FAN ) just write
to J.D.LEES at :
DAIKAIJU ENTERPRISES LTD .
530 WILLOW CRES . , STEINBACH , MB
CANADA R5G 0K1
or just visit their website at [ . . . ]
166 4 It has been 50 years since Godzilla first totally destroyed Tokyo , and there is no better way than to have an all out attack to celebrate those years .
I was suprised with the use of all the monsters in this movie , especially that of the american 1998 version of Godzilla . The only let down I have with this movie is that the monster sequences are not that long , the movie is over 2 hours and it focuses more on the Xillians than the monsters .
Eventhough the moster sequences are short in time they do deliver , especially the ending sequences .
167 4 Like my title says , this is a great movie . . But I certainly don't think that it is suitable as the Final Godzilla movie .
This movie is very controversial with Godzilla fans , but ultimately , it will make its way into all of our collections .
168 4 Just for putting up with an inferior cast . He's the star of the movie , and any scene he's not in is a waste of film . And I love his son , minilla , he is adorable . Make more father and son movies . Godzilla forever ! Enjoy !
169 4 This review is from :
Godzilla - Final Wars ( DVD )
Godzilla : Final Wars is the latest movie in the Godzilla series aliens come to Earth to save it from all the monsters , such as Rodan , Zilla , Kumonga and so on . The only monsters they seem to miss capturing is Godzilla and Mothra . You'd think they would notice , but maybe they don't have very good information on Earth ?
Anyway , the UN decides to join the aliens , forming the Space Nations , because the aliens were not just nice enough to capture all the monsters but warn our planet of a upcoming rogue planet that will hit our's soon . We must combine our power to destroy it or it will destroy us .
Or will it ? Yes , you guessed it , something stinks in the heart of Denmark , well , Japan . The aliens are NOT all what they seem . And the monsters they took have been changed to make them easy to control . Easy for the aliens to control .
Now Earth is truly in trouble , as the aliens seem to hold the cards , all the monsters , and lots of spaceships . NOW the fun begins . Godzilla kicks [ . . . ] and keeps kicking [ . . . ] till the end of the movie . I enjoyed the quick , smooth movements of the monsters , and the background rock and roll music also seemed to fit the new style .
The fighting happens all over the world . New York , Paris , and , of course , Tokyo .
Oh , yeah , and Minilla is in it . I don't know HOW he got into the film . The ending with him felt kind of weak . I won't take away a point for that but he can be a pest .
170 4 Godzilla : Final Wars is the latest movie in the Godzilla series aliens come to Earth to save it from all the monsters , such as Rodan , Zilla , Kumonga and so on . The only monsters they seem to miss capturing is Godzilla and Mothra . You'd think they would notice , but maybe they don't have very good information on Earth ?
Anyway , the UN decides to join the aliens , forming the Space Nations , because the aliens were not just nice enough to capture all the monsters but warn our planet of a upcoming rogue planet that will hit our's soon . We must combine our power to destroy it or it will destroy us .
Or will it ? Yes , you guessed it , something stinks in the heart of Denmark , well , Japan . The aliens are NOT all what they seem . And the monsters they took have been changed to make them easy to control . Easy for the aliens to control .
Now Earth is truly in trouble , as the aliens seem to hold the cards , all the monsters , and lots of spaceships . NOW the fun begins . Godzilla kicks [ . . . ] and keeps kicking [ . . . ] till the end of the movie . I enjoyed the quick , smooth movements of the monsters , and the background rock and roll music also seemed to fit the new style .
The fighting happens all over the world . New York , Paris , and , of course , Tokyo .
Oh , yeah , and Minilla is in it . I don't know HOW he got into the film . The ending with him felt kind of weak . I won't take away a point for that but he can be a pest .
171 4 Final Wars was a hit at my grandson's Godzilla Party with his friends . This is for Godzilla lovers only ; i.e . those who appreciate the history of the genre .
