Godzilla: Final Wars

A very unusual Godzilla film.

It Moves very fast. The monster battles are not like any of the previous films and the human side of the story is as much a focus as the Monsters tale is and surprisingly it is interesting. It works mainly as an adrenaline rush though, it's cathartic. The "monsters" have a lean, muscular look and move fast- they are not the puffy slow moving beasts of the past.

No long drawn out scenes of endless wrestling, this is more like boxing and Godzilla is the master dispatching them all. No need to be a fan to find it entertaining.

This movie does something similar to what "Aliens" did way back in '86. It redefines Godzilla as an Action Hero and goes past what any casual viewer might expect. This is a hard core action film that never lets up and leaves you drained.

The main negative is that it cribs way too much from the film "The Matrix". While Matrix lifted from Asian cinema generously, Final Wars does a Xerox of the copy and in several places has a tin ear regarding some things that are now considered trite and overused the world over.

The movie is just a lot of fun.

If this is the last Godzilla as said, then I can say the series had a good run and ended on a high note. Perhaps not the highest note possible, this is a very flawed film. However, it is the second best in the Millennium series (next to Megaguiras).

If you read my Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla review, than you can easily see why i say so. Many of this series have had this annoying habit of having about thirty minutes of plot, then an hour of monster combat. This one gives equal time to storyline and action sequences.

No matter how short, the monster battles are always entertaining, the high point being a fight between Mothra and Gigan. This battle is relatively quick but still very entertaining. Gigan is one of the most powerful foes in the movie, and it was good to see Mothra getting to fight the second most important monster.

Monster X looked like something that would be creepy if it was human size, or maybe a little taller, and crept around in the shadows of a space station. However it didn't matter when he was easily the most powerful monster in the film (or, at least could transform into it).

The human battles were all done very well, accept for an annoying motorcycle chase which had the dumbest use of Matrix style special effects I have ever seen. However, many disappointed fans exaggerate the Matrix influence. It is clearly there in the action scenes, don't get me wrong, but other than the one I mentioned they are well crafted fight scenes.

I rather not talk about the film's flaws, after all, when they are flaws you find in any action film, what are you going to get from going over them. And that in itself is a flaw: This is an action film. Don't expect a monster movie, it is an action film that happens to have a lot of the action being done by monsters.

With an ending that could bring a tear to one's eye. So the Godzilla series (presumably) ends on a good note, much better than Godzilla vs. Destroyah (Terror of Mechagodzilla was not an ending in my opinion). This is a film to be enjoyed, and should have a place in your collection. Its the movie that every now and then you might just want to pop in the DVD player, just because.

***/**** stars

The 2004 movie "Gojira: Fainaru uôzu" (aka "Godzilla: Final Wars") wasn't actually all that bad, and it was definitely in the ranks of one of the better movies in the franchise for some time.

"Godzilla: Final Wars" was actually good entertainment from start to end. At least for the most parts. Certainly, there were some less than mediocre things to the movie, so it wasn't all gold and happy days.

There was a good amount of Kaijus in the movie, most of which were familiar monsters, and even some with some upgrades. So that was nice and had a good feel of familiarity to it.

However, there was just a bit too much going on throughout the course of the movie. Some parts were just a bit too silly for me, and that was working against the movie in my opinion. It felt like director Ryûhei Kitamura was trying to accomplish a little bit too much in terms of what was actually delivered in the movie. And also felt like they wanted to experiment a bit too much in terms of how they could push the boundaries of the "Godzilla" franchise.

The aspect with the Earth Defense Force was just a little bit too comical for me. Especially since they were essentially just people - well mutants, actually - wearing snazzy black outfits and carrying heavy firepower. But for a task force created to take up the fight against Kaijus they seemed horribly underequipped and understaffed.

"Godzilla: Final Wars" was definitely entertaining, but it wasn't the best of the movie in the franchise.

I attended the world premiere of GODZILLA: FINAL WARS in Hollywood tonight, and I must say the experience was incredibly exciting. The film itself, however, was indeed a "mixed bag" of greatness and mediocrity, and I left Grauman's Chinese Theater a bit conflicted.

I found the film's much anticipated title sequence to be too rushed and erratic, much like the film itself. The titles were not easy to read as they literally flashed on and off of the screen on top of distracting clips from classic Godzilla films.

The film's script was as confusing and scattered. The film started with a good, deliberate pace but quickly degenerated into an orgy of images and scenes spliced together in such quick succession, as one person I talked to put it, it was like you were channel surfing between several sci-fi and kaiju films playing at the same time.

The special effects were at times spectacular and beautiful...at other times they looked as if they had been executed in a rather hasty fashion. Some notable effects sequences: the Earth Defense Force's battle with Ebirah, Rodan's attack on New York, Godzilla's battle with Kumonga in New Guinea. Deserving special recognition is Zilla's daytime attack and night time fight with Godzilla in Sydney, Australia. Zilla's CGI was very well executed. There were a handful of effects shots that were not totally bad, but could have used some fine tuning. Manda attacking Atragon could have used some more work, for example.

Keith Emerson's electronic and pulsating music must be the most unique ever heard in a Godzilla film, but well done and intriguing.

As mentioned earlier, the pace of the film is so fast and erratic, it is hard to keep up with. Without giving away specifics, this must be one of the most out-of-control, if not THE most out-of-control script in the series.

It will take me a few days to figure out my true feelings about this film, but I imagine, with its high points and its flaws, this will be one of the most controversial films in the series among fans.

I think there is a tendency with hardcore Kaiju fans to forget that these movies should not be taken so seriously. They are never executed to perfection. There are always plot holes. There is always some sub-par acting. Some of the special effects always look a little weak. Get over it.

I also attended the world premier of Final Wars, and I would say this has to be the most exciting of them all. It takes a very similar sci-fi angle to Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and adds a dash of Matrix stylization while constantly bombarding you with fantastic Kaiju fight scenes.

I am not sure that "Final Wars" will see the same shelf-life as some of the older classic Godzilla flicks due to the fact that it is so action-oriented. This film is definitely not going to get the camp appreciation that so many older films do. However, if you are a Godzilla fan and want to see some absolutely fantastic battles along side an entertaining sci-fi plot, you will really enjoy this film.