Godzilla: Final Wars

Posted by Zac in Entertainment and Pop Culture Movies.

I’m rarely at a loss for words, but honestly, where does one begin? After a brief intro where Godzilla is frozen in the ice at the South Pole, we learn the human race have put aside their differences to ward off attacks by giant monsters. There is also a new race of mutants who are fighting alongside mankind. A conscience laden mutant escorts a hot biologist while she studies a recently discovered, mummified monster. Suddendly several creatures from the Toho cannon start attacking cities at once, until an alien race called Xilians zap them all away and promise peace along the cosmos. But guess what? They lie! Turns out the Xilians have been using the monsters all along and unleash them yet again, until the few remaining good guys break Godzilla out of his icy cell. Then the giant monster throw down truly begins.

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Midnight Meat Train), this updated version of Destroy All Monsters has echoes of everything from X-Men, The Matrix, and Independence Day. Many also note similarities to the last Star Wars film, but fail to mention that movie was released a year after this one came out in Japan. Almost as an afterthought are the Toho monsters, among them Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and even Minilla (aka Baby Godzilla). With the exception of the final battle, the fight scenes between the monsters, the main draw of the film, are way too short. On the other hand, I give the filmmakers credit for trying to spice things up. A film like this is hard because you want keep today’s a.d.d. aflicted audience entertained while not alienating the fans of the original series. I admire the spirit, but felt the hyper-drive editing style got old fast.

My knowledge of Godzilla films is limited, so any in-jokes or cameo appearances from contributors to the series over the years was lost on me. As far as I know, this is the latest attempt by Toho to end the Godzilla series. The first was in 1975 with Terror of Mechagodzilla, but the series was restarted in the mid-80’s. That run climaxed with Godzilla: Destroyer. After the failed American version in 1998, Toho started the series again to show everyone how it’s done, and even included the American creature in Godzilla: Final Wars.

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