Another stretch of busy days has gone
by only to now leave me stuck indoors thanks to some of the most lame
ass weather I can imagine. Seriously, Michigan either storm or don't.
This constant piddle fest is annoying as fuck. Still; I have a big
reward coming my way as my friends & I prepare to take on the
latest adventure from our favorite emerald city stomper. With that
in mind let's get on to the third and final installment in our
Godzilla recap series. Get your popcorn ready and settle in for the
big finale.
Godzilla vs Space Godzilla
Total disclaimer here: The common
point of view is that this is a terrible movie but I honestly liked
it. Some of the G-cells that were scattered into space from the
battles with Biollante and Mothra merge with a being to create Space
Godzilla who makes a beeline for Earth so he can absorb the planets
energy. Meanwhile the government has employed the psychic girl Miki (
a recurring character since Biollante) to attempt mind control over
Godzilla. Ohh, and I can't forget that the defense force also
replaces the destroyed Mechagodzilla with a new robotic warrior named
Moguera. This feels like it was meant to close out this second
sequence of films with all the references to past outings and the
increased threat level that Space Godzilla presents. Even using Miki
as the main character after several movies with her just offering
support feels like the final chapter of a bigger story. Lots of good
action and an eventual understanding between atomic monster and
psychic girl make for what I consider to be a superior adventure.
Godzilla vs Destoroya
If Space Godzilla was the final part
of the second series, this was made to be the proper ending to the
franchise as a whole. Godzilla is dying a slow and violent death. His
atomic core is overheating and soon he'll explode in a catastrophic
disaster. While this is going on, the weapon called the oxygen
destroyer that was used to kill our favorite monster in the first
movie has been rediscovered and it's melded with tiny microbe
organisms. These critters evolve, growing larger in both size and
number, eventually merging into one giant bastard. Godzilla's
condition changes so that he might meltdown into the core of the
earth, thous destroying the whole planet. Everyone decides that the
only way to stop doomsday is to let Destoroya finish off our favorite
monster in the hopes of preventing the meltdown. By this point, Baby
has evolved basically into a teenage zilla and gets dragged into the
fight, seemingly dying before his fathers eyes. A combination of
Godzilla's rage and human ingenuity wipes out Destoroya before our
big guy finally bites the big one. Before he died he was able to pass
on enough energy to his son to fully revive and mature the young
monster, giving us hope of one day seeing tokyo getting squashed
again. Another entry that is more action than story, it's still a
fine time. Give it a shot.
Godzilla (1998)
Toho put the big dude back into
retirement after the last flick which allowed Hollywood it's chance
to take a shot at Kaiju flicks. In pure American blockbuster fashion,
we fucking blew it! Instead of giving us the more serious style of
the original film or the joyous monster battles the franchise had
earned a reputation for, we got a big hermaphroditic iguana battling
Ferris Bueler while Leon the professional complains about American
coffee. A horrid pile of shit that's made all the worse once a
stockpile of zilla eggs hatch, releasing the laziest batch of
Jurassic Park rejects you've ever seen. Keep far away from this
stinker.
Godzilla Millennium (AKA Godzilla
2000)
After witnessing America absolutely
bomb at its efforts, Toho decided it was time to bring the big green
bastard back for a third series. Yet again we're following up from
the very first movie and ignoring everything else that had been
produced. For his return we're given a very straightforward and basic
tale about an old UFO that steels the big mans genes to become Orga.
That's about it. This is both the movie's greatest weakness and
strength. Sure it's simple and predictable but it's also comforting
like a blanket. Maybe give it a shot.....or don't. Doesn't really
matter.
Godzilla vs Megaguirus
Not really sure if this one is
supposed to be following the events of Millennium or not. It's
another fairly light story about the government trying to make a
black hole weapon to destroy Godzilla. In the process they mutate a
bug into a giant flying menace. In truth this wouldn't be that bad an
entry but the special effects and monster battles are really lazy for
some reason and it robs the movie of a lot of fun. There are a few
nice touches here and there but nothing that can save this one from
being anything other than plan old dull.
Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah:
Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Now this is more like it! Once again
using only the first film for background we find a revived Godzilla
that is possessed by the spirits of all the soldiers that died during
World War II. Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Baragon (who got left out of
the title) are ancient guardians summoned to protect Japan from this
supernatural beast. There's a ton of story and good characters
lifting this one up to some real heights. Sending it over the top are
some truly excellent battles and miniature effects. Seeing some of
the old ideas get changed up also makes for a good deal of fun. I
mean, no one expected to ever see Ghidorah as a hero. Despite the
weirdness of the whole dead soldier spirits thing this is the
benchmark for Godzilla who is in fine form as a full-on villain once
again. A true must see for anyone interested in these movies.
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
With Another series comes yet another
Mechagodzilla, this time known as Kiryu. Yet again we are meant to
ignore all other sequels for this story of a girl hellbent on
revenge. She becomes a pilot of Kiryu which is actually built around
the bones of the original Godzilla. Of course that's a terrible idea
and before you know it, the soul of the long dead beast is reawakkend
inside the robotic shell. There's some effort at being a character
study but it never really pans out. In fact the whole movie sort of
sputters to a close without really finishing anything up. Plus the
fights are a bit on the boring side. A middle to lower teir flick for
only the more hardcore fans.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
Following up on the previous amth-up
we switch focus to one of Kiryu's mechanics who is warned by the
Mothra twins that Godzilla keeps coming back to attack Japan because
they used the bones of the older one to build their dumb robot.
Instead of dealing with a flimsy revenge story we get something
that's more about a slacker who finally gets his chance to shine.
Combo that with some very nice monster fights and you get some fine
entertainment. The biggest accomplishment here may be Mothra and her
larve actually being kinda cool for once. Upper level flick that
makes for a decent night of entertainment.
Godzilla: Final Wars
The 50th anniversary of
Godzilla was fast approaching and the producers saw that as the
perfect opportunity to give him one super-sized birthday party before
sending him back into retirement. There's a huge cross sampling of
nasty beasts from the franchise scattered throughout this adventure
including big name favorites like Rodan down to low rent baddies like
Kumonga the giant spider. Best of all, the American imposter from 98
shows up only to get his ass laid out in record time. Lots of folks
complain that this one just doesn't feel like a proper Godzilla movie
and to some extent that's true. Overall this is just a really over
the top action movie that rips off bits from other flicks without an
ounce of shame. Even so it's an awesome time with cool action and
doofy overacting that provides a great deal of fun. Most importantly
it shows Godzilla as a total bad ass who never takes more than a few
minutes to waste his enemies. Lots of fun and a solid entry for
anyone who wants to cradle their head and laugh at the onscreen
madness.
Godzilla (2014)
More than likely I'll give this one a
proper post of its own once I check it out. Most of the early press
is good though my sister caught an early screening and claims its
awful. We shall see, Kimmy, we shall see.
And there it is folks. Hopefully all
three parts of this handy guide will help you pick out a few special
entries to boost your monster movie lexicon.
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