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STARRING: GODZILLA! MOTHRA! BARAGON! KING GHIDORAH!!! Also Chiharu Niiyama, Ryudo Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi, Shiro Sano and Hideyo Amamoto. Written by Keiichi Hasegawa, Masahiro Yokotani and Shusuke Kaneko. Directed by Shusuke Kaneko. Budget $9 million, running time 105 minutes. Box office $20 million. Originally released in 2001.
If your only experience of Godzilla is the handful of Legendary movies so far released and the terrible 1998 film directed by Roland Emmerich then you ain't seen nothing yet!
This astounding film released in 2001 by the Toho studio was the 26th film in the Godzilla franchise and was written as a direct sequel to the original 1954 Godzilla film and shares the same universe as the aforementioned 1998 outing and is the third instalment of the Millennium era.
This astounding film released in 2001 by the Toho studio was the 26th film in the Godzilla franchise and was written as a direct sequel to the original 1954 Godzilla film and shares the same universe as the aforementioned 1998 outing and is the third instalment of the Millennium era.
The story sees a very angry, white-eyed Godzilla, this time possessed by the spirits of the people killed during the Pacific War, rising from the depths to wreck bloody havoc against the Japanese populous, but help is on hand in the guise of Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah, the legendary Guardian Monsters who are destined to rise and defend the land when Godzilla threatens. Meanwhile, b-movie maker and daughter of a commander in the Defence League finds herself caught up in the mayhem and destruction that shatters the land. Bravely the monsters face off against the Big G but with little effect, Baragon is brutally destroyed, and Mothra (never my favourite) can't do much except batter herself senseless on lightbulbs, so it's up to Ghidorah to try and save the day but will even he be able to stop the relentless onslaught, or is he going to have to level up? The final boss battle in the bay of Tokyo is truly and utterly extraordinary and leaves you absolutely dazed.
Nothing can truly prepare you for the joys of a Japanese Godzilla movie, they have a charm, an energy and a feel all of their own, the characters, the strange humour, the wonderful man-in-a-rubber-suit special effects, the amazing models and that never date and the sheer forward momentum the films possess. As with any giant monster movie, the story that lives between the action beats matters not one jote and yet these Toho films seem to create characters you oddly care for. Japanese films make big jumps in logic and plotting and expect the audience to catch up, they don't spoon feed their audienced, so you have to be on your toes at all times, plus you can never guarantee who's going to live or die and death is only ever a blink away. The one thing that strikes you about this superb film is just how truly collateral the damage is Shusuke Kaneko doesn't shy away from depicting how terrirfying it would witness first-hand a Kaiju attack.
It's worth noting that despite using over 350 CGI shots, the majority of the effects in the film were achieved practically, and CGI was used to enhance the action. and boy do those effects stand up, seriously impressive and the use of actual actors inside the monster suits doing the stomping and fighting just enhances the whole movie. The Godzilla suit itself featured in this film was the largest and heaviest one ever made and stood over 2 meters tall and weighed 70kgs!
Nothing can truly prepare you for the joys of a Japanese Godzilla movie, they have a charm, an energy and a feel all of their own, the characters, the strange humour, the wonderful man-in-a-rubber-suit special effects, the amazing models and that never date and the sheer forward momentum the films possess. As with any giant monster movie, the story that lives between the action beats matters not one jote and yet these Toho films seem to create characters you oddly care for. Japanese films make big jumps in logic and plotting and expect the audience to catch up, they don't spoon feed their audienced, so you have to be on your toes at all times, plus you can never guarantee who's going to live or die and death is only ever a blink away. The one thing that strikes you about this superb film is just how truly collateral the damage is Shusuke Kaneko doesn't shy away from depicting how terrirfying it would witness first-hand a Kaiju attack.
It's worth noting that despite using over 350 CGI shots, the majority of the effects in the film were achieved practically, and CGI was used to enhance the action. and boy do those effects stand up, seriously impressive and the use of actual actors inside the monster suits doing the stomping and fighting just enhances the whole movie. The Godzilla suit itself featured in this film was the largest and heaviest one ever made and stood over 2 meters tall and weighed 70kgs!
I was lucky to see this as a 35mm print at the Barbican, a pre-recorded video introduction accompanied the film with the director giving us a brief history of the film and his work before both Mizuho Yoshida (Godzilla) and Akira Ohashi (King Ghidorah) too gave video intros explaining briefly their methods, Mizuho was told to be furious all the time, and Akira demonstrated his technique for being King Ghidorah by squatting down, with both arms raised and roaring. Then both men turned to face off against each other and began roaring together. It was wonderful, those three clips were worth the admission alone.
If you ever get a chance to see a proper Japanese monster movie at the cinema and do it, it's a thing of wonder.
How could I score this any less, or more. 10/10
If you ever get a chance to see a proper Japanese monster movie at the cinema and do it, it's a thing of wonder.
How could I score this any less, or more. 10/10
