Ford Prefect

OK, after yesterday's severely disappointing viewing of Godzilla vs Megaguirus (I hate typing that name), I went to view GMK with lower expectations. Thankfully Shusuke Kaneko came through and delivered a Godzilla almost on par with his Gamera series from the 1990s.

The worst (get the bad out of the way first since there isn't that much) part about this movie is the storyline. I can handle the fact it jetisoned all continuity (as did yesterday's movie), but the supernatural themes of the movie began to become hokey towards the end (the Godzilla being the physical manifestation of all the soldiers killed in the Pacific during WWII was interesting, but does not explain his radioactivity which still factors into the movie, and I was completely lost on the explanations for the Guardian Monsters). OK, one last negative bit, Godzilla was just too freaking powerful in this movie, defeating two of the 3 guardian monsters with a SINGLE blast of radioactive breath (I won't say which two though).

The negatives are now gone, lets move onto the positives. The acting was top notch, and you could actually sympathize with the characters (I found the characters in Godzilla vs Megaguirus to be totally unsympathetic and wanted to see them get stepped on by Godzilla). Another great positive was seeing Godzilla become a force of nature again instead of some goody-two shoes defender of Earth. There are quite a few scenes of people getting killed in Godzilla's path that are simply uncompromising (also check out Gamer 3 for the same type of destruction on a much larger scale). The battle are of course a highlight as they show just how ferocious these monsters can get (especially Godzilla's smackdown of Baragon). Finally the highlight of the film was the FX. They are above average for this type of film (still not quite up to Gamera 3's high standards, but pretty damn close) and make the battles that much more fun to watch (also, Godzilla vs Baragon shows how to do a DAYTIME battle right and Ghidorah's final transformation is quite a beautiful effect).

DVD quality seemed to be as good as Godzilla vs Megagurius, however I ended up watching GMK at work on a less than mediocre set-up, but everything seemed razor sharp.

This disc is a must own for any Godzilla fan.

Giantrobo

(My thoughts copied from the another thread because I found our reviews more or less agreed after writing mine and reading yours.)

I picked both up and I have to say I didn't really like G v Megaguirus. It was ok but more of the same with nothing interesting in the mix. I still like that Godzilla suit(G 2000) the best.

However, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidrah totally rocked. I mean it was back to the days when TOHO cared about making good G movies. It's Ironic that the guy who made the 3 Gamera movies did this one because I've long said that those three were better than the G movies of the 90's.

Godzilla was M-Effer in this flick! I mean his devastation was real and personal. I think for a long time they didn't really show the aftermath and deaths that occurred from his appearance on the mainland. The girl in the hospital scene was just shocking and brutal. I saw a comment over at amazon where the person said it was "mean spirited". Bullshit. That's exactly the kinda stuff you expect to see when giant monsters rolls through town.

GMKG was also the most emotional G film I’ve seen in years. I really cared for Yuri and her Father. I must admit I teared up at the end. I know people hate that G has become evil and Ghidrah good but when you think about it, it makes sense. G has been remade so often why not remake King Ghidrah. BTW, Ghidrah has long been one of my favorite Kaiju.

Now that I think about it this Godzilla suit is fast becoming one of my favorites. He looks menacing and truly scary. The eyes are incredible.

Bottom line GMkG rocked and I hope the next G films have as much heart and guts.

Giantrobo

I didn't have a probelm with this because to me he's still the biggest bad ass on the block. The whole Gaurdian thing is something that's in just about every Kaiju movie ever made. It seems the Japanese public can't get enough of the concept. So what are you gonna do? That's the way they like it I suppose.

Ky-Fi

I've got Megaguirus on the way, so I haven't seen that one yet. But I did watch GMK the other night, and I agree with you guys---top-notch, and moments of it really felt like the best of the 60's G-films. I liked Godzilla being totally evil, and I enjoyed Ghidorah being a good guy for once. The one negative for me was the Baragon suit---could have been a little less silly.

I still think Gamera 1 and especially Gamera 3 are peaks of the genre, but this one was right up there. I suppose you could see some of the destruction scenes in this one (and Gamera 3) as more "mean-spirited" than the kaiju movies of the past, but I kind of like them adding a bit of weight to the movies, emphasizing the scope of the destruction.

Another huge positive for me in GMK was the theme music----awesome! This was the first post-Ifukube score that I really thought nailed the vibe of Godzilla. I really hope they use this in future G movies. Although, I haven't kept up on G films too much---I'm assuming that was original music composed for GMK---someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Giantrobo

1. I agree with you about Baragon's costume. Even in the film the people comment on how "cute" he looks Personally I would of taken this opportunity to make his look more kick ass..but that's just me.

2. I also agree the Gamera films really raised the bar in the kaiju film arena and oh the irony that it took the guy who produced those Gamera films to make this Godzilla film kick ass.

3. I don't get this "mean spirited" idea when it comes to human death in Kaiju films. I guess it's new to many Kaiju fans because Toho has been weird about showing death in G films. Although in G 54 it was all over the place. To me, like you apparenly, it adds tot he depth of the destruction caused by these creatures. Even the "Good Guy Monsters" caused considerable damage and yes even death.

4. I'm not 100% sure but I do believe the music was new for GMK.

Ford Prefect

As for the "mean spirited" parts, I could see it as that in one way. If you compare Gamera 3 to GMK, there is lots of destruction and death. However in Gamera 3, it is more impersonal as you see hundreds of people die in a single shot. GMK could be called mean spirited by the overzealous because when humans die in this movie it is on a very personal level (only a few at a time, and Kaneko actually gives you a few minutes to get to know them before squashing them), but I don't feel it is mean spirited, Kaneko just wanted to show the level of devestation these creatures bring to town (which is the entire point of Gamera 3 for the most part and not just the destruction, but the Good Guy monster being the one to cause it however inadvertently).

As for Ghidorah being good, remember he was also used for good in the 1991 Godzilla vs King Ghidorah as well (people complaining about Godzilla being a bad guy must have missed the entire 90's series as any good he did there was entirely accidental). However the coolest moment in GMK involves Ghidorah. After Mothra gets blasted and her energy goes to Ghidorah, I just find it very cool when his wings pop open, it just looks very majestic and fitting for Ghidorah.

Did you guys preorder Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (aka Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 3)? I got mine ordered from Deep Discount, it streets March 23.

thunnus

Just finished watching Godzilla: GMK. While I enjoyed some aspects of the film (the G-suit, Godzilla as the villain, cheeky nods to other films), it seemed sloppy and not particularly well executed. The CGI, in many shots I thought, was jarringly bad. Which is surprising considering the panache Kaneko showed in Gamera 3. As a franchise, Godzilla films seem to depend alot on other characters (and military gimmicks) beside Godzilla and end up just creating more opportunities to make the special effects team look bad. I say ditch the submarines and the drill-bit missiles and giant robotic doppelgangers and concentrate on the kaiju.

I'm probably in the minority but I rather liked the Baragon character (silly ears and all). Although daylight shots seem to accentuate the shortcomings of the rubber suit technology, Baragon's fight had a satisfying "physicality" to it and I enjoyed that first fight the best. Mothra without the twins and the Infant Island connection loses a bit of her mojo and doesn't impress me as a giant monster character. And this incarnation of Ghidora was a bit too stiff for my tastes. I prefer the lightnin-spewin, crazy-necked Ghidra of old. How come those two are regurgitated all the time? Why doesn't Rodan get some love?

While I like Kaneko's attempts to highlight the grisly realities of a giant monster rampage, he seems to waver and retreats back to the unbelievability of kaiju past. He repeatedly goes to the towering-wall-of-water-to-reveal-the-giant-monster shot (I counted three). And instead being washed away into oblivion, each time the witnesses seem to get away scot free.

I got a tickle out of seeing Ai Maeda (girl from Gamera 3) and Aki Maeda (Battle Royale)...an obvious homage to the Mothra twins. Are they real life sisters? And it was great watching it in the original Japanese. But I think it's a definite notch below Gamera 3.

Thunnus
-----

Giantrobo

FP: no I didn't pre-order The march disc

thunnus: Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it as much. Anyway, a reviewer on amazon.com pointed out the many cameos in this movie but although I may know the characters the actors played in other stuff(Masked Rider, Ultraman series, and other shows) I don't know the actors that well.

However, I did recognize the ex-cop from the Gamera films playing the suicidal business man.

Ford Prefect

"I got a tickle out of seeing Ai Maeda (girl from Gamera 3) and Aki Maeda (Battle Royale)...an obvious homage to the Mothra twins. Are they real life sisters? And it was great watching it in the original Japanese. But I think it's a definite notch below Gamera 3."

I believe they are, as one of the recent issue of Fangoria did a thing on Battle Royal 2 and talks to them briefly about being sisters (one is in Battle Royal, one is in Battle Royal 2)

thunnus

I've been a fan of Godzilla since childhood. I even dragged my wife to Little Tokyo (LA) to see a screening of "Destroy All Monsters". They had a guy in a godzilla costume and everything.

But the proliferation of CGI in films and watching Gamera 3 really changed my expectations on what a good kaiju film CAN be. If it wasn't for that ONE movie, I'm sure I would have liked GMK.

Thunnus
-----

Ky-Fi

OK, I just watched Godzilla vs. Megaguirus for the 2nd time, and I have to say it's my favorite G movie ever! It seems like a lot of people didn't like this one, so I went in with really low expectations, but this just had everything I wanted to see in a Godzilla movie. I loved the opening scenes where they put the new G into the old black and white newsreel, and then again into the 1966 attack, and also the 1996 attack. I really liked the character of the female officer out for revenge, I liked the older woman scientist who lost some of her friends--and the hippy inventor was a nice contrast. I was lovin' the high tech spaceship/jet fighter and the Dimension Tide weapon. And there were just so many great scenes---the woman swimming over to G and hanging on to attach the tracer, some great underwater shots of G, the swarm attacking him, and G surviving the first shot of the Dimension Tide. And I loved that total widescreen shot of G blasting Megaguirus with the atomic breath as it fell to earth.

I will admit that the scene of Megaguirus where you can see the wires is bafflingly bad, but I thought most of the fx shots in the movie were quite good. I didn't like many of the previous series of G films, but out of that bunch Godzilla vs. Biollante was probably my favorite, and this movie reminded me a lot of that. I guess I'm in the minority, but this one worked on all levels for me---a totally fun Godzilla movie! I'll have to watch GMK again, but I"m quite sure I prefer this one. I'm definitely looking forward to G vs. Mechagodzilla 3 coming out in March.

Mark Cowherd

I enjoyed Godzilla vs. Megaguirus more than Godzilla: GMK.
Godzilla: GMK drags and takes itself way to seriously. Yet it's still worth having. Really, how many Godzilla movies are there on DVD in OAR!

Mark Cowherd

I enjoyed Godzilla vs. Megaguirus more than Godzilla: GMK.
Godzilla: GMK drags and takes itself way to seriously. Yet it's still worth having. Really, how many Godzilla movies are there on DVD in OAR!