Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) movie review

Overall verdict: 6/10

The Good:  great special effects, detailed monster designs, touches on deeper themes, retroactively creates a shared universe

The Bad: unlikable characters, bland plot, repetitive music, cartoonish fight scenes, mediocre acting from main cast

***********Review***********

GODZILLA: TOKYO SOS has the honor of being the only “sequel” to exist in the Millennium era of the long running Godzilla franchise. Taking place a year after the events of GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, Tokyo SOS sees the return of not only fan favorite Mothra but of late actor Hiroshi Koizumi reprising the role of Dr Shinichi Chujo from the 1961 movie MOTHRA.

With the Mechagodzilla named Kiryu undergoing hasty repairs in preparation for Godzilla’s return, Mothra’s fairies, the Shobijin, appear to Dr Chujo, his grandson, and his nephew Yoshito, with a warning that using the bones of the previous Godzilla in the construction of Kiryu was an affront to the natural order of the universe and if the bones are returned to the sea, Mothra would take Kiryu’s place as Japan’s defender.

Of course the Japanese government is reluctant to give up the one weapon capable of defeating Godzilla, and have much less faith in Mothra’s capabilities. As Godzilla returns to wreak havoc, those capabilities will be put to the test alongside an increasingly unstable Kiryu that is still haunted by its memories of its death back in 1954.

In its overall premise, TOKYO SOS shows a lot of potential. It goes back to the “humanity’s sins returning to punish them” theme that was prevalent in the first Godzilla movie. It also promises an exploration of two common contrasting reactions to disasters: faith in the divine (embodied by the fairies asking for japan to trust in Mothra) and a pride driven reliance on human capability and self determinism (embodied by the government’s refusal to scrap Mechagodzilla).

 Where the film could have delved deep into these themes, deconstructing both or showing how they can coexist hand in hand, it instead drops the ball in favour of cliched storytelling and characters.

Rather than continuing the previous movie’s character development, those already shallow characters are ditched in favour of new though much less likable characters. Our main protagonist is Yoshito Chujo, a hot headed mechanic in the Kiryu maintenance team. He had a quirk for understanding machines more than people and.....that’s about it. 

The movie sets up a relationship triangle between Yoshito, former mechanic turned pilot Azusa, and another arrogant male pilot Akiba which.....goes no where. You get a couple of scenes involving fiery male tension and that’s it. Not much in the way of resolution other than an arc about how our lowly mechanic wins the respect of the glorious pilots (an arc that was already done in GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA). 

In terms of acting, the older actors do a much better job. Almost as if the younger actors portraying the young adult characters, especially Azusa, were hired more for their looks than ability. The characters they portray come across as generally unlikable with only Yoshito having some redeeming qualities.

Visually, this movie upholds the standards set by its predecessor: beautiful imagery, detailed miniatures and monster suits, near flawless visual compositing. It also upholds the flaws, retaining the overly choreographed cartoony battles and the stiff movements of the monsters.

What I appreciated the most of GODZILLA: TOKYO SOS, was how it and it’s predecessor GODZILLA AGAINST MEGHAGODZILLA is the first Godzilla movie to retroactively establish a proper “shared cinematic universe” by bringing in old Toho movies like MOTHRA and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS as part of its continuity. This stands in contrast to the Showa era and heisei era Godzilla movies which were just sequels to each other and not actual “shared” cinematic universes in the way we know them now.

Other than that this movie is a mixed bag for me. For every positive such as the special effects, the shared universe lore building, and a return to the darker themes of the original GODZILLA movie, there are equal number of negatives in the cliched storyline, unlikable characters, and cartoonish fights.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B+

Story: C-
Acting: C+

Characters: C-

Music: C+

Replay value: B+

"Brains": C+

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) movie review

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good:  Awesome special effects, likeable human characters, "feel good" story, relatable themes, easy to follow narrative.

The Bad: cartoony battles, cheesy dialogue, cliched plot, reuses many elements from previous movie, 

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Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is the fourth Godzilla film in the “millenium era” that started with Godzilla 2000. It is the second Godzilla movie by director Masaaki Tezuka, after his previous (and relatively unimpressive) GODZILLA X MEGAGUIRUS, and this entry retreads a lot of ground covered by that movie. So much that it’s plot could be considered a remake of GXMegaguirus only with Mechagodzilla.
After the first Godzilla that attacked japan in 1954, there have been attacks by other giant monsters prompting the formation of the Anti Megalosaurus Force (AMF), an elite tactical unit given sci fi technology and tasked with fending off such attacks. A failed sortie against a new Godzilla in 1999 had prompted Japan To use the bones of the previous Godzilla to create Kiryu, a titanic robot in the form of Godzilla: a Mechagodzilla. 

Equipped with missiles, beam weapons and the dangerous “absolute zero” freeze cannon, Kiryu is a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately their first battle awakens the memories of the Godzilla whose remains form a part of Kiryu and the giant robot causes just as much damage as the monster it was designed to stop. While awaiting the next attack, the AMF scrambles to ensure Kiryu is able to remain in control.
It’s similarity to GXMegaguirus comes in not just the setup of a deadly uncontrollable new weapon that leads to more trouble than it is worth, but also the characters. The 2 main characters are Akane Yashiro, a soldier and survivor of the failed 1999 sortie racked with guilt and vowing revenge against Godzilla, and Tokumitsu Yuhara, an optimistic jokey scientist who helped with the creation of Kiryu. 

Both of them are rehashed from the characters in GXMegaguirus Kiriko Tsujimori and Hajime Kudo, complete with the scientist trying to get friendly with the cold and distant soldier. Fortunately, the character development here is more gradual and the characters themselves more likable than Director Tezuka’s prior efforts. 

The addition of Tokumitsu’s daughter and her bond within Akane gives the soldier an emotional anchor to slowly warm up to. Akane’s character arc of at first being looked down upon by fellow teammates but slowly winning over their respect to be treated as an equal mirrors a very real challenge women in male dominant professions continue to face.
The overall tale is much more focused on the human characters with a very pro-humanist slant. Godzilla himself is devoid of personality, reduced to merely being “generic threat to humanity”, an obstacle that a country can overcome through unity, dedication and ingenuity. 

It is decidedly more in the “feel good” category as compared to the more nihilistic GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL OUT ATTACK. Depending on one’s taste, this could be seen as an improvement over something that was too dark or as a step backward into more idealistic “happy and kid friendly” territory.
A more objective improvement is in the special effects. Miniatures of the buildings, vehicles and city are breathtakingly detailed. Green screen effects are also more polished than what came before. 

However with detail comes a trade off, and that can be seen in the monsters themselves. The well crafted giant monsters move very stiffly; melee fights consists of awkward flailing or pushing or hugging each other while pyrotechnics go off behind them. 

Director Tezuka tried to get around these limitations by enhancing the footage with CGI and filming in a certain style involving over the top feats. This all only adds to the often cartoony feel of the battles like one scene when Mechagodzilla flies at full speed to tackle Godzilla away. Mechagodzilla comes to a complete stop upon hitting Godzilla and just stands there while Godzilla is sent careening into the distance. It is like something out of Looney Tunes!
Like Kiryu of the story, GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA is not without some kinks. For all it’s good special effects, characters and themes, you have the cartoony battles, the often over the top acting, and the cliche ridden story that we have seen twice already. 

For me, I found it very entertaining despite its shortcomings. It is a competent movie and while I did prefer something darker, I do appreciate the entertainment value of this one.


***********Review***********

Entertainment: A

Story: C+
Acting: B-

Characters: A

Music: C+

Replay value: B-

"Brains": C+

Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The ultimate gateway movie into the Godzilla franchise.

The Good: Magnificent monster battles, well acted relatable characters, memorable supporting cast, simple human centred storyline, great visual effects, probably the best soundtrack ever by composer Bear McCreary. 

The Bad: rushed plot with little breathing room, seemingly light on underlying themes or philosophical depth.

***********Review***********

The sequel to 2014’s GODZILLA and third installment to Legendary Studio’s “Monsterverse”, is a non-stop, edge of the seat thrill ride in the vein of classic worldwide disaster movies like INDEPENDENCE DAY. Building on feedback from the previous installment, director Michael Dougherty delivers a spectacular love letter to the entire 65 year old (as of this year) franchise. It is exciting, it is beautiful, tragic, grand, an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

We start off in real-time 2019. In the years following Godzilla’s battle which leveled San Francisco back in 2014, the world is divided over the knowledge that more of these so called titans exist and that the organization”MONARCH” desires to protect them despite the destruction they may cause. Amidst this chaotic backdrop, a MONARCH facility in China is raided by an eco terrorist cell who kidnaps scientist Emma Russell along with her daughter Madison, so as to use her invention called the “orca”; a machine that is able to record and mimic the titans' bioacoustics signals which they use to communicate with each other. 

Led by the enigmatic renegade Alan Jonah, the eco terrorists plan to use the orca to awaken the hibernating titans in hope that they will restore the earth to its former glory. But there is more to this plot than meets the eye. Meanwhile, MONARCH engages the help of Doctor Mark Russell, Emma’s estranged husband, and co-inventor of the orca, to try and locate the stolen device, his kidnapped ex-wife and child.

If it starts to sound like a human focused “angry dad rescuing family” kind of movie, rest assured it is not. Our giant monsters, the titans, they are not just the backdrop, they feature front and centre from the get go. The target of the terrorists plot is to awaken “Ghidorah”, a three headed dragon who had been the basis of myths. They hope for Ghidorah to establish dominance over the other titans and control them. Unfortunately, Ghidorah himself has other plans. With seemingly alien abilities and power beyond measure, the only titan that might stand a chance against the multi headed monstrosity, is Godzilla.

From the very first on screen appearance of Mothra, to Ghidorah, to the bird-like Rodan, and of course Godzilla, the whole movie goes full throttle with its plot. There is never a dull moment as we follow Mark and the MONARCH scientists led by Dr Serizawa across the globe trying to prevent an end-of-the-world scenario. You could say that it moves so fast that there is hardly any breathing room. Plot developments and characters development happen simultaneously and it’s easily to get lost in the details if you do not pay attention. At times, it feels like there may have been a scene or two which was cut out which may have eased the flow of the movie, but this is a minor complaint.

At our story’s core is a tale of a broken individuals dealing with loss at the expense of a loved one. The Russells were victims of the San Francisco Godzilla battle. Their ordeal drove Mark to drink and become abusive leading to his divorce with Emma who in turn buried herself into her work, all while Madison suffered the fallout. In their journey towards making peace with the past, we see two hurt individuals who had let their loss fracture their family,  now choose to put aside their differences for the sake of their child and the world. It is a simple plot thread but with a heartwarming message.

The cast play their roles perfectly; especially Kyle Chandler as Mark Russell and Serizawa played by veteran actor Ken Watanabe. The latter‘s role in the story becomes even more poignant if you watch the first movie and read both prequel comics “Godzilla Awakening” and “Godzilla Aftershock”, knowing more about his history and a his connection to both Godzilla and nuclear weapons.

However, the ones I found the most memorable were the G-Team led by badass lady Colonel Diane Foster. They are side characters with minimal development but the situations they are called to deal with, suppressing a terrorist attack, evacuating a city, luring an enraged Rodan away from a populated area, they do all that with guts and a strict dedication to their duty. The best part of it all? The human element is sufficient and never overstays it’s welcome.

Equal focus is given to the star attraction themselves: the giant monsters. All of them, Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah and Godzilla all feature cool redesigns that pay homage to their original looks while taking it to a whole new level of badass. Moving Pictures Company (MPC) has outdone themselves once again in the CGI department. Special mention goes to the performance capture used for Ghidorah and Godzilla. Their expressions showcase clear human-like emotions and traits. Their body language blending the actor’s performance with animalistic like movements. This motion capture is truly the descendant of traditional rubber suit monster performances.

And when the titans clash, the visuals and cinematography effectively convey the immense scale of their battles. Thanks to Director Michael Dougherty and cinematographer Lawrence Sher, the movie is spectacularly shot with dark apocalyptic visuals, heightening the surreal spectacle of these massive clashes. We are truly witnessing war among gods! Pulse pounding music by composer Bear McCreary reproduces many of the iconic tunes from past Godzilla movies while giving his own unique spin, with drums and chants, imbuing an almost operatic feel to the movie. This is easily his greatest work to date.

From the music to the characters to the monsters themselves, everything! The passion and love of the genre coming from the cast and crew is evident in every minute of this film. I would have liked a bit more time and focus spent on its underlying themes but perhaps the underdevelopment of such themes was the result of the movie's fast pace. 


That being said, it is great for Newcomers to the Godzilla franchise thanks to the simple story, memorable characters, decent actors, and tight script. If you needed a gateway into the Godzilla or giant monster franchise, this is it! For long time fans, there are numerous Easter eggs, references, callbacks, and parallels to past films. See if you can recognise them all. All in all GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS distills everything cool about Godzilla into a single modern movie. Highly recommended.

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Entertainment: A

Story: B

Acting: A

Characters: A-

Music: A

Replay value: A

"Brains": C-

Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2019) CGI Anime Movie review

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

Fanatical space cults, philosophy, and proof that a giant monster movies can be deeper than the average blockbuster. 

The Good: Believable character development, great cast and acting, intricate artwork, improved CGI animation, numerous social and philosophical themes to unpack, deconstructive slant, compelling atmosphere of suspense, creative reinventions of classic kaiju. 

The Bad: Light on traditional movie action, lots of unnecessary verbal exposition for events happening onscreen.

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Defeat! The latest mission to destroy Godzilla has ended in failure when Captain Haruo Sakaki made a life or death decision choosing his friend Yuko over the chance for victory.

Mutiny! Haruo is branded a traitor by the Bilsaludo people, former allies of humanity, who stage a coup on board the colony ship Aratrum.

Despair! With all hope lost, humanity turns to the Exif religion led my the charismatic Metphies who manipulated events to bring their Dark god into this plane of existence! The dreaded golden avatar of destruction: Ghidorah.

Ever wondered what a Cosmic horror styled Godzilla movie would be like? This comes complete with fanatical cult, a charismatic religious leader, human sacrifices, and an extradimensional dark deity that defies all laws of physics. In this story, Ghidorah has evolved beyond being just a three headed space dragon. He is now a living time space anomaly, existing in our reality on the combined beliefs of fearful fanatical followers. The ultimate pinnacle of extraterrestrial evolution; a dark mirror to how Godzilla had been portrayed as the pinnacle of earth’s evolutionary development.

That being said it is important to approach this movie with the right expectations and in this case it is not for giant rubber suit wrestling matches. The battle between Godzilla and Ghidorah, both representing the evolutionary peak of their respective natures, is the the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. That’s it. A force meeting an object, and the fight is exactly as it sounds. 

Instead, GODZILLA THE PLANET EATER is a feature length clash of metaphors and philosophical concepts, each one building on the last. Drawing heavily from the likes of Nietzsche and other perspectives on nihilism, this movie is a biting critique of human nature, motivations and actions; of our flawed sense of superiority and self righteousness. 

The nebulous comforts humanity cling to in times of desperation such as seemingly advanced technology or the faint solace of false religions are harshly deconstructed. Deconstructed too is the nature of the messianic narrative as it is being twisted into crafting a figurehead for advancing a hidden agenda. 

At its core, it is a cautionary tale against single minded obsession to the point of sacrificing the qualities that make us uniquely human. This has been portrayed in a deeply metaphorical sense, through the Godzilla destruction Mission in the first movie, the nanometal in the second movie, and now the Exif’s dark god in this third movie. 

But it’s themes are not all darkness storm and stress. In our main character of Haruo, we are given a tragic tale espousing the virtue of letting go and moving on from past emotional baggage; hatred, anger, fear arising from past trauma and failures. On a greater scope, the state of humanity and Haruo can be seen as a commentary about Japan itself; a country still paying for its misdeeds of the past (given form as Godzilla), who's traditional ways of life are being replaced by "alien" (western) norms, beliefs and mindsets (the Exif religion and Bilusaludo technology), all the while asking the question "how far do we go until we lose who we are?".

Visually, the style of this movie fits the narrative. Desolate post apocalyptic landscapes complete with perpetual overcast skies and creatures that come in varying shades of grey. This all contributes to the serious, bleak and often tragic tone of the story. There seem to be some improvements in the animation, with characters having more dynamic range of expressions compared to the first movie. And all this is complemented with a fine cast, both for the Japanese and English dubs. 

GODZILLA: THE PLANET EATER is easily one of the darkest entries in the Godzilla franchise and one of the deepest with tone and themes hearkening back to the original 1954 classic. Like the original GOJIRA (1954) this movie thrives on atmosphere and suspense. It is relatively light on traditional "blasts and beatdowns" kind of action, but if one was expecting that all the time, a Michael Bay movie might be a more suitable alternative. For those of us who like stories that get you thinking, this one has tons to unpack.  

It is highly recommended that one watches all 3 of the GODZILLA anime movies back to back. Some of the revelations in the third lend themselves to having a deeper appreciation of certain events in PLANET OF MONSTERS and CITY ON THE EDGE OF BATTLE as well as clarifying some initially vague plot points. On a whole, the trilogy of GODZILLA ANIME movies might have had a slow start and is not flawless. It is however "true Godzilla" in spirit and a respectable addition to the franchise.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B+
Art: B+
Animation: A-

Story: B+
Voice Acting (Japanese): A
Voice Acting (English): A- 

Characters: B+

Music: C+

Replay value: A-
"Brains": A-