1godzillafan
12-25-2004, 02:07 PM
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00066KWCY.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
The first movie of the Godzilla Millennium series to actually be a sequel to a previous Godzilla movie other than the original, in this case if follows up 2002's Godzilla X Mechagodzilla. 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo SOS isn't nearly as good as GxMG, but it's a satisfying end to the Kiryu "trilogy" (trilogy is arguable, since other Kaiju movies obviously took place in between the original Godzilla and Godzilla X Mechagodzilla. The only ones that are confirmable are Mothra, Frankenstein Conquers the World, and War of the Gargantuas. One could easily place other Kaiju films like Rodan or King Kong Escapes into this timeline as well).
Masaaki Tezuka has already solidified himself as an excelent Godzilla director. His first Godzilla film, Godzilla X Megaguirus, was a wildly entertaining (and refreashing, I might add after the very serious toned Heisei series) flashback to the good old days of the Showa series. Those monster battles were the most fun fights I've seen in a Godzilla film in years. His second film, Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, was outstanding. He really made Mechagodzilla come alive and the character given to Godzilla is undenyable. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS is his third Godzilla film, and it's his weakest. He does get a lot of things right, but they seemed to be seperated into blocks so the audience can view them one at a time.
The most blatant problem was the characters, who aren't as interesting as they were in Godzilla X Mechagodzilla. The very, very hot Yomiko Shaku does return to the role that helped make Godzilla X Mechagodzilla more interesting, but in Tokyo SOS it's a mere cameo. I couldn't help but wonder how she would have handled the situations in this movie had she been the main character instead of the ones that were given. The new characters on the block aren't that interesting until the final thirty minutes where they really shine with some heroic moments that make the second half more thrilling than the first, so they're not a total loss.
The story of this movie actually reminds me of another trilogy wrap up that came out in 2003 (which ironicly also involved big ass robots), the Matrix Revolutions. The first half of the film gets that pesky plot out of the way, and during the second, all hell breaks loose. The rsesult is one of the most extensive fights in Godzilla history. Is it worth the noticably Godzilla-less first half? Kinda. The fights weren't as fast or furious as Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, but they're cool enough.
As for the monsters themselves, Godzilla and Mechagodzilla both seem to take a backseat this time around, but what really shines is Mothra. I'm not a fan of Mothra, and I probably never will be. Everytime I see her, I shudder, because puppetry on flying creatures has always been shakey in Kaiju films. This is especially noticable in the case of Mothra because she's supposed to be elegant and graceful, but ends up bulky and clumsy. However, Tokyo SOS is the first time Mothra ever felt real to me. Her movements are absolutly perfect. Bravo effects team. You've done the impossible.
I've been very satisfied by Toho's Godzilla offerings lately. Godzilla's been on a winning streak of wonderful films since 1995. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS doesn't break that streak, but it's the weakest Godzilla film since 1994's Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (although it's still better than that), and out of the five I've seen, the weakest of the Millennium series so far. But like the likes of Back to the Future, the Matrix, and Evil Dead, the Gojira X Kiryu trilogy is something that I'd love to experience back to back to back in the near future seeing how it's a continuous story. Kind of like a Gojira, Gojira Reloaded, and Gojira Revolutions.
On a Godzilla scale: *** out of ****
Millennium movies ranked:
1. Godzilla 2000 ****
2. Godzilla X Mechagodzilla ****
3. Godzilla; Mothra; King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack ****
4. Godzilla X Megaguirus *** 1/2
5. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS ***
The first movie of the Godzilla Millennium series to actually be a sequel to a previous Godzilla movie other than the original, in this case if follows up 2002's Godzilla X Mechagodzilla. 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo SOS isn't nearly as good as GxMG, but it's a satisfying end to the Kiryu "trilogy" (trilogy is arguable, since other Kaiju movies obviously took place in between the original Godzilla and Godzilla X Mechagodzilla. The only ones that are confirmable are Mothra, Frankenstein Conquers the World, and War of the Gargantuas. One could easily place other Kaiju films like Rodan or King Kong Escapes into this timeline as well).
Masaaki Tezuka has already solidified himself as an excelent Godzilla director. His first Godzilla film, Godzilla X Megaguirus, was a wildly entertaining (and refreashing, I might add after the very serious toned Heisei series) flashback to the good old days of the Showa series. Those monster battles were the most fun fights I've seen in a Godzilla film in years. His second film, Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, was outstanding. He really made Mechagodzilla come alive and the character given to Godzilla is undenyable. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS is his third Godzilla film, and it's his weakest. He does get a lot of things right, but they seemed to be seperated into blocks so the audience can view them one at a time.
The most blatant problem was the characters, who aren't as interesting as they were in Godzilla X Mechagodzilla. The very, very hot Yomiko Shaku does return to the role that helped make Godzilla X Mechagodzilla more interesting, but in Tokyo SOS it's a mere cameo. I couldn't help but wonder how she would have handled the situations in this movie had she been the main character instead of the ones that were given. The new characters on the block aren't that interesting until the final thirty minutes where they really shine with some heroic moments that make the second half more thrilling than the first, so they're not a total loss.
The story of this movie actually reminds me of another trilogy wrap up that came out in 2003 (which ironicly also involved big ass robots), the Matrix Revolutions. The first half of the film gets that pesky plot out of the way, and during the second, all hell breaks loose. The rsesult is one of the most extensive fights in Godzilla history. Is it worth the noticably Godzilla-less first half? Kinda. The fights weren't as fast or furious as Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, but they're cool enough.
As for the monsters themselves, Godzilla and Mechagodzilla both seem to take a backseat this time around, but what really shines is Mothra. I'm not a fan of Mothra, and I probably never will be. Everytime I see her, I shudder, because puppetry on flying creatures has always been shakey in Kaiju films. This is especially noticable in the case of Mothra because she's supposed to be elegant and graceful, but ends up bulky and clumsy. However, Tokyo SOS is the first time Mothra ever felt real to me. Her movements are absolutly perfect. Bravo effects team. You've done the impossible.
I've been very satisfied by Toho's Godzilla offerings lately. Godzilla's been on a winning streak of wonderful films since 1995. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS doesn't break that streak, but it's the weakest Godzilla film since 1994's Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (although it's still better than that), and out of the five I've seen, the weakest of the Millennium series so far. But like the likes of Back to the Future, the Matrix, and Evil Dead, the Gojira X Kiryu trilogy is something that I'd love to experience back to back to back in the near future seeing how it's a continuous story. Kind of like a Gojira, Gojira Reloaded, and Gojira Revolutions.
On a Godzilla scale: *** out of ****
Millennium movies ranked:
1. Godzilla 2000 ****
2. Godzilla X Mechagodzilla ****
3. Godzilla; Mothra; King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack ****
4. Godzilla X Megaguirus *** 1/2
5. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS ***