| Godzilla, Mothra, &
King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack
may have a mouthful of a title, but this amazing
film is chock full of everything!
Helmed by director Shusuke
Kaneko (who boasts an alma mater that
is the equally amazing Gamera trilogy), this
movie is a thrill ride from start to finish,
and if I may say so, one of my personal favorites.
Godzilla returns to his roots as an unstoppable
engine of destruction, Baragon makes his triumphant
return to the big screen, Mothra is (yet again)
the heroic moth beastie, and Ghidorah is…a
good guy? The special effects are excellent,
the characters are appealing, and the plot
is fantastic. Everything mixes together to
form one of the best Godzilla films ever.
It has been 50 some-odd years
since Godzilla rose from the depths to turn
Tokyo into flaming rubble. Those nightmarish
days came to a close when the Japanese Self-Defense
Force (JSDF) was thought to have vanquished
the beast, or so many are lead to believe.
Though the King of the Monsters hasn’t
appeared in decades, other enormous creatures
have been reported in recent years, including
a monstrous reptile who attacked New York
in 1998. Time and trouble have washed away
the memory of Godzilla’s terrible onslaught
from the minds of the current generation;
however, all would soon be forced to face
a rather rude awakening.
An American nuclear submarine
is mysteriously lost near Guam and two Satsuma
research submarines are deployed to investigate.
A mysterious underwater landside occurs, and
as the dirt settles, the pilots sight a set
of massive spines moving through the silt,
glowing a ghostly azure.
Meanwhile, a reporter for a
low budget studio, Yuri Tachibana, reports
on a local legend near Mt. Myoko in Niigata.
After a mysterious earthquake, she spots an
equally mysterious old man staring back at
her from the woods. Before she can alert her
crew to the man‘s presence, he vanishes.
Later that night, a group of motorcycle thugs
harass a truck driver, but soon meet a grisly
end when a tunnel collapses upon them. The
truck driver survives, but witnesses a monstrous,
gargoyle-like head tear through the tunnel
wall. He is certain that he has just witnessed
Godzilla.
Yuri discovers that the epicenter
of the earthquake she had earlier experienced
has been moving, coinciding with the sighting
in the tunnel. Her adviser, Teruaki Takeda,
also discovers a book that chronicles the
legend of three guardian monsters, Baragon,
Mothra, and King Ghidorah.
The following night, a group
of troublemaking teenagers are killed at Lake
Ikeda, attacked by a giant creature who emerged
from the lake and cocooned their bodies in
silk. Yuri ventures to the Motosu Police Station
to meet with an elderly man named Isayama,
the very same person she witnessed in the
woods following the earthquake. The old man
claims that Godzilla is returning, possessed
and driven by the tormented, forgotten souls
of those who died in World War II. He does
provide a ray of hope, stating that the guardian
monsters may have a chance at stopping him
this time. He instructs her to find the sleeping
place of Ghidorah. Upon arriving at the location
near Mt. Fuji, she discovers an amulet that
she is certain Isayama left for her to find.
During the night, Maganote
in the Bonin Islands is obliterated during
a powerful storm. However, the party dispatched
to investigate is destroyed by a “moving
hill”. This prompts the government to
go public with their belief that Godzilla
is returning once more. Yuri tells her father
of the legend of the guardian monsters, but
he has a difficult time believing it. However,
he doesn’t immediately disregard the
story, after having seen Godzilla face-to-face
on that nightmarish night in 1954 and losing
his family to the dreaded leviathan.
Motosu is sent into chaos when
the monster from the earlier cave-in emerges
from the Earth in broad daylight, freeing
Isayama in the process. Some claim the creature
to be Godzilla; however, the true Godzilla
soon erupts from the depths of Yaizu Harbor,
laying waste to all in his wake as he starts
out on a collision course with Tokyo. However,
the red monster, Baragon, bravely faces Godzilla
in Hakone Valley. And so, as the first guardian
monster steps into the fray, the battle for
humanity begins!
One of the strongest assets
of this film is the characters. Yuri Tachibana
(Chiharu Niyama), our main heroine, is played
to perfection; her drive and personality make
her likeable, as she never truly comes off
as selfish. Her motivation to show others
through her craft just what is being sacrificed
to protect the county from Godzilla’s
wrath is admirable. Though her relationship
with her father Taizo (Ryudo Uzaki) can best
be described as “distant” for
the first part of the film, they always show
they love one another, particularly evident
in the scene when he prepares to face Godzilla.
Unlike many military figures in Godzilla movies,
who only serve as static fixtures, Taizo has
a depth to his character; he shows he loves
his daughter and his country and is willing
to go to any lengths to keep them safe. Nevertheless,
he’s also willing to allow his daughter
to do something she believes is right, despite
the potential danger. One final character
trait worth noting is his unusually open mind.
While military figures are normally portrayed
as rather close-minded in monster films as
a whole, Taizo is more accepting of the possibility
of things that are beyond his comprehension
(i.e. the guardian monsters). The only really
noticeable flaw (which could be an editing
mistake) is when the D-03 ends up hitting
Ghidorah. It seems that Taizo is actually
glad that they hit the wrong monster,
which should be far from the case (particularly
considering Taizo’s back-story).
The titular monsters, and the
special effects used to bring them to life,
are top notch. Godzilla’s suit is both
lifelike and extremely menacing, the soulless
eyes being his most defining and sinister
aesthetic. Godzilla’s character resembles
that of the original movie, a force of pure
destruction that exists only for one purpose:
to obliterate everything in his path. This
is refreshing, considering how long it has
been since a villainous Godzilla tore through
the big screen. His beam is excellently rendered,
from beginning to end (particularly the effect
of energy drawing into his maw). Baragon is
also superbly realized, appearing very lifelike.
He is also quite likeable, which is partly
due to the obvious cute factor. This makes
it all the more emotional when he fights his
hardest against Godzilla, only to be outmatched
in almost every respect. Mothra is excellent
here, more insect-like than many of her previous
incarnations. Her projectile stinger, as opposed
to the many beam weapons she’s wielded
in recent years, is most refreshing. Finally,
King Ghidorah is another fine suit. There
is only one problem: his necks seem a bit
too stout (other than that, he’s golden).
This is not really an aesthetic issue, it’s
actually a functionality restriction. His
fighting abilities are somewhat lessened when
his reach is truncated. On the plus side,
Ghidorah being a hero in this film is a welcome
and unexpected change, showing the design
has the potential to fill the role of ether
a hero or a villain. Finally, his gravity
beams are about the best ever, behaving much
more like lightning bolts than continuous
streams. His thunder spark is another nice
addition, as it increases his mêlée
abilities.
Considering the fact that Godzilla
was said to originate from an island legend
in his first film, it makes sense to establish
the history of his three opponents as shrouded
in legend as well. The brawl between Baragon
and Godzilla is a nice way to pick up the
action midway into the movie; it breaks up
the human drama a bit and adds a little more
spice to the mix before the final battle (though
Godzilla’s continuing rampage is far
from lacking the proverbial capsaicin, mind
you). The final battle is excellently paced,
with a lot of back-to-basics animalistic tooth-and-claw
action (instead of the “beam wars”
that have become so common). Considering this
film comes from the same man who revived Gamera
in three of the greatest kaiju films around,
this is hardly a surprise.
The musical score was also
a huge plus. The theme that played throughout
the final battle was most enjoyable; it was
fast-paced, yet veiled in a vibe that almost
delves into a strange “fantasy”
realm. However, nothing beats Akira
Ifukube’s classic Godzilla theme
playing in all of its ominous glory at the
close of the film.
After the Gamera trilogy, I
expected great things from another movie by
Shusuke
Kaneko, and I wasn’t disappointed.
GMK is an excellent film with a lot
of heart and action, not to mention great
special effects. Any fan of Godzilla owes
it to themselves to watch this movie, which
is easily one of the best of the Godzilla
films. From start to finish, it is near perfection
(Ghidorah’s clumsy necks aside).
|
(4.5/5)