Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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Executive Hamster
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

Post by Executive Hamster »

I watched these on my phone in my Airbnb in Orlando when they came out. Just now watching it fullscreen. Also apparently its a sequel? There was a short in 2019 I somehow managed to completely miss. Oh well. Anyway, I enjoyed it quite a bit, acknowledging that the animation was pretty bad. The designs I loved. Godzilla was awesome and the standard Gigans, in my oppinion, are tied with the Showa for my favorite Gigan design. I hope they get figures too. Gigan Rex was neat. I don't like the name, honestly. Even something like "Gigan Prime" would be better in my opinion. Design was pretty cool, Id do a few tweaks to make it perfect.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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It’s pretty crazy, but for some reason I have been EXTREMELY underwhelmed by virtually everything Toho has put out regarding Godzilla since “Godzilla: Final Wars”. I was bored to tears with “Shin Godzilla” and his absurd overpoweredness, I felt the anime trilogy was God awful and an immensely wasted opportunity. Plus I hated the redesigns of Godzilla in both projects….Godzilla Earth being my least favorite incarnation of Godzilla ever (yes…even below Tristar’s GINO) and the total immobility of both plodding monsters who moved slower than cooling lava…I just do not like Toho’s recent obsession with making Godzilla an ultra-slow, lumbering volcano. “Godzilla: Singular Point” was the least awful of the 3 projects but still highly forgettable and no where close to being worthy of Godzilla’s name. I don’t have the slightest desire to rewatch any of them.

So yea…Toho has done a fantastic job chasing me off of wanting to support Godzilla during the mega disappointing Reiwa Era….except both “Godzilla vs. Hedorah” and “Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex”! Why is it they can not make their recent full length projects even a quarter as enjoyable as these tragically short mini-movies they just throw onto YouTube?!? I don’t get it?!? Both shorts are virtually the ONLY strands of the Reiwa Era giving me any hope whatsoever that the monster I love may finally return after nearly 2 decades to captivate me again.

This Godzilla (while still not as perfect looking as in his last 6 Heisei designs) was still far more appealing than “Shin”, “Earth”, “Ultima” and even the Legendary films, where he looks like a mountain with a mismatched head. I loved how he looked here and it was the first time (not counting the Hedorah short) that I have felt like I was watching the “true Godzilla” since G:FW.

As far as Gigan…he was OK. His head and beak were too small but otherwise I liked how they redesigned him here more than how he looked in G: FW. And they finally got his optic laser right! Gigan Rex…ehhh the chainsaw whips were pretty cool but otherwise a fairly unnecessary power-up. Didn’t seem to do as much damage to Godzilla as they should have. My main complaint was just it being too short and not getting to see the final impact that took Gigan Rex out. But regardless, these two shorts are the only two efforts to come out of the abysmal Reiwa Era that briefly caused a spark in me to recall why I used to love Godzilla so much. I sincerely hope that the upcoming new film will right this sinking ship and be much closer in style to these two shorts rather than the failed animes and dreadfully boring, downright unlikeable Shin Godzilla. Please Toho, I beg you, reignite the flame and make me remember why I once loved Godzilla!
Last edited by FlawedCoil82 on Sun Nov 06, 2022 12:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

Post by gottatalktothefake »

Finally got around to watching it, I really enjoyed it, it reminds me of why I love Godzilla so much.
I hope we can get something like this with a higher budget.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 12:25 am I sincerely hope that the upcoming new film will right this sinking ship and be much closer in style to these two shorts rather than the failed animes and dreadfully boring, downright unlikeable Shin Godzilla. Please Toho, I beg you, reignite the flame and make me remember why I once loved Godzilla!
Judging by Yamazaki's past works involving Godzilla, I think you won't be disappointed.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 12:25 am I sincerely hope that the upcoming new film will right this sinking ship and be much closer in style to these two shorts rather than the failed animes and dreadfully boring, downright unlikeable Shin Godzilla. Please Toho, I beg you, reignite the flame and make me remember why I once loved Godzilla!
Damn bro. Man came in with the hottest of takes.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

Post by gottatalktothefake »

Executive Hamster wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:04 pm
FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 12:25 am I sincerely hope that the upcoming new film will right this sinking ship and be much closer in style to these two shorts rather than the failed animes and dreadfully boring, downright unlikeable Shin Godzilla. Please Toho, I beg you, reignite the flame and make me remember why I once loved Godzilla!
Damn bro. Man came in with the hottest of takes.
Eh, I wouldn’t call calling the animes boring a hot take, the shin opinion is definitely a hot take though
Last edited by gottatalktothefake on Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
GojiSquid wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2023 7:58 am TBF if a movie has a sex scene without a monster mash, then is it really a graveyard smash?

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

Post by miguelnuva »

gottatalktothefake wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:51 pm
Executive Hamster wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:04 pm
FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 12:25 am I sincerely hope that the upcoming new film will right this sinking ship and be much closer in style to these two shorts rather than the failed animes and dreadfully boring, downright unlikeable Shin Godzilla. Please Toho, I beg you, reignite the flame and make me remember why I once loved Godzilla!
Damn bro. Man came in with the hottest of takes.
Eh, I wouldn’t call calling the animes boring a hot take, the shin opinion is definitely a hot take though
Shin bored a lot of American fans. It was made for the Japanese in mind base on tragedies they went through which is why it was perfect for them when it was released. It's going to be 50/50 over here with us as we didn't live through those events thus some of the magic is gone.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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Executive Hamster wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:04 pm Damn bro. Man came in with the hottest of takes.
I didn’t enjoy Shin Godzilla having different forms, his immense power-up (beams shooting out of his back and tail?!) and then the fact that he needs to take a nap (same with Godzilla Earth) after he unleashes his power. I thought he looked alright, minus the useless skeleton arms and when his mouth opens wide like a snake. He just wasn’t a creature I could have any empathy for or care about.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:10 pm
Executive Hamster wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:04 pm Damn bro. Man came in with the hottest of takes.
I didn’t enjoy Shin Godzilla having different forms, his immense power-up (beams shooting out of his back and tail?!) and then the fact that he needs to take a nap (same with Godzilla Earth) after he unleashes his power. I thought he looked alright, minus the useless skeleton arms and when his mouth opens wide like a snake. He just wasn’t a creature I could have any empathy for or care about.
I think the feelings viewers were supposed to primarily have for Shin was fear and awe.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:10 pm I didn’t enjoy Shin Godzilla having different forms, his immense power-up (beams shooting out of his back and tail?!) and then the fact that he needs to take a nap (same with Godzilla Earth) after he unleashes his power. I thought he looked alright, minus the useless skeleton arms and when his mouth opens wide like a snake. He just wasn’t a creature I could have any empathy for or care about.
Eh, suit yourself I guess. I for one have enjoyed a majority of the Reiwa era so far and am glad this franchise is evolving instead of just repeating the same old things over and over.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

Post by miguelnuva »

Executive Hamster wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 7:03 pm
FlawedCoil82 wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:10 pm I didn’t enjoy Shin Godzilla having different forms, his immense power-up (beams shooting out of his back and tail?!) and then the fact that he needs to take a nap (same with Godzilla Earth) after he unleashes his power. I thought he looked alright, minus the useless skeleton arms and when his mouth opens wide like a snake. He just wasn’t a creature I could have any empathy for or care about.
Eh, suit yourself I guess. I for one have enjoyed a majority of the Reiwa era so far and am glad this franchise is evolving instead of just repeating the same old things over and over.
Shin was different. Earth and Ultima especially were just retellings of Shin.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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miguelnuva wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:15 pm Shin was different. Earth and Ultima especially were just retellings of Shin.
They both built off of the groundwork of Shin, but I think they are different enough to have merit, particularly with Ultima, which quickly became my favorite modern interpretation of Godzilla and SP being my favorite piece of Godzilla media since GMK at least.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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Executive Hamster wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:22 pm
miguelnuva wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:15 pm Shin was different. Earth and Ultima especially were just retellings of Shin.
They both built off of the groundwork of Shin, but I think they are different enough to have merit, particularly with Ultima, which quickly became my favorite modern interpretation of Godzilla and SP being my favorite piece of Godzilla media since GMK at least.
I know I said this before, but Shin shouldn't have to dictate everything Godzilla going forward.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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LegendZilla wrote: Sun Nov 06, 2022 10:08 pm

I know I said this before, but Shin shouldn't have to dictate everything Godzilla going forward.
No, it definitely shouldn't have to. Given that it made money, though, it's a very safe bet that the Shin style is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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I’d be lying if I said Ultima and Earth weren’t boring renditions of the character. I’d much prefer to see this Godzilla going forward.

If we’re talking in terms of long-term franchise material.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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RexGoji is just a more fluid and dynamic Heisei Godzilla. Or more accurately, an early 90s Heisei Godzilla. I suppose with everything being a reinvention, doing an orthodox straight faced Godzilla might be welcome to some folks in terms of familiarity. To me, diversity matters, and as such, the more different portrayals, the better. This also means welcoming different takes on the character, as well as more straight forward approaches we've seen before.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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_JNavs_ wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:19 am I’d be lying if I said Ultima and Earth weren’t boring renditions of the character.
Earth I understand but Ultima? I always thought of Ultima as pretty fuckin cool. Easily my favorite modern take on the character. I guess thats the problem, everything is "like shin" but at the very least Ultima and Earth are different enough to still be pretty cool in their own right.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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Executive Hamster wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:39 am
_JNavs_ wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:19 am I’d be lying if I said Ultima and Earth weren’t boring renditions of the character.
Earth I understand but Ultima? I always thought of Ultima as pretty fuckin cool. Easily my favorite modern take on the character. I guess thats the problem, everything is "like shin" but at the very least Ultima and Earth are different enough to still be pretty cool in their own right.
Coming from someone who really enjoyed singular point, ultima is a very bland Godzilla if the metrics are based on physicality and personality. I personally think the other things they do with him make up for it (and work well within the story they are telling), but if you value your Godzilla interpretations on their ability to sustain engaging fights and destruction, ultima offers some of the latter and very little of the former. Ultima is not designed to be a luchador, and to those who value that quality within their Godzilla interpretations, the Reiwa era is quite disappointing.
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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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Ultima is a wall of doom that shouldn't exist, and a potential reality warping/breaking beast. His very existence is a threat to life, and I found that took the concept of Shin to the next level. I liked Singular Point quite a lot, and I'd love a second season.

Looking back to the short itself, is there any interview with the director? I'd be very curious to what they said.

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Re: Short film: Godzilla vs Gigan Rex (2022)

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Ultima was so much like Shin they even took Shin's most famous scene and gave it to Ultima. I do like Ultima more than Shin but the similarities are to the point it isn't my cup of tea.
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