Godzilla: Planeta dos Monstros

You know, you'd think that since anime and Godzilla are so big in Japan that they'd combined the two a long time ago. Surprisingly, it took 60+ years to actually do so. Now, we have the first of a brand new animated trilogy called "Godzilla: Monster Planet", released not too long ago in Japan and more recently on Netflix (complete with English dub).

In this refreshing iteration, mankind lost the war for dominance over the Earth to the kaiju, chief among them Big G. With the help of two alien races, the survivors set off to the stars to colonize another planet, but it proved incompatible. Low on resources and options, they return to retake the Earth. However, it's been 20,000 years since they left and not only is there now an ecosystem of monsters but Godzilla, still alive after all this time, reigns supreme. Who will win, man or monster?

Right from the start, they show you of just how grim a situation humanity is in as hope and pride are barely holding on by a thread. In fact, it gets pretty dark at certain times. The humans are in such a sorry state that you sympathize with them but there are tiny hints that they as a species had it coming. There are also religious themes weaved into the story, including references to divine retribution. The cast is a mixed bag. The protagonist is Haruo, who is basically Ahab or Eren Jaeger from "Attack On Titan" (for anime fans reading this). He's passable I guess, though he tends to repeat himself from time to time, which gets old. Scientist Martin and commander Leland are a little more interesting as are two of the main aliens, but the rest are pretty bland and it's hard to say whether they'll get more development in the near future.

As for Godzilla, I love his design. He kind of resembles his 2014 look but with his body looking like a mix between muscle and tree bark and sporting new variations on his abilities. It's also the largest version yet and the animation emphasizes his immense size with slow, foreboding movements. He truly feels like a force of nature and he's got the power to boot; if he has you in his sights, you know you're screwed. New to the franchise are Servum, dragon-like beasties that are nice secondary threats to the humans. Most of the other kaiju are nothing more than cameos in the opening montage. Given the title "Monster Planet", having them show up more in the story would've provided more exploration of this ecosystem.

The overall story is good, though the first half is a touch slow. The reason is simply to establish this universe and provide exposition on the characters' plight and plan to reclaim Earth. This does provide decent suspense and once the monsters show up, it's mostly action. Speaking of which, the battles offer enough thrills to satisfy, pitting futuristic technology against beastly power and the animation allows for great visuals that you normally wouldn't get in live action. Expect a few good plot twists, one hell of a cliffhanger, and an after-credit scene.

Despite the aforementioned flaws, I'm still glad I saw this. The sequel expected to be released this May, this time featuring Mechagodzilla, which I look forward to. It's weird now seeing three separate Godzilla series happening at once, which is a first (Monsterverse, Shin, and Anime). Long live the King of the Monsters!

Anyone that has ever watched anything pertaining to Godzilla has things in it that are simply crazy and you must accept in order to enjoy the film. Everyone should also remember that the writing is almost always sub-par. That being said, this movie should be seen within the Godzilla standard of films. *I can say the same about Star Wars films.

Anyone that has every watched a Godzilla movie within its classical format should expect to go, "Yeah yeah, aliens, vengeful scientist, whatever, get to the battle." Anyone that expects more is deceiving themselves. One of the greatest parts about this film is that it didn't fall victim to one of the greatest anime failings ever which is breaking its own rules. This anime interpretation presented some outlandish laws on nature and space and time, but it then continued with those rules, no matter how crazy they are. Which, if you're accepting a giant, atomic-breath wielding monster, you should be ready for some craziness, especially when it's from a series containing an enemy that was friggin Mothra back in the day. A moth. So go into this movie knowing and accepting it for what it is. Do that and you'll have fun. That is why I did not rank it higher though Because it's a movie that you have to step into the Godzilla universe and know that the first half is basically skip-worthy, it doesn't deserve a 10. Within the universe...without revealing spoilers, I was on the edge of my seat with excitement over just how over-the-top they made Godzilla. He's nearly a demi-god in his own right. So that just made me excited beyond my initial response of telling people, "I'm happy. Can you tell I'm happy? Because I'm happy. This makes me happy. I'm happy."

Speaking to my previous asterisk: *(This part might end in me being called a heretic) Star Wars movies are fun but, let's face it, they're not the greatest when it comes to writing, directing, and acting (with obvious highlights). No one can tell me that Mark Hamill was a good actor, especially in Episode IV. I can, however, accept it within an incredibly intriguing universe that overcomes Leia's spoiler-free, space, force shenanigans in Episode VIII.

I recently watched Godzilla: Planet of Monsters (2017) on Netflix. The story is set 20,000 years after Godzilla seized control of Earth, focusing on humanity's struggle to recolonize the planet. In this post-apocalyptic world, Godzilla and the monster universe pose significant challenges for the would-be settlers.

Directed by Hiroyuki Seshita (Ajin) and Kôbun Shizuno (The Journey), the film features the voices of Cristina Valenzuela (Resident Evil: Death Island), Mamoru Miyano (Death Note), Kenta Miyake (Fullmetal Alchemist) and Robbie Daymond (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Swordsmith Village Arc).

Godzilla: Planet of Monsters exhibits inconsistent levels of animation quality. Godzilla's portrayal is impressive, and the science fiction elements are well executed. However, the depiction of Earth, characters, and futuristic technology falls short in some aspects. Nonetheless, the storyline had potential, effectively delivering the insurmountable circumstances. The film's numerous character deaths adds to the persistent sense of desperation. While the ending is somewhat predictable and the twist lacks the intended surprise, it successfully set the stage for a worthwhile sequel.

In summary, Godzilla: Planet of Monsters is an average animated film that caters to fans of the monster universe. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend giving it a watching it once.

Beautiful animation and epic, well directed, action sequences combined with terrible writing and unbelievably thick exposition, creates an interesting futuristic take on the Godzilla story. I'll skip a story synopsis since IMDb has the plot up already. Being a big fan of Godzilla, I did enjoy most of the film, I loved the animation style, the environments are beautiful and the model for Godzilla is similar to newer films and still bad ass. The fiery action sequence were engaging and intense, though there wasn't as much as I would have hoped. With those good aspects in mind, lets talk about the bad, and some of it was REALLY bad.

The writing in this film is very bad, much like many Godzilla stories, but this one was bad for a different reason, exposition.... LOTS of exposition. Exposition is necessary for films but in this film, nearly ALL dialogue is explaining things. Many times 20 seconds into the explanation, I understood the idea/plan and found myself wanting them to shut up after 15 minutes of exposition, and move on. When planning attacks, I again understood the plan in 20 seconds in and waited several more agonizing minutes while waiting for the admittedly great action sequences. This film is filled to the brim with painful exposition related dialog that almost made me fast-forward through it.

All in all a cool first film with upcoming parts, most Godzilla fans will enjoy the effort here, while non-fans might not like it.

Its has an interesting approach on the Godzilla theme, and I like the story central idea. Yet I found the execution of it to frail, like if it was done in a rush without thinking it to much. The characters, the dialogues, the way the story unfolds, it´s not bad, yet it lacks some sense in it, leaving you the idea that it could have been easily improved, yet there was not much effort in doing so. Apart from that, The animation is not bad, it gets the point done, but leaves much to improve. The voice acting could be much better, at least in the Japanese version of it, but again, is not a deal breaker. Still, i enjoyed enough that I watch the rest of the trilogy, without regretting it.