Godzilla, Mothra et King Ghidorah

Godzilla mothra and king ghidora: giant monsters all out attack.

Godzilla mothra and king ghidora: giant monsters all out attack or GMK for short can be considered a semi-reboot of the franchise. Compared to the rest of the millennium era Godzilla movies, GMK is the most unique in terms of tone, spirit and overall feel of the movie. Even Godzilla's origin and design sets itself apart. Here is a monster mashup done well, despite its budgetary limitations, with a bigger badder Godzilla than ever.

Where Godzilla films have been mostly sci fi in nature, GMK seeks to throw in a supernatural fantasy spin on a familiar mythos. As usual, a string of mysterious attacks on sea vessels, this case some submarines, leads the the reemergence of Godzilla. Defeated in the 1950s by a destructive chemical weapon, Godzilla's corpse was apparently reanimated by the souls of world war 2 soldiers. Larger, angrier and more powerful than ever, this super zombie Godzilla is possessed by pure evil as he starts tearing his way across japan. Meanwhile, an intrepid reporter discovers an old prophecy that seems to foretell the second coming of Godzilla and an old man who reveals to her the legend of three guardian monsters who would be the key to ending Godzilla's murderous rampage.

This fantasy retelling, as well as reworking familiar monsters' origins, may not sit well with some. On its own merits, this movie works; recasting Baragon, Mothra and Ghidorah into mythical guardians of earth; a big change especially for Ghidorah who was in previous films an alien weapon of destruction. The first thing to stand out were the new monster designs. Intricately crafted yet with a decent amount of mobility. Godzilla gets special mention for his menacing new look; vampire fangs, jet black skin, insanely sharp claws and soulless white eyes oozing with evil. His overall look is closer to the original Godzilla only with his size and fearsome features pumped to the max.

What many would appreciate is the return of "Godzilla is the ultimate badass" theme. Here he is the villain and humanity is powerless. The monsters engage in truly spectacular fights with the director's stylish camera-work enhancing the scale of such clashes. Another mistake this movie corrects from previous ones is that even in scenes without the monsters, their presence is felt. Many past films just drag in their human scenes until the beasts show up for the action. Accompanying the action here is a pulse pounding score by Kou Otani whom anime fans would recognize as the composer for Gundam Wing Endless Waltz and many other memorable anime soundtracks.

GMK's human characters are well developed; we see our main character go from just wanting the scoop of a lifetime to a well rounded individual who has experienced true horrors of disaster and pulled through. The monsters who are the stars are by far the best among the millennium series of Godzilla movies. Perhaps the fantasy element was not too popular, seeing as how subsequent movies went back to sci fi. But no doubt, it was a bold move, a bold semi reboot, with awesome action, great production design for its modest budget, and a story that never let's up with the tension. A must watch for any Godzilla fan.

Japanese filmmakers know how to make Godzilla films. Nearly 50 years after giving us the original "Godzilla," Japan films present "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack." The technical, special effects, CGI, and all aspects are superb. This film launched a renewal in Godzilla lore on film. It completely outdoes the lame 1998 American "Godzilla" by TriStar.

As with the original black and white, Godzilla looks the part of the monster it is - a unique hybrid not a dinosaur-age imitation or look-alike. The other monsters in this one, especially Mothra and the Red Monster look more cartoonish. The battle scenes, rampage and destruction around Tokyo again has a real feel to it.

This plot has an interesting twist. The original Godzilla was conceived as an aberration that resulted from nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific Ocean. But, in this film, a question surfaces more than once, after a reference to Godzilla having been in New York (the 1998 American film). "Why Tokyo again?" a couple of Japanese officials ask rhetorically. And the female lead, Yuri Tachibana (played by Chiharu Niiyama) says that it may be because Japan has to acknowledge its inhumane actions in the Pacific war. That's how the reference is stated regarding World War II and Japan's inhumane aspects in its conduct of the war.

Even though it doesn't specify any of the bad deeds, this is an acknowledgement that the Japanese did some heinous things during the war. That's interesting coming in a film 55 years after the end of WW II.

Godzilla is back and mean! I bought an imported copy from Hong Kong and I am glad to see Toho still up to their old tricks. I love this film and am glad that Toho included Baragon in the fight. Baragon hasn't been seen since 1968, and it was a real treat to see him battle Godzilla! Now, where's Titanosaurus?

GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH - GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK

Granted I haven't seen many of them but I should think this 2001 feature is the best Godzilla movie I've seen.

50 years after the last Godzilla attack, Japan's coast again begins to feel the tremors of its favorite monster. There have been rumors of Godzilla sightings in other countries (a clever reference to the '98 Hollywood version when two naval cadets whisper to each other, "The New York attack was Godzilla?" "The Americans say so but our experts have their doubts"), but now it appears old Gojira, after a health-giving dose of radiation from a nuclear sub, is heading back to the Sushi bars.

The early parts are somewhat slow, time spent in introducing us to the various characters, with Godzilla sightings mostly restricted to brief glimpses amidst shaky cameras and falling debris. But soon our rubber-suited gargoyle, who is no more the lovable muppet monster of previous entries in the series, decides its time to come out of the closet for some major ass-kicking.

Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of the Guardian Monsters who are fated to protect Japan from Godzilla - Baragon, Mothra and Ghidora. Godzilla v/s Baragon is okay but not very good...there are no real special moves depicted and the rubber suits look too goofy in the day. But considering that Baragon's name doesn't even come up in the title, even the makers obviously considered him only a warm-up before the big battle.

And when the big battle starts...man!!! I wish I had been watching it in IMAX format with really loud surround sound, because this is one awesome battle. Sure, the rubber suits never get believable but I was having too much fun to worry about that. There's a good combination of scale models and CGI to depict the battle of the monsters and the wholesale destruction of Tokyo City. Caught in the crossfire are Japanese civilians and the Army, which is making its own (pathetic) maneuvers to combat Godzilla.

The acting of the human characters in this movie is corny but never annoying. The actor playing the military commander who is also the father of the reporter heroine is quite good in his role. The special FX may lack the polish of Hollywood extravaganzas but work perfectly well in the accepted formula. And unlike most Hollywood disaster movies, this is not one that leaves all the people except the evil lawyer miraculously unscathed. People here die. The brave soldiers die, the bumbling TV cameramen die, the schoolchildren die...even the cripple dies. That's what genuine monster movies are about. This film is a welcome return to the bad old days for Godzilla.

Even if you haven't seen any other Godzilla movie, this is worth a watch. The human and the monster scenes are both great, and I love this movies spiritual themes. The music is some of my favorite in the series, Godzilla looks EPIC with his white eyes. Mothra, king ghidorah, and baragon are all great, especially mothra, she's my favorite. The only problem is I wish we could have gotten anguirus in this instead of baragon but that really just a nit pick, Rodan would have been cool to. But this is one of the best in the series and I would recommend it to anyone