ehomenick

I attended the world premiere of GODZILLA: FINAL WARS in Hollywood tonight, and I must say the experience was incredibly exciting. The film itself, however, was indeed a "mixed bag" of greatness and mediocrity, and I left Grauman's Chinese Theater a bit conflicted.

I found the film's much anticipated title sequence to be too rushed and erratic, much like the film itself. The titles were not easy to read as they literally flashed on and off of the screen on top of distracting clips from classic Godzilla films.

The film's script was as confusing and scattered. The film started with a good, deliberate pace but quickly degenerated into an orgy of images and scenes spliced together in such quick succession, as one person I talked to put it, it was like you were channel surfing between several sci-fi and kaiju films playing at the same time.

The special effects were at times spectacular and beautiful...at other times they looked as if they had been executed in a rather hasty fashion. Some notable effects sequences: the Earth Defense Force's battle with Ebirah, Rodan's attack on New York, Godzilla's battle with Kumonga in New Guinea. Deserving special recognition is Zilla's daytime attack and night time fight with Godzilla in Sydney, Australia. Zilla's CGI was very well executed. There were a handful of effects shots that were not totally bad, but could have used some fine tuning. Manda attacking Atragon could have used some more work, for example.

Keith Emerson's electronic and pulsating music must be the most unique ever heard in a Godzilla film, but well done and intriguing.

As mentioned earlier, the pace of the film is so fast and erratic, it is hard to keep up with. Without giving away specifics, this must be one of the most out-of-control, if not THE most out-of-control script in the series.

It will take me a few days to figure out my true feelings about this film, but I imagine, with its high points and its flaws, this will be one of the most controversial films in the series among fans.

Some of the most spectacularly filmed kaiju action ever filmed is to be enjoyed in this film by Mr. Kaneko. At least 90% of the effects are superb, and even the lesser effects shots are still good enough. (Even big budget Hollywood productions have their effects flaws, from time to time.) What this film needs more than a few minor sfx touch-ups is a substantial, engaging story. Kaneko, with his obsession for mythology, sure had a great deal of potential to create a mystical, mysterious story much in the tradition of the earliest Godzilla films. The existing story is, however, clunky and doesn't seem to go anywhere interesting. The characters give wooden performances as uninteresting as the characters they play. The character of General Tachibana (Ryudo Uzaki)could have been a fascinating one; he and his family were victims of Godzilla's first rampage in 1954. Unfortunately, only a brief, emotionally detached flashback is the only exploration the viewer gets on this theme. The other characters are just as disappointing and 2 dimensional.

Worse than the story was the music. Ko Otani's annoyingly "modern," sythesized sounds have none of the epic power and sweep of Akira Ifukube's trademark orchestral scores. Another disappointment.

I gave this movie a rating of 8 put of 10. All kaiju eiga should be about, first and foremost, KAIJU. In that respect, DAIKAIJU SOKOGEKI delivers unlike any other giant monster film you're bound to see to date. The supporting plot and music, however, do not live up to the same standards of the special effects.