Godzilla: Final Wars
(2004)
Continued...
It would be easy to call this film a hyperactive mess, mostly because that's exactly what it is. Watching Godzilla: Final Wars is like playing a video game on "easy" mode. You go through all the levels, you beat all the bosses, in pretty much no time. You can say you beat the game rather quickly, but you wish there was something more to it.
What is it about Godzilla: Final Wars that makes me come back for more? This movie is really a marvel to behold, for the reasons I never expected it to. They crammed 50 years of Godzilla legacy and made one all out movie massacre. I expected something huge for the big G's 50th anniversary, but I didn't picture anything near the resulting film.
Final Wars mixes in a bit of every movie in Godzilla's history. Even the more looked down upon entries in the series, such as Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla 98, get referenced in one way or another. Half of the fun in watching Final Wars is to find all these little wink winks lying everywhere in the film.
But despite using so many things already done in the series, Final Wars is unlike any Godzilla movie I've ever seen. And I've seen them all. The main storyline is a cross between Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and Destroy All Monsters (with a bit of the video game Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee thrown in as well), but it's done so much more differently than either. The team of Mutants who are specificly trained to combat the monsters is an interesting addition to the series. Think of them as G-Force trained by Morpheus from the Matrix. The battle scene in which they take on Ebirah with nothing but their skills and their guns is really quite extraordinary (that is, if you can block Power Rangers from your mind).
The concept of "Keizers" kind of kills the Mutant storyline, though, because it makes very little sense. According to the lore this movie puts forth, Mutants are the interbred ancestors of Xillians and humans, but it seems the Xillians think of humans as little more than cattle. With their additude toward us, it's hard to think anything but beastiality when it comes to this concept (but at least it's a right side more pleasant to think about than the donkey show in Clerks II). But the history between Xillians and humans is never expanded upon, and it's a shame, because so much of this Keizer nonesense leaves me scratching my head.
But the Keizer is a rare Mutant born with more extraordinary gifts than the others. This brings me to the issue of the Xillian leader being a Keizer, as well. But if we were to follow everything he's told us about Mutants and Keizers, that would mean he was a Mutant as well. It begs so many questions as to whether or not the Xillians tolorate Mutants amung their race and we are thrown back to the history aspect that is sorely lacking from the final film.
But as far as the human side goes, one can't say they were bored by the performances. I may not speak Japanese, but even I can tell that Rei Kikukawa is way over the top as the Xillian leade, and loving every minute of it, too. Then there's kickboxer Don Frye, who plays a hard, American badass. Unfortunatly, he speaks all of his lines in English, so I can tell just how bad an actor he truly is (keep in mind, he was the subtitled one in Japan). But his lack of performance has it's charms...
"Listen kid, there are two things you don't know about the Earth. One is me. And the other is...(dramatic pause)...Godzilla."
The monsters are sensational. Godzilla is treated like the Steven Segal of monsters, in which he can't be hurt or do any wrong. His suit bears a strong resemblence to the 1954 original this time around. Gigan and Rodan's updated looks are pretty hardcore. It's good to see a lot of old faces again, such as Hedorah and Ebirah, though for the life of me I can't help but wonder who's leg King Ceasar humped to get in this movie. He's the most out of place kaiju of the lot.
One small note about Keith Emerson's music, with is half good, half wretched. He comes up with a good Godzilla theme, but some of his cues will make your ears bleed (especially the repetitive tune during the end credits).
Is Godzilla: Final Wars a bad movie? Yes. But does it kick ass? Oh definatly. There are times when the movie becomes too human focused, but it's just too much fun to watch to dismiss. It's not hard to see why it's disliked by some, but I can't find it in my heart to dismiss it.
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