DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
In this supposedly finale to the Godzilla franchise, the film takes place in the future towards the end of the 20th century and most of the giant monsters from Toho are confined on an Island with a special control center underneath the Island to make sure that the monsters stay secure and are able to survive. All is well, until suddenly the Monsters mysteriously break free and start destroying the world, as the people in the control center are acting weird and seem to be under some kind of control. It turns out that a feminine alien race called the Kilaakians released the monsters, and put the monsters and the scientists on the Island under their control so that they can conquer the world. It is now up to the humans to figure out how to restore the monsters and stop the aliens. Does this plot sound familiar, because it sounds an awful lot like "Invasion Of Astro-Monster" just set in the future with more monsters! However, despite the plot being similar to another Godzilla film, maybe the execution will be different and perhaps even better.
All the Godzilla monsters that you know and love from the previous films are all back. You have Anguirus; Rodan; Mothra in her Larva form; The giant Spider Kumonga from "Son Of Godzilla"; Godzilla's son who's now called Minilla; and of course Godzilla himself. Toho also included giant monsters that weren't part of the Godzilla franchise nor are they regulars in the series unlike Rodan and Mothra (Which is why I didn't review the films that starred the other monsters that appeared), but decided to throw them in anyway. The giant monsters that appear in this film that Toho decided to throw in are Varan from "Varan The Unbelievable" (In his final appearance); Manda from "Atragon"; Baragon from "Frankenstein Conquers The World"; and Gorosaurus from "King Kong Escapes". The film also has a surprise appearance from King Ghidorah that the monsters fight during the film's climax. The monsters who are omitted from the film that were part of the Godzilla franchise (Also counting the films with Rodan and Mothra) are The Meganulons; King Kong; The Giant Octopus; Ebirah; the Condor; and the Kamacuras'. But I'm in all honesty fine with it since the majority of monsters that are omitted were either lame opponents or just flat out goofy. Aside from a bunch of monsters being omitted, until Toho's last Godzilla film "Godzilla: Final Wars", this film would hold the record of having the most monsters in a Godzilla film. This film also sadly marks the final regular appearance of Rodan and Mothra for the rest of the Godzilla films made during the "Showa Era".
Once the film started as we get our first glimpse of "Monster Island" in the series (Which is called "Monster Land" in this film) I was in complete awe as I was introduced to the monsters living on the Island and how they are maintained. It's also really awesome seeing all the monsters living together; going around the world destroying stuff; and teaming up to destroy King Ghidorah. But I'm afraid that there are a few problems in terms of continuity. As much as I love seeing theses monsters together, I do question why some of them are still alive after being killed the last time we saw them; why Mothra is contained on this Island since she has her own Island to claim with the two fairies and Native Tribe; and why Minilla is still a baby after all these decades? I mean the continuity with these monsters makes as much sense as the continuity with Godzilla and electricity. Half of the monsters only show-up in cameos, which are cool cameos since they do something cool, but it might disappoint a lot of Godzilla fans since they're not the stars of this movie, much like in "Invasion Of The Astro-Monster". As for their finale battle at the end, while one of the best epic battles in the history of Godzilla films, Ghidorah just comes out of nowhere and sadly isn't as threatening as you would think he would be. Remember when Ghidorah versed three monsters in one film and lost; how do you think he's going to do with all these other monsters?
Since this film was originally intended to be the grand finale of the series, Toho was given a bigger budget than their past couple of productions and for the most part the budget does show. Alright, the monsters still look toned down to appeal to a younger crowd and some of the models (Especially the vehicles) look very toy-like that are not shot up to size and scope, but you can tell that Toho were trying as hard as they could to make this film an awesome finale. The sets look cool and colorful, and at times creative, especially for the Kilaakians lair. Despite that the monsters are still toned down a bit, the costumes and puppets that Toho uses for them are still good enough to make the monsters look cool and respectable, instead of looking and acting goofy. What I found myself also being impressed with in terms of design and effects for the monsters is I couldn't remember a single time when I spotted a wired attached to the flying monsters; and the Puppet they use for Manda is the same puppet from the film that Manda first appeared in, despite having to change his head since the old one was damaged to the point where it couldn’t be fixed. What I find did odd is despite the monsters being toned down to appeal to kids, there's surprisingly more use of blood than the other film that I reviewed in the series which at times look pretty gruesome. Even the monsters in the final fight show a bit of blood. Is this film really intended for kids, if not why make the monsters less monstrous? As for the destruction scenes, despite the models looking very toy-like at times, the scenes are still incredible due to the amount of explosions; optical laser effects; and just simply watching the monsters destroying buildings and monuments. The only minor problem I have with these scenes is how terrible a shot the army is of never hitting Godzilla like the army in the 1998 film, but at least Godzilla fights back instead of running away like a child, so I can't really fault it that much. As for the film's overall look and atmosphere, it’s pretty much like how "Invasion Of Astro-Monster" looked by being campy and cool at the same time. I do think the space scenes in "Invasion Of Astro-Monster" are much heavier in atmosphere compared to this film, but with that being said, I do think this film seems bigger and more colorful when compared to "Invasion Of Astro-Monster" as well as having a sense of thrill and adventure.
So like I said, the monsters in this film aren't the focus, its really the rivalry between the humans and the aliens much like in "Invasion Of The Astro-Monster" and unlike the human characters in that film who were likable, fun, and interesting; the human characters here are flat-out boring. And I honestly mean it too; I didn't give a single damn about any of them. There's just nothing about them that I found to be intriguing or memorable. Still I can't say they were boring enough to turn me away from the film. Actually the acting from them is very good and does a nice job of building up to the things that we're curious in knowing about, much like the characters in "Rodan" for example. In character wise they're forgettable, but in terms of build-up and trying to figure out what to do with the monsters and the aliens, they do a pretty solid job, and at least I don’t have to sit through boring everyday life B.S. with these boring characters! The only interesting and memorable characters in the movie aside from the monsters are the Kilaakians. Despite their plan being no different to the plan that the Xiliens" had in "Invasion Of Astro-Monster", they're still a cool set of female alien villains that are interesting and actually do pose more as a serious threat compared to the Xiliens. While I do love the Xiliens and how they betray the humans; the Kilaakians are way more deadly and seem like a more legitimate match for the humans. They have force fields that can protect them from any harm; they constantly appear and disappear as they talk to the humans; they have more monsters under their control that can destroy the entire world, instead of just Japan; they can brain-wash humans to do their bidding; and they just go for the kill with taking over the world, instead of wasting their time pulling a charade to keep the human's guard down. These are seriously a hardcore alien race, and what makes you want to see the humans get them, is how the Queen of the Kilaakians always smiles and keeps a very polite attitude as she tells the characters that humanity is doomed and that the world is hers, making you feel like she's politely rubbing in how powerless you are when challenging her alien race that are superior than humans.
Despite the flaws that this film has when it comes to continuity with the monsters; a premise that's exactly similar to "Invasion Of Astro-Monster"; the boring humans being the focus instead of the monsters; and making one of the greatest monsters from the franchise becoming a wimp, it's still a great Godzilla movie! The acting is good and does keep your interest in what's happening with the monsters and aliens; the Kilaakians are fantastic alien themed villains; the film's effects, look, and atmosphere blends both the camp and awesome factor just as well as the film that this movie is similar too; and all the scenes with all the Monsters living on the Island, destroying buildings, and fighting off a giant monster is beyond words to describe how awesome it is. While I was really and I mean really close to giving this a 4/5, I sadly must give it the love or hate rating for the problems that bring the film down, which mostly has to do with the fact that there's more screen-time with the humans and aliens, than the monsters destroying stuff as the film was advertised. If this film was the actual end for the Godzilla films, it would indeed be a satisfying conclusion to the franchise.
RATING 3/5
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