You know at this point of the series, after seeing like 4
reboots in a row, with 3 involving the origins of the 1954 classic, I've just
come to accept the fact that Toho is just going to be throwing one reboot after
another during this Era. So I lost all hope for them ever trying to continue
at least one of their films from this Era. So let's get right on to the 5th
film of the "Millennium Era"...
As MechaGodzilla is being repaired to fight Godzilla if he ever comes back to attack Japan, an elderly Dr. Shinichi Chujo who has
previously appeared in the events of "Mothra" (played once again by
Hiroshi Koizumi) is approached by Mothra's twin fairies (Masami Nagasawa and
Chihiro Otsuka) to ask him to convince the Government to drop the bones from
the first Godzilla (that's used to construct MechaGodzilla) into the ocean
where it belongs, and have Mothra defend Japan from Godzilla instead (and they couldn't
have told anyone about this before the creation of MechaGodzilla after all
those years because...???). Conflicted by this decision, the Japanese
Government decide to give Mothra a chance, but when things don't seem to be
looking good, they bring out MechaGodzilla to take part in the battle.
AT LAST, Toho has finally decided to give us a follow-up to one
of their films from this Era, instead giving us another reboot dating back to
the original! It feels like a breath of fresh air to see a Godzilla film
continue after the one I just reviewed, and see what happens next after getting
a bit of a cliffhanger of Godzilla running out of sight, to fight again for another
day! Furthermore, I love that Toho also decided to make this film a sequel to
the film "Mothra" as well, to make it even more interesting and
nostalgic, resulting with us getting 3 sequels (4 if you count "War of the
Gargantuas" since the event was mentioned in the previous film, and the
Maser cannon that was introduced in the film is used in these two films, despite
the events of that film not being as relevant as the events from the other 3 films are played
out here) in one movie. However, as much as it feels like a second parter to
both "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla" and "Mothra" (even
feeling more of a continuation to "Mothra" than "Mothra VS. Godzilla" was)
there are a few gripes that I have with the film.
Discovering that this is a sequel, since I enjoyed the
characters so much in the previous film film, I was excited to see what they
are doing now and how these events are going to affect them. But as I let the
film play on, the only previous character that's present for most of the movie
is the Prime Minister (Akira Nakao). We get a few short scenes of the soldier Yashiro
(Yumiko Shaku) who helped defeat Godzilla in the last film before she leaves
this film, but that's about it. Which is a real downer. Don't get me wrong, I
felt connected to the Prime Minister in the first film and you still feel
connected to him in this film too, but it was Akane, the scientist Tokumitsu, and
his daughter Sara, who were the real stars of the film. Which disappoints me
that we see very little of Akane, and never see the other two. Now the
characters replacing them here are not that bad, you do feel an attachment to
characters like Yoshito Chujo (Noboru Kaneko) the mechanic and protagonist of
the film, his nephew Shun (Kenta Suga), Dr. Shinichi Chujo, and the Twin
Fairies for the same reasons you feel attached to most of the characters in the
series. And the writing and pacing is definitely more flowing than it was in
the last film. But with that said, the characters, their arcs, and the events
that they go through are very reminiscent to the previous film. You have a
pilot who bullies Yoshito, only this one has almost little to no purpose for
his actions, or at least is not established as well as it was in the last film.
A romantic relationship between a pilot and one of the men working on
MechaGodzilla, only here it feels pointless and easy to miss. Our lead being
trapped inside MechaGodzilla during the climax, and willing to risk his life.
And the theme of the characters about "Life and Death" that isn't
done as poor as it was in the previous film, but feels preachy and forced. And
as if the film itself doesn't heavily resemble the previous film, it also
carries plenty of similarities to "Mothra VS. Godzilla". Mothra
fights Godzilla as she is slowly wasting away. The fairies try to warn Japan to
give back something that isn't there's which will result with dire
consequences. And her twin Larvae’s join in the final fight after hatching out
of an egg. It almost as if the film is trying to remake both movies, and pass
the film off as a sequel since it ties into the other movies.
What's even more half-baked about the film are the things
that this sequel could've explored a bit more. I was hoping that we'd get more
of a personality from Godzilla, and get a real feel of the first Godzilla's
pain inside MechaGodzilla. And to be fair, there is some of that. We discover
the bones inside MechaGodzilla (who is no longer referred to as Kiryu, maybe
because we all know him by the machine's actual name that was even in the title
of the first film) is the reason why Godzilla’s attacking; and they do attempt
to give MechaGodzilla a heroic and tragic personality when it gets possessed
again. But the reasons for Godzilla being attracted by MechaGodzilla's bones only
exists as an excuse that makes little to no sense. And the soul of Godzilla now
deciding to become a hero and a tragic character, feels more like a quick way to wrap
things up. I understand that it wants to sleep peacefully in the ocean, and
take the second one with him, but like in the last film, we hardly feel
connected with him in order for us to feel sorry for him. People talk about why
we should pity him, but we ourselves never get the chance to experience his
torment and misery before the climax since he's always portrayed as a lifeless
robot up until that point. It feels kind of random that we now have to sympathize with it and see it do the right thing after seeing it do nothing in this film, and destroy stuff in the last film. What I also wished that
we could've learned more about is the giant turtle monster that Godzilla killed
off-screen. Apparently it was going to be Anguirus, but was changed to the
monster Kamoebas from "Space Amoeba" to avoid fans from being upset
by this, which is a wise move if you were just going to show Anguirus lying
there dead with no fight. But it still feels pointless to the overall plot as
you sit there wondering, who this turtle is (if you're not familiar with this
monster), where did it come from, and what went down between it and Godzilla? I
know this scene is supposed to build-up to Godzilla's appearance, but if you
cut that scene out, you would miss nothing!
But as much as I complain about most of the things in the
film, there are still tons of great stuff in it, and that's mostly revolving
around the scenes with the monsters fighting each other! Again just like the
last film, and the film before that, I don't have anything that new to say
about the effects, the fight scenes, and the designs for the monsters! Some of
the designs have been altered slightly, like giving Godzilla a scar from the last
fight, or having the Larvae's eyes turn from blue to red for when they get mad
for example, but they still mostly look the same. The only real major difference with these scenes
of chaos and destruction is that aside from the pre-opening credits scene, we
don't get to the giant monster action and brawls until the last half of the
movie. The first half is just simply building-up to this big battle as we’re
given time to connect with the new characters. But as soon as the army fires
against Godzilla, the action and movie finally begins and doesn't stop until it’s
all over, as we witness the characters get into the middle of all of it. For a climax
like that, that lasts for almost an hour long, I can see people finding it being
tedious after a while, but personally I never had a problem with it, for how
awesome it is, while it still manages to nicely balance out the characters
subplots in the fight, and giving us one or two touching moments (mainly the
scene with Mothra and her babies seeing each other).
It’s great to finally be watching the first and only actual
sequel to a Godzilla film made in this Era, and truthfully its just as good as the last
film. Everything regarding the monster action is as grand as it was in the
last two films. And the new main characters are as likable as the ones in the
previous film, where their
arcs, backgrounds, and relations move at a much better pace. But the film still suffers from
lazy writing. And aside from being the only sequel for a film from this Era,
nothing about it really stands-out as anything different or groundbreaking for
how safe it is. Also if you try to watch this film as a stand-alone without
seeing the last one, you will be lost. It to me feels like that this film, and “Godzilla
Against MechaGodzilla” are simply just one long movie, with “Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla”
being the set-up, and “Tokyo S.O.S.” being the climax. And apart
from the characters that we’ve grown attached to in the first film being mostly
absent, and the second part rehashing many elements from the previous film (and “Mothra”), it works well as one movie. So if you plan to view this film, be sure to see "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla" first.
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