Godzilla: Final Wars (ゴジラ ファイナルウォーズ, Gojira: Fainaru Uōzu?) is the fiftieth anniversary film and the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series.
The movie was released theatrically in Japan on December 4, 2004, and was released on DVD and VHS in Japan on July 22, 2005, and in the United States on Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD on December 13, 2005.
It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. As a 50th anniversary celebratory film, a large group of actors from previous Godzilla films, both classic and new, made appearances as main characters or cameo appearances. This goes for the monsters as well, as most of the monsters in the film had been missing from the screen for more than 30 years. The MPAA gave the film a "PG-13" rating for intense sequences of violence.
But despite the title, this is not the final Godzilla film; Toho has decided to temporarily "retire" the character for a period of 5-10 years (possibly around 2013 or 2014[1]) in order to renew interest in the series as Godzilla's 59th or 60th anniversary.
Plot
Endless warfare and environmental pollution has brought forth giant monsters, which are a grave danger to the Earth. As a result, the Earth Defence Force (EDF) is created to protect the Earth, uniting every nation. The organization is consisted of the best of technology and weapons, warships and soldiers, as well as mutant humans with super-human abilities. Godzilla, the king of the monsters, is claimed to be EDF's only unstoppable opponent. The EDF's best combat vehicle, the Gotengo, manages to corner Godzilla at the South Pole and bury him under the Antarctic ice, sending him into a state of suspended animation in the year 2004; 50 years after his first attack on Tokyo.
Sixteen years later, in 20XX <2020>, the EDF discovers a mummified space monster. Mutant soldier Shinichi Ozaki (Masahiro Matsuoka of Tokio) and UN biologist Miyuki Otonashi (Rei Kikukawa) are sent to research it. The Shobijin, fairies of the guardian monster Mothra, reveal to them that the mummy is Gigan, an evil cyborg sent to destroy the Earth 12,000 years ago, and that a forthcoming battle between good and evil will eventually arrive.
Suddenly, a handful of monsters appear around the world at major cities and the EDF promptly swings into action. Although the monsters are visibly injured, they strangely continue their waylay. Then, after destroying much of their cities, the monsters mysteriously vanish. Thereafter an enormous spacecraft hovers over Tokyo. Aliens called the Xilians then reveal themselves, insisting they are friendly and that they have captured the monsters. They also warn the Earth's governments about impending danger in the form of a meteor. Consequently the Space Nations is established, an alliance that would unite Earth and other planets. Ozaki, Miyuki, and several others distrust them. After much researching and undercover work, they discover the aliens are up to no good. Finally, the Xilians turn out to be evil and unleash the monsters they have captured to annihilate the world. Gigan is also revived and joins in the frenzy. The EDF ultimately loses and Earth's cities are decimated.
Elsewhere at Mt. Fuji, a hunter and his grandson discover a harmless and friendly creature the size of a normal human. The two allow it to travel with them, with the grandson naming it "Minilla." The trio are successful in outrunning the Xilians' assault, traveling here and there in order to keep a low profile.
Ozaki and the protagonists, the leftover crew of the EDF, settle on one last, risky decision: free Godzilla. They pilot the Gotengo to Antarctica and are pursued by Gigan. As soon as Godzilla is released from his decades-long hibernation, he quickly kills Gigan. Spotting the Gotengo, Godzilla immediately chases it, intending on destroying the warship that had entombed him in the ice for so long. The Gotengo thus heads straight back for Tokyo, with the plan that Godzilla will unwittingly help defeat the Xilians. Along the way the Xilians send Zilla, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Rodan, King Caesar, Anguirus, Ebirah, and Hedorah to combat Godzilla, and the king of the monsters kills/defeats them all. The Gotengo and Godzilla both arrive at Tokyo at last. The battleship heads for the mothership, while Godzilla destroys the meteor. However, a powerful kaiju, Monster X turns out to be inside the meteor, and a vicious battle between the two titans ensues. Gigan, repaired and upgraded by the Xilians, aid Monster X, but Mothra arrives to engage him into battle. Inside the alien mothership, the humans enter final confrontations with the Xilians, and after an extended battle, the humans at last win. With Gigan and Mothra dead, Godzilla continues his battle with Monster X, who transforms into Monster X II. After a long, painful battle, Godzilla kills Monster X II with his red spiral atomic breath. He then turns his attention to the Gotengo and attempts to kill his sworn enemies, the humans, but Minilla, the son of Godzilla, pleads his father to stop. Before leaving for the ocean with his son, Godzilla roars in triumph, marking 50 years of glory.
Reaction
Godzilla: Final Wars has received mixed reviews from fans and critics. It currently holds a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on eight reviews (four positive, four negative).[2]
Among the positive reviewers, Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique called the film "utterly fantastic" and "a rush of explosive excitement."[3] Jim Agnew of Film Threat gave the film four and a half stars out of five, saying "the good news for kaiju fans is that Godzilla: Final Wars is a kick-ass giant monster flick."[4] Sean Axmaker of Static Multimedia said, "Directed by a true fan of the old school, it's lusciously, knowingly, lovingly cheesy."[5] Craig Blamer of the Chico News & Review called the film "a giddy and fast-paced celebration of the big guy."[6]
Among the negative reviewers, David Nusair of Reel Film gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying that "the battles are admittedly quite entertaining" but felt that director Ryuhei Kitamura "is absolutely the wrong choice for the material."[7] David Cornelius of eFilmCritic gave the film two stars out of five, calling it "the dullest, weakest Godzilla movie I've seen in a long, long time."[8] Ty Burr of the Boston Globe gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying it focused too much on action and not enough on story, and calling it and "35 minutes longer than is necessary."[9]
Cast
Suit actors and stunts
Box Office
At roughly $19,500,000, Godzilla: Final Wars was the most expensive Toho-produced Godzilla film of all time.
Any hopes Toho had of Godzilla: Final Wars ending the series with a box office bang were smitten when the film opened in Japan on December 4, 2004. In its opening weekend, it came in third at the box office with $1,874,559. At the holiday season box office, it was clobbered by Howl's Moving Castle and The Incredibles, both which also pursued the family market. It eventually grossed roughly $12,000,000 at the Japanese box office.[1] Its total admissions have been estimated at 1,000,000[2], making Godzilla: Final Wars the least-attended Godzilla feature since 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla.
Music
The music in Godzilla: Final Wars was composed by Keith Emerson, Daisuke Yano and Nobuhiko Morino, while the band Sum 41 contributed the song We're All To Blame to the soundtrack (and received high billing in the film's opening credits sequence). Some critics expressed concern with the music of Final Wars, arguing that Emerson's score would be better suited for a campy made-for-television movie or video games, while others pointed out that it made a refreshing change from the music of previous Godzilla films. Akira Ifukube's themes were mostly absent from the movie, angering some fans. Two rock bands made songs for the film, We're All To Blame by Sum 41 and Godzilla Vs. Tokyo by Zebrahead. [3] Godzilla Vs. Tokyo is not played in the film or on soundtrack but Zebrahead announced that they actually made that song for the film. The soundtrack can be described as mixed rock, techno, and electronica with musical scores. The End of All Hope from Nightwish where played in the japanese television commercial for the flim.
Landmarks Shown
- Sydney Tower - Destroyed at the first seconds of Zilla's attack on Sydney.
- Empire State Building - Visible when Rodan stands on a building near it, roaring.
- Sydney Opera House - Destroyed when Godzilla trips Zilla and he lands in it, then blown up by Godzilla's atomic breath.
- Mt. Fuji - Where Godzilla fights Anguirus, Rodan, and King Caesar; also visible when Godzilla roars after defeating them.
- Oriental Pearl Tower - Destroyed when Anguirus knocks the Karyu into it.
- Chrysler Building and MetLife Building - Visible when Rodan was flying around in New York City.
- Eiffel Tower - Visible when Kamacuras lands on it, not seen destroyed.
- Jungle Of Papua New Guinea - Where Kumonga fights Godzilla.
- Statue Of Liberty - Chopped in half by Rodan offscreen (the audience only sees the torso of it lying near the lower half).
- Sydney Harbour Bridge - Destroyed offscreen by Zilla. The ruins are seen when Godzilla approaches Sydney to confront Zilla.
- Grand Canyon - Visible when Kumonga crushes a trailer.
- Tokyo Tower - Bent, presumably by the Xilians. Seen when Mothra fights the upgraded Gigan for the first time.
Locations Shown
Filming Locations
Godzilla: Final Wars began filming in July 2003. The locations of filming included:
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Egypt
- New York City, New York, USA
- Paris, France
- Shanghai, China
- Tokyo, Japan
Appearances
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Kaiju
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Non-Kaiju
Stock footage
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Concept arts for Godzilla redesign
- Before production began, director Ryuhei Kitamura wanted a new Godzilla costume, particularly one that was slimmed down to allow more agile moves. Four concept arts of Godzilla were very altered-looking. The first three shows that Godzilla is very slender and more demonic-looking. The fourth one is very similar to the one in the film, but with spiny scales, very different dorsal spikes, longer claws and red markings on its chest. [4]
Godzilla and Zilla
Godzilla fights Zilla in Sydney, Australia.
In this film, Godzilla confronts Zilla, his American counter-part, for the first time. Many die-hard Godzilla fans expressed outrage at the 1998 Godzilla movie; therefore, director Ryuhei Kitamura named the American counter-part "Zilla", claiming Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin took the "God" out of Godzilla. [5] The battle itself lasted a mere 13 seconds, with Godzilla apparently victorious.
DVD Releases
Sony Pictures
- Released: December 13, 2005
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.40:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Japanese (5.1), English (5.1)
- Supplements: Behind-the-Scenes featurette (comparison of B-roll footage to finished film); Trailers for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Steamboy, Dust to Glory, MirrorMask, and Madison.
- Region 1
- MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence.
References
- ^ Godzilla to Return in 2013?Monster Zero, August 9, 2005
- ^ Godzilla: Final Wars, Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Review by Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
- ^ Jim Agnew, Film Threat
- ^ Review by Sean Axmaker, Static Multimedia
- ^ Review by Craig Blamer, Chico News & Review
- ^ Review by David Nusair, Reel Film
- ^ Review by David Cornelius, eFilmCritic
- ^ Review by Ty Burr, Boston Globe
External links
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