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This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'The Toho Godzilla Collection!': 'GMK: Giant Monsters All Out Attack' and 'Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla'.
I have previously reviewed the standard DVD editions of both of these movies.
BLU-RAY AND EXTRA'S: The picture looks excellent when you consider there are two movies on this disc. You can watch the movies in Japanese or English and you also get subtitles. The only extra's are the trailers.
I am reviewing each movie separately, starting with...
GODZILLA: MOTHRA and KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK:
TIMELINE: This is the 25th of 29 Godzilla live action movies made by Toho Inc., as of the date of this review in May, 2019. It would be the 26th of 31 overall live action Godzilla movies (including the American movies) as of the time of this review. ('GODZILLA, King of the Monsters' is due out at the end of this month). This is the 3rd of 6 movies from the 'Millennium'(1999-2004) series of Godzilla movies. The Godzilla that appears in this movie is assumed to be the same one that appears in the 1954 original 'Godzilla' movie. Instead of Godzilla dying, it is assumed that Godzilla survived the Oxygen Destroyer that killed him in that movie. So this Godzilla exists in it's own universe. That would make this the 5th overall Godzilla universe that Toho created for Godzilla. Each movie of the 6 'Millennium' series movies exists in it's own universe with the exception of the 5th movie, 'Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.', which is a sequel to the 4th of the 'Millennium' series, 'Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla'.
THE OPPONENTS: In this movie, Godzilla's opponents were deliberately made to appear smaller than in their previous appearances. The purpose for this was to make Godzilla's presences more powerful and menacing. Godzilla's opponents are King Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon.
*****WARNING - LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT*****
PLOT/SYNOPSIS: I'm going to keep this very brief due to space restrictions....
Godzilla is the collective embodiment of all of the souls of the people killed by the Japanese in WWII. Godzilla decides it's time to make Japan pay for it's sins. There are 3 'Guardian' monsters in Japan. They are Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon. They are set free in order to try and stop Godzilla's rampage.
YOU CAN TURN THE MOVIE OFF AT...: If you are like me and don't like to see Godzilla get killed, then you can turn off the movie at the 1 hour and 33 minute mark. Nothing good happens after this point for Godzilla.
PRODUCTION: This movie was released by Toho in Japan at the end of 2001.
WHY DOES GODZILLA HAVE WHITE EYES AND WHAT'S WITH THE UNUSUAL ORIGIN?: The director, Shusuke Kaneko, believed that giant monsters movies are not believable as science fiction films. He felt that 'kaiju' movies needed to be treated as fantasy films. He wanted this movie to be a combination fantasy/horror film. Thus, the 'scary' white eyes. Similarly, the origin of Godzilla as an incarnation of the souls of people killed by the Japanese military in WWII was used as a fantasy angle. Kaneko previously directed, what I can consider to be the best 'kaiju' movies to come out of Japan, the 'Gamera: Guardian of the Universe', trilogy. I know that might sound like sacrilege to a Godzilla fan but that is my opinion.
-Ghidorah was played by a suitmation actor. In the past, Ghidorah was a marionette controlled by a team of people. Ghidorah has facial features similar to Varan. This was a homage to Varan.
-The fairy twins, or 'Shobijin', are not in this movie. Kaneko pays homage to them by including a scene with twins looking up at Mothra.
COMMENTS:
WHAT I LIKE:
THE GOOD GUY?: King Ghidorah as a 'good' monster just seems wrong. However, I am putting this as a positive because Toho did something different. Different is sometimes interesting, it is in this case.
I LIKE BAD GIRLS: Amazingly enough, we actually see Mothra killing people. When the Mothra larvae comes out of the water, a bunch of young people are killed. This is quite unusual to see and this was not the only unusual thing about this movie. This is especially strange since Mothra is again, a 'good guy(girl)'. Of course, as we learn, Mothra is a protector of the planet, not of the human race.
SIZE MATTERS: I like the fact that Baragon is much smaller than Godzilla. One of the things that has always bothered me about monster movies in general, is that opposing monsters are pretty much always the same relative size. In this movie, Baragon is much smaller than and that is not something you see often, if ever. I get it, that in order to make a good movie, you often have to compromise and the audience has to suspend disbelief. It would be nice to see a monster just wipe out it's opponent easily because it is much bigger and superior. If for no other reason, than to do something different. I find myself itching for a battle in which Godzilla just beats the snot out of his opponent rather than having to take blows and then make a comeback. This movie scratches that itch.
OH THE HUMANITY!: I love the fact that this movie has horror elements. We actually see people die, or at least we see them about to die and have it confirmed right after that they did indeed die. We see men, women and children all get killed.
-I think that people confusing Baragon as Godzilla was a good original idea.
-I liked the scene where the girl in the hospital bed gets killed. Again, this is an original idea for a Godzilla film. You don't really expect something like that to happen. That's what makes it an effective scene.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
-Simply enough, the ending. I hate it when Godzilla dies. What makes matters worse, is that he is defeated by a human in a pathetic way.
-I didn't like all the monsters disappearing into 'fairy dust' when they died. This makes it look as if the monsters were just a figment of the imagination. Admittedly, this ties into the fantasy angle.
-I didn't like the bit about Godzilla's atomic ray coming out of his body. This just seems idiotic.
-I'm not a fan of the origin. I know that the director wanted a fantasy angle but I still like a scientific premise even if it is preposterous. The whole 'souls of the dead' thing doesn't work for me.
-The director, Kaneko, wanted the guardian monsters to consist of Baragon, Varan and Anguirus. Toho wanted bigger name recognition. Thus, we ended up with King Ghidorah and Mothra substituting for Varan and Anguirus. Personally I prefer Kaneko's vision. I think it would have worked better.
-King Ghidorah as a 'good guy' is a bit much for this Godzilla fan. This isn't the director's fault. Toho insisted on star power in this film. As noted above, the director wanted different monsters.
-THE ENDING!!!
OTHER COMMENTS:
-It is mentioned in the movie that Godzilla previously had attacked New York. This is a reference to the 1998 American Godzilla. They also cast doubt as to whether or not that was Godzilla. Toho purchased the rights to that Godzilla and has in fact changed it's name to 'Zilla'.
-I'm still confused as to why the old man decided to destroy a shrine and end up in jail.
CONCLUSIONS: I like that this movie makes Godzilla more powerful than normal. It takes awhile for Godzilla to show up, but when he does, it is worth the wait. I don't really like the fantasy angle. As far as I'm concerned, I disagree with the director on this. He thinks Godzilla should be pure fantasy. I don't. Ultimately, it's still a pretty good movie.
RATINGS:
Plot: 6/10 or 3 stars - Strange even for Toho. I hate the ending.
The Opponents: 10/10 - King Ghidorah and Mothra are the two most iconic Toho monsters.
The Battle(s):8/10 - I love the fact that Godzilla annihilates his opponents.
The Godzilla Suit: 7/10 - The eyes are interesting, Godzilla being 'fat' is not.
The SFX: 8/10
Overall: 7/10 or 3 1/2 stars which I'm rounding to 4 stars - Automatic deduction of 2 points for
Godzilla being defeated and dying.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR GODZILLA?: Just keep on reading for what's next!
GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA:
Despite my reservations, I actually think that this is a good movie that is brought down because of incredibly bad choices made by both the producers and writers of this movie. More on that below in 'THE ABSOLUTE 'WORST' IDEA':
WHERE DOES THIS MOVIE TAKE PLACE IN THE GODZILLA UNIVERSE?: This is the 26th Godzilla movie from Toho and 27th overall. This is part of the third series of Godzilla movies called the 'Millennium Series' (1999-2004). This movie assumes that all Godzilla movies with the exception of the original 'Godzilla' in 1954 never happened. This movie also assumes that the original 'Mothra' movie and 'War of the Gargantua's' are part of the timeline. However, the end of those movies are different than what occurred in this timeline. This movie starts in the year 1999 and ends in the year 2003.
PLOT SYNOPSIS: I'm going to keep this brief...
Godzilla Universe Setup: This movie opens with a scene from 1999. It is assumed that all other Godzilla movies, other than the original, never happened. It is also assumed that's Godzilla's bones did not disintegrate after the oxygen destroyer was used against him. In the meantime, A task force called the Anti-Megalosaurus Force has been created to deal with giant creatures. We are told that Mothra was killed by a heat ray and Gaira (War of the Gargantua's) was killed by a Maser Cannon.
At the open, Godzilla, or a different Godzilla, has just made his first appearance for the first time since the last Godzilla was killed by the Oxygen Destroyer. An attempt by the JSDF to stop Godzilla fails. Godzilla goes into hibernation.
Fast Forward to 2003 and Godzilla has not made an appearance since 1999. Mechagodzilla has been completed and is named Kiryu. Incredibly and illogically, Akane is asked to join the Kiryu team. Rightly, a pilot named, Hayama is upset that she is on the team. Akane had previously failed under pressure. The lead scientist, Dr. Yuhara falls in love with Akane. His daughter also takes a liking to Akane.
A short time later, Godzilla attacks Japan. Kiryu is sent into battle to stop him.
COMMENTS:
SO, OK, I DIDN'T LIKE THE MOVIE. DID I LIKE ANYTHING ABOUT IT?:
Actually, I thought the movie was quite good. Let me be clear here, it's the Absolute Zero cannon that I hate. If you delete that weapon from the movie and make Kiryu the same way it is in the next movie, 'Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.', then this becomes one of the best Godzilla movie's in my opinion. I know most people don't care that much about realism and logic, especially in a 'kaiju' movie, but I can't get past extremely poor logical choices by the production team. Anyway, for what I did like...
WHAT DO I LIKE:
-I think the Godzilla suit is one of the best, if not the best, suit they ever made.
-The battle sequences were among the best I've seen in a Godzilla movie. The battles between Kiryu and Godzilla were terrific.
-There is more Godzilla action than normal in this movie. Godzilla, along with Kiryu, appear regularly throughout the movie.
-There is very little humor in this movie as well as most of the 'Millenium series(1999-2004)' as a whole. I think this greatly benefits the Godzilla franchise. At this point it had been awhile since the 'Showa' series (1954-1975) of movies had ended in an extremely childish manner (except for the last movie).
-Most importantly, Godzilla wins (sort of)!
-The special effects were as good as can be expected for a movie of this budget.
-The miniature sets are fantastic. I wish they still made movies doing this stuff.
WHAT DO I DISLIKE:
-As I make clear in the section below, the Absolute Zero Cannon destroyed this movie for me. All I kept thinking throughout the movie is, "all they have to do is fire the Absolute Zero cannon" and it's over. I was waiting for this to happen so it kind of spoiled the movie for me the first time I watched it.
-Why did Kiryu wait until he had almost finished off Godzilla before deciding he didn't want to fight Godzilla?
-I still don't get why they needed Godzilla's DNA in Kiryu. All this seems to do is make things worse. I know it is supposedly powered by DNA computers but what does that mean?
-In the real world, Akane would ever be given such an important job. She failed miserably previously and had a panic attack under pressure.
-I think the soundtrack is awful. Somebody should remaster this movie with an Ifukube soundtrack.
-How many times is the military going to attack Godzilla? They already know conventional weapons and maser cannons don't work, yet they continue the same attack over and over again.
-Kiryu can fly, yet it needs a transport plane?
THE 'ABSOLUTE' WORST IDEA: For anybody out there who doesn't know what I'm talking about, MechaGodzilla has a cannon in his chest that fires an 'absolute zero' blast(ray?). Whatever it touches turns to solid ice immediately and then that object completely shatters and disintegrates with the slightest pressure. In other words, one shot and your gone. Yes, even Godzilla would easily be destroyed. This is the very definition of 'OP' (Over Powered).
-Why would you waste your time even building Kiryu, if all you had to do was use the Absolute Zero cannon to defeat him. All the other weapons would be rendered useless.** You can mount an Absolute Zero cannon anywhere and while you are at it, why not make a bunch of them just to be safe. They would make pretty awesome weapons for the Japanese Self Defense Force.
-Why did they waste their time firing all their other weapons first. Why not just fire the Absolute Zero cannon and be done with it (Of course I know the answer. We wouldn't have a movie if they did that).
-Even if you used the excuse that they would run out of energy if they missed****, all Kiryu had to do was walk up to Godzilla and blast him. He in fact walks right up to Godzilla several times in the movie.
-For comparison by analogy, let's take an incident from 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' to compare the Absolute Zero canon to. In 'The Last Jedi', the decision to use a ship's hyperdrive to destroy the Empire's flagship renders all defense's, previously developed, useless or obsolete. If being able to do this is a 'thing' in the Star Wars universe, then everything about the Star Wars universe is changed (some might say, retconned) and it makes all previous battle commanders look like that of a bunch of morons for not using such an obvious tactic. Especially since they could have just used a droid to do the dirty work. This tactic makes every other battle decision pointless. The same applies to the Absolute Zero cannon. Why use any other weapon?
-This was an incredibly bad choice to include this weapon in the movie. Yes, I am quite used to Toho coming up with zany idea's for most of their 'kaiju' movies but this is just a very poor choice, no a zany idea.
**NOTE #1 - This mistake of coming up with an Over Powered weapon would be repeated, but with a different weapon in the sequel, 'Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.'. In that movie, Mecha G has a hand that turns into a drill that can drive right through Godzilla. This weapon makes sense. It's how they use it that is illogical. Once Mecha G walks up to Godzilla and drills him, he senselessly stops using it and goes back to other weapons.
****NOTE #2 - While watching this movie I did not hear or missed the comment that the Absolute Zero cannon used up 40% of Kiryu's energy. There might have been different dubs for this movie because I could swear that is what I heard the first time I watched it. I have a standard DVD version of this movie. Perhaps I heard that said on that one.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO AWAY WITH THE HUMAN INTEREST GARBAGE IN GODZILLA MOVIES: I know they do this stuff to try to attract female's to the Godzilla franchise, but really, who likes this stuff? I found myself cringing whenever it was time for one of these scenes. "Oh, the poor girl's Mommy died"... "Oh, poor Akane doesn't have any friends"... Waaaahhhh!!! This stuff makes me sick to my stomach. Please stop with the pity party. This relationship garbage involving Akane with both of her fellow pilots, Dr. Yuhara and his daughter just makes me want to hit the fast forward button every time it starts up.
I COMPLAIN OFTEN ABOUT PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND IN GODZILLA MOVIES BUT THIS TIME IT'S WORSE: Where exactly is everybody running to? They have no idea where Godzilla is going to show up. How far can they possibly run? What makes this all the more worse this time is that the TV broadcasters tell everyone to abandon their cars and evacuate!!! Whaaaaaaaat? Leave your car!?! Evacuate to where?
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
-Most reviewers tell you that Kiryu is built with Godzilla's bones but I didn't actually hear that in this movie. They do say that in the next movie, 'Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.'. They clearly make the point of using spinal cells and a DNA computer.
-Akane says to Dr. Huyama's daughter, "I liked my plant but kept it too long. Don't make the mistake I did". Wait...what???
-What's up with the 'Rocky' training used by the Kiryu team. They sit in chairs and press buttons.
-Toho doesn't quite get the whole women's movement thing down correctly. They are supposed to make the female succeed, not look bad. Akane screws up both times she has a chance to fight Godzilla. First, she gets scared, then she misses Godzilla from point blank range with the Absolute Zero cannon. The female prime minister doesn't seem all that competent either and in fact, she is replaced in the next movie!
-Is it me or does Akira Nakao always look like he's constipated? He's the fellow who plays the Minister of Science in this movie and has appeared in many Godzilla films.
-Hideki Matsui, the Japanese baseball player known as 'Godzilla' makes an appearance in this movie.
CONCLUSIONS: This should have been a great Godzilla movie as far as I'm concerned. Two things ruin this movie for me and I can't get over them. First, The Absolute Zero cannon is too powerful and, as I explain above, waiting to the last second to use it is just idiotic. Secondly, the human interest stuff just kills this movie for me. Eliminate the human interest stuff and take away the Absolute Zero cannon and I would probably consider this to be one of the best Godzilla movies ever made.
RATINGS:This movie is very close to be 5 stars yet I'm only giving it 3 for the reasons given above.
The Plot: 2/10
The Opponent: 9/10
Special Effects: 8/10
The Battle: 10/10
Overall: 6.5/10
IS THERE A SEQUEL: Yes there is. 'Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.' is the only movie out of the six 'Millennium' series movies that is a sequel. It is one of my least favorite Godzilla movies.
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Godzilla, Mothra, And King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack
Fifty years ago, the Japanese Defense Forces killed Godzilla(r) or so they thought. When a series ofterrifying natural disasters begin to plague Japan, including the inexplicable offshore sinking of a U.S. submarine, a mystic old man warns his nation that Godzilla(r) has come back to destroy Japan asrevenge for all the souls lost in the Pacific War. When mere military might can not squash the monster, the mystic man awakens the Holy Beasts of Yamato - King Ghidorah, Mothra(r) and Baragon, sleeping giants that protected Japan in ancient times. These untamed mammoth beasts take on Godzilla(r) with frightening supernatural brute power that has been 2,000 years in the making. Tradition and technology collide in this chilling high-tech, cutting-edge fable.
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
2003. After four years of scrupulous preparation under the prime minister, a new invincible robot, Mechagodzilla, has now reached completion, armed with various weapons, including the most powerful gun in history that can destroy anything in the world. Akane Yashiro is transferred to join the Mechagodzilla team as an operator who controls the mechanical monster. As soon as Mechagodzilla starts on its test run, the huge shadow of Godzilla begins to rise from the depths of the ocean...The battle of the century is going to take place between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.
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Just received in mail today my Godzilla blue rays I’m Very happy with my purchase of Godzilla vs. Mothra and king GHIDORH from 2000 it is truly a real masterpiece double features moviesGodzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II double feature and I am very happy with this purchase everything came in good working order these remasters of the 90s movies Worth every penny I would highly recommend these to anything who’s trying to buy these wonderful re Masters of these Godzilla movies on blue ray 90s and 2000 Brought back my childhood
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