G Watch: Godzilla - Final Wars (2004)

Watched:  04/26/2024

Format:  Amazon

Viewing:  Fourth?

Director:  Ryuhei Kitamura

Selection:  Me

It's been over a decade since I'd rewatched Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).  Because of the *when* of its release date, it was also one of the first Godzilla movies I saw when I re-engaged with Godzilla at the start of the 21st Century.  Back then, Godzilla movies were kind of hard to come by so a new one was a welcome thing.

For those of you who aren't wasting your life with Godzilla minutia:  this is/was the 50th Anniversary offering from Toho, as Gojira had debuted in 1954.  It is also Toho's final man-in-suit kaiju feature film (they have continued to make shorts and commercials, etc... starring a man-in-suit).  Following this movie, Toho put G on ice, renting him to Legendary pictures, who released Godzilla in 2014 until Toho finally made a new Godzilla movie with Shin Godzilla, released in 2016.  

Most of the post 1998 American Godzilla movies made by Toho had their own shared continuity separate from the Showa and Heisei era films, but Godzilla: Final Wars is probably not directly associated with Godzilla 2000, Megaguirus, Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Against Mechagodzilla or Tokyo S.O.S.  And good luck figuring out the continuity of those movies, tbh.  So it is *odd* that the final movie from Toho (and they really did think they were done, at least for a while) wasn't a conclusion to those movies as much as a conclusion to the concept of Godzilla as much as anything.

Even more puzzling - the movie seems far more interested in trying to find a way to emulate The Matrix in fashion, wired martial arts, etc...  and even the rough plan of the invading aliens, than it's interested in Godzilla as anything more than a big dude who clobbers things.  Heck, after a brief appearance at the beginning, we don't really see him again for almost an hour into the film (which runs about two hours).  Leaning heavily into the human story for the first half is far from unusual, but staying with the humans once the kaiju find each other is usually a different story.

I will give it this:  the human/ alien/ mutant story is not boring.  It's the same two-dimensional characterization you may have associated with Toho Godzilla movies in the past, but it's weirdly complex, action-packed and moves like a rocket.  

We get plenty of Toho Godzilla alumni.  Not least of which is Kumi Mizuno playing the head of Earth Defense Force.  Kenjia Sahara, OG Gojira star Akira Takarada, and I know I missed one or two.  The movie features Shobijin (or Mothra's faeries), innumerable aliens (who all just look like people cosplaying Neo), our heroes who include mutants and a pair of sisters who are functional and useful and then are just there.  And, everyone will remember wrestler and MMA star Don Frye as Douglas Gordon, the American with the mustache.  

The movie is here to play Godzilla out with a medley of greatest hits, showcasing a good number of his kaiju foes over the years (and re-recasts Anguirus as a baddy for the first time since Godzilla Raids Again).  But look for King Caesar, Rodan, Gigan, King G and plenty of others.  And some pretty good use of Mothra.  

The FX are...  not great even for 2004.  But they have a certain charm.  Toho was clearly not sure what to do with digital FX as they sold the "reality" of man-in-suit and miniature sets.  And you get a feel for what the struggle was to mesh the two.  

When I saw this movie previously, I recognized many of the kaiju, but not all.  And could name maybe five of them.  It's really fun to come back to the movie and say "oh, yeah, King Caesar!  Wild!  They did what with Gigan?  Yay!  Anguirus!"

Mostly, this movie is bonkers.  It's not so much a farewell to the Godzilla of 1954 - that Godzilla had been gone a while.  But it is a farewell to the kid-friendly zaniness of much of Godzilla's run.  But so much gets overshadowed by the lack of focus on Godzilla and pals themselves, treated as something other than the main thing - which you can do!  I love Godzilla Minus One and Gojira.  But then maybe make sure you're telling those compelling human stories and not just getting Toho to bankroll your Matrix demo reel.   

That said - it's a bit of a bummer how great the sets and suits do look in this movie, and that it was it for features for Toho.  They really were hitting on all cylinders.

Since, Toho has handed this brand of Godzilla over to Legendary for the Monsterverse (which I am finally really enjoying), and has made two extraordinary movies in Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One.  And I am sure they have no idea what to do with all this at this point, but they've also made Godzilla a LOT more accessible than he's ever been with streaming options, discs and plenty of auxiliary merch.