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Godzilla: Final Wars

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Godzilla: Final Wars
Official Japanese poster
Directed byRyuhei Kitamura
Written byStory:
Wataru Mimura
Shogo Tomiyama
Screenplay:
Isao Kiriyama
Ryuhei Kitamura
Joe Fenech
(Uncredited)
Produced byShogo Tomiyama
StarringTsutomu Kitagawa
Masahiro Matsuoka
Rei Kikukawa
Don Frye
Maki Mizuno
Kazuki Kitamura
Kane Kosugi
Masakatsu Funaki
Kumi Mizuno
Kenji Sahara
Masami Nagasawa
Chihiro Otsuka
Masatoh Eve
Jun Kitamura
Akira Takarada
Narrated byKōichi Yamadera
CinematographyTakumi Furuya
Fujio Okawa
Edited byShūichi Kakesu
Music byKeith Emerson
Akira Ifukube (Godzilla theme)
Nobuhiko Morino
Daisuke Yano
Distributed byToho
Release date
December 4, 2004
Running time
125 min.
CountryJapan
LanguagesJapanese, English
Budget$19,500,000 (est)

Godzilla: Final Wars (ゴジラ ファイナルウォーズ, Gojira: Fainaru Wōzu) is the fiftieth anniversary film and the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series.It is a part of the Millennium series and serves as a direct sequel to the original Godzilla.

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 kaiju (monsters) as well, as most of the monsters in the film had been missing from the screen for more than thirty years. This is the only Godzilla film, from the Japanese series, to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA. The only other Godzilla film to receive this rating is the American remake of Godzilla.

Despite the title, this is not the final Godzilla film; Toho has decided to temporarily "retire" the character for a period of time.

Plot

Endless warfare and environmental pollution has brought forth giant monsters, which are a grave danger to the world. As a result, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) is created to protect the planet, uniting every nation. The organization is equipped with some of the best of technology and weapons, warships and soldiers, as well as mutants with super-human abilities. Godzilla, a giant mutant dinosaur, 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, cryogenically freezing him.

Decades after Godzilla was buried, the EDF discovers a mummified space monster. Mutant soldier Shinichi Ozaki and U.N. biologist Miyuki Otonashi are sent to research it. The Shobijin, fairies of the guardian monster Mothra, reveal to them that the monster is Gigan, an alien cyborg sent to destroy the Earth 12,000 years ago, and that a forthcoming battle between good and evil will eventually arrive.

Suddenly, monsters all appear around the world at major cities and the EDF promptly swings into action, attempting to drive away the monsters, but achieves little success. The various monsters and locations include Anguirus in Shanghai, Rodan in New York City, King Caesar in Okinawa, Kamacuras in Paris, Kumonga in Arizona, Zilla in Sydney and Ebirah near Tokyo. Then, after destroying much of their cities, the monsters vanish as an enormous alien mothership hovers over Tokyo. Aliens called the Xilians then reveal themselves, insisting they are friendly and that they have eliminated the monsters. They also warn the Earth's governments about impending danger in the form of an asteroid called Gorath that will crash into Earth. Consequently, the Space Nations is established, an alliance that would unite the universe. Ozaki, Miyuki, and several others distrust them. After much researching and undercover work, they discover the Xilians are up to no good. Finally, the Xilians turn out to be evil and unleash the monsters to destroy Earth. Gigan is also revived and joins in the frenzy. The EDF eventually loses and Earth's cities are destroyed.

Elsewhere at Mt. Fuji, a hunter and his grandson discover Minilla, later revealed to be Godzilla's son. 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 a final, risky decision: free Godzilla. They pilot the Gotengo to Antarctica and are chased by Gigan. As soon as Godzilla is released from his hibernation, he quickly destroys Gigan by blowing the cyborg's head off with his atomic ray. Spotting the Gotengo, Godzilla immediately follows it with the intention of destroying the ship. The Gotengo returns for Tokyo, with the plan that Godzilla will unwittingly help defeat the Xilians. Along the way the Xilians send all the monsters they control, which includes the giant Lizard Zilla, the giant spider Kumonga, the giant praying mantis Kamacuras, the giant Pteranodon Rodan, the guardian of Okinawa monster King Caesar, the giant Ankylosaurus Anguirus, the smog monster Hedorah, and the sea monster Ebirah. Godzilla defeats all of them in short battles. The Gotengo and Godzilla then arrive at Tokyo.

The battleship heads for the mothership and a pitched battle occurs. Eventually, a meteor falls to Earth. Godzilla destroys the meteor; however, a powerful space monster, Monster X turns out to be inside, and a vicious battle between the two titans ensues. Gigan, who has now been upgraded, aids Monster X, but Mothra arrives to engage him into battle. Mothra flew towards Gigan and destroyed him. Inside the Xilian mothership, the humans enter final confrontations with the Xilians and their Kaiser commander, a human-Xilian hybrid, and after an extended battle, the humans eventually win when Osaki awakens his own Kaiser powers and kills their leader. With Gigan dead (Mothra survived and returned to infant island at the ending credits), Godzilla continues his battle with Monster X, who eventually transforms into the three-headed dragon Keizer Ghidorah. After a long, painful battle, Godzilla emerges as the victor. He then attempts to destroy the Gotengo and the humans, but Minilla convinces him to stop. Godzilla then returns to the ocean with his son and roars in victory.

Cast

Monsters

Monsters Appearing in Cameos VIA Stock Footage

Production

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, though Godzilla's original theme can be heard at the beginning of the film. However, Keith Emerson did cover the Godzilla theme which is available on the film's official soundtrack. The cover is entitled "Godzilla (Main Theme)".

The bands Sum 41 and Zebrahead contributed the tracks "We're All To Blame" and "Godzilla vs. Tokyo" respectively, to the film [1], however neither song was on the film's soundtrack.[2]

Filming locations

Godzilla: Final Wars began filming in July 2003. The locations of filming included Sydney, Egypt, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, Arizona and Tokyo.

Critical reception

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 fresh, four rotten).[3]

Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique called the film "utterly fantastic" and "a rush of explosive excitement."[4] 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."[5] Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News remarked, "Godzilla: Final Wars earns a special place in my heart. It's fun. Pure lunatic fun, every frame."[6] Sean Axmaker of Static Multimedia said, "Directed by a true fan of the old school, it's lusciously, knowingly, lovingly cheesy."[7] Craig Blamer of the Chico News & Review called the film "a giddy and fast-paced celebration of the big guy."[8]

Conversely, 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."[9] 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."[10] 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 "35 minutes longer than is necessary."[11]

Among kaiju-related websites, J.L. Carrozza of Toho Kingdom "absolutely love[d]" Final Wars, saying "[it's] no masterpiece, but it is such insane fun that quite frankly it's hard not to adore it."[12] Mike Bogue of American Kaiju said "the film is flawed, but nonetheless entertaining," saying there are "too many [Matrix-style] battles" but that the film "makes excellent use of its monsters" and "Kitamura keeps things moving at a brisk pace."[13] Japan Hero criticized the "[lack of] character development" but concluded that Final Wars is "a very entertaining movie," saying that "Kitamura did a wonderful job making it an interesting and great looking film worthy of being the final [Godzilla] movie."[14]

Stomp Tokyo said "the monster scenes are generally well done" but criticized the film's "incoherence," saying: "It's a shame that Kitamaura couldn't choose a tone for the film, instead shifting the movie's mood wildly from scene to scene."[15] Lenny Taguchi of Monster Zero criticized Keith Emerson's soundtrack but gave Final Wars an overall favorable review, calling it a "fun and good" movie that "tries many things, and generally succeeds at almost all of them."[16]

In it's own country, the film was a critical disaster and a joke that continues to this day.

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, with 1,000,000 admissions. Not only was it the least-attended film in the Millennium series, it was also the least attended film in 29 years since Terror of Mechagodzilla.[17]

DVD

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

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ Godzilla: Final Wars, Rotten Tomatoes
  4. ^ Review by Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
  5. ^ Jim Agnew, Film Threat
  6. ^ MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! Moriarty Attends The World Premiere Of GODZILLA FINAL WARS In Hollywood!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.
  7. ^ Review by Sean Axmaker, Static Multimedia
  8. ^ Review by Craig Blamer, Chico News & Review
  9. ^ Review by David Nusair, Reel Film
  10. ^ Review by David Cornelius, eFilmCritic
  11. ^ Review by Ty Burr, Boston Globe
  12. ^ Review J.L. Carrozza, Toho Kingdom
  13. ^ Review Mike Bogue, American Kaiju
  14. ^ Review Japan Hero
  15. ^ Review Stomp Tokyo
  16. ^ Review Lenny Taguchi, Monster Zero
  17. ^ [3]
  • Godzilla: Final Wars at IMDb
  • ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Godzilla: Final Wars at AllMovie
  • Godzilla: Final Wars at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Official Site in Japanese
  • Godzilla: Final Wars at Toho Kingdom including several reviews
  • "ゴジラ　ＦＩＮＡＬ　ＷＡＲＳ" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
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