1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on May 31, 2019 17:40:21 GMT -5
This place is at risk of being the all- Neverending , all the time forum, so I might as well post a thread to throw you guys off. I know you guys love your incomplete list threads that get abandoned, like PG Cooper 's top 100 films list or RedVader 's anything list. I don't want to do a top 100 films list, because I don't care what my favorite films are. All you need to know about me is that depending on whether I'm in a good movie mood or a bad movie mood my favorite film switches back and forth between the Back to the Future trilogy and Birdemic: Shock and Terror. Plus I'd rather make that list once I've seen every movie ever made. I'm probably halfway there, I think. I know what I can list! Godzilla movies! It's in the screenname, afterall, and these movies are a huge part of my identity. I have such an affection for the character that even as I grew into adulthood and started to "see the strings" I find myself still appreciating them. Like I stated in the King of the Monsters review thread, this is my Star Wars. I can watch these movies anytime, rain or shine. Though bear with me that I'm going to be doing this list off of memory. I don't have the time to rewatch the entire library (which I might do next year for Godzilla vs. Kong), but this ranking is the feeling I have in my gut regarding these films. Plus many of them I have imprinted into my brain due to watching them nonstop when I was a child. Plus, after seeing King of the Monsters for the second time today, I can safely say I've seen almost all of these movies more than once (oh, we'll get to the ones that haven't...one of them right away, in fact). I don't think rewatching them is entirely necessary for me at this point. So yeah...list? #35Godzilla: The Planet Eater 2018Note: I will be listing each movie under the title I am familiar with the film under. Most of the time it's the English titles, though occasionally I'll probably bring up the International title. In this case, The Planet Eater is the universally agreed upon title of the film, though it's original Japanese title could translate to several different things, like "Star Eater," for example. Putting it into Google Translate comes up with "One Who Wears a Star." ...I don't think that's the intended title.
Premise: This third film in the anime trilogy sees an alien priest calling his god Ghidorah to Earth to kill Godzilla, and to destroy the Earth as Ghidorah did to his own planet.
For as long as I can remember I have had a certain movie at the bottom of my Godzilla list, which is a movie that as a Godzilla fan I have no desire to defend nor acknowledge all that much, except to joke about. Then the anime trilogy came out, and for once in my life I wanted to give up my Godzilla hobby and just...not watch them. I tried to remain optimistic, but whew boy, this was the biggest trudge of my fanhood, and I watched this third film out of obligation, and not because I actually cared.
For the most part I don't get "angry" at movies, not even at the 1998 film, of which I'm mostly indifferent to. But the more this movie sits with me, the more it kind of cheeses me off. Animation is a field in which you can do anything. The people who made the anime trilogy had a concept of a futuristic jungle planet overrun by monsters and desire to reinvent the franchise's creations, and they turn it into the most lifeless and non-creative films of the entire Godzilla series. The Planet Eater is the biggest sinner, because I had hopes they had set the stage for a grand finale that pits Godzilla and a world killing Ghidorah against each other, and they choose to spend their time with Godzilla standing in one place getting strangled by a sky snake, as one of the dullest characters of the series prattles on about how humanity must accept their doom in one of the most gruelingly endless psychobabble speeches in cinema history. This is what the epic climactic battle of this trilogy amounts to.
The reimagined lore here could be so good if the film had any energy. Ghidorah being a being from another dimension that slides its heads into our through portals is a neat concept, but it's nothing but a concept. This entire trilogy is nothing but a concept, and it was dragged on beyond all reason. God help us, this trilogy was originally meant to be an anime TV series, and I've seen some speculate that it should have been and it would have been more fleshed out. No. No, it shouldn't have. It was fleshed out enough, it just didn't know what to do with itself. The anime needed an entirely different team behind it to churn out something more watchable, and The Planet Eater is just a corpse of a movie that barely exists, with one-note characters that we are long sick of and monsters that don't do anything.
Fuck this movie, and fuck this trilogy.
|
|
IanTheCool
CS! Gold
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 21,492
Likes: 2,864
Location:
Last Online Nov 22, 2024 7:37:07 GMT -5
|
Post by IanTheCool on May 31, 2019 17:54:42 GMT -5
I am going to enjoy this list.
|
|
PhantomKnight
CS! Gold
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,527
Likes: 3,130
Location:
Last Online Nov 22, 2024 0:32:12 GMT -5
|
Post by PhantomKnight on May 31, 2019 20:10:21 GMT -5
There's really 35 Godzilla movies? Wow.
|
|
Dracula
CS! Gold
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 26,101
Likes: 5,731
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by Dracula on May 31, 2019 20:31:30 GMT -5
There's really 35 Godzilla movies? Wow. Yeah, it's been rebooted something like three different times in Japan and there are a bunch of side projects like that anime thing.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on May 31, 2019 20:42:43 GMT -5
That's not even including the films it crossed over with, such as Rodan, Mothra, or Atragon. I've seen and own all of those too, though I'm probably due for a rewatch on most before I put forth anything resembling an opinion on them.
Except War of the Gargantuas. War of the Gargantuas rocks.
I also have a fair share of the comics and the animated shows, as well as the books that Random House released in the late 90's. You don't want to know how deep my rabbit hole is.
|
|
Deexan
CS! Silver
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,196
Likes: 2,995
Location:
Last Online Nov 13, 2021 19:23:59 GMT -5
|
Post by Deexan on Jun 1, 2019 7:23:18 GMT -5
You don't want to know how deep my rabbit hole is.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 1, 2019 21:05:29 GMT -5
#34 Godzilla's Revenge 1969 I'm not entirely sure what Godzilla is getting revenge on, but the above title is the American release title. The Japanese title is Godzilla; Minilla; Gabara: All Monsters Attack, while the International title is simply All Monsters Attack. Premise: A young latchkey boy from Kawasaki named Ichiro finds himself bullied by a kid in his class named Gabara. While avoiding his troubles at home, Ichiro falls asleep in the afternoons and dreams he is on Monster Island, where he is best friends with Godzilla's son, Minilla (dubbed Minya in the American version). Minilla too is bullied by a bigger monster named Gabara, and he and Ichiro watch Godzilla himself fight his own battles (in stock footage from Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Son of Godzilla) to learn to be self-reliant. Back in the real world, Ichiro is kidnapped by a pair of crooks and must find inspiration from Godzilla and Minilla to escape from danger. Commonly mistaken for Son of Godzilla by those outside of the Zilla fandom, I assure you that Son of Godzilla is a much better movie than Godzilla's Revenge. It does utilize a lot of Godzilla footage from Son of Godzilla, so by watching this you've pretty much have seen a greatest hits reel from that film. But I'd rather take the real thing than a hastily re-edited version in a budget saving kid's film. I'll give this movie one thing: It's different than any other Godzilla film. Of course, I've never been of the opinion that being different is the same as being good, so being different means very little to me. One's appreciation for the film may be how much a person might relate to or be invested in Ichiro's little problems, of which they are common among most. Since Ichiro is somewhat identifiable as a protagonist, I can't write the film off too completely. The film's lesson of self-reliance isn't horrible, but I disagree with how it plays out. I mean, standing up to a bully is one thing, but charging head first into a pair of criminals who will kill you is a fairly strange acceleration of the moral you're trying to teach. I mean goddamn, movie! How many children got stabbed to death after watching this thing? And in the end, Ichiro befriends his bully by becoming a brat just like Gabara. Yay for Ichiro? All of this is without judging it in the context of being a Godzilla movie, which is a movie series that has certain expectations. Godzilla's Revenge prides itself in subverting those expectations and giving the audience exactly what it didn't know it didn't want. Yes, you do get to see Godzilla in this movie, but most of the time it's footage from other Godzilla movies. However, I will say there is a slight bit of new footage that might be worth watching. Godzilla's fight with Gabara toward the end is entirely new, and it's actually pretty fun. Other than that, the only real new footage of Godzilla is a scene where he teaches Minilla to breath fire...which is pretty much a straight up remake of a similar scene in Son of Godzilla. Why they didn't just reuse that scene when they were lifting so many others, I have no idea. This movie came after the sci-fi royal rumble that was Destroy All Monsters, for crying out loud. They follow up that alien invasion, monster smashing bonanza with a kid who dreams of stock footage? It's even debatable whether or not this movie takes place in the Godzilla universe or if it takes place in the real world and Ichiro is just a kid that watches Godzilla movies. It's never confirmed one way or the other. I actually think the movie is a little more interesting if it's the latter, but that's just me. It's easy to make fun of this movie, though I've never really found it that hard to watch. I grew up loving all Godzilla movies equally, including this one. I just realized one day that I loved this one a bit less than the others. This is actually one of several Godzilla movies I'd recommend the dub on. The American edit is slightly shorter (though neither version hits 70 minutes) and it replaces this mildly obnoxious Japanese theme into this somewhat more fun jazzy theme. Plus, Minya/Minilla's voice is fucking hilarious in that one.
|
|
Deexan
CS! Silver
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,196
Likes: 2,995
Location:
Last Online Nov 13, 2021 19:23:59 GMT -5
|
Post by Deexan on Jun 2, 2019 0:28:30 GMT -5
Too low.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 2, 2019 8:32:46 GMT -5
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 2, 2019 9:52:22 GMT -5
#33Godzilla vs. Megalon1973
Premise: Agents from an underwater kingdom called Seatopia steal the robot of a local inventor, Goro, named Jet Jaguar to aid in guiding their monster Megalon to destroy the surface dwellers for their nuclear tests. But Goro and his friends fight to regain control of Jet Jaguar, and send him to enlist the help of Godzilla. The Seatopians call on the help of Space Hunter Nebula M to send down the monster Gigan to help Megalon in the battle against Godzilla and the now giant sized Jet Jaguar. Even when I was a child, I would watch this one and think to myself "This one is kinda silly." Godzilla vs. Megalon is nothing if it's not silly, but it probably was always going to be. This movie was born out of a contest Toho held for children to create a new character. The winning child created Jet Jaguar, a robot that could grow to giant size and fight monsters (not all that dissimilar to Ultraman). As part of the contest, the winning concept was put into production as a feature film, which had Jet Jaguar pitted against a giant bug monster named Megalon. Toho somewhere down the line said "We're probably going to lose money on this garbage" and decided to turn it into a Godzilla movie instead, and added Godzilla's foe, Gigan, from the previous movie. When you think of how little Godzilla has to do with most of the movie, he's really an entity to just come in and fight at the end, one can see how he was shoe-horned into this thing. It's helpful that he was, because his presence helps prolong the finale rumble and it becomes the highlight of the movie. The rest of the movie is a bit of a slog to get to it, though. Our main characters, two men and a child, are undeveloped and have no real identifiable relationship except they just hang around one another. Are they friends? Are they two lovers with an adopted son? I'm not entirely sure what's going on there. But it's hard to root for them because they have minimal development. It's hard to entirely dislike the film because it's sillier aspects are so goofy and charming. Jet Jaguar is one of the craziest concepts in the entire Godzilla series, and I find myself just loving the nutty flavor he gives this movie. Megalon is pretty psychedelic too, as a giant cockroach with drill hands. Teaming him up with one of my favorite foes, Gigan, makes for some fun watching. If I'm in a goofy mood, Godzilla vs. Megalon hits the spot, but there are many Godzilla movies I pop in more often. Godzilla vs. Megalon was featured on a second season episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. If you want the most out of this movie, this is the version to watch.
|
|
Wyldstaar
Producer
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,900
Likes: 1,267
Location:
Last Online Nov 20, 2024 20:53:38 GMT -5
|
Post by Wyldstaar on Jun 2, 2019 16:41:31 GMT -5
I tried to watch the anime on Netflix one night when I couldn't get to sleep. I gave up just over half an hour in. Just awful.
My local UHF station had a monster marathon every summer when I was a kid. When I first started watching it, the movies had a lot of variety, but by the time I was twelve or so, they got really lazy/cheap, and just showed the same five movies every year. One of those movies was always Godzilla vs. Megalon. I liked it the first couple times I saw it, but after repeated viewings combined with age and increasing maturity, I couldn't stand watching it anymore. I didn't get to see the MST3K version until just a few years ago. I didn't have cable when it first aired, and it wasn't in rotation by the time I did. I now appreciate it for the absurd kids movie it was meant to be. There's the added bonus that it brought the world Rex Dart: Eskimo Spy!
|
|
Dracula
CS! Gold
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 26,101
Likes: 5,731
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by Dracula on Jun 2, 2019 20:17:32 GMT -5
Godzilla vs. Megalon should be higher just on its so bad it's good value, it was the series at its absolute wackiest.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 2, 2019 20:42:06 GMT -5
If I were judging it on it's last 30 minutes alone I'd probably have rated it higher. The movie feels sluggish until Megalon shows up, and then the insane-o-meter slowly starts to rise.
But I'd guarantee I'm more likely to rewatch this one than a few movies I rated higher, which I consider "technically" better, but nothing in them matches the pure joy of Jet Jaguar randomly growing 45 meters and doing karate on a giant bug.
|
|
Wyldstaar
Producer
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,900
Likes: 1,267
Location:
Last Online Nov 20, 2024 20:53:38 GMT -5
|
Post by Wyldstaar on Jun 2, 2019 22:56:15 GMT -5
But I'd guarantee I'm more likely to rewatch this one than a few movies I rated higher, which I consider "technically" better, but nothing in them matches the pure joy of Jet Jaguar randomly growing 45 meters and doing karate on a giant bug. Randomly growing? It wasn't random! Jet Jaguar reprogrammed himself to grow! Perfectly logical, and not at all random.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 2, 2019 23:03:41 GMT -5
But I'd guarantee I'm more likely to rewatch this one than a few movies I rated higher, which I consider "technically" better, but nothing in them matches the pure joy of Jet Jaguar randomly growing 45 meters and doing karate on a giant bug. Randomly growing? It wasn't random! Jet Jaguar reprogrammed himself to grow! Perfectly logical, and not at all random. I stand corrected. I should have compensated for original series Lost in Space science.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 3, 2019 20:20:53 GMT -5
#32Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters2017The above title is the US title, and I think the International title also. The original Japanese title was simply Godzilla: Monster Planet.
Premise: After Godzilla and other giant monsters take over the Earth, a pair of alien races assist humanity in combating them, but when their efforts fail, they help the citizens evacuate the planet in search of a new home. When their efforts prove to be fruitless, humanity returns to Earth to find 20,000 years have passed and Earth is now a jungle world ruled by Godzilla.
I'll admit out the gate that my list is evolving as I go, and nothing is really set in stone yet. I started with how I felt about these films about ten years ago, and am changing it based on how my perspective has changed since. I initially had another film in this slot, but just this morning I decided to put Planet of the Monsters here instead. I just had that epiphany in thinking about these two movies that while I had issues with the movie that I was originally going to create an entry for (which will be listed tomorrow, I'm pretty sold on that), I couldn't in good consciousness say it was less enjoyable than Planet of the Monsters. Hell, I'd have a hard time stating Godzilla vs. Megalon is less enjoyable than Planet of the Monsters, though I have no regrets in ranking it lower because I do objectively think it's a worse movie.
Incidentally, I didn't have The Planet Eater ranked last when I first started this, either. When I first put this list together, I estimated that at #33, but I kept looking at the two movies below it and thought to myself "There are aspects of those two movies that I enjoy. I can't say the same for Planet Eater." The problem with me judging these anime movies is that these are the only Godzilla movies I've only seen once, and that was enough for me to conclude that I am unlikely to watch them again any time soon. If they hit DVD at some point, I'll pop them in and see if I misjudged them, but since they have no release date, I don't see that happening in the near future. But overall, I think the reason I'm ranking them a little high and then second guessing myself and dropping them is that since these films are new and unique in the Godzilla franchise, I really want to see the glass as half full. But then I have the sudden realize that the glass isn't half full...the glass is broken and it's leaking everywhere.
I wanted to love this anime. When I saw Planet of the Monsters, I was disappointed, but I was willing to see where it goes and let the story flow. The movie is unbearably slow. I gave it slack because it was the beginning of the story, but the whole series turned out to be just as slow and boring as this movie. And while the latest American Godzilla movie is getting flack for its characters, I didn't really criticize it's characters because I had just come off these movies, which have far worse characters. Our main hero, Haruo, has an interesting motivation, as he witnessed his parents being killed by Godzilla as he evacuated Earth, and this fuels a hatred for the monster and his own personal desire to see it destroyed. The issue is that there is nothing else to this character. He just spends the entire movie very angry at Godzilla. AND HE TALKS IN ALL CAPS, BECAUSE TALKING LOUDLY PROVES HOW ANGRY YOU ARE! Hell, he spends the entire trilogy very angry at Godzilla, even when he has to help Godzilla in The Planet Eater. That film concludes with him admitting to himself that his only character trait is anger, then he kills himself by kamikaze flying straight at Godzilla. This character is such a waste. But thinking back to this first movie, I had hopes he would evolve as a character, and I had optimism. I was gravely mistaken, and this movie is worse in retrospect because of that.
There are so many cool concepts to this movie. I love the idea of it being the future and Earth having evolved to suit Godzilla's needs. I love the tech on display, and the animation, while not great, is interesting to look at at its best moments. And the final fight between the human soldiers and Godzilla is fun for a while. It begins to grow tiresome after a while once you realize it's just a bunch of people divebombing the monster and screaming "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" while doing it. Over. And over.
Believe it or not, this is the best action sequence of the entire trilogy.
When I watched Planet of the Monsters, I saw potential, but I also knew this movie barely offered much of anything, and it was the one Godzilla movie I liked the least in a loooooooooong time. The movie did feel like it was ending right when it was starting to ramp up, with a twist ending that the Godzilla they were fighting wasn't even the original Godzilla at all, which had grown to a massive 300 meters in 20,000 years (this is actually the largest Godzilla has ever been, by a wide margin). Unfortunately, instead of hitting the ground running with the sequels, they just took two steps back and walked in place. But that glimmer of promise is the one piece of faint praise I can offer this movie, even if it is tainted.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 4, 2019 22:15:09 GMT -5
#31Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster1966
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster is the American title. The Japanese title is Godzilla; Ebirah; Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas, while the International title is Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. Premise: On a journey to find his brother who is lost at sea, Ryota and his friends steal a fishing boat that just happens to also be harboring a fugitive bank robber on it. Their search leads them to an island where they find themselves shipwrecked by a giant lobster creature, Ebirah. Onshore, they discover the island is home to a terrorist organization called the Red Bamboo, who have enslaved natives of the nearby Infant Island (home of Mothra) and forced them to help make a yellow liquid that keeps Ebirah at bay. Trapped in a cave hiding from both the soldiers and the monster, Ryota's group discovers that Godzilla is slumbering inside of it. They concoct a scheme to wake up the monster to chase off the Red Bamboo and combat Ebirah. Other than maybe my having not mentioned the 1998 film yet, this is probably the most unconventional listing so far. There are a lot of things to like about Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster that I have to give it credit for. I very much like the colorful jungle sets, I think the characters are likable protagonists, the Red Bamboo are intimidating antagonists, and Godzilla's fights with Ebirah are pretty swell (with some nice underwater action). On these basic surface aspects, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster is a 'Zilla movie that isn't to be missed. My problem with the movie is that it's plotting is too inane for me to keep pace with. The entire storyline is built around nonsensical decisions by our characters and a couple of coincidences that are thrown in for good measure. The beginning of this film relies on Ryota and his friends trespassing on someone's private boat and finding it's occupied by a bank robber with a gun. Everyone then decides to sleep there...for reasons...and the bank robber is totally cool with this...also for reasons. When they wake up, Ryota has stolen the boat, taking everyone with him, claiming it's a gift from the gods. So...by this logic, I can see some dude's Ferrari, claim it's a gift from the gods and just steal the fucking thing. Look, I get that he's desperate for a way to find his brother, but you can just ride with that. You don't need to find some ass-backwards reasoning to make what he did not stealing. The entire setup for the plotline in this film is utter nonsense. Once they reach the island, our characters make it out of scrapes through an absurd amount of luck, which is something I can live with as I never really asked for our heroes to be smart. But when the storyline gets to the point where Ryota snags his leg on a balloon, is carried away off the island, and results in him landing on Infant Island right in front of his brother... Hey, I'm starting to think this script isn't very good. But the Godzilla action is worth staying for, and there is some wonderful ending of karma for the Red Bamboo. Mothra is here too, but does very little except nap until she flies in to make sure our heroes don't explode at the end. The ending of the movie is a little dry and drags a bit, though I like how the characters are concerned for Godzilla's well-being after he inadvertently helped them. The movie itself has a lot of issues and a few highlights, when it all comes down to it. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was the second and final Godzilla movie featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Like Megalon before it, I can't recommend this version enough.
|
|
IanTheCool
CS! Gold
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 21,492
Likes: 2,864
Location:
Last Online Nov 22, 2024 7:37:07 GMT -5
|
Post by IanTheCool on Jun 5, 2019 7:51:36 GMT -5
I remember kind of liking that one.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 5, 2019 10:04:13 GMT -5
I remember kind of liking that one. It's an enjoyable movie. It's flaws just stack up for me though.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 5, 2019 16:20:35 GMT -5
#30Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth1992
The Battle for Earth is a crappy English/International title Toho uses to prevent confusion with the 60's Godzilla vs. Mothra...because this one's Japanese title is simply Godzilla vs. Mothra, while that 60's one is known as Mothra vs. Godzilla in Japan. If you only watch one "Vs." movie that has Godzilla and Mothra on either side of that abbreviated word, don't make it this one. Premise: Two twin fairies named the Cosmos and the giant egg of Mothra, a protector of the planet, are uncovered by a trio of explorers. Their benefactor decides to take the egg and the Cosmos back to the mainland "for protection," actually planning on using them for financial gain. Meanwhile, a meteorite crashes on the Earth, awakening Godzilla and the ancient, malevolent counter version of Mothra, Battra, who protects the Earth through more hostile means, and the two titans rampage through Japan. As the egg of Mothra hatches, the reborn guardian rampages as well in search of the Cosmos. The three beasts come to a head in Yokohama, where Mothra and Battra must combine forces to subdue the rampaging terror of Godzilla. I think a lot of Godzilla fans agree that the Heisei series of films hasn't aged well. It's hard to debate really, as the suitimation is stiff and less lively than their Showa counterparts, or even what we saw in the Millennium series, as it often reduced itself to two beasts bumping into each other or shooting beams from a distance while the opponent stands in place and shoots beams back. But while the filmmaking techniques of the period don't hold up, I have a fondness for the series. I like the detailed monster designs, the updated animatronics, and that 90's EXTREME aesthetic that brooding teenager me was totally into because I was a total 90's teen. A brooding 90's teen that watched Godzilla movies. Yikes. Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth is the least of this group of films, in my opinion. I understand that the movie was immensely popular in Japan though, and of the Heisei run it actually made the most money. This has been attributed to the fact that Mothra is one of the country's most popular kaiju, especially with women and children, who saw this movie in droves back in 1992, as it was the giant moth's first big screen appearance since Destroy All Monsters in 1969 (and even then, it was just a larva in that movie). I myself am not entirely smitten with this particular movie, as while its environmentalist themes are appreciated, they are very heavy handed and schmaltzy. Also, while I like the idea of centering the film on adventurer characters who may not be entirely good people, they are not very likable people. They constantly bicker, and the redemption arc is too paint-by-numbers to be genuinely involving. As for the monsters, Battra has some interesting designs, but he's a very lazy creation. A "dark Mothra" is an interesting concept, though nothing exceptional is attempted with him other than a bare minimum "Mothra with spikes" design. The laziness comes through in full force when he switches from larva form to final form, as Mothra is given her traditional cocoon ritual with the Cosmos chanting for her, but Battra is just struck by lightning and boom, he's a moth. Fuck Battra. You could have been cool, but you just kind of suck. On Mothra's end, the movie is really just a stiff remake of Mothra's original movie from 1961, with a corporation stealing the twin fairies and trying to exploit them, causing Mothra to rampage. The film mostly makes it less political and more environmental, and adds Godzilla and Battra as villains. As a result it gets cluttered easily and it's plotting doesn't satisfy. Godzilla and Battra even find a way to conveniently disappear for a period while Mothra goes through her remake motions, and really only exist in the film for it to have a final monster battle. And the film ends with a point of convenience to make sure Mothra won't get in Godzilla's way for future movies, as Mothra flies into space to destroy an asteroid that is supposedly going to destroy all life on the planet. In other words... It seems to me like The Battle for Earth might have been a more interesting movie if Godzilla weren't in it and they had concentrated on making it a film between Mothra and Battra, with more effort into making Battra an interesting kaiju, of course. Interestingly, the film was seemingly conceived after several failed attempts to make a Mothra solo movie for the 90's where the bug fought an unproduced kaiju called Bagan (Bagan was an unused concept from several dropped Godzilla and Mothra movies from the time period). I think the reason the film got made in the first place was the success of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah pushed Toho into another brand name kaiju face-off, though the film is far less imaginative, and less goofy fun than its predecessor. Mothra would eventually get more solo movies later in the decade based on the success of this movie. Let's not get into those.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 18, 2019 22:46:16 GMT -5
Yeah, I know I need to get back to this. Things been cray.
|
|
Neverending
CS! Platinum
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 65,770
Likes: 8,646
Location:
Last Online Nov 22, 2024 7:47:06 GMT -5
|
Post by Neverending on Jun 18, 2019 22:58:47 GMT -5
Yeah, I know I need to get back to this. Things been cray. We waited 10 years for PG Cooper to complete his.
|
|
1godzillafan
Studio Head
Join Date: Feb 2017
I like pie!
Posts: 9,480
Likes: 6,217
Location:
Last Online Nov 8, 2024 5:42:00 GMT -5
|
Post by 1godzillafan on Jun 18, 2019 23:29:00 GMT -5
Yeah, I know I need to get back to this. Things been cray. We waited 10 years for PG Cooper to complete his. I can top that.
|
|
Neverending
CS! Platinum
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 65,770
Likes: 8,646
Location:
Last Online Nov 22, 2024 7:47:06 GMT -5
|
Post by Neverending on Jun 19, 2019 1:00:32 GMT -5
We waited 10 years for PG Cooper to complete his. I can top that. Don’t
|
|
frankyt
CS! Gold
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 21,944
Likes: 2,015
Location:
Last Online Nov 22, 2024 8:12:05 GMT -5
|
Post by frankyt on Jun 19, 2019 7:42:55 GMT -5
Mothra was originally more popular than godzilla. Hence their vs movie being titled mothra vs Godzilla with mothra being top billed.
Apparently japanese women were the number one demo for movie going and they loved them some mothra.
Fun facts over. Back to the countdown.
|
|