Chris55 wrote:I don't like how they were basically the same movie twice.
My feelings lie half-way between "they're one big movie" and "they were basically the same movie twice."
There are amssive redundancies between the two, but also a few things that each has and the other lacks. I feel like a much better movie than either of them could have been made had it simply been one long movie which included the best elements of each and eliminated all the repetition.
But even then, I think I would have found the results relative unimpressive. There's very little in the story that I care about, and those elements that do interest me are short changed in both. And, either way, one is still stuck with the flat scripting and Tezuka's uninspired direction.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.
I loved them and after giving them a rewatch recently, I willfully deposit them near the top of my list of favorite Godzilla films.
So what do I like about them so much? Probably the best aspect of the film would be the special effects. Well, I feel that for one, the models were highly detailed and the sets didn't look as fake as some other films. In fact, I would say that the sets were only a notch below the amazing work of the Showa sets. Of course, the monster battles were all well planned and well executed while also looking realistic, and they were quite stimulating. Also, the CGI was without a doubt, better than any we have seen in a Japanese Godzilla film. Overall I find the whole special effects for the Kiryu duology to be better than any Toho kaiju film aside from the last 2 Heisei Gamera films.
Also, each monster was executed quite well and radiated personality, power, and awesomeness. From the iconic opening scene with Mothra in the clouds in Tokyo S.O.S to Kamoebas first appearance in decades as a harbinger of the power of humanity's nemesis, each kaiju had grand entrances.
In particular, I loved Godzilla's first appearance where he was battling the maser tanks in the rain. Something that stood out to me about that scene was when Akane blasted Godzilla in the face with the maser, he instantly blasted at the tanks. But when one rolled the cliff, he stepped right on it, purposely, and gave his remaining enemy a complex and piercing glare of rage, pain, and glee. Rage and pain over being blasted in the face, and glee over smashing his tormentor's ally or friend right in front of their eyes. So yeah, he had a bit of a mean strike. All throughout the film, he displayed intelligence, personality, and power in various forms, examples, and such that make this Goji one of my favorites. Not to mention the spectacular suit.
And Kiryu was the best monster in a long time. First of all, he also possessed an unusually deep personality which led to some of the most iconic scenes of the franchise: berserk mode, realization of what he must do, and the final goodbye he issued to the central character; and like many good characters, he changed over time from his initial rage at resurrection, to his desire to destroy mankind, to his want to return to the sea with his descendant. Plus, he lived up to the Mechagodzilla name and proved a badass opponent who eventually outclassed his nemesis.
Mothra too had a deep personality and incredible power and design. In fact, another of my favorite scenes comes when Mothra sacrifices herself and the seemingly innocent larva's blue eyes turn blood red. It trumped all other Mothra-suicide scenes previous or since and added a new interesting aspect to the larva. Loss and vengeance.
Let us not forget the human characters who weren't boring like some other humans from the franchise. Their stories were intriguing enough to draw you in and make you care about their situation and future.
Overall, I think that is what this movie had as its best attribute: character. And it went from deep movie to epic movie by backing up the dynamic story and characters (human and kaiju) with the best music since Ifukube, incredible special effects in line with Hollywood, respect and reference to the older installments of the franchise, and plenty of other facets of decent film making.
The Kiryu Duology: a great saga and high point in film making.
The story gave me little reason to care about the people on screen.:/
Yeah, ditto. I felt like there were concepts that could have paid off in strong characterization, but that none of those opportunities were taken advantage of.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.
eabaker wrote:There are amssive redundancies between the two, but also a few things that each has and the other lacks. I feel like a much better movie than either of them could have been made had it simply been one long movie which included the best elements of each and eliminated all the repetition.
I actually had a "Fan Edit Ideas" thread a while back and the first thing I brought up was cutting these two films together. Of course, I would delete most of SOS's story (cuz I don't like it) and combine the battle sequences - have Akane fighting through the final showdown. Also replace a lot of the score with Oshima's far superior tracks from the Megaguirus score. I think the edit is possible (mainly because the two films are so similar), I just don't have the equipment to attempt it yet.
JAGzilla wrote:And then there was The Giant Condor. He...seemed very dedicated to what he was doing?
I like both movies, but I tend to watch SOS more. A large part of that is probably due to the fact that the monster fight takes up about 90% of the movie, so it flies by really fast. XD
^ Well that's just what a lot of fans say, and it makes sense. For example, a bullet travels much faster and has more energy when shot on land than in water because water is very dense. The same thing can be applied to the abz in that on land it's a concentrated ball of energy, but in water it "shatters" or explodes if you will, so it is in turn weakened and is thus not as fatal and as powerful as it would be on land.
I always assumed the reason they replaced the abz in SOS was so that when Kiryu shoots Godzilla with his chest weapon it doesn't deal a killing blow. So it being weakened by the water in Against Mechagodzilla makes sense.
BARAGONBREH wrote:This website is a disturbing commentary on the state of reading comprehension today.
goji89 wrote:Its common courtesy to ask people if they can be quoted.
Meh it was pretty cool. The first time I saw gxmg I thought it was great but after awhile it only just ok. I remember watching SOS the first time. I thought it was the last Godzilla movie and when I saw at my local blockbuster, it was kinda sad realizing it. But as we all no it wasn't the last. SOS BEEEEEGS to have an ending where you see like godzillas eyes open or something at the end of the credits but they really dropped the ball on that. Godzillas look is pretty cool but considering it came after gmk, it kinda unexceptibal (spell check) 3/5
I will repost some of the stuff I wrote in my blog on these two movies:
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
Although the grieving soldier mourns the death of her commander and tries to redeem herself was already done, I actually like the way it was handled in this movie. She really is hurting and despondent and it really made me want to root for her. The relationship between Lieutenant Akane and the scientists Tokumitsu and his daughter Sara, is touching, awkward and humerous all at once. This is one of the human stories in the Godzilla franchise that I really enjoy.
Godzilla Tokyo SOS
I have read where some fans didn’t care for this film. I happen to enjoy it a great deal. All Godzilla movies have pretty good monster battles and destruction so many of these films fail or succeed with the human story being told. For me I really enjoy the human story. Dr. Chujo is a very kindly old man who teaches his grandson about Mortha and it is this grandson who, thinking outside the box, creates the symbol that contacts Mothra using desks from a school room. Meanwhile Dr. Chujo’s nephew, Yoshito Chujo, a mechanic on the Kiyru repair team, is having a difficult time as the Kiyru pilot squad doesn’t think much of him. But in the end it is Yoshito Chujo who saves the day and repairs Kiyru allowing the pilots to capture Godzilla.
There is a great deal of warmth and charm in the human story as each over comes some prejudice and adversity to make an impact and a difference. Sure, many of the things we see in the monster fights have been done before but it is the human story that really does it for me. I do have to say the special effects are very well done and the monster battles are enjoyable. Mothra, at times is rendered in CGI so it is not a model and that actually brings him to life more than he has been in the past.
I do have to say that I like SOS more than I like Mechagodzilla
I thought they were both done well too. They had a good human and monster story it would be nice if the 2014 film had a some what similar plot. However, oddly the human plot isn't the same in the either movie and Tokyo S.O.S didn't seem to make very many refferances to the humans in the other movie outside of one brief flashback.
Legionmaster wrote:Yeah how dare people talk about the things they like. What assholes.
Godzilla6014 wrote:I thought they were both done well too. They had a good human and monster story it would be nice if the 2014 film had a some what similar plot. However, oddly the human plot isn't the same in the either movie and Tokyo S.O.S didn't seem to make very many refferances to the humans in the other movie outside of one brief flashback.
Except for Kiyru being damaged from the previous movie SOS in many ways is a stand alone film. All you really have to know before seeing Tokyo SOS is that Kiyru was made from the bones of the first 1954 Godzilla and it was badly damaged in a fight with the most recent Godzilla.
Godzilla6014 wrote:I thought they were both done well too. They had a good human and monster story it would be nice if the 2014 film had a some what similar plot. However, oddly the human plot isn't the same in the either movie and Tokyo S.O.S didn't seem to make very many refferances to the humans in the other movie outside of one brief flashback.
Except for Kiyru being damaged from the previous movie SOS in many ways is a stand alone film. All you really have to know before seeing Tokyo SOS is that Kiyru was made from the bones of the first 1954 Godzilla and it was badly damaged in a fight with the most recent Godzilla.
Oh yeah that's right silly me I forgot about that part. Thanks for reminding me though.
Legionmaster wrote:Yeah how dare people talk about the things they like. What assholes.
gzilla46 wrote:I do wish they made MechaGodzilla evil again. It'd be a cool throwback to the classic MechaGodzilla.
There was no evil Mechagodzilla. His pilots were evil.
TK's resident O L D S H O W A F A N B O Y who is a salty heisei and sticklegs zilla H A T E R and GINO fan S T E R E O T Y P E R and member who threw a T E M P E R T A N T R U M over Vega
Legion1979 wrote:The Godzilla fandom tends to attract three types of people; ignorant kids, social deviants and drunks in their late '20s and older. Lol
SaltPersonified wrote:Says the one who threw a temper tantrum over Vega
If you're forced ignored with me and you see this because you logged out to read my posts you need a life lol
Haven't watched SOS yet but I found Against to be rather boring. Not to mention I'm sick and tired of all the goddamn "Godzilla killed somebody's friend, relative, whatever and wants revenge" shtick. Plus its barely even a Godzilla movie and more an extended Kiryu toy commercial. It might not be quite as bad as Megaguirus, but still one of least favorite Goji/kaiju films.
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gzilla46 wrote:I do wish they made MechaGodzilla evil again. It'd be a cool throwback to the classic MechaGodzilla.
There was no evil Mechagodzilla. His pilots were evil.
Yes, but the design of the character, the way his action was staged, the way he was photographed, and the way the movies were scored were all designed so that we would perceive him as evil. His emotional charge was evil.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.
