GMK: Why so much love?

[Godzilla165]

And fairy dust, Ghidorah is in-fact a brony.

Explains the psychotic nature .

[three]

And fairy dust, Ghidorah is in-fact a brony.

Explains the psychotic nature .

and the wings. but not the head issue. hmm.

and anyway, this movie is seemingly adored for its action. the characters don't strike me as memorable, and the pace quickens as the movie goes on (up to Mothra coming out of the lake). plus, it gives Baragon some love.

[Godzilla165]

Oh, the film was excellent up until when Godzilla and Ghidorah start fighting in the bay, then it kind of just looses its momentum for me.

[three]

Oh, the film was excellent up until when Godzilla and Ghidorah start fighting in the bay, then it kind of just looses its momentum for me.

it lost me after Baragon dies. there was just nothing there for me. even with the increase in pace, it just didn't stick. i don't really understand why the movie gets so much love; i think it's a combination of having a really interesting Godzilla depiction as well as half decent writing for a change in the Millennium films.

ya know what, no, even that's not entirely right, because it's outwritten by later films. it's just a bit...it just doesn't connect with me in a meaningful way, i suppose.

[Godzilla165]

The problem to me is that they made Godzilla so bloody unstoppable, that once he obliterates essentially everything monster and military... Where else do you go after that? What do you do exactly? Well, just come up with a rather forced plan to kill him that felt more like a way to finally end the film, instead of a legit plan to get rid of Godzilla.

I hope I'm making any sense, I tend to ramble when I'm exhausted.

[three]

they did that in Mothra vs. Godzilla though, way back when. it worked, but the defeat of the monster wasn't so odd. like i said, i just found it a bit on the disengaging side. nothing is there to latch on to for those who need it.

[Shannon Squid]

Well compared to most of the movies in recent years, GMK is the only one that isn't dull and totally uninspired.

Though a number of the composting shots are embarrassingly bad. No doubt a byproduct of Toho absurdly fast production schedule at the time.

[KingKaiju]

As much as I enjoy this film, I do personally feel like its a bit overrated, but that's just because I prefer more sci fi over fantasy for my Kaiju films. I just don't really care for the "Godzilla is an entity created by the souls of the dead WWII soldiers!!!!!!!!!" angle. I get the OP's point though, while I like that they took it in a different direction, I just felt that is strayed too far into that whole mystic/fantasy realm for my taste. Also, one question, why was Godzilla able to absorb Ghidorah's attack at the end? That always confused the hell out of me. It was cool to see Baragon again, and I like this Mothra design.

[Shannon Squid]

I'll give Kaneko props for actually daring to mention the atrocities [however vaguely] committed by Japan during World War Two. Something that's been the subject of a lot of revisionist history and deniers in modern Japanese politics...

[edgaguirus]

While I enjoy sci fi, I felt the fantasy touches didn't overpower the story until the battle between Godzilla and Ghidorah. The three headed monster needed magic twice in order to face Godzilla, and it still didn't do any good. Meanwhile, the Baragon fight was a great example of good old fashioned kaiju melee. It harkened back to the older Godzilla films main use of physical attack.

[Lain Of The Wired]

The effects and the monster mayhem is why I'm partial to it.

[edgaguirus]

It's also a very entertaining film.

[Joleim]

What made GMK so great to me was how daring it was. It made so many changes to Godzilla lore, that while some people found it jarring, I found it pretty refreshing. Not only that, but I think this is probably the best suit of the series. I know that a lot of people have a lot against GMK Godzilla's potbelly; But watching the movie this guy makes so many subtle movements that add a little more life to the suit than the previous ones. Aside from that, GMK Godzilla was just plain entertaining. I loved how evil Godzilla was, how powerful he appeared, and the monster action was pretty cool. The only gripe I have with the film is Ghidorah. He looks more like a lanky three-headed dog to me...and the fact that he needed so much help to beat Godzilla only to lose for allowing Godzilla to absorb its power, just kinda spoiled the fight. Other than that, I enjoyed how bloody and brutal the fights were and I actually liked the human characters. So yeah, that's why I like GMK. Gud movie.

[DinoMaster]

It's personally one of my favorite films in the entire series, for a variety of reasons.

- The first is the suit itself. For starters, it's the first classical depiction of Godzilla in the Millennium series, and is the more familiar form than that of the G2K suit. The first actual portrayal of him being evil is a breath of fresh air in this part of the series, and the design worked well. The potbelly that is commonly pointed out by most almost vanishes in the better executed shots, while more visible in the less well executed shots.

- The Yamato Guardians and their part were a breath of fresh air from the normal alien or mutant foes. This is the most insect like Mothra has been in, and it brought Baragon into the public conscious once more. Yes, fans get whiny that 'GHIDRA ISNT VILLIAN! IS STEAMING PILE OF POO', but it has to do with Eastern Mythology. More often than not, dragons were forces of good. The only notable one in mythology from Japan that wasn't is Orochi. So it makes sense with a mythology based film that Ghidorah is good rather than evil. Plus, it was probably going to be Varan's place there. Perhaps Anguiurus instead, but we all know how that went down.

- While not the best done production wise, it is one of the better flowing Godzilla movies around. There wasn't really odd stops here and then that would pull you out of the viewing experiences unlike a few of the others. All in all, it's a good film for sitting back and enjoying, and some analysis for those who enjoy that kind of thing.

[three]

i liked the Mothra from SOS better. she was more of a fight for Godzilla in that one.

[Mr. Xeno]

I personally find this to be one of the best Godzilla films mainly because of the intimate destruction. No Godzilla film before or since has shown what happens to the people underfoot in such heart wrenching detail. It goes a long way in making the monsters feel real, not to mention powerful. It's even more impressive knowing that it was almost all done via practical effects, and on Toho's typical 1-year production time frame.

There's also the rather interesting and unique take on the franchise with Godzilla's origin and the Guardian monsters, which is something a franchise NEEDS to do by the time it reaches its twenty-fucking-sixth installment.

I will admit that the fantastic voyage ending was underwhelming, as it's obvious they wrote themselves into a corner. I think they could have had a darker ending where Godzilla really does end up destroying all of Japan, but people in general don't like downer endings where the villain wins, so Toho probably would have never allowed such an ending.

[NSZ]

No Godzilla film before or since has shown what happens to the people underfoot in such heart wrenching detail.

Really? Not even '54 where the shot actually lingers on those poor bastards that get caught right smack dab in the middle of G's atomic ray, who all scream in agony and drop dead as the area ignites and combusts around them? Because I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that in GMK.

[three]

No Godzilla film before or since has shown what happens to the people underfoot in such heart wrenching detail.

Really? Not even '54 where the shot actually lingers on those poor bastards that get caught right smack dab in the middle of G's atomic ray, who all scream in agony and drop dead as the area ignites and combusts around them? Because I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that in GMK.

i thought '84 did a decent job of that as well. perhaps GTTHM could be counted among those films, as well as GRA? i know people aren't fond of it, but it shows in good detail the people and how the monsters indirectly impact everything around them.

[Mr. Xeno]

No Godzilla film before or since has shown what happens to the people underfoot in such heart wrenching detail.

Really? Not even '54 where the shot actually lingers on those poor bastards that get caught right smack dab in the middle of G's atomic ray, who all scream in agony and drop dead as the area ignites and combusts around them? Because I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that in GMK.

G'54 definitely did it well, but GMK also definitely has the leg up due to advancements in special effects. I'm not able to find any screenshots of these scenes, but there are many shots within the film that are comparable to those of G'54. The main ones that come to mind are:

1. A maser/tank getting hit with Godzilla's ray, sending several soldiers flying through the air.
2. A group of soldiers in the foreground of a skyscraper, while Godzilla is in the background firing his ray at Mothra. His beam eventually passed over the men in the building, killing them all. Similar to a shot from Gamera 3 where the same thing happens.
3. Godzilla's foot stomping through the freeway when he first arrives.
4. The woman seen in the hospital who's hit with Godzilla's tail.
5. The schoolchildren seeing the mushroom cloud.

There are more throughout the film, but I obviously can't list all of them here.

[Karmataurus]

So apparently someone took quite a liking to my Final Wars review and I thought it fitting to do my next review on my second favorite film from the Millennium series, maybe explain a bit on why it is loved.

Godzilla's a hero. While the vast majority of the community doesn't like to accept that a giant radioactive dinosaur that breathes lasers is essentially a superhero without the catchphrases and cape, it is nevertheless the case. G-man started out as a symbol of nature, a sign that there will always be some element of the universe man cannot control or defeat. You can't kill a hurricane. You can't kill an earthquake. You can't kill Godzilla.

Then Godzilla underwent a very brief time of 'settling in'. After beating the snot out of his soon to be ally Anguirus, he served as sort of a 'hey look this monster is cool too'. Mothra was -sort of- able to defeat Godzilla. King Kong was able to defeat Godzilla. Rodan to some extent held his own. It was shortly after this period that Toho made him into a full blown defender of the earth. Sure he's been more destructive in some films than others, but not even in the original was he some god of destruction hell bent on cleansing the earth of humanity.

Until now.

Now Godzilla has motive. When did Godzilla EVER have motive for anything? He seems to just seek out other monsters and random cities and smash them because it's what to do on a sunday night. Godzilla never cared, he never had any reason to care, and that needs to change. If you want Godzilla to smash the cities and kill humans, give me a reason. Did we kill his son? Burn his island? Desecrate the graves of his friend? Some other bull reason? Just give me some kind of reasoning.

As weird as the motive is, Godzilla is allowed to be evil without breaking character. He's been possessed by hundreds of fallen soldier spirits, twisted by grief and hellbent on cleansing Japan of the 'traitors'. Contrary to popular belief, the souls aren't the innocents mercilessly killed at Pearl Harbor. The souls are actually the Japanese Soldiers killed during the war that were 'forsaken' when Japan surrendered. When the nation they died to lead to victory just gave up, they felt defeated. So they used the very instrument of their destruction and turned into some unholy kind of sick revenge.

So Godzilla is a bad guy. Not my cup of tea but it pleases the community. We get human drama, casualties, lovely effects. BUT WAIT! This is probably one of the only films where the G-Man is in some way villainous where he isn't alone! 3 of the Big 5 are in this movie and the long forgotten Baragon appears too. In addition, old abilities return. Godzilla is able to redirect attacks, like he could in the Showa Movies. And he uses his spiral ray, albeit it was very hard to tell because it's white instead of red.

The effects are great, Godzilla looks downright creepy except for his obesity, most of the designs are great baring the derpy Ghidorah we got. The sound is AMAZING! I could listen to that main theme all-day. If you had to replace the typical Godzilla theme with anything else, I'd choose that.

In addition, they're trying new things here! A mystical approach, a more grounded Mothra surprisingly, and new weapons! A weapon that can drill into Godzilla's impenetrable hide? Great Idea! The ending is just great, proof that Godzilla will never truly die.

I do have a few minor problems with it.
- No one cares about the main characters. The side ones are actually pretty interesting, but the boring reporter and -that-other-guy just don't cut it. About as interesting as Ford from the latest installment.
- Godzilla's weaknesses are wildly inconsistent. Some man made weapons actually make him bleed, then some supercharged Ghidorah mana bull hits him point blank and he kind of shrugs it off.
- Godzilla is waaaaaaay too fat. I'm okay with a bit of weight, but this is over the top.
- The dorsal spines are also too tiny. Probably the smallest outside of baby Godzilla variant I reckon.
- The breath is also wildly inconsistent. Sometimes it creates a massive explosion, sometimes no explosion with a small radius of heat.
- Ghidorah looked super derpy. The bit where he jumps in the air with the golden ghidorah field was awesome, but then he went back to looking derpy.
- My biggest problem is the way Godzilla is killed. It's just so stupid. Admittedly I can't think of a better way since the other monsters died, but come on. If anything his own beam should heal his wounds, not kill him.

Everything considered, in my top 5 films and one of the few I could watch with a non-G fan. No where near perfect but I know why so many people like it.