Final Wars: Why all the Hate?

[hammysammy59]

Hell, I love Final Wars and I still would kill to see a big, crazy team battle. Of all the different combinations of monster fights we've seen in these movies over the last fifty+ years, two big teams (3 or 4 monsters a piece minimum) going after each other still hasn't been done. It stings even worse when you remember early drafts for GvGigan had two teams of three monsters brawling. Maybe Legendary will someday deliver on the promise of all-out monster mayhem.

[Living Corpse]

Hell, I love Final Wars and I still would kill to see a big, crazy team battle. Of all the different combinations of monster fights we've seen in these movies over the last fifty+ years, two big teams (3 or 4 monsters a piece minimum) going after each other still hasn't been done. It stings even worse when you remember early drafts for GvGigan had two teams of three monsters brawling.

And one of those early drafts would have finally made Varan have a big role instead of just being a cameo. Poor guy can't get a break.

[edgaguirus]

But he sure does know the periodic table of elements.

[Kaiju-King42]

You know, now that i think about it, Godzilla: Final Wars appears to be the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen of the Godzilla series. Both have too much action and not enough story, short one-sided battles, a main monster/robot that kicks everyone's ass, a whole lot of other monsters/robots that are pussified into near-cannonfodder, to much time worrying about the human storyline, explosions abound, bad plots, an alien invasion, and a climatic villain that at first, kicks the main monster/robot's ass, but then has the main monster/robot get a power up and kick the villain's ass.

[Destroyer]

At least Final Wars has class, unlike Revenge of the Fallen.

[Goji]

You're joking, right?

[Tohosaurus]

Imagine of Godzilla had knocked some sense back into some of the monsters like Rodan, Anggy. We could have had a three on three or more monster fights. Godzilla, Rodan, King Ceasar and Anggy vs. Hedorah, Monster X, Ebirah, Gigan.

In fact that was one thing I was really disappointed about this film. When they were still making it and they released concept art of all the monsters that would be in it I thought we'd be getting multiple fights maybe even three on three fights. Nope, instead we get Godzilla versus everyone and the closest we even get to a tag team is Monster X and Gigan, the latter of who leaves the fight to take on Mothra who is supposed to be Godzilla "ally/partner" in that fight yet neither one so much as acknowledges each other.

I suspect that maybe the anticipated global theatrical release of GFW had something to do with it, that they wanted to display Godzilla's power and position in that world. The days of KKvG and MvG are far gone.

Plus as I said, the film misses out on a lot of opportunities. There's internal political troubles between high-ranking Xiliens -at least two of them- and the coup subplot could've been a far more interesting part of the alien side of the story. Instead it was simple *bang* Okay now unleash all the monsters. The Keizers might have made for a very entertaining fight but didn't really look that and was even somewhat boring. Even in the recent Wrath of the Titans seeing the gods and demigods fighting was entertaining and gave the viewer a real sense of power behind the fights of those individuals. The humans themselves were fairly flat as well, but I still have a soft spot for Akira Takarada. He's always great. Don Frye was fun but still one dimensional too. And as we all agree, the monster battles fail to impress often enough. I could argue about the inclusion of some monsters too, but that discussion is played out by now. Another thing was that at least in the translation into English the Controller says they had to destroy pretty much all of the Earth so that our main cast "wouldn't get any stupid ideas." But the film fails HARD to ever show this destruction on a large scale so it's hard to really FEEL like they are alone here. Maybe I'm over analyzing but perceive this to be a destroyed world I did not.

But GFW did get some things right, admittedly. I liked the suit designs for most of the monsters. It was a wise move to trim down suits so they'd be lighter and can move better for superior fight scenes (which as I said didn't get utilized enough anyway). I like what they did with the Gravity Beams on Keizer Ghidorah. Firing a shot causes damage but if they hold onto the beam it actually becomes a Gravity Beam. And as a random aside it was nice Monster X had something other than the stereotypical solid beam; his short burst blip of a Gravity Beam was a good idea. But why he really was included at all seemed to lack much of a point beyond being something to parallel the transformation of the Controller into a Keizer-form-whatever-it's-called. Plus the superbeings were an interesting idea (badly executed).

[hammysammy59]

You're joking, right?

No. GFW might be nonsensical popcorn garbage, but it's at least got enough class to leave out awkward unfunny sex jokes, weird misguided attempts at drug humor (how the hell did the mom in Bayformers 2 not know what a pot leaf is? Is she a retarded person?), and of course cringe-inducing racist caricatures.

[Goji]

I've never seen "Bayformers 2", or 3, so I'm not familiar with the references. Regardless, there nothing "classy" about FINAL WARS. The entire thing is a border line parody of the genre.

[Hellspawn28]

Saying that Final Wars is better then Transformers 2 is not a big step up. It's like saying Battlefield Earth is better then Alone in the Dark. They are both awful and Final Wars is just hardly better.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

At least Final Wars has class, unlike Revenge of the Fallen.

No, it doesn't. If GFW has class, then I'm the pope.

[hammysammy59]

Is the idea that having class is binary? It either has 100% class or 0% class? I guess I don't subscribe to that... I've always thought things have levels or amounts of class. GFW has more class than Transformers 2, but to be fair Transformers 2 has more class than.... lemonparty, I guess? Maybe goatse?

[GotengoXGodzilla]

Is the idea that having class is binary? It either has 100% class or 0% class? I guess I don't subscribe to that... I've always thought things have levels or amounts of class. GFW has more class than Transformers 2, but to be fair Transformers 2 has more class than.... lemonparty, I guess? Maybe goatse?

A film that basically says life in New York City is just one big racial stereotypical war between gangstas' and the police, and mocks its fan base with some chocolate mouthed kid that would throw his toys in the fire has no class IMO.

[Ethan]

Godzilla Final Wars is better than Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla, Rebirth of Mothra II and Space Warriors 2000, but it's nowhere as "good" as The Last Shark and Tentacles. Just to name a few "low-brow" monster movies.

[hammysammy59]

Is the idea that having class is binary? It either has 100% class or 0% class? I guess I don't subscribe to that... I've always thought things have levels or amounts of class. GFW has more class than Transformers 2, but to be fair Transformers 2 has more class than.... lemonparty, I guess? Maybe goatse?

A film that basically says life in New York City is just one big racial stereotypical war between gangstas' and the police, and mocks its fan base with some chocolate mouthed kid that would throw his toys in the fire has no class IMO.

Very good point. I forgot (somehow ) about the pimp-cop scene. I'd still say TF2 is trashier by a wide margin, though the pimp-cop scene is only funny for the wrong reasons and cringe-worthy in its own right. Chocolate kid never bugged me... that always struck me as "look at this spoiled turd of a kid" not "this is what we think of the fans." And even if it was the latter, I see it more as when Conan does a ridiculous nerd voice to impersonate his own fans--more of a ridiculous goof than a "skreeonk YOU"

[edgaguirus]

Class is in the eye of the beholder. You could say GFW has class because it embraces the fact it's a tribute to the Showa era, while TRotF tries to be more than it is and fails.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

Class is in the eye of the beholder. You could say GFW has class because it embraces the fact it's a tribute to the Showa era, while TRotF tries to be more than it is and fails.

...Except that, GFW doesn't pay tribute to the Showa era. If GFW pays tribute to anything, it's The Matrix or Star Wars or X-Men.

[Destroyer]

Oh but it does pay tribute to the Showa era. I'm not the only one saying this, as others say it too. So maybe, just maybe it really does pay tribute.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

Oh but it does pay tribute to the Showa era. I'm not the only one saying this, as others say it too. So maybe, just maybe it really does pay tribute.

It really doesn't pay tribute to the Showa era. Just because it referenced a whole bunch of Showa events and said, "Hey! Remember these things? They were pretty cool, huh?" That's a reference, not a tribute.

A tribute would be taking something, essentially putting it on a pedestal and talking about how great it is. Holding it to a higher degree and making other people realize how amazing it. GFW does not do that for the Showa era. Not in the slightest.

[Destroyer]

It really doesn't pay tribute to the Showa era. Just because it referenced a whole bunch of Showa events and said, "Hey! Remember these things? They were pretty cool, huh?" That's a reference, not a tribute.

A tribute would be taking something, essentially putting it on a pedestal and talking about how great it is. Holding it to a higher degree and making other people realize how amazing it. GFW does not do that for the Showa era. Not in the slightest.

Final Wars doesn't just use references. The tone is light, the fights are back to being frantic with actual punches, and for the first time since Terror of Mechagodzilla aliens invade.

Maybe it's not attempting to say how great the Showa era is, but from what I and many others got from it was a tribute to the 60's and 70's eras, complete with aliens in spandex.