Talkback: GMK - Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah (2001)

[edgaguirus]

Well written and I agree with it on several points. GMK has its flaws, yes, but overall it's one of the most successful Millenium films.

[SoleMan]

See, stuff like this is why I didn't write the essay for Final Wars, though it's good I'm inspiring people to write...I think...

[GMK Godzilla]

My favorite photo from this bunch:

I can't see it!
(...And yes, I tried refreshing.)

it's this pic

[edgaguirus]

The kid looks scared. So would anyone if the GMK Godzilla was coming your way.

[ゴジラさん]

Part of the reason GMK is one of my favorites is the design for Godzilla (minus his pot belly and clown feet) and Baragon. The rest of the movie is very flawed, but achieved the right amount of seriousness vs. silliness. Although, I think all the acting in this one is atrocious.

[GMK Godzilla]

The kid looks scared. So would anyone if the GMK Godzilla was coming your way.

so? godzilla is supposed to look scary. a friendly Godzilla is no go

[GodzillaSpawn]

I love GMK. Loved from the first time I put it on. I hope it ages well, but I'm not so sure if it will. The more serious Godzilla films seem to come off as cheesy as time goes by. Maybe not all: Gojira, Mothra vs. Godzill and Godzilla 1985 are still great. But the rest of the hesei series (with the exception of Godzilla vs. Destroyah) took itself too seriously in my opinion. Now, I watch Godzilla vs. Mecha Godzilla or Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla and I find it lamer than the campy 70's ones. Godzilla 2000 was fine, but the Kiyru saga felt like a straight to tv Sci Fi movie. I think GMK was the refresher in the series, where for the first time in a long time, Godzilla wasn't just a "misunderstood" force of nature, but truly a dark, violent force.

I too liked the relationship of the two main characters. Does GMK have lame aspects? Yes. Is the action perfect? No, in fact the battle with Baragon is marred by two horrendously fake shots of Baragon falling to the ground but looking as stiff as an action figure. But at it's best it's some of the best Godzilla material in decades.

[Gojira21]

I just wish they put this movie back on Crackle...:/

[Plexton]

Good essay! I like how you emphasized the mystical aspects of the film, as Shusuke Kaneko had a great deal of success marrying the kaiju and fantasy genres with his Gamera films. After all, Godzilla is really as much a dragon as he is a dinosaur.

Beyond that though, the mystical aspects of the film work well with the movie's theme of generational gaps and Japan's place in the modern world. Yuri Tachibana is essentially drifting through life, caught up in a crass profession that respects none of Japan's traditional values, a fact which saddens her father, Commander Taizô Tachibana. However, while the film may at first seem condemning of modern Japan, Godzilla's appearance reawakens the sins and the guilt of Imperial Japan and the second World War, and makes the Commander realize that perhaps both generations are at fault. The only way to defeat Godzilla, an evil spirit from the past, is by father and daughter working together. It's a very compelling theme and, honestly, I would be interested in watching the film even if it didn't have kaiju.

I think Kaneko should have been granted his original wish to use Anguirus and Varan instead of Mothra and Ghidorah, as a trio of Baragon, Anguirus and Varan would have worked well as a set of guardian entities due to their similarities to one another and Godzilla; it would have been clear that Godzilla was a spirit like those three monsters that had grown very powerful and been consumed by anger. By contrast, Mothra and Ghidorah both seem out of place and are distracting given how ingrained their identities are with fans. Amusingly, Fuyuki Shinada, the designer of the monster suits for the film, was disappointed that Varan (his all-time favorite monster) wasn't going to be in the film, so he compromised by putting Varan's facial features on Ghidorah's three heads. I always thought those heads looked familiar!

I have mixed feelings about Godzilla himself, as many fans do. Back in 2001, Shusuke Kaneko stated his thoughts on the differences between Gamera and Godzilla:

There are big differences between Godzilla and Gamera, as I'm sure any fan of the genre can attest. In my mind, Gamera is a bit masochistic and Godzilla sadistic. The Gamera formula is that Gamera fights, gets defeated in the middle, then returns at the end and is triumphant. Godzilla is different. From the beginning Godzilla attacks--and he keeps on attacking to the end! Godzilla is not a protector; he is the enemy of Japan.

As with many fans, I do have a problem with this; while Godzilla has not always been a protector of Japan and has frequently demonstrated anger for humanity, outside of this film I cannot recall Godzilla acting in a sadistic fashion. In GMK, Godzilla seemingly goes out of his way to cause death and destruction, even taking care not to miss killing humans when possible (remember the hospital scene?) Even in the original film Godzilla was more a force of nature and a testament to man's folly than he was an avenging spirit of malice, and since that time Godzilla has evolved into a truly ambiguous character. In my mind, that ambiguity is what makes Godzilla such an interesting monster, and when you take that away and make him pure evil he seems like somebody Ultraman should be beating up.

But, my criticisms on Kaneko's approach aside, it is apparent that he thought for a very long time about his vision of Godzilla and took great care to make the film a thought provoking and thematically homogeneous experience. GMK isn't just another popcorn flick; it's obvious a lot of thought and soul went into its creation, and that combined with its impressive execution makes it one of the very best entries in the series, in my opinion.

[GodzillaSpawn]

^Good point! I never realized Kaneko said that! That's interesting.

Eve though I probably would generally disagree with him, because throughout the years Godzilla has been portrayed so differently (nuclear terror, territorial beast, mankind's savior, an animal who is simply a product of mankind's arrogance, a god, etc.) I do like his Godzilla. I wanted to see a cruel, jerk Godzilla for a while lol.

[Eunectes]

Did anyone else laugh when Baragon was climbing the hill, and all humans are like "RUN AWAY WHILE YOU CAN!" only to see him jump and get owned by Godzilla's tail?

[Giga Kaiju]

I felt bad for him...

[Rody]

^ I think you're supposed to sympathize for Baragon. He's the brave underdog taking on the big evil brute.

[Giga Kaiju]

Yeah but i said it because Eunectes laughed about Baragon.
But Baragon role is that, "try" to stop Godzilla. (but not beating him)

[Shadow]

^ I think you're supposed to sympathize for Baragon. He's the brave underdog taking on the big evil brute.

I give Baragon alot of credit for trying, he knew he had no chance, but he kept going.
A monster worthy of being a Earth Guardian indeed.

[tymon]

Godzilla vs. Baragon is my favorite sequence of the Millennium series (along with the opening of Godzilla 2000). There are too many money shots to count, and the battle is well-cheorographed and actually intense. I also love both monster designs.

I felt bad for him...

Me too, but I've said it before: he deserved what he got. You don't go up against the king of the monsters without backup or, at the very least, a better strategy. Baragon was skreeonk stupid.

[Rody]

He's more clever than Anguirus would have been, at least.

[Mincecraft]

^Still wish Varan was in it.

[attilagodzilla]

well a friend of my brother wanted to see a godzilla movie.
so I we all watched GMK because it is one of the best godzilla movies out there.
And throughout the whole movie they bashed it like'' this movie has bad effects, it looks fake''
and after the movie the friend of my brother said that even a barbie film was better then this
and because i watched the movie with them and they were bashing it in front of me i was annoyed really. well atleast i watched the movie again because they wanted to see it. and i say that this is the second best godzilla movie after Gojira.

[TheChingzilla]

Varan, and Titanosaurus would be nice to see in GMK