Godzilla - Tokyo S.O.S.
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Movie Reviews of Godzilla - Tokyo S.O.S.
Movie Review: I Cant Wait To See This Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
If This Movie Is Gonna Be Better Then Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 3 then Oh Man This Will Knock Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla 3 AwayMovie Review: Wonderful Big G movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great film. The special effects, acting, and music are all great. I Highly reccomend.Movie Review: Entertaining, though somewhat unfulfilling.
Summary: 4 Stars
It's been two years since Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla arrived in Japanese theaters. While its visuals far surpassed anything previously seen in a Godzilla movie, save perhaps America's monstrosity known to hardcore kaiju eiga fans only as G.I.N.O. (Godzilla in name only), it's story was a tad on the shallow side. The best Godzilla movies are those that provide an entertaining experience with a side of deeper meaning conveyed through strong symbolism, such as the original Godzilla versus Mothra. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla left off on a semi-cliffhanger: While Kiryu (aka Mechagodzilla) was able to repel Godzilla, it had not won the battle, and Godzilla retreated back into the ocean to recuperate.
Tokyo S.O.S. picks up soon after the first film's conclusion, leaving enough time for Kiryu to be mostly repaired. We learn in the first film that Kiryu was constructed through the bones of the original Godzilla, defeated in the mid-1950s by Dr. Serizawa's oxygen destroyer. At Tokyo S.O.S.'s beginning, we learn that Mothra has decided to involve herself once again in Tokyo's kaiju affairs, and its twins, now known as fairies despite an utter lack of fairy-like characteristics, contact Dr. Shujo. They bestow upon him a warning that Mothra will not stand for the bones of the deceased being used, citing that nature's laws are to be obeyed. Mothra promises to do battle with Godzilla, but only under the condition that Kiryu is dismantled and returned to the ocean. Naturally, the Japanese Defense Force will not sacrifice its prime kaiju-battling monster, and the warnings go unheeded. Despite this, Mothra does battle with Godzilla, even along side Kiryu at one point. Talk about empty promises.
This is only one dissatisfying gliche out of several in this movie, however. Perhaps the worst of which is the film's characterization: It insists on introducing several characters that have relationships with each other, but all of them are about as deep as a puddle. This is even more frustrating as most of the cast of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is completely discarded without any reason whatsoever. That's not to say that those characters were particularly interesting either, but they were quite a bit more developed by the film's conclusion, unlike the stale cardboard cutouts we get in Tokyo S.O.S. In fact, Tokyo S.O.S. takes a little piss in our eyes when it dangles the previous movie's Kiryu pilot - a much better character than any of the new ones - in front of us, only to pull her away to go for "special training" in the U.S. Compounding this problem, they ruin the character by giving her a single incredibly awkward scene that exemplifies a not-so-subtle attraction to Mechagodzilla. The new characters in Tokyo S.O.S. are utter garbage that dance relationship waltzes that have absolutely no impact on the audience. Why oh why didn't they bring back the cast from the previous movie (Save for the Kiryu-fetish pilot)? It should also be mentioned that for unfathomable reasons, there are a couple of Japanese-produced sequences involving English actors. These scenes go far beyond abysmal, with each of these actors falling well under the Keanu Reeves line, and the consistancy is appalling. For instance, various sailors on a battleship all have different accents, setting off a wild question mark in audience's minds.
As previously mentioned, the high-powered special effects are the movie's crowning achievements. In the first 10 minutes of the film, we're treated to a very well-done minature chase sequence in the clouds between two fighter jets and Mothra, a mere foreshadowing of things to come. Every action sequence is charged with dazzling effects, especially for a kaiju movie. But for once, save for the man in the rubber suit, these effects actually equal some finer CG-effects in other movies. One standout scene occurs when Godzilla lays absolute waste to a certain monster with his trademark breath attack, causing it to burst into brilliant flames. Delightful, to say the least.
Yet even with strong effects supporting them, the action scenes are not without flaw. Apparently, the rubber suits are none too acrobatic, and it shows. There are several points in the movie where Godzilla or Kiryu are knocked down, yet the movie cuts awkwardly from a standing-up shot to being straight on the ground, a flaw that is both jarring and unprofessional.
While Tokyo S.O.S. does an immense job of cleaning up the action sequences - a flaw that often plagues kaiju cinema -, it loses sight of perhaps the most important aspect: symbolism. Godzilla was originally created as a big ol' symbol for atomic weaponry, though such an idea has fallen to the wayside in this movie. Instead, Tokyo S.O.S. rehashes Mothra's trademark "Don't mess with nature," message to an incredibly shallow degree. Instead of letting audiences discover such ideas for themselves, Tokyo S.O.S. hits you over the head with obvious dialogue that gives you a hurl in the right direction rather than just a slight nudge. The movie dabbles in a slight cautionary message in regards to technology as Kiryu once again flies off the handle, though in the end it amounts to very little.
Still, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is by no stretch of the imagination a bad movie. Rather, its just a bit typical of kaiju cinema. It harkens back to the late Showa series of Godzilla films with its blatant disregard for decent characterization and shallow plot, focusing instead on cash-in action sequences. Yet in this regard, Tokyo S.O.S. succeeds: its action sequences are very well-done for the most part. It proves to be an entertaining though empty experience; a Rush Hour compared to a Hero.
Movie Review: A Very Entertaining Godzilla Film
Summary: 4 Stars
Being a long time Godzilla fan, I am still pleased to know that Toho still knows that the Big Guy can draw a crowd!
Masaki Tezuka comes back again for a second consecutive (and his third shot) at directing a Godzilla film. Tezuka seems to be getting better with each entry he directs; fixing problems that plagued the previous Godzilla films. The problem is, in the areas he succeeded in previous films, he seems to skip out on some of them in his newer entries.
The story takes place practically a few days or so after the previous film (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla). Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) is being repaired after taking heavy damage from Godzilla in their previous battle. Mr. Chujo, who was the character in the original 1961 Mothra film, is contacted by the Twin Fairies from Infant Island, Mothra's home island. The fairies warn him that if Godzilla's bones aren't returned to the sea (the bones are the structure supporting Mechagodzilla), Mothra will declare war on mankind. Mr. Chujo desperately tries to convince the Japanese government to trash the Mechagodzilla project, but it fails. Not too long after, Godzilla, Mothra, the twin Mothra larvae, and Mechagodzilla are involved in a giant battle royal!
The movie is very entertaining especially if you like long monster action. In fact, the monster action takes up half of the film! The only problem I have with this film is that the story is thin here and there is hardly any characterization at all; making you feel nothing for the human characters. Another problem is that the ending and certain portions of the story seem identical to the previous film. To be quite honest, the idea of the film is new, but the majority of the film is not. Many of you who are Godzilla fans will not see much in the way of new material here considerng you've seen much of it in previous Godzilla films. The acting is decent and the special effects are phenomenal!
All in all, it is nothing more than a fun Godzilla film. It is not the best of the series because the story is very thin and the characterization is pretty much non-existent. But it's jsut fun because of the long monster battles that are well choreographed. It's a film, I believe, most Godzilla fans will find refreshing and enjoyable. I find it to be one of the better films of the Millennium series (1999-2005). So anyone interested in giant monsters or Godzilla films will certainly enjoy this one!
Movie Review: Stunning
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me just say this about Godzilla Movies in general: Forget about trying to understand the "plot", if there was one to start with, it gets lost in translation/dubbing to English and none of these Millenium Series movies makes any sense at all. They seem to be an odd mix of fantasy, sci-fi, horror and drama. You really need to take a leap of faith into the Godzilla Universe to sit through an entire movie, the dialog and themes are hard to take. I'd say it probably boils down to nothing more than a difference between Japaneese and American story telling sensibilities. After watching the whole thing, My son and I like to watch it again a time or two, but we jump right to the best Monster battle scenes - that's the beauty of the DVD format, you can go right to the good stuff and pass up all the weird parts in between.
That said, the MS movies are absolutely awesome. Compared to the older "guy-in-suit" Godzilla Movies, the new ones (90's-2000's) are cutting edge. They have mind blowing special effects, huge sets of cities built with models, and they seem to have a creepy, chilling, & darker look to the night scenes. The "behind the scenes" part is neat, showing how they shoot the films - just as enjoyable as the movie.
If you can get past the bizzare and distractive Mothra scenes (I just don't understand this monster at all - it doesn't really help the story one bit and Mothra doesn't really seem to have any special powers, or any ability to fight Godzilla except for flying around him and making dust) and the absolutely goof ball "Fairy" part of the story line, the special effects of the Mechagodzilla blasting away with the electro-shock waves, missiles, and cannons was unreal, like something you'de see in Japaneese Anime robot cartoons, and the battle scene between Mechagodzilla and Godzilla was so good it was breath taking, I loved it. The detail level on the models used in the movie for the Mechagodzilla and the cities is unbeleivable! Very enjoyable to watch.