TALKBACK #10: All Monsters Attack

[Mac]

It's an important scene to redo in the movie because of the context. In Son Of Godzilla it's lame and played for laughs. Here Godzilla's actions are more paternal (great pantomiming), and has a purposeful objective of actually trying to help Minya stand up for himself. Also, given the fact that this is all in Ichiro's head, the relationship between Godzilla and Minya here is an obvious stand-in for Ichiro and his own father, who he probably wishes was helping him with his bullying problems. It's sad and poignant, and there's no way this is objectively the worst Godzilla film.

[jellydonut25]

It plays out exactly the same except:
-Godzilla kicks Minya in the face, pretty sure he only THREATENS violence in Son of Godzilla
-They are firing at the ground instead of water
-Minya salutes Ichiro at the end

It's played just as much for laughs....Ichiro even chuckles to himself.

[MekaGojira3k]

But mac's point about the significance of the scene still stands.

Also I don't think this is an objectively bad Godzilla film. I don't think it's good so much as okay. The stock footage hampers things and degrades the concept, but the rest of it is fine. It's actually a pretty novel concept that I would love more had it not been so laced with stock footage.

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

I said "might be". It's so often argued and stated that it is, I figured I'd address that: it MIGHT BE objectively bad...but I kinda like it because....

[Reaper G]

[Psycho Soldier]

The Cinema Snob reviewed this one today, so if you have 20+ minutes to spare...

[Legion]

[mbozzo]

I remember first watching All Monsters Attack on television as Godzilla's Revenge. All those monsters and it;s only a dream by a lonely boy.

[tbeasley]

I think most golden age Toho sci-fi/fantasy movies are genuinely well made for what they are, and All Monsters Attack is no exception. Entries post-Destroy All Monsters certainly lose a sense of scope and grandeur, but the heart is still there and plenty is on display here. The stock footage feels like less than half of what the movie is about. There's some clever filmmaking to be seen and it makes me ache to see Honda's non-Godzilla/genre work. It's still a kids' movie though (as can be seen by the slapstick ending) but there's a natural, bittersweet quality to the movie very true to Honda.

[kiryugoji04]

[GFan]

[MekaGojira3k]

I'm pretty sure he's just a movie monster.

[Benjamin Haines]

I've read the suggestion that Godzilla's Revenge is set in the "real world" where Godzilla is just a fictional character for years. I don't buy it. I think if that was the case, Honda would have included something, ANYTHING in the film to indicate that this approach to Godzilla's existence in the narrative is meant to be totally unlike the nine films that came before it. He could have included a shot of Ichiro passing by a movie theater with a Godzilla poster, or looking at a print advertisement for one of Toho's Champion Matsuri festivals, or hearing a commercial for the latest Godzilla movie on his radio, but there's nothing like that. The notion that Ichiro has watched Godzilla movies and is remembering them in his dreams just strikes me as a really weak attempt to turn the parade of stock footage into a positive.

[MekaGojira3k]

Well what convinces you that it takes place in the same world as the other movies?

[Benjamin Haines]

[Legion]

Eh, I think treating it as a movie about a kid who loves Godzilla movies not only makes far more sense in the context of the film, but it's also a hell of a lot more fun.

[MekaGojira3k]

[walshiam]

[Benjamin Haines]

[Jorzilla]

The action CLEARLY takes place in Ichiro's mind, unless you are suggesting Ichiro ACTUALLY warped there, which I don't think you are. Assuming that Godzilla is actually 'real' in this universe, it still doesn't change the fact that none of what happens is actually canon to the films, because again, it takes place in Ichiro's head.

Moreover, every interaction Ichiro has with adult regarding monsters, the adults basically dismiss it as child-like dreams on a few ocassions. If these monsters were actually real in this world, from a FILM MAKING perspective, why didn't Honda have a character blatantly say, on screen (by your criteria): "But how can you like monsters if they kill millions of people?"

The simple fact is, this movie makes the most sense as a 'real-world' film about a Godzilla fan. Whether or not that was the film makers intention, it certainly has become the modern interpretation of the film.

You are free to disagree, but I'd like to see the same evidence from your end rather than this argument about the film being consistent the movies that came before.

[Benjamin Haines]

[walshiam]

Still, everything said is hypothetical when considering there was no "real" evidence of monsters existing outside a child's imagination. The source of his imagination was never explained. The thing to remember is that his fantasies were as real to him as the "real-life" crooks that kidnapped him. They were the true monsters of the film.

[Jorzilla]

So basically you still didn't provide evidence that it actually takes place in the same universe, slammed G Fan and JD Lees like that's relevant to the argument (hint: it's not), and said it's my word against yours. If that's the only criteria, my interpretation wins out for me, and a lot of other people as well.

[Benjamin Haines]