TALKBACK #28: Godzilla Final Wars

[Jorzilla]

So, now that the new movie is out: Does anyone like this film less?

[Benjamin Haines]

[MekaGojira3k]

^

[kiryugoji04]

[MekaGojira3k]

[Psycho Soldier]

I still like Final Wars quite a bit, but especially now that the new film's out, the way in which GFW makes the audience wait for Godzilla comes across as completely amateur. I'm referring particularly to the motorcycle fight. At least most of the other events in the first half are building up to Godzilla's entrance, with the requisite exposition, everything going to hell, etc. But that motorcycle fight really tests my patience. Otherwise, I have fun with the movie, for all its other faults.

[goji4ever]

The new movie does not affect my opinion of this one..a collection of dynamic, ingenious, and all too brief monster sequences in the midsts of human scenes with no narrative value or continuity

[lhb412]

Is that Don Frye in the new Priceline commercial with Shatner?

[Benjamin Haines]

[AsianAliens]

I know I'm on the ultimate minority on this one, but I actually really like this one.
I can see why some may not like this one, because it is more out-there than most post-1975 Godzilla films, and it is pretty 'hyper'.
Myself, I though this movie was a great way to send off the Japanese series. It seemed to show everything the Godzilla series was commonly known for; Smashing cities, fighting weird Monsters, and crazy Sci-Fi. I enjoyed the quick-fire rounds of Kaiju battles, as they helped make the movie seem more fast paced and fun. Godzilla being stronger than ever was a lot of fun, and it was great to see so many retro Monsters make appearances, even if some were cameos. Again, minority here, but I thought the human cast was one of the most memorable yet. Yes, the Matrix/X-Men ripoff scenes were overbearing, and yes, some scenes were just too silly, but overall I really liked this one.

[jellydonut25]

I really don't have an issue with the silliness. Nor do I have an issue with the length and/or frequency of the monster action. My only issue with the movie is its length. There are two fairly significant chunks of time (the motorcycle chase, and a lot of the stuff in between the reveal of the Xiliens and the reveal that they are evil) that could be excised entirely without affecting the film itself much at all and keeping it a bit faster, lighter and more fun. With those edits, this could actually potentially be a top 10 Godzilla film for me. Instead, it's right around 12, I think.

[AsianAliens]

Yeah, despite all my up for the movie, I agree that it is a bit too long, especially compared to the runtime of most other Godzilla films. It's hard to commit to watching such a long movie sometimes.

[Gwangi]

It is hard to believe that it has now been 10 years since this movie premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater, and before that, Godzilla having his star on Hollywood's Walk-of-Fame (fun ceremony).

And of course, it was this movie that started a great civil war on these boards! Some liked it, while others absolutely loathed it and it went back and forth. And as I recall, I was sort of the Lincoln trying to put this union back together! (well, not really, but it sounded good!).

[Dr Kain]

I've got to be completely honest. For as much as I **** on this movie, it has actually been one of my more viewed Godzilla movies in recent years. It is fast paced, has a lot of great action sequences, and is overall, just a fun movie. It isn't that good of a Godzilla movie, but as an action one, especially as a Kitamura movie, it is pretty damn awesome. It is just so easy to rip apart though because for every one thing it does good in, it does five bad things.

[klen7]

[Dr Kain]

[jellydonut25]

This is a movie that I could have made into one I LOVE with some editing and maybe a couple re-shoots:
-trim the time between the Xiliens showing up and them turning out to be evil. BY A LOT.
-Cut the entire motorcycle chase scene.

and maybe I wouldn't actually LOVE the movie, but I'd legitimately like it a lot and not feel I'd have to justify that enjoyment to anyone ever aside from personal opinion.

Basically, there's just no reason this movie needed to be any longer than the average 95-minute Godzilla movie.

[Jorzilla]

This is still one of those movies that I actively hate while watching it. A film like Godzilla vs. Megalon is pretty garbage, but the extenuating circumstances give it some slack in my book and I tend to find it charming. Same with Godzilla's Revenge. This film and Godzilla vs. Mothra are not only terrible, it consistently portrays itself like it's a lot better than it actually is, as I result every failure in the film shines that much more brightly for reasons people have continued to mention in this thread.

My thought process of watching this film: "This is one of the most expensive Japanese Godzilla films ever made, and they adding f*cking wizz noises to the hats flying off the pimp and cops head?!"

[walshiam]

What I can't understand is that most, if not all, persons who view this film labels it as bad because they fail to see it for what it is instead of what it's not meant to be: just plain fun to watch.

[klen7]

Parts of the film are fun is a lot (probably more than half the movie overall). The plots and scenes that are specific to mutants annoy me, and the racist stereotype scene is downright embarrassing. The parts of the film that are fun are so fun that i WANT to like this film more, but depending on my mood the other parts can really ruin it for me

[Dr Kain]

Oh yeah, the dialog in NYC is pretty awful. However, the movie does do a good job of encompassing elements from all of the previous Godzilla series into one. I do agree that there are a lot of pointless actions scenes, but you could say that about any Kitamura movie. Hell, any action movie in general.

[Inui Takumi]

[Dr Kain]

I can not disagree any more. The action is exactly Kitamura's style. It isn't The Raid's style (still don't get what the hype is about those movies). It isn't anything but Kitamura's style.

[Jorzilla]

Then Kitamura's style sucks.

[DannyBeane]