by lhb412 » Mon May 16, 2016 8:28 pm
^ and in contrast to my last post: I just rewatched Tokyo SOS, and by my math that must be the fifth or sixth time I've watched it and I just can't put my finger on this thing! It's maybe the most forgettable Godzilla movie ever. Sure; it has the most consistent visuals of all of Tezuka's films, maybe of the entire Millennium series (GMK has much better work, but interspersed with some pretty bad work), but aside from the nicest Mothra since the '60s (the highlight of the film) and a decent score the entire thing is just so bland. Bland, and slight - the hour and a half breeze by without leaving much impression.
There's an attempt to create a more interesting cast of characters, but it's like they only did the beginnings of the work to make that happen; often just telling the audience directly what the character motivations are and moving on. When the characters resolve whatever conflict or arc they had I just shrugged. Life should be lived in the time allowed/I'm afraid my kid might die in battle/I love machines, but fairies have told my it's wrong to make a Mechagodzilla - all of these things could have potentially been interesting had they been better developed.
The monster scenes may be more technically proficient, but it's also noticeable how flat and sparsely detailed the miniature environments are, and often they feel cramped in a way that belies just how little studio space they had to work within.