TALKBACK #25: GMK
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Wow, the whole title wouldn't fit in the subject box!
This is the best film of the Millennium series. Sure we've all complained about it, but it seems to me these qualms are more about unfulfilled potential. I feel with more time and money (and allowing Kaneko to use the far more suitable Varan and Angilas) this film could have really reached the next level. It's not as good or technically proficient as any of Kaneko's three Gamera films, but the only Godzilla film from the 2nd and 3rd series that surpass it in technical quality is Biolantte.
With that extra time and money the special effects could have been better (there are some fantastic effects, but the naff ones stand out when compared to the fact that the rest of the film looks really slick and modern) and the script could have been inproved (a little clarification about how the monsters are being revived by the old man, figuring out something better than having Ghidorah revived twice - things that could easily have been adjusted had there been more time). Perhaps they could have tweaked a few glaring problems in otherwise excellent suit designs?
As for the good: this is actually something approaching a good movie! Not merely "goofy fun" or "something diverting for us fans." The cinematography is a serious step up, the characters are likeable and have various quirks that make them interesting (when's the last time we had fun side characters who, despite limited screentime, leave an impression?), there are moments when people have very natural dialogue - bringing to mind the sense that Ishiro Honda brought to these films that these are real people ...
It has a feeling of freshness absent from most of the 2nd and 3rd series films.
Perhaps the biggest problem this movie has is that it tops itself halfway through: nothing beats the Godzilla vs. Baragon fight. The ending battle has some great stuff in it, but the energy and visuals from this first monster fight aren't even close to being topped.
I still get a tad angry about the substitution of Mothra and Ghidorah in this film. These are monsters with legacies that just do not fit with this film's story. Varan and Angilas, on the other hand, are great scruffy, earthy monsters that are more believable as mythological beasts that menaced the countryside.
This is the best film of the Millennium series. Sure we've all complained about it, but it seems to me these qualms are more about unfulfilled potential. I feel with more time and money (and allowing Kaneko to use the far more suitable Varan and Angilas) this film could have really reached the next level. It's not as good or technically proficient as any of Kaneko's three Gamera films, but the only Godzilla film from the 2nd and 3rd series that surpass it in technical quality is Biolantte.
With that extra time and money the special effects could have been better (there are some fantastic effects, but the naff ones stand out when compared to the fact that the rest of the film looks really slick and modern) and the script could have been inproved (a little clarification about how the monsters are being revived by the old man, figuring out something better than having Ghidorah revived twice - things that could easily have been adjusted had there been more time). Perhaps they could have tweaked a few glaring problems in otherwise excellent suit designs?
As for the good: this is actually something approaching a good movie! Not merely "goofy fun" or "something diverting for us fans." The cinematography is a serious step up, the characters are likeable and have various quirks that make them interesting (when's the last time we had fun side characters who, despite limited screentime, leave an impression?), there are moments when people have very natural dialogue - bringing to mind the sense that Ishiro Honda brought to these films that these are real people ...
It has a feeling of freshness absent from most of the 2nd and 3rd series films.
Perhaps the biggest problem this movie has is that it tops itself halfway through: nothing beats the Godzilla vs. Baragon fight. The ending battle has some great stuff in it, but the energy and visuals from this first monster fight aren't even close to being topped.
I still get a tad angry about the substitution of Mothra and Ghidorah in this film. These are monsters with legacies that just do not fit with this film's story. Varan and Angilas, on the other hand, are great scruffy, earthy monsters that are more believable as mythological beasts that menaced the countryside.