by Hybrid Gojira » Mon Dec 22, 2014 2:02 am
I've been on a Heisei kick. I've managed to watch every Heisei film in about a month or so.
Tonight, I watched GvsDes.
I've said it before in this thread - there are so many cool ideas in this film. Introducing characters who directly relate to the original Gojira's cast (and even having a cameo by Momoko Kochi, who played Emiko Yamane) is a nice touch. Creating a monster from the Oxygen Destroyer that killed the original Godzilla and then using it as the main antagonist in the final Heisei Godzilla film is brilliant. It brings everything full circle and certainly adds an overwhelming sense of closure to the series. Killing off Junior? Awesome, saddening, and such a good idea for the film (especially considering the ending). The scene where Godzilla tries to revive Junior is rather touching, and throughout the last part of the film I really felt Satsuma delivered an excellent performance as Godzilla. You can see G's pain and anger, and you're rooting for him to obliterate Destoroyah at the climax (well, I would anyway, but his killing of Junior certainly adds to the fire). I've never liked the idea of Godzilla having offspring, but at least Junior isn't bad in this film. His connection with Miki and Godzilla hits you in "the feels" so to speak, and for once I wasn't against the idea of Godzilla's "kid" being in the movie.
It's impossible to talk about this film without mentioning the ending - Godzilla dies, and it's truly sad. I admit I teared up this time. The older I get, the more sentimental I have become (I suppose being a new father of a 9 month old will do that to you). While I didn't love portions of Ikfukube's score, the majority was spot on and the ending theme was probably the perfect theme to set Godzilla's final moments to. Of course, we know that the end is the new beginning - as one Godzilla dies another is reborn. All of these ideas really work together, and I really enjoyed this movie much more than in previous viewings.
However, this film is far from perfect. The "Bandai Destoroyah" scenes are nauseatingly bad. The blatant Aliens rip off scenes are pathetic. Godzilla Junior on wheels (as he's interacting with Godzilla at the Airport) is very noticeable. The matte shots go from pretty good to really lazy - Tokyo is supposed to be evacuated, but there is traffic everywhere as Godzilla approaches. As much as I LOVE Destoroyah's design, the suit is so bulky that it made the close combat sequences difficult. And while I didn't hate his roar, I really wish Toho could have been more creative with it. The Showa era roars always had a flair to them and were very unique. The Heisei era, at least for the most part, lacked this ingenuity and rehashed several Showa era monster cries.
I do think the story in this film has a strong foundation, but Jelly's critique earlier in the thread was accurate - a student who flunked out of college is now the smartest guy in G Force. That premise isn't great, but throughout the film he's the only guy offering any solutions and answering questions. It's also true that his interest in Miki (and the reason he decides to join G Force in the first place) is basically forgotten immediately after he joins the team. No flirting, no real sense of grief when her helicopter goes missing, nothing. Miki is far more interested in Jr and Godzilla than she is anything else - at least she remains true to character in this film when they use the little guy as bait to lure Godzilla into the city so he can fight Des by reluctantly agreeing to the plan. They also introduce a new psychic, though I'm not sure it was necessary. This was Miki's show since Biollante - they should have let it end that way.
Overall, I think this film is probably better than I gave it credit for previously. While the charm of the early Showa films isn't there, the emotional weight certainly is. I can overlook a lot of the bad in this movie because there are enough good moments to make it worth watching. I'd say this film is probably the second or third best Heisei era film behind Biollante (and maybe G84). It certainly handles Godzilla's death with more feeling than GvsMGII did and I enjoyed the fight sequences much more.