GxMxMG: Tokyo SOS

[Xenorama ™]

if FINAL WARS is going to actually premiere there, i'm going up.

[Mothra]

Megs, the reports I've read said, 11/29, but I also read one that said 12/4, the same day it's opening in Japan, so who knows? I'll wait till I hear more.

[Gwangi]

Jimzilla

YES! I did see you then! Would never have realized it was you! In comparison in what you described, I’m a relatively dull dresser (I guess it’s just the Felix Unger in me).

And yes, while I was waiting in the long line, I did see that women in the Godzilla costume. We were really Hollywood!

If “Final Wars” is having it’s USA premier there, no doubt, I will try to move Heaven and Earth to attend! Just gotta know when it's showing.

[Giganfan]

I don't know, to me the story and the direction were just crap. It had a promising premise, but the film moves along way too fast. Also, we see practically the same characters as in the previous movie. You have your "hot-shot, cool-as-sh*t" (yeah, right!) pilots that always feel their skills will save the day. I just think that the whole production, with the exceptions of the special effects, is no better than a made-for-TV movie. Tezuka definately fell off as a director, if you ask me. Fan or no fan of the franchise, if you can't progress with each movie you make (I thought he did quite well from GxM to GxMG), then don't expect to be around for long after the series is over.

[005]

Horrible movie. First half is a complete waste of time. This movie could've, well should've been 35 minutes tops. Subplots that go nowhere and characters that do nothing abound. And then they have to lift half the battle from GODZILLA VS THE THING and GODZILLA VS MOTHRA. I honestly don't see what other people like about it so much. Yeah, the special effects are nice, but who cares? They do nothing with them.

And Yosmego, grow a brain and a pair of balls. Christ, the girl couldn't have made it any more obvious that she likes you. You ain't seein' anybody. Do somethin'. Or come out of the closet if that's how you swing. #@%*!

[Xenorama ™]

wow, tell us how you really feel! i liked it just fine, but then i don't have many expectations of the newer movies- the 90s ones taught me that.

[Giganfan]

Yeah, the Godzilla series of the past three-four years has been dog sh*t in my opinion. There were a few promising moments, but none of the movies really had any kind of a lasting effect. GODZILLA 2000 just showed how pathetic and seriously lacking Toho's creative abilities are. GODZILLA X MEGAGUIRUS is probably the only shining moment of the Millennium series, if you ask me. It felt like a fresh new direction, and gave hope to the series. For all of it's "technical brilliance," GMK just doesn't seem like a genuine Godzilla movie. Shusuke Kaneko is an auteur with his own directorial style, and those kinds of filmmakers shouldn't be allowed to make franchise movies. GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA isn't bad, really. It's probably my favorite of the four movies. TOKYO SOS, on the other hand, is a pile of crap. Which is a damn shame, because that was the one that I really wanted to be a good movie. Well anyway, none of these movies have the same repeat-viewing "prowess," for lack of a better word, of the Showa and even some of the Heisei movies. But then again, that's just my opinion.

[Gwangi]

Well, while I agree that both the Heisei and Millennium series were not close to the Showa, the Millennium was, at least for me, a step up over the Heisei series. Better effects and at least more interesting stories, IMO. By breaking from that continuity that was one of the Heisei series weaknesses, it provided a much fresher approach. (Some hate those breaks from the series, but it was at least different)

Both, had something that kept bugging me though. The fact that the human stories revolved around the military aspect. It became the same old theme of "how do we stop Godzilla". And it is ironic that the first movies of both series didn't start out that way (G 84 had the reporter, the fisherman, his sister and the scientist as the main characters, while GK2 had the scientist, his daughter and the reporter with the military personal always in the background).

SOS followed this same theme that the others had, except that they did bring back Hiroshi Koizumi to revive his Chujo character from "Mothra". And it just wasn't a cameo. He was part of the main story, and it was his character that made the movie interesting for me at least.

[Garasharp]

I've yet to see a subbed or dubbed cut of the film, but judging from the actors' performances or the personalities of their characters, the human story didn't grab me that much. Other than Hiroshi Koizumi's character and the Shobijin, I didn't care about the characters at all. Felt like I'd seen 'em all before, like in another movie or tv show. But like I said, I've only seen the original version. I might change my mind about the characters and story when I've seen the subbed or dubbed version.
As for the monsters, I thought they were fantastic - especially Mothra. Godzilla seemed a little more lively than in the previous flick too. I would've preferred an evil MechaGodzilla though. I loved that scene in the last film where he goes berzerk and starts walking through buildings and blowing up everything in sight. I know he's s'posed to be a more tragic figure in the story, but he's essentially the '54 Godzilla under all that metal - and he was a nasty piece of work. Why couldn't Mecha G turn out like that as well? Still, he did have a sort of Gigantor/Mazinger vibe about him, at least in GxMG anyway. If he couldn't be eville, at least he could emulate some of the cooler 'good' robots, I thought.

Overall, I thought the Millenium flicks were quite good. I enjoyed G2000 with its' weird vibe, interesting characters and Lovecraft-esque alien monster.(the US cut was great, I thought) 'Godzilla vs Megagiras' was just plain fun, with wonderfully fast-paced monster battles. GMK was great as well - the monsters' had cool personalities, and I thought Godzilla made an excellent villain, despite the whole 'war dead' angle. I don't think they fleshed that bit out much. To be honest, I think they could've dropped that aspect of Godzilla's character and it wouldn't have hurt the film at all. The monster could've been his regular bad-ass self, like he was in 'Godzilla vs. the Thing' - just a big ol' prehistoric beast out to cause trouble.
'Godzilla against MechaGodzilla' was alot of fun too, slightly more enjoyable that Tokyo SOS, I thought. That one is the only film in the series so far that leaves me with a 'Meh' feeling. Cool effects, great monsters, but the human bits aren't as interesting.

[August]

The Godzilla 50th celebration at the Egyptian was attended by more people than soley from the So Cal area... over 20 people came from the San Francisco area, about 10 people came from Sacramento, some folks from Chicago, Colorado, Canada, the UK, the Midwest and the East Coast... I thought it was a great turn out, since the Egyptian seats 650...

But, the San Francsico Godzillafest www.sfgodzillafest.com that we put on had folks from Europe, the East Coast, Canada, So Cal, and more... the Castro Theater seats 1400, with 800 on the floor, and most of the evening shows -- especially over the weekend, had more than 800 attending each night, over the seven nights of the event. Plus, we had Hiroshi Koizumi, Akira Kubo, Tsutomu Kitagawa, Jerry Ito, Ed Keane and Russ Tamblyn!

[celamowari]

Ed is still alive? I'm glad to hear that, as I know he must be way up there by now.

[Xenorama ™]

watching this again for the first time in... perhaps three years? i forget, but this is the second time i've watched it (along with the first X MG movie as well). i like 'em both quite a bit.

it's very nice seeing the original Chujo in the movie- really ties it in with the original MOTHRA, that's for sure.

i'd missed the part about the first XMG pilot leaving for America, since i'd wondered where she went for this go 'round.

still, this "Kiryu" isn't a patch on the first and best MechaGodzilla- just too armored and anime bulky. moves very well, which always surprises me. and does EVERY MechaGodzilla have to break down at some point in every movie?

[Shonokin]

I find Tezuka's movies servicable, meaning they are nothing to write home about but are entertaining. Seeing it at the aformentioned SF Godzillafest on the big screen, what stood out for me was the amount of tiny details in the miniature sets. THAT was impressive. Most of the building rooftops had satalite dishes or clothes lines and little minutia like that which I don't think I caught when watching it on DVD.