In 2003, Japanese movie studio “Toho” released “Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” After the film’s release, Toho decided to develop another installment of the “Millennium Series” as the final film of the long running franchise. Tired of releasing each film per year, Toho decided to add almost every single monster since 1954 in one epic conclusion in a massive all stakes film titled, “Godzilla: Final Wars.”
Godzilla: Final Wars was released in 2004. (the exact same year Millie Bobby Brown was born) It received mixed reviews from critics. However, longtime fans and movie goers actually enjoyed Godzilla’s final swan song. Although an awesome installment, it failed o recoup its expenses at the box office. I’m gonna come clean, Godzilla: Final Wars is my favorite Godzilla movie of all time. Although Toho stated they’ll no longer make Godzilla movies, they’ve decided to put the global icon on a ten year hiatus.
In 2014, Warner Bros. (WB) released an American reboot of Godzilla as the first installment of a shared universe inspired by the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” (MCU for short) known as “MonsterVerse.” Two Years Later, Toho finally released their own reboot titled, “Shin Godzilla” not set in the MonsterVerse. “Funimation” also produced an anime trilogy with the help of “Netflix.”
The following review doesn’t contain no crucial SPOILERS whatsoever. If you never ever ever seen any Godzilla movie or Godzilla: Final Wars, feel free to read my non-spoiler article.
Strong & Weak Elements
Strong: Action Sequences are filled with non-stop battles, humans and aliens engaging kung-fu, friggin’ laser beams, aerial combat, large scale missions involving military factions & traditional Kaiju fights. Me likey!
Practical Effects were heavily used to build miniatures to resemble Earth’s environmental landmarks, pyrotechnics blowing crud up, set pieces & custom made suits for stuntmen to portray Godzilla & his opponents.
Godzilla’s setting takes place worldwide. Indicating everybody participates in an all-out rumble.
Fun Fact: In 2004, Godzilla earned a star on “The Hollywood Walk Of Fame.” After 50 years, he’s an international global icon.
Fight Scenes are cranked up to eleven as each one managed to keep me on the edge of my seat without getting easily bored. I’m giving each battle an Extra Point.
Cinematography never suffered from any technical difficulties throughout.
Godzilla, Mothra, Gigan, Rodan, King Ghidorah & almost every singe Kaiju serve a purpose whether a single monster is fighting to protect Earth or wants to eradicate human civilization under the control of aliens.
Godzilla: Final Wars’ storyline is influenced by “X-Men,” “Starship Troopers,” “The Matrix Trilogy” & “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Opening Scene immediately shows us Godzilla in action. What you’re about to see, indicates you’re gonna have one heck of a fun ride.
Opening Credits plays a montage of stock footage from previous Godzilla films ranging from 1954-2004. Toho thought of this as a heartwarming sendoff to longtime fans of the franchise.
Pacing isn’t slow, it manages to stay on track going from Point A to Point B.
To be honest, none of the human characters are boring. They actually serve a purpose willing to take a huge risk in order to save Earth.
Kumonga The Spider attacks Arizona. Wait a tic! That’s a stealth reference to “Eight Legged Freaks,” because it takes place in Arizona.
A French bulldog appears in a pivotal scene. Besides pugs, English bulldogs, French bulldogs are one of my favorite dog breeds.
The film did a jab at Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla during a short fight with the REAL Godzilla. That’s right, the OG King Of The Monsters is the real title character, not that fish eating iguana. What I saw is the equivalent Deadpool 2’s mid-credits scene.
Godzilla is like a Kaiju version of Maximus from “Gladiator” fighting all the opponents he’s facing without breaking a sweat. I expect Godzilla to shout “Are you not entertained!”
The Climatic Battle has got to be one of the most intense fights in the Godzilla series.
The Ending will satisfy you after one heck of a fun ride.
Weak: An optional con is in fact, a giant spider. If you have a fear of spiders, root for any Kaiju.
Godzilla 1998 is made from Computer Animation. I’ll let this con slide, because he finally gets his comeuppance. “Robot Chicken” made fun of Roland Emmerich’s epic disaster.
English Dub actors hired to translate Japanese dialogue, felt way over-the-top. Especially the human alien antagonist. I’ve mentioned this flaw from my previous reviews related to Godzilla.
Product Placement only has one brand. Pioneer shows up in one frame. I’ll let this flaw slide, because there wasn’t any other brand to shove down my throat.
The Final Verdict: A-
Godzilla: Final Wars is an epic conclusion worth a culmination of monsters we all know in love since 1954. All the positive things listed such as almost every Kaiju’s epic moment, battles, high stakes alien invasion, escalation between humans, aliens & monsters all serve a purpose in a massive war. If you’re excited to see Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, I highly recommend Godzilla: Final Wars as a must see entry worth your spare time. If the hokey acting never happened, I would’ve given it an A. My highest grade for my website. I’m saying it’s bad, its close enough as an epic conclusion.
Godzilla: Final Wars is my favorite Godzilla movie of all time. My favorite Kaiju related movies are “Cloverfield,” (my personal number one pick) “Kong Skull Island,” “Godzilla 1954” & a tie between King Kong” 1933 & Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 