Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Review

Today, I will be reviewing the 28th, and as I write this sentence, final movie in the Godzilla saga.  This movie marked the 50th anniversary of Godzilla’s first film, Gojira (1954).  Toho has decided to send Godzilla off with a bang, and what a bang it is.  Okay, on with the review.

The movie starts with a battle between Godzilla and the Gotengo, which some fans may know as Atragon, a giant, armored flying battleship, in Antarctica.  The fight could go either way, when a tremor causes the ice below Godzilla’s feet to cave in.  Taking advantage of the situation, the Gotengo launches a volley of rounds at a small ice mountain above The King of the Monsters, locking him into an icy prison.

40 years later, the now repaired and remodeled Gotengo fought Manda, clearly a homage to Atragon (1963). After dispatching the beast with it’s drill, Gotengo returns to base.  Two mutants, people with enhanced speed and strength, are sparring in a ring, when a man cuts in, ordering one of the men, Ozaki, to report to his office later.

Once in the office, it is explained to Ozaki that he is needed as a bodyguard for a biologist, who reveals to him a fossilized Gigan, who appears to be a distant blood relative of Ozaki.

After a completely random yet helpful encounter with the Shobijin, who are sporting bobs, it is revealed Gidan is evil, and this evil is in Ozaki’s blood.  In  a very Matrix-esque quote, the Shobijin announce to Ozaki that he has the choice to be who he wants to be.

Meanwhile, monsters are appearing all around the world.  Anguirus raids Shanghai, Rodan assaults New York, King Caesar destroys Okinawa, Ebirah attacks Tokyo, our CGI friend Zilla wrecks Sydney, and Kamacuras takes it’s toll on Paris.  With the exception of King Caesar, all of the monsters look great, but there’s one tiny problem…  No Godzilla!  That’s right, Godzilla is still rotting in his frozen domain while all the monsters dominate the Earth.

Suddenly, the Xilians eliminate all the monsters, appearing as our friends.  They also alert the human race of Gorath, a rogue planet headed straight for Earth.  I don’t want to go too much into this plot, because it plays a key role in the movie, but surprise-surprise, the Xilians are evil.

A picture mocking a scene in GFW regarding a dog.

The Gotengo is dispatched to retrieve Godzilla, but faces complications when Gigan arrives.  The Gotengo completes  it’s mission, and The King of the Monsters walks the Earth once again.  After dispatching Gigan with ease, Godzilla proceeds to defeat every last monster the Xilians throw at him, until Monster X comes along…

Godzilla's most recent opponent, yet this is a mere shroud of his true form.

For the 50th anniversary, Toho sent Godzilla off with a bang, yet rumors have already arisen of a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963) and a new movie made for IMAX called G0dzilla 3D to the MAX. I really enjoyed GFW, although I may be alone when I say that, as the movie got bashed by most critics.  Yes it may be fast phased, but it is fun, with tons of monster action, great special effects, and decent human fight scenes to boot!  When you think about it that way, the movie seems pretty good, right ROGER EBERT?  All in all, it was a great entry into the saga, and I will continue to re-watch it for the fights, even though the plot is extremely similar to that of Destroy All Monsters! (1968). I give it an 8.5/10.