Godzilla: Final Wars

Godzilla: Final Wars (ゴジラ ファイナルウォーズ, Gojira: Fainaru Wōzu) is a 2004 kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Isao Kiriyama and Wataru Mimura, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. An international co-production between Japan, Australia, the United States, and China, the film was produced by Toho Studios, CP International, Zazou Productions, and Napalm Films. The film stars Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikukawa, Don Frye, Maki Mizuno, Kazuki Kitamura, Kane Kosugi, Kumi Mizuno, Kenji Sahara, Masami Nagasawa, Chihiro Otsuka, Shigeru Izumiya, Masakatsu Funaki, Masato Ibu, Jun Kunimura, and Akira Takarada.

Godzilla: Final Wars
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRyuhei Kitamura
Produced byShogo Tomiyama
Screenplay byIsao Kiriyama
Wataru Mimura
Starring
Music by
CinematographyTakumi Furuya
Edited byShūichi Kakesu
Production
company
Toho Pictures, Inc.
CP International
Zazou Productions
Napalm Films
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • November 29, 2004 (2004-11-29) (Los Angeles)
  • December 4, 2004 (2004-12-04) (Japan)
Running time
125 minutes[1]
Country
Language
  • Japanese
  • English
Budget¥1.9 billion[3]
Box office¥2.4 billion[4]

The film coincided with the 50th anniversary of the franchise, and as such, the film features a variety of actors and kaiju from previous films. Godzilla: Final Wars premiered on November 29, 2004 in Los Angeles, California, and was released theatrically in Japan on December 4, 2004. Before the world premiere, Godzilla received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[5]

Plot

During a battle in Antarctica with the original Gotengo, the monster Godzilla is entrapped under ice by a cave-in caused by a series of missiles fired off from the submarine. In later years, environmental disasters cause the appearance of giant monsters and superhumans, dubbed "mutants", who are then recruited into the Earth Defense Force (EDF) to battle the monsters. An upgraded Gotengo, commanded by Captain Douglas Gordon, battles and destroys Manda, but the ship is wrecked in the process and its captain is suspended from the EDF.

Mutant soldier Shinichi Ozaki is tasked with guarding a U.N. biologist, Dr. Miyuki Otonashi, who is sent to study a mummified monster. They are teleported to Infant Island where they encounter the Shobijin, fairies of Mothra, who reveal the mummified monster as Gigan, an alien cyborg sent to destroy the Earth who was ultimately defeated by Mothra. They warn that a battle between good and evil will happen soon and that Ozaki must choose a side. Giant monsters begin attacking several major cities. Rodan attacks New York City, Anguirus attacks Shanghai, Zilla attacks Sydney, King Caesar attacks Okinawa, Kamacuras attacks Paris, Kumonga attacks Phoenix, Ebirah attacks Tokai, and Hedorah attacks an unknown location. The EDF engage the creatures, who mysteriously vanish at the same moment when an alien mothership appears over Tokyo. The aliens, named Xiliens, warn that an incoming planet called "Gorath" will soon impact the Earth. A peace pact is signed between Earth and the Xiliens. Meanwhile, Minilla, Godzilla's son, is found in the forest by a boy and his grandfather.

Distrusting the Xiliens, Ozaki, Miyuki, and her sister, Anna discovers that the Gorath they saw is actually a hologram and that the aliens have replaced several members of the EDF with duplicates. After their kind is exposed, the Xiliens' Controller, who called himself X during an interview on a radio show, kills his superior to assume command, revealing the plan to use humans as a food source while taking control of all the mutants except for Ozaki through a property in their DNA known as "M-base". X also has the monsters placed under his control through M-base in their DNA and awakens Gigan to have them to wipe out the EDF. The group escapes although Gigan pursues them. Gordon convinces them to travel to Antarctica to release Godzilla, which is immune to Xilien control through its lack of M-base and easily destroys Gigan. The Gotengo then guides Godzilla into battle with the other monsters and returns to Tokyo to engage the Xiliens. After penetrating the mothership, the group is captured and brought before X as he summons Gorath to Earth. Though Godzilla destroys Gorath just before it crashes, it unleashes Monster X, and the two monsters battle.

An upgraded Gigan aids Monster X but is intercepted by Mothra, who is gravely wounded while managing to destroy the cyborg. In the Xilien ship, X reveals that both he and Ozaki are superior beings known as "Keizers", powerful beings distinct from regular mutants born on rare occasions when human DNA and M-base are combined, before directly taking control of Ozaki to turn him against the group. A fight breaks out, and X loses control of Ozaki due to the Shobijins' blessing. X is fatally wounded, but he triggers the ship's self-destruct as the group falls back to the Gotengo moments before the mothership explodes. Godzilla and Monster X continue their battle as the latter transforms into its true form, Keizer Ghidorah. Keizer Ghidorah initially gets the upper-hand but Godzilla emerges victorious in the end. Minilla shows up at the scene and convinces Godzilla not to destroy the Gotengo. The survivors watch Godzilla and Minilla return to the ocean.

Cast

Production
Godzilla's new design for Godzilla: Final Wars dubbed the FinalGoji.

Ryuhei Kitamura accepted the offer to direct the film due to being unsatisfied with the Godzilla films of the 80s, 90s and 2000s, stating, "I loved the Godzilla movies back in the ’70s, but not so much the ones released in the 1980s and ’90s. Godzilla movies back in the ’70s were never just monster movies, there were always messages and themes that reflected the time and world within which they were made, and they combined this so well with straight-out entertainment. They lost that touch in the ’80s".[6]

Kitamura has compared Godzilla: Final Wars to that of a musician's "Best of" album,[7] stating "We picked lots and lots of the best elements from the past and combined it in a new way. It's what I love about Godzilla and what I don't love about recent Godzilla movies".[8]

Like previous Godzilla films, Godzilla: Final Wars makes extensive use of practical effects rather than CGI. The special effects were directed and supervised by Eiichi Asada, who also directed the special effects for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. Commenting on the special effects, Kitamura stated at the film's world premiere in Hollywood, "We stick to the special effects. That’s what we've been doing for 50 years. And that’s why Hollywood doesn’t do it. So on the first meeting, I told everybody that we stick to the special effects, and the live action instead of CGI. So it’s a CGI-monster-Hollywood Godzilla versus our man-made live-action monsters."[9]

Filming included on-location shooting in New York City and Sydney, Australia.[2] Scenes were also filmed in various locations across Japan, including Fukushima, Kobe, and Toho Studios in Tokyo.[10]

Music
Main article: Godzilla: Final Wars (soundtrack)

The film's score was composed by Keith Emerson, Nobuhiko Morino, and Daisuke Yano. Emerson was offered the job by Kitamura, who was attending Emerson's Japanese concerts at the time. Emerson's main concern was the potential lack of time before going on tour. Emerson was only given two weeks to write the score and ended up writing more music than what was used in the film.[11] The film featured the track We're All to Blame by Sum 41 during the battle between Godzilla and Zilla.[12] The band received top billing in the opening credits.

Release

Godzilla: Final Wars was distributed theatrically by Toho in Japan on November 29, 2004.[2] It was released theatrically in the United States on November 4, 2004 and then released to video on December 13, 2005.[2]

Critical response

The film received fairly positive reviews, especially in Japan, but more divided reactions abroad. Film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 50% rating, based on 12 reviews with a total score of 5.75/10.[13]

Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique called the film "utterly fantastic" and "a rush of explosive excitement."[14] Jim Agnew of Film Threat gave the film four and a half stars out of five, saying "the good news for kaiju fans is that Godzilla: Final Wars is a kick-ass giant monster flick."[15] Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News remarked, "Godzilla: Final Wars earns a special place in my heart. It's fun. Pure lunatic fun, every frame."[16] Sean Axmaker of Static Multimedia said, "Directed by a true fan of the old school, it's lusciously, knowingly, lovingly cheesy."[17] Craig Blamer of the Chico News & Review called the film "a giddy and fast-paced celebration of the big guy."[18]

Conversely, David Nusair of Reel Film gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying that "the battles are admittedly quite entertaining" but felt that director Ryuhei Kitamura "is absolutely the wrong choice for the material."[19] David Cornelius of eFilmCritic gave the film two stars out of five, calling it "the dullest, weakest Godzilla movie I've seen in a long, long time."[20] Ty Burr of the Boston Globe gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying it focused too much on action and not enough on story, and calling it "35 minutes longer than is necessary."[21]

Among kaiju-related websites, J.L. Carrozza of Toho Kingdom "absolutely love[d]" Final Wars, saying "[it's] no masterpiece, but it is such insane fun that quite frankly it's hard not to adore it."[22] Mike Bogue of American Kaiju said "the film is flawed, but nonetheless entertaining," saying there are "too many [Matrix-style] battles" but that the film "makes excellent use of its monsters" and "Kitamura keeps things moving at a brisk pace."[23] Japan Hero criticized the "[lack of] character development" but concluded that Final Wars is "a very entertaining movie," saying that "Kitamura did a wonderful job making it an interesting and great looking film worthy of being the final [Godzilla] movie."[24]

Stomp Tokyo said "the monster scenes are generally well done" but criticized the film's "incoherence," saying: "It's a shame that Kitamaura couldn't choose a tone for the film, instead shifting the movie's mood wildly from scene to scene."[25] Lenny Taguchi of Monster Zero criticized Keith Emerson's soundtrack but gave Final Wars an overall favorable review, calling it a "fun and good" movie that "tries many things, and generally succeeds at almost all of them."[26]

Director Kitamura commented at the film's world premiere that the reason why he agreed to direct the film was because he wanted to update Godzilla and recapture the same spirit seen in the later Godzilla films from the Showa era.He wanted to incorporate the same speed and power seen in films like Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which he believed was lost somewhere within the series, stating, "The Godzilla series had lost that kind of taste. I think that back in the '70s Godzilla movies had more power and speed. He was very fast and he was very strong. So in my Godzilla, you know, less dialogue and more action. That’s more fun than watching people discuss what we should do about Godzilla. As a Godzilla fan I want to see Godzilla punching and kicking, beating up all the other monsters instead of somebody talking again, you know, discussing the operation. That's what I wanted to do is to revive that, but not in the same way, I have to update. This is the updated version of '60 & 70s, crazy, monster movies.I hope that the Americans will not modify the Japanese version too much."[27]

Awards
Year Award Category Recipient Result
2005 Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival Best Feature Film Godzilla: Final Wars Nominated
2006 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Most Disturbing Import (Scariest Foreign Film) Godzilla: Final Wars

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

  • Released: December 13, 2005
  • Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.40:1) Anamorphic
  • Sound: Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Subtitles: English and French
  • Supplements: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (comparison of B-roll footage to finished film)(17:53 min); Trailers for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Steamboy, Dust to Glory, MirrorMask, and Madison
  • Region 1
  • MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence.

Sony – Blu-ray (Toho Godzilla Collection) [28]

  • Released: May 6, 2014
  • Picture: 2.40:1 (MPEG-4 AVC) [1080P]
  • Sound: Japanese and English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
  • Subtitles: English, English SDH, and French
  • Extras:
  • Godzilla: B-Roll to Film (SD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 17:54)
  • Theatrical Trailer (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 2:11, HD)
  • Teaser 1 (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:41, HD)
  • Teaser 2 (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:41, HD)
  • Teaser 3 (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:42, HD)
  • Notes: This is a 2-Disc double feature with Godzilla: Tokyo SOS.

Notes

    References
    1. Kalat 2010, p. 249.
    2. Galbraith IV 2008, p. 435.
    3. Kalat 2010, p. 250.
    4. "歴代ゴジラ映画作品一覧／年代流行". Nendai Ryuukou. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
    5. Dovarganes, Damian (November 30, 2004). "Godzilla gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star". USA Today.
    6. Benjoid (March 24, 2010). "RYUHEI KITAMURA INTERVIEW". Madman. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
    7. "Godzilla Final Wars: Das Interview mit Ryuhei Kitamura". Outnow.ch. June 29, 2005.
    8. Wheeler, John (March 26, 2010). "The Art of Collaboration: interview with Ryuhei Kitamura". Asia Pacific Arts.
    9. "Ryuhei Kitamura: Revitalizing Godzilla". Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
    10. Homenick, Brett. "GODZILLA'S FINAL CUT! Director Ryuhei Kitamura on Crafting Godzilla's 50th Anniversary Film, Godzilla: Final Wars!". Vantage Point Interviews. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
    11. Brett Homenick (August 2, 2018). "Progressive Godzilla! Keith Emerson on Composing the Film Score to Godzilla: Final Wars!". Vantage Point Interviews. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
    12. Barr 2016, p. 104.
    13. Godzilla: Final Wars, Rotten Tomatoes
    14. Review by Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
    15. Jim Agnew, Film Threat
    16. staff (30 November 2004). "MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! Moriarty Attends The World Premiere Of GODZILLA FINAL WARS..." Aint It Cool News.
    17. Review by Sean Axmaker Archived April 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Static Multimedia
    18. "Chico News & Review - Godzilla: Final Wars - In The Mix - DVD/Video - Film - December 15, 2005". Chico News & Review.
    19. Review by David Nusair, Reel Film
    20. Review by David Cornelius, eFilmCritic
    21. Review by Ty Burr, Boston Globe
    22. Review J.L. Carrozza, Toho Kingdom
    23. Review Mike Bogue, American Kaiju
    24. Review Archived 2005-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Japan Hero
    25. Review Stomp Tokyo
    26. Review Archived 2008-12-20[Date mismatch] at the Wayback Machine Lenny Taguchi, Monster Zero
    27. "Asia Pacific Arts: The Art of Collaboration: interview with Ryuhei Kitamura". usc.edu.
    28. Martin Liebman. "Godzilla: Final Wars Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com.

    Bibliography
    • Barr, Jason (2016). The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters. McFarland. ISBN 1476623953.
    • Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 1461673747.
    • Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (Second ed.). McFarland. ISBN 9780786447497.
    • Solomon, Brian (2017). Godzilla FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of the Monsters. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 9781495045684.
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