ROOOOAARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!...For the last time.
Godzilla: Final wars
I saw Godzilla: Final wars last night as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and it was a rollicking fun 2 hours.
I had never seen a big G film on the big screen and boy does it help. Sure, it still looks like a guy in a rubber suit but hes a really big guy in a rubber suit. Seeing the film with an audience of beleivers didn't hurt the film either as when the lights went down and the Toho Production logo was projected on the screen there was an anticipated hush throughout the audiance. Then the screen goes to black and we hear that all too familiar roar associated to the one and only giant monster of the hour, Godzilla. The audiance went nuts, hootin' and a holerin' like the messiah had returned. Who knows, to some of the G_fan tragics, maybe he had.
The film itself is a lot of fun with a lot of condensed giant monster action as Godzilla takes care of many of his rogues gallery who have tormented him over the past 50 years in cinema history. Also included apart from giant monster fighting was the adventures of human super soldiers and scientists as they take on an evil invading army of Matrix cosplayers led by someone who looks and moves like a Japanese Simon le Bon. The fight scenes are fun and try to be so much more than the budget allows but it seems to fit right in place in this film. The actors all seemed to do a fine job but I don't know japanese so I can't really tell but there is the odd english speaking character throughout the film which is a nice touch including legitimate tough guy Don Frye who has dominated the mixed martial arts and U.F.C. tournaments around the world for 8 years. His acting is terrible, he was obviously directed to act like John Wayne and he tried...but failed but I loved his performance the most, me made not be able to act terribly well but he certainly had a presence on screen and you just couldn't help but watch him, he some of the funniest lines as well, intentional or not.
I havn't seen enough of the Godzilla movies to know if this is a good one or not but I did enjoy the whole thing and was never bored once, I found it a little long but I blame that on viewing it at the Capitol theater which is a beautiful Art deco designed theater by Walter Burly griffin, but it isn't the most comfortable place to sit for 2 hours.
We won't see another Godzilla film for a couple of years at least but I do have copies of the 1990's Gamera films and I think they will keep my in check until the big G returns.