"Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (you got to love some of these Japanese titles) was at the same time, great to watch because of some excellent scenes, and very disappointing because it doesn't live up to its hype, or the title. As a lifetime Godzilla fan (and 'zilla geek) I was a bit let down.
I'll touch on a few positives first. The film has some *incredible* visuals. Just a few that come to mind are Godzilla throwing Baragon into a crowd of people; Godzilla throwing King Ghidorah into a building; and Godzilla's various "apprearing" scenes. There were all done spectacularly, and are among the best shots in all the Godzilla films.
Now, a few negatives. The computer FX sucked. I hate computer FX/CGI because it's all fake looking crap. (Read my reviews on Spider-man and Star Wars for more on how much I hate them.) CGI makes films look like cartoons and videogames, and that's how the monsters looked when CGI was used. Godzilla underwater especially, Ghidorah in some flying, and virtually all of Mothra, it all looked horrible. Computer-added lasers and such can look OK, but not living creatures, actual objects (like all the missiles) or huge environments. CGI sucks.
And King Ghidorah...first of all, he was hardly in the movie. If anyone is expecting a huge slugfest between classic monsters Godzilla and King Ghidorah, you are NOT going to get that here. Secondly, when Ghirorah is actually on screen, he hardly ever does anything. Most of the time, he's actually out for the count. The only time he even looks somewhat good is when he emerges for the second time after getting sprinkled with "Mothra dust" or whatever. Third, the Ghidorah costume sucked. Fourth, Ghidorah is NOT supposed to be a good guy, ever. It doesn't work. And fifth, when you have King Ghidorah and Baragon in the same movie, Baragon's scenes aren't supposed to blow Ghidorah's away. But they do.
Who would have thought with superstars King Ghidorah and Mothra in the movie, it would be lowly Baragon that actually saves the film from being a disaster? And his name isn't even in the title! But Baragon, of the three opponents, gets all the best scenes, including an incredible fight scene with Godzilla. Baragon comes up big when needed!
The Godzilla costume is pretty good here, actually reminding me of the "King Kong vs. Godzilla" costume with the body and neck.
All in all, hey this is Godzilla, he stomps around breaking stuff up and that's what you wanna see, so this movie is a necessity. But again, you want Ghidorah action, this isn't the place. The place for that is the far-superior "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" from 1991. Of all the "newer" Godzilla films (1984 onwards), this one ranks near the bottom, but probably beats out "Godzilla 1984," "Godzilla vs. Biollante" (1989) and "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla" (1994) only because the scenes with Baragon are so good.
I'll touch on a few positives first. The film has some *incredible* visuals. Just a few that come to mind are Godzilla throwing Baragon into a crowd of people; Godzilla throwing King Ghidorah into a building; and Godzilla's various "apprearing" scenes. There were all done spectacularly, and are among the best shots in all the Godzilla films.
Now, a few negatives. The computer FX sucked. I hate computer FX/CGI because it's all fake looking crap. (Read my reviews on Spider-man and Star Wars for more on how much I hate them.) CGI makes films look like cartoons and videogames, and that's how the monsters looked when CGI was used. Godzilla underwater especially, Ghidorah in some flying, and virtually all of Mothra, it all looked horrible. Computer-added lasers and such can look OK, but not living creatures, actual objects (like all the missiles) or huge environments. CGI sucks.
And King Ghidorah...first of all, he was hardly in the movie. If anyone is expecting a huge slugfest between classic monsters Godzilla and King Ghidorah, you are NOT going to get that here. Secondly, when Ghirorah is actually on screen, he hardly ever does anything. Most of the time, he's actually out for the count. The only time he even looks somewhat good is when he emerges for the second time after getting sprinkled with "Mothra dust" or whatever. Third, the Ghidorah costume sucked. Fourth, Ghidorah is NOT supposed to be a good guy, ever. It doesn't work. And fifth, when you have King Ghidorah and Baragon in the same movie, Baragon's scenes aren't supposed to blow Ghidorah's away. But they do.
Who would have thought with superstars King Ghidorah and Mothra in the movie, it would be lowly Baragon that actually saves the film from being a disaster? And his name isn't even in the title! But Baragon, of the three opponents, gets all the best scenes, including an incredible fight scene with Godzilla. Baragon comes up big when needed!
The Godzilla costume is pretty good here, actually reminding me of the "King Kong vs. Godzilla" costume with the body and neck.
All in all, hey this is Godzilla, he stomps around breaking stuff up and that's what you wanna see, so this movie is a necessity. But again, you want Ghidorah action, this isn't the place. The place for that is the far-superior "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" from 1991. Of all the "newer" Godzilla films (1984 onwards), this one ranks near the bottom, but probably beats out "Godzilla 1984," "Godzilla vs. Biollante" (1989) and "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla" (1994) only because the scenes with Baragon are so good.