GODZILLA X GOLTZILLA

A spoiler-free look at Godzilla: Final Wars

by Matthew Goltz
3 August 2005

 

Back in June, I had the good fortune to be invited to the New York premiere of Ryuhei Kitamura's Godzilla: Final Wars, presented by Subway Cinema's 2005 New York Asian Film Festival. As a frequent visitor to the Big Apple and recent convert to the latter works of everyone's favorite Kaiju smashing machine, I jumped at the chance to join in on this momentous occasion, the G-Fella's 50th Anniversary production and quite possibly his last film for the next decade.

June 18th was a warm, humid day in the city and I'd arrived at the Anthology Film Archives on 2nd Ave and 2nd Street in the East Village early to get the lay of the land. An unassuming venue, the AFA was adorned with one-sheet posters that gave it a most inviting appearance, as if to say "come on in, there's coolness to be found here." I was still several hours from showtime, so after spending the next six hours investigating a few music/video stores and some movie locations like Astor Place (well-faked in Spider-Man 2, it seemed) and The Empire Diner (from Men In Black II) as well as some Apple Pie and Coffee at Johnny Rocket's in Greenwich Village -- they're getting to know me well, there -- I headed back to the Anthology for some G-Fan goodness. It was about an hour ahead of showtime and the line was about two dozen people deep, not bad the the premiere of a longstanding series favorite. I liked my odds for a good seat, still unsure how large the theater was inside. After failing to locate "Brian," my Subway Cinema contact and most-generous ticket benefactor, I grabbed my pass at the window, got in line and awaited paradise.

The good people of Subway and the Anthology began handing out leaflets and questionnaires to those in line, asking us to fill in some standard market research type questions as well as film-opinion forms to be filled out after the screening. I actually began filling mine out in advance. Irresponsibly perhaps, but I was already having fun in the Big City, talking with amusing people and generally having a good time despite the heat and humidity. It was a good bet I'd have a building-smashing good evening considering my enjoyment of the last few G-films and the body of work of director Kitamura (Versus, Azumi, Alive, The Messenger), so I filled in my film rating in-advance and decided to change it after the screening if my educated guess was far off the mark in either direction.

Then, it was time. The gates opened, the crowd's eyes lit up and we entered Cinema Valhalla to say goodbye to our beloved towering friend... for a while, anyway. After a few introductions and giveaways -- one of which awarded a case of imported Japanese beer to a very excited looking woman -- the lights dimmed and the film rolled.

After an eye catching credits sequence and some wailing guitar from Keith Emerson, the first thing you notice is that the advance word is true; this will not be your average Godzilla film. It's got a different feel and attitude, as can be seen with the immediate appearance of ultimate fighter Don Frye. A cross between Captain Kirk and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, his beefy Earth Defense Force leader is a scream, spouting tough-guy lines that work as parodies of themselves. The film covers all manner of topics and references, most of which I admittedly didn't follow though the audience of super-fans surrounding me caught every last tip of Final Wars' hat to it's predecessors. Kitamura gets a lot of mileage from his battle sequences, though they are short. There's a lot more of a "human" storyline in the film than I expected, with its story of Alien Invasions and Superpowered Mutated Humans ("Paging Stan Lee..."), which serves the drama well even as it slows the film down quite a bit.

Final Wars would (and probably will) make a great midnight cult film if it gets the proper backing in arthouse and college campus spots. It's a great mix of serious and outlandish, though it never really reaches critical mass as top-notch entertainment. For example: the motorcycle chase/gun battle sequence through the overpasses of Tokyo's freeway system that we're given is serviceable, but what if director Kitamura had the sense to include this scene during an actual monster attack? Imagine monsters battling and destroying the very foundations that our hero and villain are battling one another on. Scenes that combine cataclysmic destruction with personal human battle are always a hoot and a holler and such a scene would've been a feather in the cap to Kitamura's career and Godzilla's international appeal if only the team had seized the opportunity. On the plus side, though, there are several cameo appearances from Godzilla movies past, a very special fight scene between Godzilla and a certain much-maligned foe (which features the film's very best line) and even a wordless fight scene performance from Kitamura film regular Tak Sakaguchi (Versus). All in all, the movie does cram a lot of fun and laughs into it's two hours and Godzilla: Final Wars remains a unusual, flawed and amusing sendoff to a fan favorite.

Two hours later, when all was said and done, the screening audience was both dizzyingly entertained and sweetly saddened. Many shuffled out quietly, basking in the glow of Kitamura's sendoff and passing back outside to the sweltering NYC streets. Others talked all-things-kaiju in the lobby or got in line for the next film screening. In a hurry to make the last bus back home to Boston, I took in the moment quickly. Sighing, I noticed the collection box on a nearby table for those film opinion forms that were given out before the screening and searched my pocket for my form that I'd filled out in-advance. My educated guess on the film was "very good." Not "excellent" not simply "fair," but "very good."

...And it was.

Godzilla: Final Wars will also be screening in the Boston area at Harvard Square's Brattle Theater on August 5th - 8th in Cambridge, MA. Special thanks to Brian and the gang at Subway Cinema's 2005 New York Asian Film Festival and the Anthology Film Archives for bringing Godzilla: Final Wars to American audiences. And very special thanks to Godzilla. Happy Anniversary, big guy. See you in a few years...