Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) User Reviews

character development, mysticism, philosophy, politics - in a Godzilla film

[mstomaso · 8/10 · 29 March 2005]

Dear Godzilla,

Only two aspects of Daikaijû sôkôgeki bothered me. First, you were asked, again, to play a 'bad guy'. Second, your make-up was so awful that it was at times, impossible to see that it was actually you in this film. Even this however, could not prevent me from noticing that this script was a great big leap ahead of most of the rubbish you've recently chosen for your roles. All of your true fans know that your Tokyo destructive rampages are inspired by a single desire - to locate and destroy once and for all the Toho Productions studio, and that once you've destroyed it, your final purpose will be fulfilled. Yet, in this film, you had to pretend that you symbolize the collective guilt of the Japanses people. While this is certainly an interesting and philosophical not to mention political spin and it certainly made your unpleasant behavior tolerable for some people, I am wondering if you will ever get a great role showing your true colors - as a protector of all living things (Japanese and otherwise) - again.

Your acting, and your supporting cast, even the very small hairless apes, were positively stellar in this film, and the production values were good enough to inspire me to plead with you to spare Toho from the revenge you certainly deserve for their occasional attempts to ruin your career, your public image, and your family life. Despite your bad facial makeup, you, Mosura and Kingu Gidorâ were all shot beautifully with some of the best split screen and blue screen work I have ever seen. Although it bothered me that Gidorâ was cast in the role of saving japan, and that he even joined that overgrown spray-painted house fly Mothra in this effort, I am certainly glad that, despite the Americanized title - something like "Giant Monsters All Out Attack" - was not really what this film was about. I'm glad the director allowed the characters some time to develop and to construct an interesting set of subplots between scenes of mass devastation.

I don't blame you for avoiding Hollywood, especially after that film they claimed to be about you which they they hired one of your stunt doubles to do a few years ago. And this film gives reason to think there is hope for the Toho production company after all. But, the offer still stands. Retirement in Hollywood could really be a good time for you, and again, I can think of at least a few states with habits of electing famous middle-aged and older thespians of grand stature and size to public office. Besides, if you got cast in a bad role here in the USA, just imagine the popularity with which your first rampage through southern California would be received! So the prospects are unlimited here. Give it some thought!

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 8/10 · 13 December 2011]

Godzilla is a horrible little bastard in this movie. He is truly badass. For once, he has no redemption, to the point that previous alien controlled villains are now guardians of the earth. This film grabs the human element by taking a father and daughter as an army captain and a TV reporter. The effects here are just fantastic. All the puppets, suits, CGI looks great, and we get more Godzilla/Human interaction than ever. I loved the shot where Godzilla arrives and throws a boat into the air, only for it to fall straight down onto the camera again. We get some exceptional long takes of cityscapes. It's fascinating to see so many monsters beat each other in what looks like a real city. These Godzilla movies also have the confidence to just let it play out rather than making me sick with constant edits. With a subtitle of Giant Monsters All Out Attack, you know this is gonna be good. Just a shame that Mothra and Ghidorah were slightly out of character.

Godzilla goes supernatural

[xamtaro · 8/10 · 25 July 2014]

Godzilla mothra and king ghidora: giant monsters all out attack.

Godzilla mothra and king ghidora: giant monsters all out attack or GMK for short can be considered a semi-reboot of the franchise. Compared to the rest of the millennium era Godzilla movies, GMK is the most unique in terms of tone, spirit and overall feel of the movie. Even Godzilla's origin and design sets itself apart. Here is a monster mashup done well, despite its budgetary limitations, with a bigger badder Godzilla than ever.

Where Godzilla films have been mostly sci fi in nature, GMK seeks to throw in a supernatural fantasy spin on a familiar mythos. As usual, a string of mysterious attacks on sea vessels, this case some submarines, leads the the reemergence of Godzilla. Defeated in the 1950s by a destructive chemical weapon, Godzilla's corpse was apparently reanimated by the souls of world war 2 soldiers. Larger, angrier and more powerful than ever, this super zombie Godzilla is possessed by pure evil as he starts tearing his way across japan. Meanwhile, an intrepid reporter discovers an old prophecy that seems to foretell the second coming of Godzilla and an old man who reveals to her the legend of three guardian monsters who would be the key to ending Godzilla's murderous rampage.

This fantasy retelling, as well as reworking familiar monsters' origins, may not sit well with some. On its own merits, this movie works; recasting Baragon, Mothra and Ghidorah into mythical guardians of earth; a big change especially for Ghidorah who was in previous films an alien weapon of destruction. The first thing to stand out were the new monster designs. Intricately crafted yet with a decent amount of mobility. Godzilla gets special mention for his menacing new look; vampire fangs, jet black skin, insanely sharp claws and soulless white eyes oozing with evil. His overall look is closer to the original Godzilla only with his size and fearsome features pumped to the max.

What many would appreciate is the return of "Godzilla is the ultimate badass" theme. Here he is the villain and humanity is powerless. The monsters engage in truly spectacular fights with the director's stylish camera-work enhancing the scale of such clashes. Another mistake this movie corrects from previous ones is that even in scenes without the monsters, their presence is felt. Many past films just drag in their human scenes until the beasts show up for the action. Accompanying the action here is a pulse pounding score by Kou Otani whom anime fans would recognize as the composer for Gundam Wing Endless Waltz and many other memorable anime soundtracks.

GMK's human characters are well developed; we see our main character go from just wanting the scoop of a lifetime to a well rounded individual who has experienced true horrors of disaster and pulled through. The monsters who are the stars are by far the best among the millennium series of Godzilla movies. Perhaps the fantasy element was not too popular, seeing as how subsequent movies went back to sci fi. But no doubt, it was a bold move, a bold semi reboot, with awesome action, great production design for its modest budget, and a story that never let's up with the tension. A must watch for any Godzilla fan.

Pretty Bad-Ass!!!

[gigan-92 · 10/10 · 1 May 2009]

One of the longest movie titles ever, but still one of the best G-films of all time, second only to "Gojira". Where do I begin? I know, the crew, all veterans from the acclaimed Heisei Gamera trilogy. Shusuke Kaneko directs this film with the same aura of spectacle he did in the 90s, truly making him one of my top ten directors. This is definitely the darkest film in the series, with Godzilla at his top evil.

First off, the dubbing is excellent in my opinion (although the DVD has the original Japanese track) and the characters portrayed by the actors were very well represented. I think Ryudo Uzaki , who played as Lt. General Tachibana, gave the best performance. He delivers a lot of the emotions in the film, especially in the scene where he recounts his parents' deaths to the original Godzilla in 1954. The story by Kaneko, Keiichi Hasegawa and Mashiro Yokatani was a very well done piece of writing. This leads to one of my top reasons for loving this movie: there is tons of monster-human contact. In other words, the humans and monsters interact with one another, specifically Godzilla. I believe the best two examples of this is one: when the couple look up while taking pictures at Hakone to see Godzilla staring down at them from behind a hillside, who knocks boulders on top of several tourist manically. The second, when that girl in her hospital bed thinks Godzilla has spared her when all of a sudden his tail slams against the hospital, causing the whole building to collapse! There are plenty of others and all are excellent displays of SFX and Kaneko's view on Godzilla.

Now, to the monsters. Godzilla looks great, if not a bit chunky, but it works. He looks incredibly evil, with pure white eyes, a nice touch. Plus the very mobile head and curling lips add to his awesomeness. In this film, not only is Godzilla attacking Japan out of his own desire, but also because apparently the souls of the victims of WWII inhabit his body, who want revenge because Japan is trying to forget about the war, and to a degree, the original Godzilla's attack in 1954. I think it was a very good way to visualize Godzilla. His heat ray is beautifully brought to life, especially when he takes his first shot at Baragon. Baragon is a very nicely done monster and the fight between him and Godzilla maybe one of the best I've ever seen in the monster business. Mothra looks great, if not incredibly smaller than she usually is, but it works. The cocoon scene was beautiful plus the exploding stingers was also a nice effect. King Ghidorah returned, and he looks good for the most part. What I actually didn't like about him was that he was small and weak compared to Godzilla, instead of being huge and imposing as he usually is. However this is not enough to bring the film down, because Kaneko makes up for it with Ghidorah's stunning entrance and (few) flight scenes.

The SFX were superb, especially at adding monsters next to humans. One of the best moments was when Godzilla hurled Baragon into that parking lot, filled with people and buses. The jet sequence was incredible and showed us a new era of blowing up jets, along with the JSDF scene with the soldiers can actually be seen in the explosions. Beautifully done. Like G3, this film can actually stand up to Hollywood productions. The drill missile, D3, was a very nice new weapon, as well as the Satsuma subs. The monster CGI was fantastic!! Mothra looked great computer-animated, but Ghidorah's revival scene didn't look as good, mainly because he was so illuminated. The three-headed dragon looked far better as he was flying over Yokohama Harbor. Not to mention the deflection-attack he uses against Godzilla's heat ray makes up for it. The CGI Godzilla swimming was damn good I must say ( the CGI aquatic Godzilla 2000 scene was HORRIBLE). The Yokohama set is huge and well-built and the end battle is one to remember!! It manages to involve the cast and serves as a emotional peak for both the monsters and the humans. Plus, the score was one of Koh Otani's best ever. It was modern, and yet still very much like the original Godzilla films, the good ole Ifukbe days. Otani defiantly knows how to keep the flow of a film through his very original music.

The ending is amazing to say the least, not that I'll spoil it for those who haven't seen it. My personal favorite of the Millenuim series, matching up to "Gojira", GMK is pretty bad-ass!

An epic, though somewhat flawed, Godzilla flick.

[kevinxirau · 7/10 · 1 September 2011]

This film is now ten years old and it still retains its popularity. For this edition of its greatest movie series, Toho decided to take chances and do something quite different for the King of the Monsters and that chance basically paid off. The result was GMK.

Plot: After about fifty years since Godzilla's rampage, a Japan where some have either forgotten or don't believe in the monster began having a series of mysterious events. A mystic old man warns that Godzilla, resurrected and possessed by souls lost during WW2, will once again go on a rampage, so he awakens the so-called Guardian Monsters: Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah to combat the dinosaur.

An interesting story, epic action scenes, and wonderful music are what keep this film going. However, some of the decisions made for this movie are my biggest problem. I didn't like how Anguirus and Varan, who were absent from a movie for SO long, got replaced by Ghidorah and Mothra, in the process making Ghidorah a good guy! What?! Mechagodzilla is one thing but Ghidorah?! The guardian monsters are smaller and weaker too (ex. Baragon doesn't have his fire breath in this movie!).

Despite this, GMK is still a worthy addition to the series and worth a watch.

As tough as Godzilla movies come!

[Ryuusei · 10/10 · 15 December 2003]

As you can tell, I have a LOT to say about this movie! But I got such a headache from writing such a lengthy review that I was also afraid that it would be too much even for IMDB to handle! But let me start by saying that GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (or GMK for short) is perhaps the BEST Godzilla movie yet, a return to the glory days of the 50s and 60s, and my personal favorite besides GODZILLA VS. GIGAN and GODZILLA VS. MEGALON!

I met the film's director, Shuusuke Kaneko, at Asian Fantasy Film Expo 2002 in New Jersey, so you know part of why this film means so much to me. Kaneko, a lifelong Godzilla fan, is a true genius when it comes to giant monster films, as shown in his wonderful Heisei Gamera film trilogy (GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE, GAMERA 2: THE ADVENT OF LEGION and GAMERA 3: THE AWAKENING OF IRYS, the latter, which I saw at AFFE 2002, is without a doubt the best Japanese monster film ever)! He also knows what truly made Godzilla so famous, even if some fans (both Japanese and American) take it for granted, that Godzilla is best known as an invincible, unstoppable villain (just like in the first four films), which caused a huge controversy amongst many fans when this film was made (they're still too used to the "sympathetic" Godzilla established in 1984, which was a lame cop-out on his supposedly "evil" character). Although I still love and grew up with the "good guy" Godzilla from the later classic films, I have come to appreciate the original evil Godzilla, as long as it was done right! And Kaneko really pulled it off, creating the best, coolest evil Godzilla since the films up to 1964 (even KISS' Gene Simmons, a Godzilla fan, should be really proud of this one)! He truly put Godzilla back to being the FOLLY OF MAN! Not the other way around (which the 1984 version officially mandated for all Godzilla films up until this one)!

Kaneko showed executive producer Shougo Tomiyama a story he did some time before scripting began, and it was called VARAN, BARAGON, ANGILAS: GIANT MONSTERS' ALL OUT ATTACK - GODZILLA 2002. The script was accepted, but not without some changes. The Toho suits told Tomiyama to tell Kaneko to lose the classic Toho monsters Angilas and Varan, as they were not bankable characters, so the suits wanted him to add the more popular King Ghidorah and Mothra along with Baragon. For 15 minutes, Kaneko sat in the studio in stunned silence, saying to himself, "How am I going to do this!?" Sure enough, he cleverly worked the two monsters into the picture, but he knew that it was going to cause a clamor amongst the fans. Nevertheless, not only did this have the biggest budget of the films, but also a more excruciating shooting schedule, (Toho's mandatory shooting schedule for a Godzilla film is one year; In fact 4-5 months, tops), which Kaneko and his talented crew made the best of. They worked around the clock to get this film done!

And the end result is a Godzilla movie like you've never seen before! As I mentioned before, GAMERA 3 is still the best Japanese monster movie ever, but when it comes to Godzilla films, GMK is as tough as they come! This film is definitely Kaneko's labor of love.

The story has very edgy parallels to the original 1954 GODZILLA, such as his destroying a ship, his attacking a hospital (in a scene comparable to the fate of Ren Yamamoto's "Masaji" character from the 1954 film), his appearance over a mountain (a tribute to his entrance in the first film), his destroying Yokohama, and the twist & turn climax, which was the most inspired since the first film. But in light of all this, Kaneko excellently emulated the original Godzilla, moreso than anyone in the past 17 years! And it also made more sense to add mysterious fantasy elements into the story, because Kaneko thought that there was no way you could "realistically" explain a radioactive dinosaur monster ("It would've made more sense if the monster were 15 or 20 feet tall," he said in an interview). The resulting statements in GMK are spiritual as well as socio-political. Although King Ghidorah and Mothra are clearly not fit for the story, Baragon was excellently portrayed, and manages to evoke sympathy from the audience! Despite Baragon's fighting spirit, Godzilla was pretty brutal on him! In fact, he was brutal to even Mothra and King Ghidorah, who have their own shining moments in the film also! The rest of the story is very intriguing and the pacing is fast. But much like the last two films, some things are not spelled out to the viewer in an obvious way, so to actually grasp the film, one has to see it more than once.

There's also a hilarious jab at GINO (Godzilla In Name Only; What we fans call the American Godzilla fiasco from 1998) at the beginning, when Admiral Tachibana (Ryuudou Uzaki) lectures his soldiers at a meeting. And there's tons of dark humor abound, especially a "real world" reaction to Godzilla, which really works! They sort of remind me of situations in Matt Groening's THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA! One of the coolest and funniest is when a man tells people to evacuate from a shopping plaza because Godzilla was approaching. One middle-aged woman was annoyed, barking "Why . . . What's the big deal with Godzilla anyway!?" It took one earth-shaking footstep to convince her! In another scene, Baragon runs amok on a mountain resort, and among the tourists seeing Baragon from afar, a woman thinks the monster looks "frightening but cute," and her husband takes a picture of her next to the scenery just before she reacts to something behind him . . . It must be seen to be believed!

The music by Kou Ootani (composer of the Heisei Gamera trilogy) is totally unlike any previous Godzilla score. It's more new-age/electronic than your traditional orchestral stuff (definitely a first). In fact, it's a MIXTURE between electronic and orchestral music! Some were reminded of either John Carpenter's stuff, or Michael Boddicker's score for THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI. But definitely a great score! Then, you have Toho providing the usual stock Akira Ifukube music track to let us know that this is a Godzilla film, but this film probably has the best use of it! The stock tracks were used in the right place.

The special effects are probably the best in a Godzilla film since Teruyoshi Nakano's breathtaking work in the 1984 GODZILLA. Special effects director Makoto Kamiya, who was Shinji Higuchi's assistant in GAMERA 3, makes his SPFX directorial debut here, and his work is mind-blowing! Director Kaneko is another one to thank, as he was there to consult with Kamiya on how the FX would look, so that they mix perfectly with the human scenes! Truly a first, as traditionally, all previous Godzilla films had the principal & SPFX directors work separately, which made the human and SPFX scenes too distant. The suitmation work here is great, and the CGI work is excellent (look for the scenes where Mothra hatches from her cocoon, where King Ghidorah rises over the city and spreads his wings, and where Godzilla swims underwater!).

Godzilla has never looked so alive, and tall! In fact, he's the biggest monster in the whole movie (60 meters)! Played by Mizuho Yoshida (who also played the title creature in Keita Amemiya's ZEIRAM films), this is the biggest Godzilla suit, measuring at around 7 feet! And amazingly, Yoshida put Godzilla in amazing poses people thought impossible to do in a Godzilla suit! He looks much more flexible than in the later films of the 2nd movie series (particularly from GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA '93 to GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH, where Godzilla not only looked way too fat, but also way too stiff)! The suit's head can also turn over the shoulder! Godzilla also has the most facial expressions in this film, and you don't know whether they're animatronic or computer-enhanced! Here, Godzilla has a muscular dinosaur-like physique, has white eyes that give him an evil look, and not only is his skin clearly charcoal-gray, but he also has his original white fins (though slightly smaller)! Godzilla's Radioactive Heat Beam is back to blue, and when he uses it, watch out!!!

Baragon is another highlight! Though he only appeared in two movies; FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD and briefly in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, the subterranean monster Baragon is amongst the popular Toho Monsters, and his return in GMK is worth the long wait! The suit was brilliantly crafted, and every bit as alive-looking and flexible as Godzilla! Every time it stopped to do a thunderous roar, it just looked cute (Then again, all of the monsters had a certain cuteness in GMK, even Godzilla, in a kind of Jim Henson-esque sort of way)! This is the first time a Toho Monster is played by a woman. Rie Oota, making her debut in this film, has done suit work before in shows and stuff. She played Baragon remarkably! Also, since four-legged monsters usually had to crawl on their knees, that was a no-no for GMK. Yes, Baragon had to walk on ALL FOURS! And he did.

And yes, King Ghidorah and Mothra were not originally intended to be in the story (blame Toho, not Kaneko!), but this film has the best incarnations of the two monsters ever put on film! Ghidorah actually LOOKS more like a dragon (get a load of those legs!) and can actually fold his wings back! Incidentally, Fuyuki Shinada, who designed all of the monsters, was disappointed that Varan wasn't going to be in the story (Varan was one of his favorite monsters), but cleverly compromised by giving Varan's facial features to King Ghidorah's three heads! Best of all, unlike the previous new films since 1991, Ghidorah got his electric organ-like cries back! And Mothra looks her best here, too! She appears briefly in her larva phase, but prominently appears in her moth form. Very beautiful and wasp-like, and much better than the toy-like kid-friendly versions from the previous Heisei-era films. Thanks to both a great prop and CGI, Mothra looks very flexible. She also has a neat new power of shooting stingers from her abdomen!

Last, but not least, the human characters are among the best in any Godzilla film to date. The film's hero, Admiral Tachibana (played by popular musician/actor Ryuudou Uzaki), is memorable. He looks reminiscent of Kenji Sahara, with the same intensity (even though Uzaki is actually very hip in real life). The beautiful Chiharu Niiyama plays Tachibana's daughter Yuri, a young TV reporter and the film's main character. Sure, she starts out as just another reporter out to make a buck, but she changes in the course of the film, searching for knowledge, and making awareness to the public. The father and daughter relationship is very touching, especially before Tachibana goes into battle against Godzilla. Shirou Sano (Miyasaka in GODZILLA 2000) makes his second appearance in a Godzilla film, playing Yuri's comical long-haired boss Haruki Kadokura, inspired by Ichirou Arishima's role as TV editor Tako in KING KONG VS. GODZILLA. In fact, Sano took his copy of that film to the studio and showed it to the cast & crew for inspiration! Masahiro Kobayashi plays Teruaki Takeda, one of Yuri's co-workers and a possible love interest. He sort of reminds me of Jeff Goldblum, and has an appealing everyman quality. The versatile Hideyo "Eisei" Amamoto (who sadly passed away earlier this year) plays his final role as the mysterious old man Isayama, and even in his old age, had the same charisma he did as Doctor Who in KING KONG ESCAPES and Dr. Shinigami in the original MASKED RIDER series! Very worthy for a final performance. Some of the members of Tachibana's military forces are familiar faces from Heisei Ultraman and Masked Rider shows such as Hiroyuki Watanabe (Commander Akio Ishimuro in ULTRAMAN GAIA), Toshikazu Fukawa (Super GUTS Member Koda in ULTRAMAN DYNA), and Shingo Katsurayama (Detective Ichijou in MASKED RIDER KUUGA). And the cameos! Boy, where do I start! Kouichi Ueda, who's appeared in every single Godzilla film since GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE, cameos as the headman of the village in Niigata. Tomoe Shinohara plays a doomed teenage girl with just the right feeling! Masaya Takahashi (who appeared in GOKE: BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL) plays an old bicycle shop owner, from whom Yuri buys a bicycle. Yukijirou Hotaru (from the ZEIRAM and Heisei Gamera trilogy) plays a pathetic businessman who tries to commit suicide, but instead inadvertently discovers King Ghidorah! Kazuko Katou (who played Jun's mother in GODZILLA X MEGAGUIRUS) is the schoolteacher who witnesses the awesome power of Godzilla's Radioactive Heat Beam in another must-see part! Aki and Ai Maeda (who played Ayana in GAMERA 3) play two teenage twin girls who witness Mothra flying over Yokohama (Fun Fact: Ai couldn't stand her cameo, because she thought she looked fat in that scene!). Also, look for Masaaki Tezuka (director of GODZILLA X MEGAGUIRUS and GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA) and Kouichi Kawakita (who directed FX for all of the Godzilla films from GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE to GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH and the first two films in the Mothra trilogy) as JSDF officers, and Takehiro Murata (Andou in GODZILLA VS. MOTRHA and Shinoda in GODZILLA 2000) as a fighter pilot who gets blasted by the Big G! And aside from countless others I just couldn't be able to list, I'll close the cast with cameos from the monster suit actors in the flesh! Mizuho Yoshida (Godzilla) is the pink-shirted man standing by Aki and Ai Maeda to the right just after Mothra flies over the city. And Rie Oota (Baragon) and Akira Oohashi (King Ghidorah) are two of the three people in the Yaizu Harbor office who witness Godzilla rising from the ocean (and run out of the office after Godzilla's roar shatters the glass windows).

The film did VERY good at the box office (it was at #2, right behind HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE), extra thanks to Toho's double-featuring it with the first Hamtaro movie (Toho distributes the Hamtaro movies)! Toho hadn't been focusing on their kid audience that well (a lot of kids in Japan didn't even know who Godzilla was!), so GMK was a great start!

*sigh* I've exhausted myself from writing this review. I'm so exhausted that I skipped the plot, and leave it to you to watch the film to get it. But all I have to say is to do yourself a favor and recommend this movie to your family and friends. And I prefer the Japanese version in subtitles (avoid the awful International dub seen on Sci-Fi Channel). Side by side with the original 1954 film (preferably the more moving Japanese version), GMK is a masterpiece, the ultimate Godzilla statement. Shuusuke Kaneko is truly the next Ishirou Honda!

PS: As I type this, the latest film, GODZILLA, MOTHRA, MECHAGODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S., directed by Tezuka, just got released in Japan this weekend. I hear it was really good! And best of all, news is in of Toho's next Godzilla film, to celebrate the Big Guy's 50th Anniversary (tentatively titled THE GODZILLA)! Here's to you, Big G!

The Japanese have the Godzilla know-how

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 25 September 2018]

Japanese filmmakers know how to make Godzilla films. Nearly 50 years after giving us the original "Godzilla," Japan films present "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack." The technical, special effects, CGI, and all aspects are superb. This film launched a renewal in Godzilla lore on film. It completely outdoes the lame 1998 American "Godzilla" by TriStar.

As with the original black and white, Godzilla looks the part of the monster it is - a unique hybrid not a dinosaur-age imitation or look-alike. The other monsters in this one, especially Mothra and the Red Monster look more cartoonish. The battle scenes, rampage and destruction around Tokyo again has a real feel to it.

This plot has an interesting twist. The original Godzilla was conceived as an aberration that resulted from nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific Ocean. But, in this film, a question surfaces more than once, after a reference to Godzilla having been in New York (the 1998 American film). "Why Tokyo again?" a couple of Japanese officials ask rhetorically. And the female lead, Yuri Tachibana (played by Chiharu Niiyama) says that it may be because Japan has to acknowledge its inhumane actions in the Pacific war. That's how the reference is stated regarding World War II and Japan's inhumane aspects in its conduct of the war.

Even though it doesn't specify any of the bad deeds, this is an acknowledgement that the Japanese did some heinous things during the war. That's interesting coming in a film 55 years after the end of WW II.

"GMK" awesome Daikaijuu film.

[capcomsnk411 · 9/10 · 28 August 2010]

I am an avid Gojira and Kaiju fan for over 30 years now. I totally disagree with the other review that is posted for this film. "GMK", as it is known, is one of the best Gojira films in years thanks to the prolific director Shusuke Kaneko ("Gamera" 90's trilogy, the "Death Note" films, "Pyrokinesis"). What makes this film so special is Gojira's haunting hatred for mankind. His all-white eyes make this film even more sinister. Gojira purposely takes human life and has a deep-rooted grudge towards humanity. Look for a scene with a girl in the hospital looking out the window as Gojira approaches. The film has a modern day feel to it with the added elements of destruction and mankind's struggle to survive an "atomic age" type of disaster. The monster battles are fun to watch as well. Also in this film, Gojira has no interest in beating up the other monsters. It wants to kill them. One of the best Gojira films ever made.

Somebody was left out of the title.

[jerekra · 7/10 · 25 November 2008]

GMK is one of the better of the third series of Godzilla films. I am not the biggest fan of the millennium series of Godzilla films, but this is a good movie.

Basic plot line, Godzilla is said to be reappearing. This is his second appearance after his original showing in 1954. That is, according to this film it is his second appearance as it does not acknowledge any Godzilla film other than the original from 1954. Three guardian monsters appear to protect Japan from Godzilla, Ghidorah, Mothra, and........... BARAGON!!!! Will the guardian monsters be able to stop the fury of Godzilla? Godzilla is really evil in this film. Especially how he looks. I mean he is enormous and there are lots of shots where they show him from a persons view from the ground. Godzilla has pure white eyes, no pupils. This look has been criticized by lots of people but I think that this makes him look pretty scary.

I like the fact that Godzilla is a threat and that other monsters must save Japan from him. Ghidorah and Mothra show up once again in this film. Mothra basically is the same as always. Ghidorah, for some reason, just looks out of place as a guardian monster. I am used to the villain Ghidorah from the Showa and Hesei series and this Ghidorah just is not Ghidorah to me. Also Ghidorah looks like Varan a little, maybe because Varan was supposed to be in it but was taken out at the last minute.

The thing that makes this movie great in my opinion is the fact that Baragon gets to be in it. In his last film appearance he barely was on screen for three seconds so this appearance helps make up for it as he gets a good amount of time. Also he gets to actually fight against Godzilla. Baragon looks pretty good and has a different unique roar, I like his older roar better but at least this one is original. Baragon gets to do a lot of burrowing and popping out of the ground which is great. Apparently Baragon does not have his heat breathe or he just does not use it. I heard that they wanted to make Godzilla seem indestructible so they did not give his foes a chance to get the best of him.

THat is one complaint I have for this film. Godzilla is too powerful at times. I mean, he is supposed to be a powerful monster but he defeats his enemies with way too much ease in this one. Baragon gets to knock him over and bite him and then it is all over. Mothra gets taken out easily and Godzilla kills Ghidorah THREE TIMES!!!!!!!! It is not as much fun watching a one sided fight most of the time. But at least Godzilla is portrayed the way they wanted.

The monster scenes are pretty OK. Like I said, the fights are not that memorable and close. THe monster that probably does the best against Godzilla is Baragon and that speaks to how bad the others do against him.

Godzilla is indestructible. Getting to see Mothra and Ghidorah seems to be getting old, but at least Ghidorah is portrayed differently just to change things up. Baragon showing up makes this film though. Worth watching.

A decent G-Film, but one i find to be the most overrated yet

[josgar5404 · 5/10 · 16 January 2014]

GMK is a film that is called by many one of the best in the series, some even say THE BEST. I personally don't think anything can be classified as the best of anything, i feel there's no definite truth to criticism. we all find our own ways and no one person can be right, except to themselves.

Generalities aside, i consider GMK to be the most overrated film in the series. I will first start off by saying that in favor of this movie, it contains good human characters, something that the Millennium series in general had throughout in my opinion. Yuri, her father, and the rest of them are good characters with good stories. The effects are good as well.

Now onto why I find this film overrated. First point is Godzilla himself. This part i feel is purely subjective to opinion, but i hated the way Godzilla is portrayed in this movie. He has no character to him or any reason to like him, he's just a blunt instrument of destruction, unlovable in any way. Now you might be wondering "well of course hes not supposed to be lovable, hes a malicious bastard in this who kills people for spite", well therein lies the problem. The Godzillas of before and after this had a sense of tragedy to them, being horrifically changed by humanity is what made you feel for him, even in the 1954 film where he's doing bad, you knew that he didn't hate humanity, he hated what they created and targeted that. In this movie, hes just a tool, for lack of better terms.

Next criticism comes from the monster King ghidorah. I wont go with the casual point of "oh, he's never supposed to be good" because i really don't care about that. As far as I'm concerned, he's fighting Godzilla, they're enemies, and he isn't even technically a hero. That aside, i felt KG embodies a point that i feel is missing from these battles in this movie: suspense, a sense of struggle. The baragon battle is imo the only good fight because there is uncertainty and horror at seeing a guardian getting horrifically beaten, that being said, that tone doesn't carry over to KGs battle. His battle is more like an adult beating up a middle schooler: its just sad and pathetic. I get they're trying to show how powerful Godzilla is, but thats no excuse to sacrifice suspense. Take for example in Godzilla vs KG, KG was as strong as ever, and that fight was back and forth. And in the end, didn't Godzilla look so damn powerful when he absolutely brutalized KG? THAT is the way to have a battle. This was just sad, and anticlimactic when Ghidroah finally looks like he might have an interesting battle, only to be quickly and pathetically beaten. Wouldn't if the battle were structured in a way that had more back and forth, only to have Godzilla brutally decapitate a head or two, it would've had a horrifying and darker spin on it?

You may also be wondering "why not complain about baragon and mothra?" Well baragon isn't weakened by that much, just no fire, yeah hes smaller than G, but technically he was close to this size in Frankenstein. It was just great to see him. Mothras role in this movie is to have a brief fight with G before getting her ass handed to her, thats pretty much every mothra role since 1964 (love you mothra, but thats the sad truth).

People often say this film is too dark, I argue it wasn't dark enough. It has dark subject matter, and even good points like the counter age culture conflicts and the ineffectiveness of the military by government intervention, but never do we have a sense of dread or despair we felt in 1954 or 1984 and to a lesser extent Terror. I used to think Kaneko was limited by toho, but i know see that unlike his gamera trilogy, Writer Kazunori Ito doesn't accompany him. Maybe being director, writer, and special effects story boarder was too much for him. As for the whole Anguirus and Varan intervention, that doesn't relate to the film in my view as it is preproduction stuff, not having to do with what we see on screen (though if i were to chose, I'd honestly rather see ghidorah get pummeled than Anguirus, as hes better than that, ghidorah, idk if hes better than this, mothra 3 really makes me wonder about him...).

In conclusion, while a decent film, GMK is vastly overrated in MY view. And believe me, I tried so damn hard to love this film, i want to join other g fans in gushing about it, but i cant find myself to. Should i just go with the crowd, or am i gonna say what I think? Its okay as a standalone piece, but overall, i rank this at the bottom of the millennium series, and my third least favorite overall, only above revenge and KKvsG. I don't hate it, i like all Godzilla films. This one just doesn't do it for me like the others.

One last thing i want to address is directed at certain forums and their users, i feel really ashamed to see people on these sites be berated for even hinting at that they don't think this film isn't some great movie. Not everyone does this, but the ones i see often rudely and childishly say things like "you're not a true G fan, you're stupid for thinking otherwise." I never use forums, and this is why, this aggression really irks me.

Well thats my thoughts, again its my view, so you can either take it or leave it, i feel while i cant change the world with a Review, I can at least try to articulate my reasons in an intelligent and adult like manor.

On second thought this one is very good.

[Aaron1375 · 9/10 · 17 November 2004]

The first time I saw this movie was on the sci-fi channel and the movie had pieces cut from it and it was badly dubbed. I bought the DVD and watched it and it was a lot better than the sci-fi experience. First off the music is great when you listen to it in stereo, secondly the effects are really good for a Godzilla movie. My major complaint it seems was simply Godzilla's appearance in the movie. It is a major jolt when one is used to the Godzilla of the previous two movies, but on seeing it again it looks rather good, and very evil (still a bit two dumpy, but I got over this time). In this movie, Godzilla is on a rampage...a rampage where he isn't just stumbling through the city causing damage because of his size, but rather causing damage because he wants to kill the people of Japan and make them suffer. Many of his most deplorable acts were cut from the sci-fi version, but on DVD you get to see him cause lots of pain on purpose. Who can stop the rampaging Godzilla...well we have Mothra, Baragon, and King Gidorah, but quite frankly these monsters just can not stand up to the power of this evil super Godzilla. So the military also pitches in with their full arsenal. Very interesting characters abound in a reporter and her military dad and various other interesting people. All of them with one goal: To stop the onslaught of Godzilla.

It all comes together

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 6 July 2021]

I've recently been catching up with the millennium-era GODZILLA films and so far this is the best I've seen. It's not perfect but it has a lot more visceral impact and power to it this time around, and the decision to make Godzilla himself a truly evil foe is something that appeals to me; I like the idea of him being guided by the souls of the Japanese war dead wanting revenge on the country, pretty controversial it has to be said. The special effects ramp up a gear here with great use of quality back projection and the like to make the city destruction more realistic than ever. The human plot isn't great but fairly watchable, and the presence of no less than three extra monsters - Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah - helps a lot for the entertainment value too. Plus you get to see Ghidorah as a good guy for the only time in his career, which surely counts for something.

For a movie about spirituality, this is certainly a soulless picture.

[The_Keeper_of_Angela_Baker · 2/10 · 8 November 2002]

Around 1998 or 1999 I remember thinking "What if Shusuke Kaneko directed a Godzilla movie? Surely that would be something to behold." There's the old axium, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it." Lamentably in 2001, I got it-- but much more (or less) than I bargained for.

The cumbersomely titled "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (the movie's clumsy title should have been some tip off) came out much to the hoopla of fans across the world, claiming this to be the best Godzilla movie since the original. That tells me nothing as I don't find "Godzilla '54" to be the benchmark to test entries against.

The script is a complete mess. Ideas are introduced and dropped with impunity. Godzilla is portrayed wrongheadedly and a wholly unreasonable reason for his return is handed to us (if I was a spirit, I would care less what the living were doing-- let Japan learn their own lessons... you're dead. Your life is over, you shouldn't be able to effect the living... Japan doesn't need to start going back to "the old ways" as much as they need a monstrous Max Von Sydow) and uninteresting characters meander throughout the story. We have the childish daughter of a general whose parents were killed by Godzilla in 1954, a TV producer who looks like a refugee from one of Kaneko's Gamera films, and so on and so on.

Anyway, the film plays out and we have characters who are introduced, and then take center stage for the film. This is a Godzilla movie. Godzilla is center stage. Ishiro Honda once said "Once the monsters appear, they become the focus of the picture". This is the manner that all the Godzilla films have been made in from 1954-2000 (when the monsters start fighting, we follow the monsters, which is what we're there to see). GMK broke that mold, with disasterous results. The final showdown is on, but wait-- we're forced to follow along with Yuri Tachibana as she realizes that her country needs to wake up and smell the roses and change. Who cares? Godzilla and King Ghidorah are fighting. That's what I'm here to see. I don't give a damn about the characters by this point in the film.

The characters are largely nonexistant and flatly played. Yuri Tachibana's character does a full character arc, but it's so uninteresting why does it really matter? The Military Head provides a few laughs ("What is this? Monsters on Parade?" No, it's "Giant Monsters All-Out Attack") and Eisei Amamoto is suitably sinister, but everyone else is either limp, nonexistant, or boring.

Shining above this dregery is Ryudo Uzaki as General Taizo Tachibana. Uza ki takes what is essentially a poorly written and flat character and breathes full life into him and I admire the actor for succeeding. He also brings some respectability to the proceedings when everything else is going to hell. He "keeps his head, while all about him is losing theirs". And that scene at the very end of the film of Tachibana walking triumphantly through the smoke is the coolest thing in the Godzilla series since Agent Namara kicked space monkey butt with impunity. Bottom line, I want to see Uzaki in another Godzilla movie.

The monsters don't fare any better.

Godzilla transforms from a "strange creature" (the literal meaning of "kaiju") to a monstrous boogeyman. Gone is the monster who destroyed cities that were in his way just for the reason they were in his way. Here, Godzilla ruthlessly murders people (something he'd never done before-- Godzilla caused destruction and killed people sure, but they were always in the way of his destruction, not singled out apart from it. Of course, there is the exception such as Katagiri in "Godzilla 2000 Millennium", but he was trying to kill G the whole film, so yeah, he should have died). He's transformed into a 60 meter tall Jason Voorhees. He lives to kill, and that is not what Godzilla is all about at all. Ishiro Honda would be yearning for the Gojira Shie if he ever saw this.

Kaneko wrongheadedly makes Godzilla the strongest monster in the film. He's also been quoted as saying "Would anybody really like my Godzilla?" I am a Godzilla fan, and I root for him always (the exception is "King Kong vs. Godzilla" where I just sit back and enjoy both monsters get their licks in since I love them both so much). I began rooting for Godzilla in this movie as well, but Godzilla just kept winning, and winning, and winning, and winning, and winning... ho-hum. There's no point in rooting for Godzilla if there's not the slightest possibility that he may lose.

The best way to describe Godzilla in this movie is as an evil Superhero Godzilla. Look at him-- Godzilla has the brains and all the cool wrestling moves that Superhero Godzilla had, but instead of fighting for good, he's there to raise hell. And as the film drags on and on, he becomes nothing more than a "Dragonball Z" villain. Evil Superhero Godzilla... how oxymoronic, which is very much like the film itself.

Godzilla has no personality in the movie, which is the movie monster's most endearing trait. Sure, the monster is expressive (his eyes blink, head shakes around, cheeks rise, smiles, etc.) but the monster might as well be Majin, the vengeful god (who is more loveable than Godzilla in this picture-- at least Majin always fought for right). Godzilla is not a hero, he's not a force of nature, he's not even a villain. He's simply an asshole, and Godzilla deserves better.

The least of Kentucky Fried Ghidorah's problems is that he's "a good guy". The creature doesn't look like it could go toe-to-toe with Guilala, let alone this Godzilla, what with his useless floppy wings and chicken feet and fakey looking heads (NEVER let the actor use his hands to operate Ghidorah's heads ever again. Ghidorah actors: just do what has worked in the past. Use your legs to walk around, and let the 22 wires do everything else). Ghidorah is talked about the entire movie, but when he shows up, it's anticlimactic in the least. The three headed dragon just pops out of nowhere (HOW?!) and tries to lay the smackdown on Godzilla (failing miserably, of course), then gets beat down for the remainder of the film (Godzilla kills Kentucky Fried Ghidorah four or five times-- I lost count. He comes back to life more times than Jason!). The monster even goes Super-Saiyan on Godzilla's ass with little to no results (Godzilla even starts absorbing Ghidorah's attack... ho-hum). The monster flies around, makes a lot of noise, then gets blown into fairy dust by Godzilla. Wow... there's our 1,000 Year Dragon for us. And plus, Akira Oashi's Ghidorah is the most lifeless ever. Even Hurricane Ryu's Futurian pretender was more impressive.

Mothra just plain gets it jammed up her and broken off. She's in the movie one scene as a larva, then she's a peanut shaped cocoon, then she hatches as a moth, then she flies off and gets tromped on by Godzilla, worse than ever before. Sure, she may look more realistic and be able to fire stingers/fecal pellets, but of course, they're all for naught. She's there to be had by Godzilla... plain and simple.

Baragon offers the film's highpoint of the film: "The Great Fuji Battle: Godzilla vs. Baragon". But the monster is too small to be impressive at all. It's not even Rocky vs. Ivan Drago... it's more like Rocky Jr. vs. Ivan Drago. You'd think for thousand year old spirits, they'd have picked up a thing or two about fighting. Once Baragon is dealt with, the movie goes downhill fast and the film is poorer for his absence.

Bottom line: the monsters are nothing at all more than punching bags for Mizuho Yoshida.

As for the effects. Mostly they are fairly good. Godzilla's ray finally gets the badassness it deserves (though I miss the old sound effect). Basically, anything computer generated was good, as were the miniatures.

The monsters, on the otherhand, are unconscionably bad. Sure, they may be able to do things other suits didn't, but that still doesn't change the fact they look like crap-- every one of them (except Mothra when she's CGI). Godzilla looks like something found in Tsuburaya's dumpster. He's never looked phonier! (in comparison to the times the films were made) The monster's head bobs about on a neck that's way too long with a head that's way too big, and teeth that are way too large, and what's with Godzilla's arms drooping to his side occassionally instead of being held out front where they belong? In fact, I know the reason Godzilla's so pissed off... he's looking for the man that stole his pupils! The monster moves about ungracefully and stumblingly, looking exactly like what he is: a big chunk of rubber (Why is it that Toho has yet to make Godzilla look as good as he did in the Heisei films?).

The less said about Kentucky Fried Ghidorah, the better. The torn-up Ghidrah suit used in "Zone Fighter" looked better (not to mention, more menacing).

Mothra, of course, looks great when she's CGI. She's not so impressive just as a prop. I liked the "chicken leg" look of the 1992 movie better. Mothra has a certain "look". She looks like Mothra. Mothra is a gigantic moth, but she doesn't look like a moth. Tsuburaya's design was done right the first time (this is the same with Godzilla-- he's a radioactive mutated dinosaur, yet he does not look like a dinosaur... Godzilla has his own look as well, which the GMK Godzilla is only barely reminesent of).

Baragon's costume fares the best, but he too looks like something found while rummaging around on Ultraman leftovers. The monster in his torn up and worn incarnation in "Destroy All Monsters" was more convincing to me. Gone is Baragon's roar, heat beam, and magnificent flowing tail. Heck, I don't think any of the monsters have looked worse anywhere than they have here (Baragon maybe have looked worse while doubling for monsters on Ulrta Q/ Ultraman... maybe).

The score is another problem with the film. I'm a big fan of Ko Otani's work on the three Gameras, but here, he breaks NO new ground whatsoever. His music sounds simply like recycled or reworked themes from "Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys" (which this film plays a lot like), and he constantly repeats the same themes over and over, when they aren't very engrossing to begin with. The only piece of music that really stands out is the piece when Tachibana, father and daughter, salute the souls of the dead (it still brings a smile to my face every time I hear it) and the opening titles (which I originally was unimpressed with-- it sounded like something found in a thriller, not a Godzilla movie--, but when used in conjucntion with the title screen-- see below-- it works very well).

GMK has Kaneko written all over it... Usually, that's not a bad thing, but here it for some reason is. Kaneko's direction seems masterful, as usual. The film flows along at a nice clip... too bad it concerns itself with dull characters, uninteresting and underdeveloped ideas, and poorly thoughtout Godzilla presentations. GMK never at all seems like a Godzilla movie proper, as much as it does a 90s Gamera film with Godzilla and company stuck in (This movie would have been MUCH better as "Titanosaurus, Manda, Kameba: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"). Kaneko should have tried better to have changed his own style as he is making a differently styled movie. Godzilla movies are different than Gamera films, but Kaneko doesn't seem to be able to acknowledge this fact.

I hope both Kaneko and Otani fare much better in future. I still like their previous work, but am much more wary now because of GMK. GMK, in my eyes, is One Step Up and Two Steps Back for both of them.

The scene with the woman in the hospital bed: This was tacky, meanspirited, and just plain wrong to include. As much as I love him, Tachibana should have died-- it would have meant a lot more in the overall story. The woman in the bed should not have (maybe if she was introduced as a character earlier in the film-- say Yuri's friend, and we cared about her or something-- but as is, she's merely introduced and then executed. That's wrong on so many levels).

Regard GMK as the golden goose if you so wish. I, however, shall treat it as something I want to scrape off my shoe. It's barely better than my least liked Godzilla movie, "Godzilla Raids Again" and is about as bad as "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah", but at least "King Ghidorah" treats Godzilla with some semblance of respect and "Raids Again" is more in line with how the Godzilla movies are.

Kudos to GMK: Giant Monsters All Out Attack for having the greatest Godzilla title screen ever (barely beating out the insanely cool "Godzilla vs. Destroyer" title screen) and one of the series' coolest characters (if not for one shot in the whole movie), but nothing else.

I desperately WANTED to like GMK. Can't have everything I guess...

You need to see this

[harybobjoebob · 8/10 · 10 October 2020]

Even if you haven't seen any other Godzilla movie, this is worth a watch. The human and the monster scenes are both great, and I love this movies spiritual themes. The music is some of my favorite in the series, Godzilla looks EPIC with his white eyes. Mothra, king ghidorah, and baragon are all great, especially mothra, she's my favorite. The only problem is I wish we could have gotten anguirus in this instead of baragon but that really just a nit pick, Rodan would have been cool to. But this is one of the best in the series and I would recommend it to anyone

Best installment of the Godzilla Millennium Series!

[The_Depressed_Star_Wars_fan · 7/10 · 15 May 2010]

First I should probably mention that I don't really care much for the Millennium Series, it's silly, unorganized, etc. Except for this movie. This movie was actually pretty good. It has some pretty good acting. For a monster movie that is. The effects for this movie are also pretty good. Sometimes, during a Godzilla movie I can look closely to see Mothra's stings. But this movie was good in hiding them so they were not in sight. Now time to talk about the story line. At first I didn't like it, but now I thing its pretty good. The story line is a reboot ignoring all except for the original. To bad to note that buy this time all the millennium movies were reboot which is one of the reasons why I don't really like the millennium series. But as you all ready now this is the one installment I like. So I say check it out.

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah

[destoroyah98886 · 10/10 · 19 September 2008]

SPOILERS!!! This Godzilla is better than any of the other Godzillas! For instance, the fact that he was biggest monster in the movie, and the way he attacked with extreme prejudice,unlike the other Godzillas, when the military attacked him, he made sure he obliterated them, not just the usual breath of fire, then move on to fight his opponent, he even proceeded to destroy the military battleships! man was he determined!! Also the way he dispatched the other monsters, This Godzilla is one of my all time favorites, along with Radioactive Godzilla:"Godzilla vs Destroyer". I recommend this movie any day over "Final Wars" seriously!

Good film, convoluted themes -- and where's the nuclear allegory?

[poeghostal · 12 March 2004]

Okay, here we go...there are spoilers in this review, so please be aware.

Godzilla - Mothra - King Ghidorah: Giant Monster All-Out Attack (GMK) is an excellent Godzilla film. (Partly) written and directed by Shusuke Kaneko, the director who revamped the Gamera series in the 1990s, GMK represents the high-water mark of the so-called "Shinsei" series of films that began with Godzilla: Millennium in 1999.

The film is necessary viewing for any Godzilla fan, and is also a good film to show neophytes and non-fans. It's fun, interesting, and has some excellent special effects. It also has what is possible the best monster fight in Godzilla history (the fight with Baragon).

That said...

I've been watching a few other Godzilla movies lately -- most recently GxMG -- and I've been thinking about GMK. And I think that, for a movie intended to be a Gamera-style revamp, Kaneko missed something very important.

For me, the most important thing about Godzilla -- the thing that makes him more than just another rubber monster stomping around a set...the thing that, no matter how good the films are, will always make Gamera second to Godzilla -- is his allegorical origin. Godzilla is a product, and symbol, of nuclear war. Ishiro Honda intended Godzilla's ray to be a living representation of a nuclear bomb. The destruction it leaves in its wake is the same destruction seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

To be sure, many Godzilla films -- most notably Godzilla 1984 and Godzilla vs. Destroyer -- played up Godzilla's nuclear origins. And to be fair, GMK had the "atomic bomb" scene and the little bit at the end where Tachibana tells Yuri not to get too close until he's checked for radiation.

But what troubles me more is Kaneko's revision of Godzilla's origin. While throughout the Showa and Heisei series Godzilla's origin in nuclear devastation was generally acknowledged (more in some films than others), by adding the whole "souls of the dead soldiers" element, GMK removes a certain level of culpability on the part of humanity (and the U.S. in particular) in Godzilla's creation. By providing Godzilla with a more fantasy-based origin and motivation, the warning inherent in Godzilla's rampages is lost.

Now, I admit that imbuing Godzilla with the "souls of the dead" theme is as interesting and perhaps as poignant as the nuclear allegory. But, in my opinion, it's not truly Godzilla. More significantly, there's no narrative closure to the "souls" subplot -- apparently anthropomorphized dead soldiers can be destroyed (at least temporarily). While Kaneko's script seemed to be chiding Japan for forgetting its past, no one takes responsibility for that.

What's more, the Guardian Monsters are not summoned by respectful prayers or pleas for help, but by *accidental vandalism.* Why, when these teenagers have just accidentally defiled their shrines, would Baragon, Mothra and Ghidorah turn around and protect humanity?

Now, I still like GMK. Very much so. It has great production values and direction, and the story raises a lot of interesting questions. It also has one of my favorite physical and behavorial portrayals of Godzilla in any film. Unfortunately, the script isn't quite as developed as those for the Gamera films.

A movie that I watched with my son and we loved it

[mhyi · 7/10 · 29 June 2020]

I may be a redneck but gonna be honest, I hate gators taking dumps on my pond but I love Godzilla! I never heard of it until my son was watching it in television at the age of 1 in 2004. Godzilla is pretty much a giant fire breathing dinosaur but he is more then a alligator! The movie is just perfect to refresh my mind with Vietnam war flashbacks and other terrible flashbacks since the movie is about the early time of japan being atomic bombed. I love the idea of Godzilla being the dead spirits of the ones who died during the war and he was fought with Japanese guardians who are will to protect Japan against the evil.... I just love this movie as much as Tom (my son)

Awesome Giant Monster Goodness!

[ravenus · 8/10 · 3 October 2004]

GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH - GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK

Granted I haven't seen many of them but I should think this 2001 feature is the best Godzilla movie I've seen.

50 years after the last Godzilla attack, Japan's coast again begins to feel the tremors of its favorite monster. There have been rumors of Godzilla sightings in other countries (a clever reference to the '98 Hollywood version when two naval cadets whisper to each other, "The New York attack was Godzilla?" "The Americans say so but our experts have their doubts"), but now it appears old Gojira, after a health-giving dose of radiation from a nuclear sub, is heading back to the Sushi bars.

The early parts are somewhat slow, time spent in introducing us to the various characters, with Godzilla sightings mostly restricted to brief glimpses amidst shaky cameras and falling debris. But soon our rubber-suited gargoyle, who is no more the lovable muppet monster of previous entries in the series, decides its time to come out of the closet for some major ass-kicking.

Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of the Guardian Monsters who are fated to protect Japan from Godzilla - Baragon, Mothra and Ghidora. Godzilla v/s Baragon is okay but not very good...there are no real special moves depicted and the rubber suits look too goofy in the day. But considering that Baragon's name doesn't even come up in the title, even the makers obviously considered him only a warm-up before the big battle.

And when the big battle starts...man!!! I wish I had been watching it in IMAX format with really loud surround sound, because this is one awesome battle. Sure, the rubber suits never get believable but I was having too much fun to worry about that. There's a good combination of scale models and CGI to depict the battle of the monsters and the wholesale destruction of Tokyo City. Caught in the crossfire are Japanese civilians and the Army, which is making its own (pathetic) maneuvers to combat Godzilla.

The acting of the human characters in this movie is corny but never annoying. The actor playing the military commander who is also the father of the reporter heroine is quite good in his role. The special FX may lack the polish of Hollywood extravaganzas but work perfectly well in the accepted formula. And unlike most Hollywood disaster movies, this is not one that leaves all the people except the evil lawyer miraculously unscathed. People here die. The brave soldiers die, the bumbling TV cameramen die, the schoolchildren die...even the cripple dies. That's what genuine monster movies are about. This film is a welcome return to the bad old days for Godzilla.

Has panache

[FiendishDramaturgy · 7/10 · 2 September 2004]

Wow. What a wonderful experience, to see them update Godzilla yet stay true to form!

The first thing I noticed, and I noticed this right away, was that this was not the Godzilla of my childhood. Thankfully, this also was not Roland Emmerick's "Jurassiczilla," either. I was stunned and (at first) in denial. This was so much better than the Godzilla of my childhood! It starts out pretty much like any of the older ones. (The DVD, however, comes with two choices. You can get English-speaking voices with English subtitles, or you can choose Japanese-speaking voices with English subtitles. Personally, I prefer to understand what I'm hearing, but it's cool the other way too.) But it quickly becomes something more substantial and much better written, produced, directed, and executed.

All that having been said, what actually impressed me so with this movie is the effects quality and their treatment of the monsters. Considering they only spent 1,200,000,000 Yen (approximately $10,955,902.92 US), the effects were extremely well executed. I was enthralled with the treatment they gave King Ghidorah. What a spectacular sight! Not at first, but ... later on in the movie.

The story was easily followed, though not so much so as to put you to sleep.

The action sequences were not the kung fu styled cheese of the 60's and 70's. They were strategically orchestrated and executed with that certain Godzilla-like panache.

Some Big G purists, however, will tout this as the one we've all been dreading. OH, the movie's great, but this is the TOHO installment which validates Emmerich's Jurassiczilla by including a New York sighting of past Godzilla sightings in the opening, and then later on in the movie a commanding military officer asks, "Why Japan, again?! Couldn't he have picked on some other country?" to much laughter all around the table. The cabinet members ask repeatedly, "Why here?" as if they have forgotten that Japan is home to the Kaiju, and further cannot seem to recall that Godzilla was their protector for decades. He wasn't always the bad guy.

Also, Godzilla is now said to hold the souls of the thousands killed in Japan in WWII, which drags this off the Creature Feature shelf of my DVD collection, and slips it into the Supernatural/Monsters section with the 1930's Universal Mummy and other such collections; a movie about which I am somewhat conflicted.

The set models are as bad (or as good) as ever, the field reporters sound like ring-side boxing commentators, and the Big G looks mahvellous in his new makeover. This is obviously due to Emmerick's Western Dragon/Jurassiczilla interpretation, but don't worry Big G fans; he's bigger, he's better, but most importantly, he's still our Big G, although Emmerich's influence is seen throughout this work in everything from a more complex story, through plot execution, monster concepts, to the superior effects. I previously thought allowing Emmerich to influence this line would be a bad move, but oddly enough, this is the only Godzilla movie in the franchise to receive the same 7.2/10 rating as the original here at IMDb!

This venture is as implausible as the rest, but that's one of the things that makes this line so darned fun. The bad dubbing, the cheesy dialog, the obvious models all add to the campy monster fun, but this time, there were some GREAT effects! They were much better than any previous installment, in my opinion, although the score was enough to drive you buggy!

This time the Big G relies heavily on his laser breath, to devastating affect! and with the appearance of some of our other Kaiju favorites, this installment is one of the absolute best! In my opinion, this is by far the best Godzilla movie made (and I love them ALL)! I highly recommend it!

At a Fiendish rating of 9.8/10 (on the B scale).

That's a solid 7.3/10 (on the A scale) from...

the Fiend :.

Great Visuals, Weak Story...

[jmaruyama · 4/10 · 1 September 2002]

Ever since his spectacular re-interpretation of the GAMERA series, Shunsuke Kaneko has been riding the fires of success. While his last film CROSSFIRE didn't match the astonishing success of the GAMERA Trilogy of movies, Kaneko strikes back with a vengeance with the All-Star, Monster Spectacular - GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH: Giant Monster All-Out Monster Attack. Reminiscent of Toho's other Monster extravaganza, Kaiju Shoshigeki (aka DESTROY ALL MONSTERS -1968), this film reunites Toho's most beloved "man-in-a-suit" characters: King Ghidorah, Godzilla, Mothra and re-introduces the fan favorite Baragon (from FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD - 1965) and pits them in a Battle Royale across the Japanese landscape. Kaneko's fascination with mysticism, and Japanese Mythology is again apparent here as it was in GAMERA, as he identifies the Giant Monsters with Universal Spiritual Forces of the Earth. The SFX is superb, rivaling Hollywood's best efforts and easily surpassing the abysmal American GODZILLA movie. GMK is possibly the best looking Godzilla film in a long while. Kaneko borrows much from the Michael Bay book of astounding visuals. Unfortunately, the story meanders much and all the impressive SFX can't save the film from falling into the typical "monster run-amok" type of theatrics. Godzilla fans will surely revel in the action sequences and many Japanese Movie Fans may crack a grin at all the familiar "star" cameos in the movie from the likes of Hirosue Ryoko, Sano Shiro, Hotaru Yukijiro, Tezuka Masaaki, Kawakita Koichi, Maeda Ai, Takahashi Masaya, Murata Takehiro, Nakamura Katsuo and Kato Kazuko.

I Love Baragon!!!

[RIOTonSUNSET · 8/10 · 16 January 2003]

Godzilla is back and mean! I bought an imported copy from Hong Kong and I am glad to see Toho still up to their old tricks. I love this film and am glad that Toho included Baragon in the fight. Baragon hasn't been seen since 1968, and it was a real treat to see him battle Godzilla! Now, where's Titanosaurus?

Godzilla ........... endless cycle.

[CelluloidRehab · 7/10 · 28 June 2006]

Godzilla is killed and resurrected more times than everybody Sydney Bristow knows. Those that have appreciated this series have long accepted the "cheese". This movie is no exception. It gives us the cheese, without the formality of a pizza.

The movie starts out with a briefing in which we are told of the formation of some "Godzilla" defense force in 1954. In the present, a sub disappears and New York is attacked. While searching for the missing sub they discover .... ATTACK OF THE GIANT BOLD LOUD TITLES and some glow-in-the-dark creature, but that's not important right now. There are some main human characters, but after all they are just a lady finger snack for Godzilla. Yuri (the commander's daughter) is filming a docu-drama (think of Leonard Nimoy's In Search Of) about Godzilla for some 2 bit news agency (think HardCopy). After some more pointless "story" elements, the monsters make their appearance. Godzilla shows up at 35+ minute mark and the fun ensues. The following is based on appearance and not frequency of conflicts.

Round 1 : Godzilla vs Baragon (reddish, scaled quadrupedal groundhog with a long tail an a horn)

Round 2 : Godzilla vs Mothra (giant moth)

Round 3 : Godzilla vs Ghidora (3 golden headed dragon)

That is the gist of the movie. There is some mumbo jumbo back story about Guardian Monsters (Ghidora, Baragon and others) protecting the motherland (mountains, rivers, trees,etc). Add to this movie a metamorphosis, some ineffectual human military response (mostly in the form on a new missile that is mix of a Patriot missile and a oil drill), a lot of screaming and yelling, dead extras, miniatures of all kinds with a heavy dose of carnage and you have a pretty enjoyable flick.

Disappointing, but some great scenes

[stevenfallonnyc · 5/10 · 3 June 2004]

"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.

It took them three Millennium Godzilla movies before they got it right

[FilmExpertWannabe · 8/10 · 24 April 2011]

Godzilla movies are a lot of things. As someone that grew up on the franchise, I can admit that character development, special effects, and cohesive plots aren't naturally among the list. But this Godzilla movie is very watchable, even if you're with a pal that isn't much into giant monster movies (and certainly isn't into something like the Showa series of Godzilla flicks). Toho didn't get the Millennium series of G films off to a good start. Godzilla 2000 had some annoying pacing issues and a dry basic plot. The second movie, Godzilla vs Megaguirus, was again a bit slowly paced. But they really must've gone to work with GMK, because this one came out much better.

First, the standard movie business. We see some great special effects work here, with few flaws. The characters still don't connect that much to the audience, but they are more than tolerable; I found myself more into the military characters' scenes rather than the main character and her BS Digital colleagues interestingly enough. But again, you won't leave the movie thinking the characters were bad. The music is awesome and sounds both menacing and mythical, which is important for the film's premise. The film is overall devoid of pacing issues.

So what about the monsters? Godzilla looks fantastic, especially with those dead white eyes. His atomic heat ray also looks appropriately special. Some viewers have commented that it looks like he has a bit of a pot belly, but I don't think it detracts from any of his scenes. Baragon looks good, and he is only presented to be a tooth-and-claw kaiju (a monster without any special powers like Godzilla's atomic ray); back in the Showa this was not the case. Mothra looks better here than any other appearance I've seen her in. Even the following appearances in Godzilla: Tokyo SOS and Godzilla: Final Wars don't have a Mothra that looks this good and moves around this well. Her character as a guardian monster hero also is very fitting. King Ghidorah, though, is probably the weak point among the monsters. In terms of quality and detail, make no mistake, KG looks great. But to someone who's seen King Ghidorah (or other Ghidorahs) before, this one seems a little small and weak. He constantly needed this boosts, first to fly and then to fire his electric bolts. The biggest problem I have is the fact that he's portrayed as a hero monster here. King Ghidorah? Hero? What? That was a mistake in my opinion, but I've grown to care less as the years pile on.

A great giant monster movie, I give this a very solid 8/10, beaten in raw numbers by only one other Godzilla movie (because nothing with be as iconic, serious, or game changing as the 1954 original).