Final wars review

[thebitterguy]

A review of Godzilla: Final Wars. Apparently, it was directed by the same guy who made Versus, a film that sixteenbynine showed at Conthulu several years ago, and is the greatest film ever.

Man, I really gotta get a copy of this movie.

Posted primarily for kaijugal and gamera_spinning but I know the rest of you will enjoy it.

Comments

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

As I think I've mentioned before, I have a bootleg of the four-disc Japanese version. Sony put out a single disc edition but honestly, if you want a Godzilla movie, usually you have to go digging for boots.

This guy isn't as big a fan as he thinks he is, he missed some of the more obscure in-jokes (which I, tragically, got the first time I saw it, at the Brattle with a hugely enthusiastic audience.)

[gamera-spinning.livejournal.com]

It's a fun movie, particularly the over-the-top token American character, Captain Gordon, played by extreme wrestler, Don Frye. It's out on DVD, no need for bootlegs anymore.

[thebitterguy]

Yeah, the local cons are getting strict about bootlegs. Dang. I'll definitely pick it up if I spot it, or maybe just rent the single disc version.

[thebitterguy]

For just a microsecond I thought you were saying he was played by Man Faye. So I screamed.

Apparently the bootlegs are of the 4 disc version; is the current relesae 4 disc or a single disc?

[gamera-spinning.livejournal.com]

4-discs?! What's on the other 3 discs?

[thebitterguy]

You'd have to check with thetathx1138. He's the one who keeps bragging about it.

[dawgstar.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, myself. It is, at the very least, Netflix-worthy.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Really? The war on piracy has definitely taken a cease-fire here in the States, to paraphrase a great modern philosopher. My one regret from the last minor con I went to was not picking up a copy of "Cocksucker Blues", the infamous Rolling Stones documentary.

[thebitterguy]

Really? I heard differently a few months back.

Hopefully genCon will be good to me.

[thebitterguy]

NetFlix has yet to enter the GWN, and I've not heard delightful stuff about its local equivalents.

I'll keep an eye out for it, though.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Most of the discs I saw were actually content not available in the US in any way, shape or form; old out-of-print cartoons, TV pilots like "Justice League of America", etc. That stuff, RIAA and the MPAA don't really give a shit about, they're not about enforcing the copyrights of people who aren't their friends. Now, boots of "Spider-Man", that's a different story.

[thebitterguy]

Hopefully that's the case. I still don't have a copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special.

What else is available on the 4 disc set?

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Well, I should warn you that it's all in Japanese outside of the first disc; no subs, no dubs. But there's a historical documentary about Godzilla, trailers, etc. I'm sure if I understood a word of Japanese it'd be a pretty deep set. As it stands, even though I haven't even seen all the movies, I sadly know enough about the G-Man to recognize most of the behind-the-scenes players (I also sadly know enough to get ALL the jokes in the Mecha-Streisand episode of South Park, and they are LEGION.)

The fourth disc is actually Keith Emerson's score. To be honest, it really does sort of suck that "Versus guy" didn't make his composers use the Godzilla march or the infamous introduction theme (you'd know it if you heard it.)

For the record, the best Godzilla movie in recent years is actually "Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: All Out Monsters Attack." The title is a miserable translation but the movie itself is superb; great effects, well-choreographed fight scenes, the direction is very creative in spots, and it even has a serious theme!

If you just want to rent, Sony is actually finally doing a good job on these; I got GMK for ten bucks and Final Wars is available for that price. The cover art sucks and there are zero extras but at least they're not demanding thirty bucks a go anymore.