GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004)
A Celebration Fit For The King
50th anniversaries are a big deal. For anything in this ephemeral thing we call life to last that long is a major achievement worthy of the biggest of celebrations. When the anniversary happens to be for everyone’s favorite giant radioactive lizard, it requires much much more. It requires a movie so epic, so over-the-top that there was only one person capable of pulling it off, and that’s how we got Ryuhei Kitamura’s GODZILLA: FINAL WARS.
Released in 2004 as part of Toho’s 50th Anniversary celebrations for Godzilla, FINAL WARS serves as a victory lap for the entire series to that point. Almost every major monster Godzilla has battled in the previous 50 years makes an appearance (including, in one of the movie’s most amusing bits, Zilla, the Emmerich/Devlin version of Big G), and Kitamura loads the film with other references, call-backs and easter eggs for longtime fans.
For those unfamiliar with Kitamura, he burst onto the scene with his third feature, VERSUS (2000), a yakuza zombie movie that defies that basic description. From there he went on a hell of a run with the sci-fi action film ALIVE (2002), the samurai vs. demon fight film ARAGAMI (2003), and the terrific (and terrifically bloody) AZUMI (2003). With a style that rivals Japanese legend Takeshi Miike, Kitamura quickly became a go-to director for Japanese action.
Managing to take the flair of Hong Kong cinema, but infusing it with his own visual stylings, it felt like we were watching one of the next action masters develop. I am not exaggerating when I say that in the early 2000s Kitamura was one of the most exciting directors working. With Kitamura riding so high, Toho felt his style was the right fit for FINAL WARS. For his part, Kitamura wanted to pay homage to the Godzilla films from the Showa era that he loved, which meant big monster punch ups. Kitamura likened his goal to creating a Godzilla “Best of” album.
Like most Kitamura films, trying to boil down FINAL WARS to a simple synopsis is next to impossible, but here’s my best shot: FINAL WARS opens with Godzilla finally being stopped after yet another reign of terror by being buried in the arctic. In the subsequent years, a new race of mutant humans has developed because of a strain of DNA known as M-Base. M-Base gives these mutants heightened abilities so most of them are recruited to the Earth Defense Force (EDF), dedicated to battling any monsters that may appear.
Earth is visited by a supposedly friendly alien race known as the Xilliens with the promise of taking mankind to even greater heights. In actuality the Xilliens are a conquering force, and unleash a swarm of kaiju to attack earth, leaving Earth’s heroes hopelessly outmatched. The Xilliens are able to manipulate the M-Base, using it to control the monsters as well as the EDF, turning them against humans. One of the high points of the film is a gloriously over-the-top performance by the great Kazuki Kitamura (THE RAID 2, KILLERS) as the Xillien leader. In a movie this big, it’s hard for any actual actor to stand out but Kitamura is up to the task.
The remaining members of the EDF, led by our main star Shinichi Ozaki (Masahiro Matsouka) and Kazama, played by the great Kane Kosugi (NINJA 2: SHADOW OF A TEAR), regroup under the command of Captain Gordon, played by former UFC fighter Don Frye. Gordon has the answer to earth’s salvation: wake up Godzilla. What follows is Godzilla marching across the world kicking the hell out of his greatest foes and it is glorious. Mixed in we have some MATRIX-style fights, characters developing superpowers, and some great stunts and action from Kosugi. Frye, who may be a real-life Kaiju, tears up the scenery matching Kazuki Kitamura’s performance for going full ham.
Without just listing the monsters, if you have a favorite they probably make an appearance in FINAL WARS. Godzilla takes on classics like Anguiris, Gigan, Hedorah, and, of course, the big bad Ghidorah. Kitamura makes sure that Mothra plays an important role, and even the oft-maligned Minilla makes a crucial appearance. Kitamura aimed to condense the entire Showa era of Godzilla into two hours, and in my mind, pulls it off.
FINAL WARS is not beloved by several Godzilla fans for all of the reasons I love it. Kitmaura just can’t resist jamming every idea he has into every one of his movies and this one is bursting at the seams. It should be though! This movie is designed to be a victory lap, so it should be filled to the brim with big ideas, big fights, and big acting. While Kitamura does use some CGI for the human fight scenes, he commits completely to using suit actors and practical effects for the monster battles, and, given a far bigger budget than most Godzilla films, FINAL WARS might be the best looking of the series. The monster suits are impeccable, and the sets are far larger and more varied than typically seen.
Make no mistake, this isn’t the allegorical monster from 1954. If that’s the kind of Godzilla you’re looking for, you’re better off with something like 2016’s SHIN GODZILLA. But if names like Gigan and King Caesar fill you with glee, then FINAL WARS is nothing but a celebration so big it can only be fit for the king.
