What a nice, satisfying movie for daikaiju fans this is. It’s pretty much everything we’ve always wanted in a Godzilla movie, everything we’ve dreamed they could be if given a decent budget and modern special effects. When we were kids, Godzilla was this menacing, giagantic monstrosity that appeared in hair-raising, thrilling adventure films. Then, when we got older, we saw that the movies weren’t quite as we had imagined them, and fell pretty short in terms of polt, thrills, effects, etc. Well, this is the one that makes up for all of that – it’s entirely satisfying on a present-day, adult level. (Assuming one is open-minded to this sort of thing, anyway.)

Godzilla GMK is another film which assumes that a giant, atomic-breath lizard is invading Tokyo. This modern version, however, assumes that the events from the original Gojira film from 1954 really took place. It’s nearly fifty years later and the monster again shows up. This time, however, Japan is protected by three more gigantic creatures: giant moth Mothra, three-headed dragon Ghidorah, and the dog-like Baragon. There is a titanic battle, of course, though all three guardians don’t take on the big G at the same time; and so powerful is he that they are all killed while only managing to wound the monster. It take the self-sacrificing actions of a human to finally bring the creature down.

Godzilla GMK has great effects, and it shows off its considerable budget in nearly every scene. Further, the film is directed with a modern sensibility: things we’ve always wanted to see in this type of picture are addressed, such as: what would Godzilla look like from down below? What would he look like from a distance, with the Japanese hills in the background? If his breath is truly nuclear-powered, shouldn’t it demonstrate that somehow? This last one is dramatized wonderfully in a couple of scenes.

It was strange seeing Ghidorah as a good-guy monster for a change; usually it’s all of the other monsters teaming up to take him on. In this version, he’s not nearly so powerful. Why did Baragon show up? He’s remembered fondly, but why him and not Rodan? Since all three monsters are given a back story and then destroyed during this film, does that preclude their showing up in any future Godzilla flicks? (I’m assuming there will be more beyond just the 50th-anniversary film coming up later this year – Toho has indicated they want to put the series to bed, but I think it makes too much profit for them to abandon completely.)

In any case, this is the finest Godzilla movie I’ve ever seen. It hits all the sweet spots and is beautiful to look at. It even carries a bit of suspense in the beginning even though we all know what it is we’re about to see. One can only hope the upcoming anniversary film is better – but if they’re going to beat this one, they’d better aim high, and have the dollars and the skills to back it up.

You can purchase Godzilla-Mothra-King Ghidorah GMK at YesAsia by going HERE