Godzilla: Final Wars

Godzilla: Final Wars, (Gojira: Fainaru Uōsu?) is the 50th anniversary film and the 28th installment in the Godzilla film series, as well as the sixth Godzilla film of the Millennium Era.

The movie was released theatrically in Japan on December 4, 2004 grossing an estimated ¥1,200,000,000 ($10,000,000[1]. Godzilla: Final Wars has the largest budget ever used in the Godzilla franchise around ¥2,000,000,000 ($20,000,000)[2]. The film was released on DVD and Video in Japan on July 22, 2005, and in America on Columbia/Tri Star DVD on December 13, 2005.

It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. As a 50th anniversary celebratory film, a large group of actors from previous Godzilla films, both classic and recent, made appearances as main characters or cameo appearances. This goes for the monsters as well, as most of the monsters in the film had been missing from the screen for more than 30 years.

Contrary to the title, this will not be the final Godzilla film—Toho has decided to temporarily "retire" the character for a period of 5-10 years (possibly around 2013 [3]) in order to renew interest in the series.

Plot Summary
In the early 21st century, extensive warfare and careless science had mutated or awakened great beasts of all sorts. During that period, the frequent occurrence of enormous monsters had become commonplace, and thus, the Earth Defense Force (known in short as the EDF) was established by the Japanese government. The sole purpose of the force was to combat the monsters and hopefully restore peace to the world. During the worldwide wave of monsters, mutant humans with superhuman strength and extraordinary physical capabilities were discovered whose origins or mutations were not yet understood. The EDF realized the potential and effectiveness of the mutants as super soldiers, and established a subdivision known as the M-Organization. Utilizing the mutants' handy physical feats and superior piloting skills, along with the militaries' best war machines, the threat was slowly subdued and the monsters were slowly but surely defeated.

However, many years earlier in 1954, the greatest enemy that the EDF faced first appeared and died from that point on but had returned somehow and frequently attacked Japan in the 1960s during the great monster wars. This monster was the King of the Monsters, Godzilla. While they succeeded in defeating all the other monsters, Godzilla was the only one remaining and continually threatened mankind. One year, the EDF's best battleship—the Gotengo—was battling Godzilla deep in Antarctica. It was only with the help of a large earthquake that the crew of the Gotengo was able to finally triumph against Godzilla. The earthquake had caused the ground to split and cave in beneath Godzilla, causing him to fall into a seemingly bottomless pit which was followed by an avalanche of ice and rock caused by missiles fired from the Gotengo that buried Godzilla and imprisoned him in an eternal icy tomb.

Decades later in the near future of the mid 21st century, peace has been recognized worldwide with the exception of very rare, but occasional monster attacks. The EDF has easily defeated such threats, and the monster-scare has become a thing of the past. During this time a mysterious mummified monster is found off the coast of Hokkaido and is being suspended by large support cables in the EDF warehouse/hangar and being researched. It was calculated at being 12,000 years old and composed of organic and machine tissue, making it a cyborg. It is also discovered that the monster's D.N.A. contains M Base, which is also found in Earth's mutant soldiers. The two Shobijiin fairies reveal the creature's name to be Gigan, an evil monster from space that was sent to wipe out life on Earth, but was subdued by Mothra. They give the mutant Shinichi Ozaki a small sword, saying he has a important destiny coming up and that he must choose his fate.

Suddenly the largest group of monsters appear at one time simultaneously and attack major cities of the world. The EDF is dispatched and valiantly attempts to defeat the monsters. A supersonic pteranodon creature known as Rodan streamlines through New York leaving it in flames. The giant mutant iguana, Zilla, tramples Sydney, Australia. The armored, spiky ankylosaur, Anguirus destroys the buildings and scenery in Shanghai. In Okinawa, Japan, the giant shisa King Caesar marches through an oil refinery. Kamacuras, a high-speed mantis, cuts through Paris, and tears the city to shreds. A trailer home in Phoenix, Arizona is crushed by a giant desert tarantula, Kumonga. In Tokai, Japan, a petrochemical complex gets smashed by the giant crimson lobster, Ebirah.

Astonishingly, during the international devastation, an alien race known as the Xilian appears and captures the monsters, and proposes a peaceful union with mankind. They reveal that an asteroid named Gorath was going to collide with Earth unless all weapons are pointed at it. The missing Secretary of Burpers, who was considered dead when Rodan attacked his plane, began to pursue a new future with the Xilians, claiming that humanity will become the Space Nations. But distrust of the Xilians begin to fume. When the Secretary was attacked by a distrustful man, his blood was analyzed and soon to be found out to be not human. Worse, the image of Gorath was nothing more than a hologram. Shinichi feared that the Xilians were plotting a takeover of Earth, and that many of their leaders could have been compromised. He could only trust one man, Captain Gordon, who fired the missiles that sealed Godzilla.

Doctor Miyuki Otanashi went looking through the files of the Secretary but is caught by the EDF leader. But Gordon came in at the last moment and shot her, revealing the leader to be an impostor. They bring the corpse of the clone to the broadcast studio where the Xilians were on live television, also revealing the Secretary as a fake. The second-in command of the Xilians, known as the Controller, shot his commander, tired of his plans to peacefully takeover. Using his species' control over M-base, he takes control of the mutants, except Shinichi, and releases the monsters to resume their attacks on the cities and send out an army of small fighter ships to assist in leveling and decimating the human civilization. M-Unit commander Muasaka held off his former command while the others escaped. But their escape is partially hindered by Kazama, a fellow mutant, who Shinichi is able to subdue.

In a secret hanger, the Gotengo crew set out on a risky, last resort plan to defeat the Xilians, releasing Godzilla from Area G. But the only risk is that Godzilla may be controlled by the Xilians. Unfortunately, the Controller unleashes Gigan to follow them. They succeed in unfreezing Godzilla, who battles with Gigan and wins, though it is later revealed that he does not actually kill him, despite that the cyborg was completely decapitated by Godzilla's atomic ray. The Controller, unfamiliar with the more ancient creature. Godzilla, thinking he was still battling with the Gotengo, chases after it, as the crew leads him to Sydney, where he defeats Zilla. He then proceeds to defeat Kumonga, Kamacuras, Anguirus, King Caesar, Rodan, Ebirah, and Hedorah before he is finally brought to the Xilian mothership. The Gotengo attempts to destroy the mothership but its shield are too strong and has to be busy with fighters. Kazama takes a fighter right through, destroying the generator, allowing the Gotengo to drill through to the core and attempted to fire the Maser, only for Xilians to beam onboard nad kill the non-essential crewmembers, bringing the four most important ones, Shinchi, Miyuki, Gordon and pilot Akiko Namikawa to the Controller. He reveals that the Xilians want the mitochondria in human cells to survive and were simply demolishing civilization to show humanity its place as "cattle". He also reveals that he and Shinichi are Kaiser, a fusion of mutant and human DNA, which allowing Shinichi to escape his control. But the Controller attempts to turn Shinichi to his Xilian nature only for the process to be stopped by Miyuki, who uses the Shobijiin's sword to free him. Then the Secretary of Defense and the EDF leader are revealed to be alive, having escaped imprisonment. As they humans make their escape, Shinichi battles the Controller, ultimately winning. Going insane, the Controller self-destructs the mothership, intend on taking everyone down with him. Shinichi is able to get on the Gotengo just as the mothership is destroyed.

Godzilla battles a new, final foe known as Monster X while Mothra battles a rebuilt Gigan. Gigan perishes as Mothra turns the cyborg's own power against him, just as the remaining crew are victorious. Godzilla is still fighting Monster X, who soon transforms into his true form, Keizer Ghidorah, who starts to drain the lifeforce of Godzilla. Ozaki, one of the mutant super-soldiers, transfers his "Kaiser energy" to Godzilla and restores his strength and empowers him. Godzilla destroys two of his enemy's heads and tosses him around the ruins of Tokyo. Finally, he hurls Kaiser Ghidorah into the air and fires his over powered red atomic breath to destroy Kaiser Ghidorah. Godzilla then tries to kill the crew of the Gotengo, but his son, Minya, calms him down. Together, they leaved the ruined Toyko and Godzilla lets out one final roar for 50 years of destruction.

Characters

 * Shinichi Ozaki is the main protagonist of the film, and is a Keizer Japanese mutant, and was recruited by the EDF, and was the main mutant for the Gotengo. He was the only mutant to not be controlled until the battles, and defeated the Controlller.
 * Captain Gordonis the Gotengo's current captain in the future. He was accused of nearly losing the Gotengo with Manda. He had devised a plan to wake Godzilla in fighting the other monsters after he trapped him in the South Pole several years ago.
 * Biologist Ms. Otonoshi is the female lead of the film. Shinchi Ozaki was sent to be her bodyguard. Her occupation was United Nations biologist. She was in the Final War. During the final war battle at the Mothership, a Xillian resembles her.
 * Akiko Namikawa is the driver of the Gotengo, and was less braver than Captain Gordon. He was one of the four people who were alive and fought Xillians in the Mothership. He was afraid of Godzilla, but successfully saved the Earth.
 * 'The Controller of Planet X is the main antagonist and villain of the film. He is immature, and is the most powerful Keiser Xillian. He controlled many monsters to destroy cities, but was defeated by Ozaki in battle, and was killed.
 * M-Unit Commander Kumasaka is the commander who leads the M Organization and the Mutant humans. However, when the mutants were controlled, he needed to fight all of them except Ozaki and Kazama. He survived and dug his way out of the rubble when the EDF base was destroyed, but died from internal injuries.


 * Kenita is a boy who lives in Mt. Fuji with his hunting grandfather. He found Minila(although called him Milla), and was unharmed in the wars. At the end, he made peace to stop his grandfather from shooting Godzilla with his rifle.
 * Kazama is the mutant who the partner of Shinchi Ozaki. He was brainwashed by the Controller of Planet X, and fought Ozaki but lost. Ozaki spared and let him live. He piloted a Air Force plane into the Barrier Shield and was killed.

Kaiju
Godzilla: Final Wars contains a record breaking (and currently record holding) fourteen different monsters (or fifteen counting Monster X and Keizer Ghidorah as different creatures)! Many of the monsters had not appeared in a film since the 1960's or 1970's, and several of them appear only briefly in this film. The film's kaiju include:
 * Godzilla: The main star of the film. In 1954, Kenita's grandfather and the numerous clips in the Opening Credits show most of his films had explained mankind had made Godzilla angry because they awoken him in a nuclear explosion, and he had attacked Japan and blamed the country for mutating him. However, he saves the entire planet by eliminating the monsters and the Xiliens.


 * Minilla: In his first film since All Monsters Attack (1969), Minilla returns for his fourth film. He is first descovered on Mt. Fuji, and travels with a young boy and his grandfather as they attempt to survive the Xilien invasion. The infant monster, along with his human friends, watch Godzilla fight and defeat Anguirus, Rodan, and King Ceasar. The creature then charges his atomic ray, causing him to grow to over 20 meters. After the defeat of Keizer Ghidorah, Minilla arives in Tokyo and convinces his father, Godzilla, to spare the crew of the Gotengo. The two monsters then depart Tokyo, and Minilla finally sucessfully fires his atomic ray into the sky, a symbol that Godzilla's legacy will never end.
 * Mothra: One of Godzilla's most popular costars, Mothra returns for her 12th film appearence. In this film, she is she only monster besides Manda, Minilla, and Godzilla himself to remain free from Xilien control. She arives durring the final battle to aid Godzilla in his battle with Monster X and Gigan. In the end, she sacrifices herself to kill Gigan.


 * Anguirus: Not seen since 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Anguirus returns in this film to level Shanhai, China. The giant creature later teams up with Rodan and King Ceasar on Mt. Fuji to face Godzilla, but is eventually defeated along with the other two monsters. Anguirus, however, is not killed, but merely rendered unconcious. (This is in tribute to the monster's role as Godzilla's closest ally in the Showa series.)


 * Rodan: Last seen 11 years earlier in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Rodan returns as the first monster to be unleashed in the Xilians first attack. The creature first leveled New York, and then teamed up with Anguirus and King Ceasar to engage Godzilla at Mt. Fuji. However, Rodan is easily defeated when Anguirus, rolled up into a ball, smacks the giant pteranodon and sends it falling from the sky. The monster, however, does not die, a tribute to the creature's history as Godzilla's ally in previous films.
 * King Caesar: Not appearing since Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), King Caesar is controlled by the Xilien invasion force to destroy Okinawa, Japan. (which is ironic due to the fact that King Caesar was the guardian of Okinawa in his debut film) When Godzilla is awoken, King Ceasar teams up with Anguirus and Rodan on Mt. Fuji to fight the Monster King. They are all easily defeated, but are not killed, most likely due to the fact that Rodan, Anguirus, and King Caesar were all allies of Godzilla in the past.


 * Zilla: An interesting choice for inclusion in Final Wars, Zilla is actually the American version of Godzilla that appeared the Tristar GODZILLA in 1998. The beast attacks Sydney, Australia, where it not only destroys infrastructure, but even eats people. After Godzilla is awakened, he first travels to Sydney to engage Zilla. The battle is a brief one (only about 11 seconds): Zilla charges forward and Godzilla simply knocks the monster into the Sydney Opera House. Godzilla then fires his atomic ray at the Opera House, anihilating it and Zilla in one of the shortest battles in the history of the Godzilla series.
 * Hedorah: In his first (and only) film since his debut in Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), the Smog Monster returns for a brief cameo, in which he and Ebirah fight Godzilla in Tokyo Bay. Hedorah is blasted out of the water and into the city, and Ebirah soon follows. The giant crustacion's giant claw spears Hedorah in its eye (possibly a reference to when Hedorah lost his eye in his battle with Godzilla in 1971). Godzilla then blasts the two monsters with his atomic ray, anihilating them both. In the credits, however, Hedorah is shown getting up and spurting out gas. This could either be a deleted scene, or proof that the smog monster survived the conflict.


 * Ebirah: First appearing in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), and later through stock footage in All Monsters Attack (1969), Ebirah returns after a 35 year retirement to attack Tokai, Japan (under the control of the Xiliens). The creature is fought and nearly defeated by a EDF mutant unit, but is teleported to safety by the aliens, who claim that they have come in peace and have eliminated the monsters. Of course, this is a ruse, and the monsters are unleashed again. When Godzilla is released, he confronts Ebirah and Hedorah under the waters of Tokyo Bay. He first blasts Hedorah out of the water, and then Ebirah (whose claws spear Hedorah in the eye). Godzilla then emerges and blasts the two with his atomic ray, killing them both.


 * Kamacuras: 35 after last appearing via stock footage in All Monsters Attack, Kamacuras returns to attack Paris, France. When Godzilla finally arives in Japan, Kamacuras is the first to arive to do battle with the beast. Using it's camoflauge, the giant praying mantis hides, but panics when Godzilla's ray hits too close for comfort. Kamacuras then rams Godzilla, but is thrown aside and impaled by a communications tower, killing the insect.


 * Kumonga: In her first film since 1968's Destroy All Monsters, Kumonga first attacks the U.S., and then New Guinei, where she fights Godzilla. She fires her webbing at Godzilla, who grabs the web and uses it to fling Kumonga through the air and far away, where it is presumed the giant arachnid died from impact trauma.


 * Manda: Appearing for the first time since Destroy All Monsters (1968), Manda fights the Gotengo off the coast of England. Durring the battle, the Gotengo fires it's Absolute Zero cannon, which freezes Manda solid. The Gotengo then uses its drill to shatter the sea monster into tiny pieces, definitively killing it.


 * Gigan: Absent since a brief role in the Zone Fighter television series, Gigan returns revamped and in the role of a primary villain for this movie. The cybornetic kaiju had arived on Earth 12,000 years earlier (before the events of the film), but the guardian monster Mothra rose to protect the planet and engaged Gigan in combat, eventually defeating it. Thousands of years later, the mumified corpse of Gigan is descovered by the EDF, and it is descovered that the beast contains the same "M-base" in its DNA that the mutants on Earth do, implying a connection.  Mothra was able to hold him off after she had formed into Fire Mothra, killing Gigan. He had new Chainsaw-Claws, and he still was no match for Godzilla's atomic breath, but surprisingly, the atomic breath that blew off his head did not kill him. He paired with Monster X.
 * Monster X: An entirely new monster and the primary kaiju antagonistic of the film, Monster X first arived on Earth in the form of the meteor Gorath. Summoned by the Xilian Keizer to destroy Godzilla, this new, all-powerful monster arives in the decimated Tokyo and engages the Monster King in battle. A repaired Gigan soon arives to asist, and Mothra also arives to aid Godzilla. Eventually, Mothra sacrifices herself to kill Gigan, and after the destruction of the Xilian mothership, Monster X absorbs the keizar energy from the Xilians deceased leader, and transforms into a new and even more powerful form...
 * Kaiser Ghidorah: The second form of Monster X that evolves when the Xilian Keizer transfers his energy to the monster. For a while, Godzilla appears to be loosing. But a power boost from the Gotengo gives Godzilla the power to finally defeat Ghidorah once and for all, saving the Earth.

Reaction
Godzilla Final Wars received mixed reviews from fans. It was intended to be a "monster mash" to celebrate Godzilla's long history, but due to the large cast of monsters, each was only allowed limited screen time. Furthermore, the movie departed from previous films in the series by introducing elements of human-focused action — an addition that was variously praised and condemned. The film makes a number of obvious references to The Matrix, Independence Day, X-Men, and Star Wars, which attracted some criticism from audiences. The monster fights in Final Wars are unusually short for the series, with many of the beasts apparently suffering from the stormtrooper effect. This was done to make Godzilla appear far more powerful than he had in the past, and to solve the problem of having 14 monsters jammed into one film. This decision has been proved generally unpopular with Godzilla fans.

Box Office
Any hopes Toho had of Godzilla: Final Wars ending the series with a box office bang were crushed when the film opened in Japan on December 4, 2004. In its opening weekend, it came in third at the box office, with a mild $1,874,559 gross. It was crushed at the box office by Howl's Moving Castle and The Incredibles, and ended its run with an unprofitable $12 million

Godzilla : Final Wars outside Japan
In a majority of countries (US, Thailand, Canada, Germany, etc.) Godzilla: Final Wars went straight to DVD. While it did go theatrical in France on August 31st, 2005 with a DVD release almost a year later on August 26th, 2006. G:FW also saw a theatrical release in China on July 22, 2005. In October of 2005, Godzilla: Final Wars had a straight to television release on Halloween in Russia with a DVD release soon after. Thailand was the first country to release the film on DVD and VCD in April of 2005. The film was easily accessible to people around the world from www.ethaicd.com. Toho Co., LTD. then made the webstore halt any further shipments until the film got a wider release.

Locations

 * New York City (attacked by Rodan)


 * Okinawa,Japan (attacked by King Caesar)


 * Sydney, Austrailia (attacked by Zilla)


 * Tokai, Japan (attacked by Ebirah)


 * Shanghai, China (attacked by Anguirus)


 * Paris, France (attacked by Kamacuras)


 * Tokyo, Japan (attacked by Gigan; where Godzilla defeats Ebirah and Hedorah; where the final battle takes place between Godzilla, Gigan, Mothra, and Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah)


 * Phoenix, Arizona (attacked by Kumonga)


 * Kanazuru, Japan (Godzilla fights Kamacuras)


 * Papua, New Guinea (Godzilla fights Kumonga)
 * Mount. Fuji (Godzilla fights King Caesar, Rodan, Anguirus, and where Minilla was found by Kenita)
 * South Pole (where Godzilla is imprisoned in ice)
 * Infant Island (home of Mothra and the Shobijin)
 * Vancouver, Canada (not attacked, but shown)


 * London, England (where the Gotengo fights and kills Manda)

Music
The music in Godzilla: Final Wars was composed by Keith Emerson, Daisuke Yano and Nobuhiko Morino, while the band Sum 41 contributed the song We're All To Blame to the soundtrack. Some critics expressed concern with the music of Final Wars, arguing that Emerson's score would be better suited for television or video games, while others pointed out that it made a refreshing change from the music of previous Godzilla films. Most kaiju fans missed the music of the original, especially the contributions made by composer Akira Ifukube, though the film does feature both Masaru Sato's "Godzilla vs. Anguirus" theme from the original Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, and Sato's theme for Minilla from Son of Godzilla. Some fans also complained about Sum 41's inclusion, citing the fact that the song seems to have nothing to do with the film's plot. GFW is the first film to have a western composer write most of the music.

Sony's DVD

 * The name of the alien invaders is spelled "Xilian" in the film and Japanese publicity materials, and "Xilien" is Sony's press sheets.


 * The Son of Godzilla has no less than three names on the Sony disc; the Chapter Menu uses the American name "Minya", the subtitles use "Minilla" (a direct translation of the Japanese name Minira, as in "Mini Gojira"), and Toho's English dub calls him "Milla".

=In Film=
 * When the Gotengo drills into the ship, the Xillians come and kill the crew members as the Controller of Planet X orders.When the protagonists come back to the ship, the crewmembers have vanished, and there is no remaining bodies.

Trivia

 * If you can be patient enough to sit through the credits at the end of the movie, after they stop rolling, the 'Godzilla' logo appears in the corner of the screen and you will be able to hear the original 'Godzilla' roar from his first movie in 1954.


 * After Zilla (the monster from the 1998 film) is hurled into the Sydney Opera House by Godzilla, the Xilien Controller throws a tantrum and shouts, "I knew that tuna-eating lizard was useless!", in reference to the tuna that Zilla ate in the TriStar film. (In the English dub, the Controller says "I knew that tuna-head wasn't up to much!")


 * In one scene, a kid playing with Godzilla action figures had a small stuffed Squirtle(Pokémon) toy, which may have been a reference to Gamera as both of Squirtle and Gamera are turtles. He called it a loser and tossed the doll into the fireplace of his house. This may show the rivalry of Toho and Kadokawa Pictures, or even shows the status of the Godzilla series.


 * Hedorah is killed alongside Ebirah in a matter of seconds by Godzilla. But during the staff roll, Hedorah is shown emerging from the wreckage, suggesting the Smog Monster may have survived.


 * Likewise, the monster Mothra is shown flying back Infant Island durring the credits, suggesting thet she might have survived as well. (Some fans claim that when the scene where Mothra crashes into and destroyes Gigan is played in slow motion, you can actually see Mothra emerge from the fire and fly off screen.)


 * This is a list of the characters and monsters that arived in Tokyo at the film's climax in order:
 * The Xilliens and Gigan (1st Place- already there)
 * The Gotengo and the EDF (2nd Place)
 * Godzilla (3rd Place)
 * Monster X (4th Place)
 * Mothra (5th Place)
 * Minilla, Kenta, and Kenta's grandfather (Dead Last)


 * Godzilla: Final Wars returns many famous actors and actresses who appeared previously in the series to the screen. Akira Takarada, who played Ogata in the original Godzilla (1954), as well as Sakai the reporter in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), astronaut Fuji in Invasion of the Astro Monster (1995), Yashimura the bank robber in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), and Chief Joji Minamino in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), appears here as the Secretary General. Kenji Sahara, here playing the Director of the E.D.F., previously stared in and amazing 11 Godzilla films, as well as many other science fiction films over a fifty year period. Akira Nakao, who played G-Force Commander Aso in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994), and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), as well the Prime Minister in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002), and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), has a brief cameo in Final Wars as the captain of the original Gotengo in the 1960's. Koichi Ueda, who had many small, supporting roles in most of the Heisei series and the Millienium series films, appears alongside Akira Nakao in the original Gotengo. Finally, actress Kumi Mizuno, who had played Miss Namikawa in Invasion of the Astro Monster (1965) and Daiyo in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), as well as many memorable characters in films including Gorath, Matango, Frankenstein vs. Baragon' , and War of the Gargantuas, appears here as the Chief of the E.D.F. (where, ironicaly, she turns out to be an Xilien infiltrator, just like in Astro Monster).


 * Apparently, a few monsters were cut from the final movie, like Kiryu, Oodako, and Ganimes. Kiryu was left out due to budget cuts.