Godzilla: Final Wars

Over the course of the 20th century, environmental disasters caused the appearance of giant monsters and superhumans, dubbed "mutants", who are then recruited into the Earth Defense Force (EDF) to battle the monsters. During a battle in Antarctica with the original Gotengo, the King of the Monsters Godzilla is imprisoned under the ice by a cave-in caused by a series of missiles fired off from Gotengo by Douglas Gordon. Many years later, an upgraded Gotengo, now captained by Gordon, battles and destroys Manda in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, but the ship sustains serious damage during the battle and Gordon is suspended from the EDF.

The EDF ensign Shinichi Ozaki is tasked with guarding a U.N. biologist, Dr. Miyuki Otonashi, who is sent to study a mummified monster. They are suddenly teleported to Infant Island where they encounter the Shobijin, priestesses of Mothra, who reveal the mummified monster as Gigan, an extraterrestrial cyborg sent to destroy the Earth ten thousand years earlier, who Mothra ultimately subdued. They warn that a battle between good and evil will happen soon and that Ozaki must choose a side.

Suddenly, giant monsters attack several major cities: Rodan attacks New York City, Zilla attacks Sydney, Anguirus attacks Shanghai, King Caesar attacks Okinawa, Kamacuras attacks Paris, Kumonga attacks Monument Valley in Arizona, Ebirah attacks Tokai, and Hedorah attacks Los Angeles. The EDF engages the monsters until they mysteriously vanish as at the same time the mothership of the alien race called Xiliens appears over Tokyo. The Xiliens claim that they eliminated the monsters as a gesture of goodwill, and warn Earth's leaders that an incoming runaway white dwarf star called Gorath will soon impact the Earth, offering their help to destroy it. A peace pact is signed between humanity and the Xiliens. Meanwhile, Minilla, Godzilla's son, is found in Aokigahara by Kenta Taguchi and his game hunter grandfather Samon.

Distrusting the Xiliens, Ozaki, Miyuki, and Miyuki's sister Anna discover that the Gorath shown by the Xiliens is a hologram and that the Xiliens have replaced several members of the EDF and Naotaro Daigo with imposters. After the Xiliens are exposed with help from Gordon and the other mutants, the Xiliens' second-in-command, the Controller, kills his commander to assume command, revealing the plan to use humans as food source while taking control of all the mutants except for Ozaki through a property in their DNA known as "M-base". The Controller also has the monsters under his control through M-base in their DNA and awakens Gigan to wipe out the EDF.

The group escapes in a repaired Gotengo, although Gigan pursues them. Gordon convinces them to travel to Antarctica to release Godzilla, who is immune to Xiliens' control thanks to his lack of M-base and easily defeats Gigan. The Gotengo then guides Godzilla into a series of battles with the other monsters: Godzilla defeats Zilla, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Rodan, Caesar, Anguirus, Ebirah, and Hedorah in rapid succession as the warship leads him to Tokyo to defeat the Xiliens.

After penetrating the mothership, the Gotengo{{'s}} crew are captured and brought before the Controller as he summons Gorath to Earth. Godzilla destroys Gorath just before it crashes to Tokyo, but this unleashes Monster X, and the two monsters battle. A repaired and modified Gigan joins Monster X but is intercepted by Mothra, who manages to destroy the cyborg.

In the Xilien mothership, the Controller reveals that both he and Ozaki are superior beings known as "Keizers", powerful beings distinct from regular mutants born on rare occasions when human DNA and M-base are combined, before directly taking control of Ozaki to turn him against the group. As a fight breaks out, the Controller loses control of Ozaki due to the Shobijins' blessing. Ozaki unlocks his true power and defeats the Controller, who triggers the mothership's self-destruct as the group falls back to the Gotengo moments before the mothership explodes.

Godzilla and Monster X continue their battle, but a dying Controller transfers his Keizer energy to Monster X, enabling it to transform into its true form Keizer Ghidorah. Godzilla is overpowered by Keizer Ghidorah, but Ozaki transfers some of his own Keizer energy to Godzilla, giving him the strength to gain the upper hand and emerge victorious. However, despite the Gotengo{{'s}} crew proving instrumental in his victory, an enraged Godzilla shoots down the Gotengo before attempts to attack the vessel's crew. Fortunately, Minilla, now grows to about half the size of Godzilla, calms Godzilla down and convinces his father to leave and forgive mankind for their sins. Kenta, Samon and the Gotengo{{'s}} crew watch as Godzilla and Minilla return to the ocean.

{{castlist|

• Masahiro Matsuoka as Shinichi Ozaki, a mutant ensign in the Earth Defense Forces.
• Rei Kikukawa as Dr. Miyuki Otonashi, the biologist for the United Nations.
• Don Frye as Douglas Gordon, the current captain of Gotengo and a member of the Earth Defense Forces.
• Tesshō Genda voices Gordon in the Japanese version.{{cite web|url=https://eiga.com/movie/76528/|title=ゴジラ FINAL WARS ワールドプレミア・ヴァージョン|first=|last=|work=Eiga.com|date=|access-date=February 24, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=February 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224172238/https://eiga.com/movie/76528/}}
• Maki Mizuno as Anna Otonashi, a journalist and Miyuki's sister.
• Kazuki Kitamura as the Xilien Controller, the second-in-command of the Xiliens.
• Kane Kosugi as Kazama, mutant pilot of the Gotengo.
• Kumi Mizuno as Reiko Namikawa, the commander of the Earth Defense Forces.
• Kenji Sahara as Dr. Hachiro Jinguji.
• Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Otsuka as the Shobijin, the priestesses of Mothra.
• Shigeru Izumiya as Samon Taguchi, an elderly game hunter and Kenta's grandfather.
• Masakatsu Funaki as Commander Kumasaka, instructor of the M-Force mutants.
• Kenji Kohashi as himself, nicknamed X.
• Masatō Ibu as the Xilien Commander, the commander of the Xiliens who is killed by the Controller.
• Jun Kunimura as Major Kumoro, first officer of the Gotengo.
• Akira Takarada as Naotaro Daigo, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• Kenta Suga as Kenta Taguchi, Samon's grandson who meets Minilla.
• Akira Nakao as the original captain of Gotengo. Nakao previously portrayed Takaaki Aso in the Godzilla series' Heisei era and Hayato Igarashi in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S..
• Tsutomu Kitagawa as Godzilla, the mutant dinosaurian creature.
• Naoko Kamio as Minilla, Godzilla's son.
• Kamio also portrays Rodan, the irradiated Pteranodon controlled by the Xiliens.
• Kazuhiro Yoshida as Gigan, an extraterrestrial cyborg.
• Yoshida also portrays Hedorah, the smog monster controlled by the Xiliens.
• Motokuni Nakagawa as Monster X, a skeletal three-headed dragon.
• Nakagawa also portrays King Caesar, an Okinawan guardian monster controlled by the Xiliens.
• Toshihiro Ogura as Keizer Ghidorah, the true form of Monster X. It is similar to the classic Godzilla monster King Ghidorah.
• Ogura also portrays Anguirus, the irradiated ankylosaur, and Ebirah, the mutant crustacean monster, both controlled by the Xiliens.
• Frank Welker as the vocal effects of Zilla (uncredited),{{efn|Archived audio from TriStar Pictures's Godzilla film and Godzilla: The Series}} the irradiated iguana monster controlled by the Xiliens.

}}

File:Final Wars Godzilla.jpg

Ryuhei Kitamura accepted the offer to direct the film due to being unsatisfied with the Godzilla films of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, stating, "I loved the Godzilla movies back in the ’70s, but not so much the ones released in the 1980s and ’90s. Godzilla movies back in the ’70s were never just monster movies, there were always messages and themes that reflected the time and world within which they were made, and they combined this so well with straight-out entertainment. They lost that touch in the ’80s".{{cite web|url=https://www.madman.com.au/news/riyuhei-kitamura-interview/|title=RYUHEI KITAMURA INTERVIEW|last=Benjoid|work=Madman|date=March 24, 2010|access-date=September 5, 2015}}

Kitamura has compared Godzilla: Final Wars to that of a musician's "Best of" album,{{cite web|url=http://outnow.ch/Movies/News/2005/06/29/Godzilla-Final-Wars-Das-Interview-mit-Ryuhei-Kitamura|title=Godzilla Final Wars: Das Interview mit Ryuhei Kitamura|publisher=Outnow.ch|date=June 29, 2005}} stating "We picked lots and lots of the best elements from the past and combined it in a new way. It's what I love about Godzilla and what I don't love about recent Godzilla movies".{{cite web|url=http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/w_apa/showarticle.aspx?articleID=14775&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1|title=The Art of Collaboration: interview with Ryuhei Kitamura|last=Wheeler|first=John|work=Asia Pacific Arts|date=March 26, 2010}}

Like previous Godzilla films, Godzilla: Final Wars makes extensive use of practical effects rather than CGI. The special effects were directed and supervised by Eiichi Asada, who also directed the special effects for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. Commenting on the special effects, Kitamura stated at the film's world premiere in Hollywood, "We stick to the special effects. That’s what we've been doing for 50 years. And that’s why Hollywood doesn’t do it. So on the first meeting, I told everybody that we stick to the special effects, and the live action instead of CGI. So it’s a CGI-monster-Hollywood Godzilla versus our man-made live-action monsters."

Filming included on-location shooting in New York City and Sydney, Australia.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=435}} Scenes were also filmed in various locations across Japan, including Fukushima, Kobe, and Toho Studios in Tokyo.{{cite web |last=Homenick|first=Brett|url=https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2019/01/02/godzillas-final-cut-director-ryuhei-kitamura-on-crafting-godzillas-50th-anniversary-film-godzilla-final-wars/|title=GODZILLA'S FINAL CUT! Director Ryuhei Kitamura on Crafting Godzilla's 50th Anniversary Film, Godzilla: Final Wars!|publisher=Vantage Point Interviews|access-date=October 22, 2014}}

{{Main|Godzilla: Final Wars (soundtrack)}}

The film's score was composed by Keith Emerson, Nobuhiko Morino, and Daisuke Yano. Emerson was offered the job by Kitamura, who was attending Emerson's Japanese concerts at the time. Emerson's main concern was the potential lack of time before going on tour. Emerson was only given two weeks to write the score and ended up writing more music than what was used in the film.{{cite web|url=https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2018/08/02/progressive-godzilla-keith-emerson-on-composing-the-film-score-to-godzilla-final-wars/|title=Progressive Godzilla! Keith Emerson on Composing the Film Score to Godzilla: Final Wars!|author=Brett Homenick|work=Vantage Point Interviews|date=August 2, 2018|access-date=December 2, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203004026/https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2018/08/02/progressive-godzilla-keith-emerson-on-composing-the-film-score-to-godzilla-final-wars/}} The film featured the track We're All to Blame by Sum 41 during the battle between Godzilla and Zilla.{{sfn|Barr|2016|p=104}} The band received top billing in the opening credits.

Godzilla: Final Wars was distributed theatrically by Toho in Japan on November 29, 2004.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=435}} It was released theatrically in the United States on November 4, 2004 and then released to video on December 13, 2005.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=435}}

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|50|5.8|12|ref=yes|access-date=February 11, 2024}}

Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique called the film "utterly fantastic" and "a rush of explosive excitement."[http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2004/11/30/godzilla-final-wars-2004/ Review by Steve Biodrowski], Cinefantastique Jim Agnew of Film Threat gave the film four and a half stars out of five, saying "the good news for kaiju fans is that Godzilla: Final Wars is a kick-ass giant monster flick."[http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=7674 Jim Agnew], Film Threat Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News remarked, "Godzilla: Final Wars earns a special place in my heart. It's fun. Pure lunatic fun, every frame."{{cite web|url=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/18912|title=MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! Moriarty Attends The World Premiere Of GODZILLA FINAL WARS...|author=staff|date=30 November 2004|work=Aint It Cool News}} Sean Axmaker of Static Multimedia said, "Directed by a true fan of the old school, it's lusciously, knowingly, lovingly cheesy."[http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/film/features/feature_1134529705 Review by Sean Axmaker] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418041555/http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/film/features/feature_1134529705 |date=April 18, 2008}}, Static Multimedia Craig Blamer of the Chico News & Review called the film "a giddy and fast-paced celebration of the big guy."{{cite web|url=http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=45417|title=Chico News & Review - Godzilla: Final Wars - In The Mix - DVD/Video - Film - December 15, 2005|work=Chico News & Review|date=14 December 2005 }}

Conversely, David Nusair of Reel Film gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying that "the battles are admittedly quite entertaining" but felt that director Ryuhei Kitamura "is absolutely the wrong choice for the material."[http://www.reelfilm.com/godzfin.htm Review by David Nusair], Reel Film David Cornelius of eFilmCritic gave the film two stars out of five, calling it "the dullest, weakest Godzilla movie I've seen in a long, long time."[http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=12231&reviewer=392 Review by David Cornelius] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020001232/http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=12231&reviewer=392 |date=2008-10-20 }}, eFilmCritic Ty Burr of the Boston Globe gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying it focused too much on action and not enough on story, and calling it "35 minutes longer than is necessary."[http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=8302 Review by Ty Burr], Boston Globe

Among kaiju-related websites, J.L. Carrozza of Toho Kingdom "absolutely love[d]" Final Wars, saying "[it's] no masterpiece, but it is such insane fun that quite frankly it's hard not to adore it."[http://tohokingdom.com/reviews/carrozza/gfw.htm Review] J.L. Carrozza, Toho Kingdom Mike Bogue of American Kaiju said "the film is flawed, but nonetheless entertaining," saying there are "too many [Matrix-style] battles" but that the film "makes excellent use of its monsters" and "Kitamura keeps things moving at a brisk pace."[http://americankaiju.kaijuphile.com/articles/gfw.shtml Review] Mike Bogue, American Kaiju Japan Hero criticized the "[lack of] character development" but concluded that Final Wars is "a very entertaining movie," saying that "Kitamura did a wonderful job making it an interesting and great looking film worthy of being the final [Godzilla] movie."[http://www.japanhero.com/kaiju/reviews/godizlla_final_wars.htm Review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051029121200/http://japanhero.com/kaiju/reviews/godizlla_final_wars.htm |date=2005-10-29}} Japan Hero

Stomp Tokyo said "the monster scenes are generally well done" but criticized the film's "incoherence," saying: "It's a shame that Kitamaura couldn't choose a tone for the film, instead shifting the movie's mood wildly from scene to scene."[http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/g/godzilla-final-wars.html Review] Stomp Tokyo Lenny Taguchi of Monster Zero criticized Keith Emerson's soundtrack but gave Final Wars an overall favorable review, calling it a "fun and good" movie that "tries many things, and generally succeeds at almost all of them."[http://monsterzero.us/editorials/editorials.php?catID=&subCatID=3&contentID=635 Review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220025541/http://monsterzero.us/editorials/editorials.php?catID=&subCatID=3&contentID=635|date=2008-12-20}} Lenny Taguchi, Monster Zero

Director Kitamura commented at the film's world premiere that the reason why he agreed to direct the film was because he wanted to update Godzilla and recapture the same spirit seen in the later Godzilla films from the Showa era. He wanted to incorporate the same speed and power seen in films like Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which he believed was lost somewhere within the series, stating, "The Godzilla series had lost that kind of taste. I think that back in the '70s Godzilla movies had more power and speed. He was very fast and he was very strong. So in my Godzilla, you know, less dialogue and more action. That’s more fun than watching people discuss what we should do about Godzilla. As a Godzilla fan I want to see Godzilla punching and kicking, beating up all the other monsters instead of somebody talking again, you know, just discussing. Showing the monsters, in order to understand their story, and why they end up like this, was a crucial choice for this film. That's what I wanted to do is to revive that, but not in the same way, I have to update. This is the updated version of '60 & 70s, monster movies. I hope that the Americans will not modify the Japanese version too much."{{cite web|url=http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/w_apa/showarticle.aspx?articleID=14775&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1|title=Asia Pacific Arts: The Art of Collaboration: interview with Ryuhei Kitamura|work=usc.edu}}

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

• Released: December 13, 2005
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.40:1) Anamorphic
• Sound: Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English and French
• Supplements: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (comparison of B-roll footage to finished film)(17:53 min); Trailers for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Steamboy, Dust to Glory, MirrorMask, and Madison
• Region 1
• MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence.

Sony – Blu-ray (Toho Godzilla Collection) {{cite web|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Godzilla-Final-Wars-Blu-ray/48192/#Review|title=Godzilla: Final Wars Blu-ray|author=Martin Liebman|work=Blu-ray.com}}

• Released: May 6, 2014
• Picture: 2.40:1 (MPEG-4 AVC) [1080P]
• Sound: Japanese and English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, and French
• Extras:
• Godzilla: B-Roll to Film (SD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 17:54)
• Theatrical Trailer (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 2:11, HD)
• Teaser 1 (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:41, HD)
• Teaser 2 (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:41, HD)
• Teaser 3 (Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:42, HD)
• Notes: This is a 2-Disc double feature with Godzilla: Tokyo SOS.

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web |url=http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=18725 |title=Ryuhei Kitamura: Revitalizing Godzilla|access-date=April 13, 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413221746/http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=18725 |archive-date=April 13, 2014}}

}}

• {{cite book |title=The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters |last=Barr |first=Jason |year=2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1476623955 }}
• {{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7o8pq6G_dYC |year=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1461673743}}
• {{cite book |last=Kalat|first=David|year=2010|edition=Second|title=A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786447497}}
• {{cite book |last=Solomon |first=Brian |year=2017 |title=Godzilla FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of the Monsters |publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books |isbn=9781495045684 }}

• {{IMDb title|id=0399102|title=Godzilla: Final Wars}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|id=1152881-godzilla_final_wars|title=Godzilla: Final Wars}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060301070343/http://www.godzilla.co.jp/index.php Official Site in Japanese]
• {{cite web |url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2004/eb004820.htm|script-title=ja:ゴジラ ＦＩＮＡＬ ＷＡＲＳ|access-date=2007-07-21|language=ja|publisher=Japanese Movie Database}}

{{Godzilla}}

{{Mothra}}

{{Ryuhei Kitamura}}

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