Why have two monsters when you can have fifteen or sixteen? In yet another reset, Godzilla has been trapped in ice by the Earth Defense Force in 2004. Now in 2020, the Earth is hit by the dual threats of an approaching asteroid and giant monsters sprouting up like wildfires. Thankfully, help has come in the form of the Xilians, who save the Prime Minister from an explosion. He shows up, spouting the ideals of the aliens, although he has also stopped blinking and cannot recognize his dog. The humans expose the secret, but are immediately attacked by the overwhelming force of Zilla, King Caesar, Kumonga, Rodan, Kamacuras, Eborah and Hedorah. On top of that, they have also freed Gigan from forced hibernation. Plus, most of the mutants on the EDF- they have mutants, by the way- have also been controlled, due to some pseudo-science involving them having alien genes just like the monsters. This leads to the only solution: free Godzilla! He, along with the remaining EDF forces and Mothra, kick lots of rubber monster ass. This forces the Xilians to bring out their biggest guns: Mecha-Gigan and Kaiser Ghidorah.
In case you have not figured out, this film was written as a climax for the series a la "Destroy All Monsters." Ticket sales had been declining during this series, so Toho gave this one their biggest budget ever: $19.5 million. An important thing to note is that Godzilla serves as a third act story changer in this one, as opposed to being a consistent threat throughout. Older fans and purist may be bothered by the larger focus on humans, mutants and aliens. Ryuhei Kitamura, director of "Versus", did this film, so, of course there is a kung-fu fight and a motorcycle battle. When the King of all Monsters does show up, it is a great sight. One great thing for purists, however, is all of the monsters that do show up. You want the sea monster from "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster? " You got it. You want the mantis monsters from "Son of Godzilla? " You get that too. The only monsters left out are the new ones from the Heisei Era (1985-1995) like Biollante and Destoroyah. This is a great film for those who can accept the story and style changes related to the director. The worst thing I can say about the film is that it is almost too overwhelming. Oh, to have such problems!
That's it for the Millenium films. More good stuff coming soon though. Stay tuned...
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