Godzilla - Mothra - King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack - a Retro Review

The 2001 release of Godzilla - Mothra - King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (henceforth referred to as 'GMK') marked a unique and wondrous approach to the mythos. Godzilla is stripped down to his primal essence, a fear-inspiring beast spawned by nuclear testing whose main purpose is to destroy, though this time he's also possessed by the spirits of those killed in the Pacific War. The inclusion of the idea that the spirits of those killed by war are instigating the current rampage drives home the point that the newest generation of young people have lost respect for history and the mistakes made by previous generations. Godzilla is back to make sure those lessons are soon not forgotten. Though this idea goes back to the serious dread-like atmosphere of the very first Godzilla film from 1954, director Shusuke Kaneko also uses fantasy and fairy-tale style mythology in this film, much like his previous Gamera trilogy from 1995-1999.

The Sacred Guardian Beasts there to protect the land of Japan in this film conveys themes similar to those seen in previous Toho Studios films such as Mothra, Atragon, and Ghidrah The Three-Headed Monster, yet once again Kaneko doesn't rehash ideas but rather weaves his tale anew by using never before seen ideas, such as Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah being guardians of the Japanese islands. Interestingly enough, Mothra and King Ghidorah were not first choices in Kaneko's original screenplay - besides Baragon, Godzilla was to be faced by the monsters Angilas and Varan. Certain parties felt that all three choices weren't bankable enough characters, but one wonders how different the film would have been with their inclusion, rather then with the oft seen Mothra and Ghidorah.

Besides all the epic monsters scenes, a wonderful screenplay allows the human cast to make its mark on GMK, including the beautiful Chihru Niiyama as the likable Yuri, and musician-actor-director Ryudo Uzaki as her dyed-in-the-wool Navy father. Makoto Kamiya's special effects sequences are inspired, raising the bar from some of the films that preceded it and quite frankly hasn't quite been quite achieved since then in the series.

GMK is a milestone of the Godzilla series, featuring excellent direction, design, music, and a powerful rendering of these classic monsters, proving that something new and fresh can be done with a character over 50 years old.