I remember living in Japan when *Godzilla Final Wars* was released. I remember seeing so many empty seats in theaters even though TOHO promoted the film heavily. I saw it 2 times in theaters, but both times had so many empty seats. I think TOHO's biggest mistake was trying to make it look like old-school *SHOWA-era Godzilla,* which gave it an "Ultraman" fake vibe. If they stuck with *GMK's Shusuke Kaneko's* "dark and gritty" approach for *Final Wars* I believe it would've performed a LOT better at the Japanese box office.
Their biggest mistake was picking a martial arts film director, instead of someone who has experience with Kaiju movies, which explains why there's more human fight scenes and the monster fights feel less like giant monsters fighting and more guys in suits running around in a set.
I like Final Wars considerably more than GMK. GMK is great but the monster designs were waaaay too bulky. Final Wars is insane but it’s a blast and a great way to celebrate his birthday.
@@yajy4501The designs in final wars looks cheap. the entire film is a disaster. GMK is so much better, you have to have extremely poor taste to prefer final wars. even compared to the boring and forgettable Godzilla x Mechagodzilla and Tokyo SOS, finals wars is a particularly bad piece of garbage.
I feel like I got the Final Wars experience Toho intended. I saw it in a super small theatre in Boston when it was released in America and all the seats were full of a bunch of Godzilla nerds like myself who treated the movie almost like a sporting event. We would cheer when our favorite monsters appeared and nothing compares to the joy we all felt watching Zilla get pasted into the Sydney Opera House. 10/10- Top tier childhood memory
From a film critic perspective, Final Wars is a mess. Buuuuuut as a man who hasn't abandoned his inner child, it's kind of the greatest thing of all time. Also, would love some Evangelion content ;)
@@MattDraper It’s like the best single crossover duel of all time and it doesn’t even take 1 full minute for Godzilla to completely wreck Zilla’s ass to pieces 😂
Ironically, cause Toho green-lit the Zilla design but after the film was released they changed their mind (I don’t know why) maybe they changed it from the design phase through production but did nothing to change it during that time or didn’t like the backlash to the film so stepped in. Toho let it happen but only did the hate so openly when they realised that fans will jump onboard with it. Makes ya pity Zilla cause it is like you commissioned a piece from an artist of your OC and saw the sketch and was fine with it but got pissy at the end result (but it is IP giving not really paying them) so much that you make a new oc that is just that version of your OG that you make just to dunk on it.
EXACTLY ! I honestly think their's something kinda wrong with people if they don't like Final Wars... it's like someone who hates pizza or icecream... like what's wrong with you! ya know...
Honestly the movie wasn’t exactly bad it was alright could have committed more to its themes but you can say that Godzilla there is just godzilla in name and heisei style origins (change locale to the atolls for obvious original Godzilla inspiration showing).
Honestly after learning about the animated series that followed it, the Godzilla we see there is far more worthy of being called Godzilla then his dad ever will be.
"The Never-Ending Rebirth of the King." Yeah, that title could NOT be more appropriate. And that's actually the main thing that I HATED about the Millennium Era of Godzilla (Godzilla 2000 to Godzilla: Final Wars): Literally EVERY film in that era only acknowledges the original 1954 film as canon and is meant to be a direct sequel to that film. Edit: I just remembered there is one film in the Millennium Era that does not fit the description I just gave: Godzilla-Tokyo SOS. That film is a direct sequel to Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (aka Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla 3).
You do realize the millennium era was being experimental with godzilla's franchise right? It wasn't trying to be a cinematic universe like the heisei era or showa eda
@@Kaiju-bm4ts Thank you. Now I can hate it while knowing they were "experimenting", also known as: -fuck this isn't going to make us money, try something else... oh and you are fired! Yeah, truly something we must cherish in our hearts apparently
@@seileen1234 nice exaggeration when toho kept the same directors or composers or writers for the millennium era in almost each entry 😑, try to remember the reiwa era ain't no cinematic universe either. Experimenting with random movies is better than doing it in a cinematic universe.
I’ve never watched or have been interested in godzilla, but with this series you’re doing i am trying to prepare myself to binge almost all the movies. Your videos are fantastic and always make me enthusiastic about what you’re talking about despite not knowing anything about it. Thank you for that!!
I remember going to the movies to watch Godzilla with my brother in middle school. He had gone away to college and yet still made time to take his younger siblings to the movie. It was awesome!
The soundtrack in this video SLAPS! Espescially in 3:31 with the strings background, why does it suit Godzilla so well. Make me want to do a Godzilla AMV with it.
It may be from being a kid during that time, 6, but Godzilla 98' holds a special place in my heart. It was great seeing a new version of Godzilla in theaters after growing up with both Showa and Heisie eras. I guess 98' felt more fresh and "modern" at the time because the setting. But then Godzilla 2000 came out after that and it was fun seeing that in the theater with Godzilla's new millennium design (Personally my favorite design). At the time my child brain thought 2000 was a sequel to 98', and Godzilla had mutated into his larger form. Oh well, I'll stop rambling now.
IMO, Godzilla 98 is an underrated film which doesn't deserve as much hate as it gets. I won't argue if someone says it's a terrible "Godzilla" film, because it kind of is, but I do think it's still a solid Kaiju movie in its own right and does manage to do some really cool things. If you ignore "Godzilla" in the film's title and just enjoy the film as a stand alone monster film, it's actually pretty fun. I would like to see this monster return and get some love, even if it's just a cameo.
I was soooo disappointed in Godzilla '98. Walked out feeling robbed of something that could have been great. Especially for the high budget that it had.
@@Kaiju-bm4ts they are extending professional courtesy. Being polite. Besides, it isn't just the design. 2014 was garbage. Godzilla lucked out in that one and the picture quality was terrible. Murky. KotM was so so but again it showed that Godzilla needed luck and help. GvsK was absolute trash. It didn't make much sense and practically moved Godzilla to supporting actor status. I really wish people who just like a bunch of video game quality monsters fighting would find another venue. Toho ? I would tell all of this to them too.
@@williamchiafos3889 wow the level of exaggeration is just outstanding. First off what do video games have to do with this? To assume only video game fans like the monsterverse or were in charge of the monsterverse makes no sense as a claim. I highly doubt toho or anyone would take your bs assumptions seriously especially when you give off *"harcore old fashioned traditionalist"* vibes. Toho wasn't being nice for the sake of looking good as a business no they were being truthfully nice because they liked legendary's take on godzilla. G14 was successful both financially and critically also the camera work in that movie was one of if not the best in this franchise. You obviously don't understand how picture quality works in movie if you can't tell good picture quality when it's presented. Kotm showing godzilla needed help isn't new when MOST of toho's movies did the same thing. As for gvk godzilla wasn't a supporting character when his name was LITERALLY in the title. Mothra or rodan were supportive roles godzilla in gvk was not. If you think your idea of a perfect godzilla movie is *"godzilla shouldn't get help"* then you obviously need to pay closer attention to what toho has done
@@Kaiju-bm4ts because it looks like video game graphics. Duh. Lmao Hardcore traditionalist ? Nope. I don't appreciate your bigoted tone. Young people are so presumptuous. Just don't think an OVER ABUNDANCE of CGI is very appealing. There are many reasons a real Godzilla fan would not like the last 3 movies. Go hate on someone else. And don't be an arrogant human.
I had no idea Final Wars did so badly at the box office, I loved that movie, I was so hyped to finally see it....it's just over the top fun, the mechagodzilla movies are the best out of the other films featuring mecha G , I did enjoy the sequel tbh, but it's been a long while, I'll have to re watch them. In general I miss the 2000 era from Japanese movies, horror, kaiju, kung fu action, drama they really released some killers back then like Versus by Ryûhei Kitamura, I thought he would go on to bigger things after Final Wars, but that seems to be his peak.
I also don't really know why wasn't Final Wars succesful but my guess is that most Godzilla fans were forgetting the franchise and leaving it for other things and most of the people who watched it didn't even know about the franchise so they just didn't get the movie's intention, while for the Kiryu Saga movies, while i do agree they are a very high mark in the Godzilla series specially in terms of special effects, i'd say they're not the best Mechagodzilla features, surely better than Showa, but nowhere near the masterclass that is the Heisei Mechagodzilla movie, but this is just my opinion.
@@tf2freakshow870 it was because people in Japan were mostly tired of godzilla by that time which is why the movie bombed in Japan. If anything it generated more hype in America than it did in Japan but it still flopped regardless
I think what's lost about the '98 Sony/Tri-Star Godzilla is that Emmerich really didn't want to do a Godzilla film and so took deliberate steps to make it just a giant monster rampaging through NYC. Taken on it's own, it's a B-Movie romp in the tradition of Beast from 20,000 Fathoms with Emmerich's 'Let's Blow Up the World' style. I hated it as a Godzilla film but like it as a bad popcorn flick to riff on with friends. To me, the Millenium Era was without an identity apart from Godzilla walking onto shore, beam blasts everything, Godzilla walks off into sunset. I do agree that GMK was a standout in the era due to its' spiritual grounding of Godzilla representing the dead of Japan's past coming to remind the current generation not to forget its' sins and it was one of the darkest kaiju films for me. Good video analysis of the Millenium Era.
Thank you so much for making these series video about Godzilla. For me, a nerd east asian boy who love Tokusatsu movies and TV shows so many years form childhood, big G just like an old friend of my life, ya know, even if you already know everything about those movies, still feel happy when you see other people talking about these stuff. Really looking forward to your Reiwa Era video and maybe some other Kaiju franchise like Gamera, Mothra, King Kong, those Non Godzilla but also made by Tohos SF/Monster Movies during 50s to 90s, etc. Stay safe, best wish.
I always love how final wars catches so much flack. That movie just catered to everyone who just wanted to see big monsters on the screen. Which is exactly what Godzilla fans are I think it's one of the best Godzilla movies not the best but one of the better ones.
Millenium Era isn't my favorite era, but it gave us my favorite iteration of Mechagodzilla in Kiryu and one of the best Godzilla movies period in GMK so I can't be too hard on it.
Matt, another excellent effort. During this period, the different approaches to Godzilla highlight the confusion on how to move forward with him. While the movies all have something to offer, except for the American effort, the real triumph of this era is saving Godzilla from that lackluster effort. Really looking forward to your reviews of the Monsterverse and Shin Godzillas!
The Millennium Era isn't my favorite (that would be Heisei), but it holds a special place in my heart. I was able to see Millennium(2000) for my 16th birthday when it released in theaters, so it was the first "Real Godzilla" that I ever got to see on the big screen. I was also able to get subbed versions of the series as they released. The awesome girl who worked at Suncoast called me the day that Final Wars was put on the release schedule. She was like, "Hey Adam, umm I just saw that a Godzilla: Final Wars is going to come out in a few months on DVD, so you should come by and reserve it." I went by and reserved it. We also hung out a few times and she watched it with me when it released. Too bad I had to move.
Godzilla 2000 was my first real Godzilla movie, too. But I saw it after reading the book of the same name, which is so much better than the movie. But I've still been a G-fan ever since.
Final Wars is massively underrated in my opinion. You’ve gotta take it for what it is. An intentionally made cheese fest, that puts fun above all else. It’s so ridiculous but it’s so much fun to watch Godzilla at his most powerful rampaging. Haha
Honestly I loved GMK the most, from when I was 5 I was terrified to watch the movie and set out to shake the scare I had with him. I watched it countless times to get used to it. It became my favorite Godzilla suit and movie. learning more about it in this video just sets that love I have for GMK more.
I'm glad you liked "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla", James Rolfe (Angry Video Game Nerd) was more into Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. than, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. But we are entitled to our own opinions, even if we don't like it.
So I've always been something of a casual Godzilla fan, having seen less than a dozen of the original films from all three of the first eras and then watching all of Legendary's films, which I loved. After the absolutely masterful Godzilla Minus One (which I saw three times in theaters), I became somewhat obsessed with Goji and went on a three month binge, where I've been watching every Godzilla movie ever made. I've now seen almost the entire Showa era (It started to feel samey towards the end so I decided to move on and come back to it later), the entire Heisei era, and I'm only mission GMK from the Millennium era, which I saved for last. It's been a ride, and most of it has been amazing, but one thing I've noticed is that my favorites rarely like up with what the fandom considers to be the best movies in the series. For example King Ghidorah and Returns are my fav Heisei era films, while I actually did not care for Destroyah or Biolante. So far with the millennium era (again, haven't seen GMK yet), Godzilla 2000 is my favorite, and is actually one of my fav Goji movies of all time, and Megaguirus, though flawed and cheezy, is also one of my favs, and felt like a modern Showa era movie. I actually had more fun with it than Godzilla against Mechagodzilla, even tho I admit the latter is the objectively superior and well made movie (and too be fair GxMG did have an amazing final fight). I think I may have liked GxMG more if they had kept the MireGoji suit, which I thought was amazing, rather than the KiryuGoji suit, which I feel is basically the same design, just with rounder and less pronounced details that make it look a little soft and uninteresting. Anyway that's my wall of text. It was mostly meant to defend Megaguirus, which I think gets crapped on way too much, but it kind'a got away from me.
A note about millenium: the costume designer on set took bits and pieces of zilla's design into orga's final form, as he wanted the world to see "the real godzilla destroy the fake, american godzilla"
I love the Millennium era, but I prefer a solid consistent storyline like the Heisei series. It just helps with getting people invested if you keep plot threads between movies.
I still remember watching Final Wars for the first time with my friend on RUclips. I was so hyped up the entire film, and just blown away with some of the stuff they did. Is it just an action romp with some blatant Matrix ripoffs? Yeah, but Godzilla smacking around Monster X while Gigan chases Mothra with his CHAINSAW ARMS is just so over-the-top cool that I don’t care. Seriously, Gigan’s redesign is so good. But even so, I think I still have a soft spot for 2000, as it was my very first Godzilla film. I just really like it. It brought in a new monster, something TOHO desperately needs to do more often, and Orga was just... cool. I disagree on the final battle too. I thoroughly enjoyed the two whacking each other around, though maybe it’s just nostalgia talking. I also realized how right you were about Tokyo S.O.S being more or less a monster fight movie. It does kind of just retread previous lore from older films, but at the same time it’s just pure action and I can’t really fault it for that. The Kiryu duology is overall really good, with Kiryu being by far one of the best reinterpretations of a classic Kaiju that I’ve ever seen. As for GMK, I must admit that as good as it is, I think I might’ve actually preferred the original roster of monsters. Anguirus and especially Varan would’ve been so cool to see, and I think would fit better as underdog monsters. But having Baragon was nice, especially after you watch the behind the scenes footage of the actress in the suit making the most adorable roaring noises while filming.
Would’ve been more interesting if the millennium era G was Godzilla Jr from the Heisei era grown up, and his first opponent was the reincarnated ‘54 G (similar to the GMK big G) then lead into the Kiryu films afterwards! In this hypothetical G 2000 film, I’d suggest the resurrected ‘54 G fight Anguirus just as GMK Goji fought Baragon, and the following Kiryu films could then bring in Rodan and Mothra. Then, ending the series with the 4th and final film in the series Godzilla: Final Wars. The film would work better with less monsters and a tighter focus in my opinion, keep the plot revolves around Kaiser Ghidorah as GKOTM did while using the rest of the monsters as buffers to weaken or slow down Godzilla before he reaches Ghidorah. Obviously, this all just my opinion on what I think would’ve been a more interesting direction for the millennium era to go in.
Enjoyed the video, but I'll never agree that Final Wars is better than Tokyo SOS or G2000. Or pretty much anything, actually. SO GLAD that you placed GMK first, I absolutely love it.
What's your favorite Millennium Godzilla movie?
Watch all of my Godzilla videos here: ruclips.net/p/PLJ7bdAZiniF8NWhTrw7zaNP7HmUH2Pk7a
I’ve always been partial to Godzilla: Tokyo SOS myself. I mean, it’s got Godzilla fighting both MechaGodzilla and Mothra. What else could you want?
Final Wars is just so dang fun
Final Wars. You get luitenant Stalin, every moster, even walking dog, Zilla being one-shoted and aliens. It so stupid it becomes amazing.
In my honest opinion, GMK is probably one of my favorites of the entire franchise.
@@carsonsmith7314 GMK is also great.
I remember living in Japan when *Godzilla Final Wars* was released. I remember seeing so many empty seats in theaters even though TOHO promoted the film heavily. I saw it 2 times in theaters, but both times had so many empty seats. I think TOHO's biggest mistake was trying to make it look like old-school *SHOWA-era Godzilla,* which gave it an "Ultraman" fake vibe. If they stuck with *GMK's Shusuke Kaneko's* "dark and gritty" approach for *Final Wars* I believe it would've performed a LOT better at the Japanese box office.
Their biggest mistake was picking a martial arts film director, instead of someone who has experience with Kaiju movies, which explains why there's more human fight scenes and the monster fights feel less like giant monsters fighting and more guys in suits running around in a set.
I like Final Wars considerably more than GMK. GMK is great but the monster designs were waaaay too bulky. Final Wars is insane but it’s a blast and a great way to celebrate his birthday.
@@horaciosiMaybe, but i liked the Kaiju fight scenes in final wars.
@@horaciosivery well put. I agree.
@@yajy4501The designs in final wars looks cheap. the entire film is a disaster. GMK is so much better, you have to have extremely poor taste to prefer final wars. even compared to the boring and forgettable Godzilla x Mechagodzilla and Tokyo SOS, finals wars is a particularly bad piece of garbage.
Baragon looks like he's just happy to be invited to the poster lol.
i mean he was left out from that long title
I have always described The Millennium Era as one long PTSD episode resulting from the 98 film.
you nailed it. that's exactly how I see it too.
1998 isn't that bad it actually has some fun action in it the design was supposed to be different.
I feel like I got the Final Wars experience Toho intended. I saw it in a super small theatre in Boston when it was released in America and all the seats were full of a bunch of Godzilla nerds like myself who treated the movie almost like a sporting event. We would cheer when our favorite monsters appeared and nothing compares to the joy we all felt watching Zilla get pasted into the Sydney Opera House. 10/10- Top tier childhood memory
Ah my kinsmen, so much fun we had.
@@SonicSanctuary i enjoy it too, saw on tv screen cause i got the dvd.
To quote the great Christopher Lee: “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
"My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count."
@@The-Last-Prime “Good. Twice the pride, *double the fall.”*
the fact a Hamtaro short ran before GMK has to be one of the most wild things i've ever learned about Godzilla
From a film critic perspective, Final Wars is a mess. Buuuuuut as a man who hasn't abandoned his inner child, it's kind of the greatest thing of all time.
Also, would love some Evangelion content ;)
Right? One of my favs. I think it's actually one of the films I would genuinely consider a "guilty pleasure".
Espcially since Anno directed and cowrote Shin Godzilla. You need the Evangelion context for anything Anno made after NGE
Could not have put it better myself
Final wars fucking rocks
@@GoldenWolf115 guilty? Idk about that. I’m PROUD of my love for it!
We’ve seen Godzilla do a drop kick, a crossbody dive, when are we gonna see Godzilla do the Kinshasa?
If Destoroyah ever comes back, he'll hit him with the second turnbuckle diving Kinshasa
THE Z-TRIGGERRR!!!!!
He's the king of the monsters
And the King of Strong Style
@@MattDraper Quick! Someone do fanart of that
He didn't do the move. He just killed a monster in the city lol
I never get tired of seeing Zilla get one shotted. Great stuff, Matt! I love this series Goji vids.
Thanks, Diego! Man, that scene is so nuts. You can just FEEL how pissed everyone at Toho still is.
@@MattDraper It’s like the best single crossover duel of all time and it doesn’t even take 1 full minute for Godzilla to completely wreck Zilla’s ass to pieces 😂
Ironically, cause Toho green-lit the Zilla design but after the film was released they changed their mind (I don’t know why) maybe they changed it from the design phase through production but did nothing to change it during that time or didn’t like the backlash to the film so stepped in. Toho let it happen but only did the hate so openly when they realised that fans will jump onboard with it. Makes ya pity Zilla cause it is like you commissioned a piece from an artist of your OC and saw the sketch and was fine with it but got pissy at the end result (but it is IP giving not really paying them) so much that you make a new oc that is just that version of your OG that you make just to dunk on it.
@@victory8928 because when they saw it, they realized they couldn't make small adjustments to it to fix it.
To be honest I think that Godzilla 98 could have been great had it not been made by one of the worst people to a Godzilla movie
The Kiryu saga really should’ve been continued as an anime series would’ve been cool.
I really want to see this.
It really has some serious potential doesn’t it? 😁
Perhaps they didn’t want to contend with the 98 animated show that gave the 98 film a better reputation and made the Godzilla earn its namesake.
Imagine if this era was the kiryu saga
I agree! I loved Tokyo SOS :)
Love the use of Shinsuke Nakamuras theme song for this video, fits so well with Godzilla
Man, how do people not like Final Wars? It's hands down the best Godzilla movie!
@Reece Balduzzi I really like Final Wars but many people hated that film for fights shortage and more humans matrix fights and screentime.
@@DeathbySkullfxxx Cool opinion
EXACTLY ! I honestly think their's something kinda wrong with people if they don't like Final Wars... it's like someone who hates pizza or icecream... like what's wrong with you! ya know...
It's big dumb fun, but the original is the best Godzilla movie. With Shin being a close second.
@@heavy5013 agreed!
My word, that Shinsuke Nakamura needle drop at 2:16. Salute sir, salute!
The Kiryu saga is top notch for me. And Final Wars is such a charming crazy movie, it’s hard to hate on it despite its flaws.
Ok love the use of Shinsuke Nakamura's theme song in the background
I screamed when you called Final Wars a cosmic gumbo.
SOS was my introduction to the series. As such it will always hold a special place in my heart
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Looking forward to seeing you cover shin Godzilla in the future
As bad as Godzilla 98 was, it did gives us a pretty good cartoon
He should watch and review the Animated Series.
Honestly the movie wasn’t exactly bad it was alright could have committed more to its themes but you can say that Godzilla there is just godzilla in name and heisei style origins (change locale to the atolls for obvious original Godzilla inspiration showing).
I'll drink to that
Honestly after learning about the animated series that followed it, the Godzilla we see there is far more worthy of being called Godzilla then his dad ever will be.
@@victory8928 they called him GINO. Godzilla In Name Only. 😂.
Toho did the right thing and roasted GINO in Final Wars.
gotta love how Matt has been on mega Godzilla Binge for the past 5 months
Man I never noticed Orga did look like Chaos from Sonic Adventure. That got me good.
"The Never-Ending Rebirth of the King." Yeah, that title could NOT be more appropriate. And that's actually the main thing that I HATED about the Millennium Era of Godzilla (Godzilla 2000 to Godzilla: Final Wars): Literally EVERY film in that era only acknowledges the original 1954 film as canon and is meant to be a direct sequel to that film.
Edit: I just remembered there is one film in the Millennium Era that does not fit the description I just gave: Godzilla-Tokyo SOS. That film is a direct sequel to Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (aka Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla 3).
Godzilla against Mechagodzilla is canon to a bunch of Showa kaiju movies as well
wahhhh there NEEDS to be strong canon and an extended universe
You do realize the millennium era was being experimental with godzilla's franchise right? It wasn't trying to be a cinematic universe like the heisei era or showa eda
@@Kaiju-bm4ts Thank you.
Now I can hate it while knowing they were "experimenting", also known as:
-fuck this isn't going to make us money, try something else... oh and you are fired!
Yeah, truly something we must cherish in our hearts apparently
@@seileen1234 nice exaggeration when toho kept the same directors or composers or writers for the millennium era in almost each entry 😑, try to remember the reiwa era ain't no cinematic universe either. Experimenting with random movies is better than doing it in a cinematic universe.
I can't wait too hear Matt's thoughts on shin godzilla.
Don't underestimate GMK's score; it has some of my favorite late-era Godzilla music.
I’ve never watched or have been interested in godzilla, but with this series you’re doing i am trying to prepare myself to binge almost all the movies. Your videos are fantastic and always make me enthusiastic about what you’re talking about despite not knowing anything about it. Thank you for that!!
Good luck trying to binge all of them
I remember going to the movies to watch Godzilla with my brother in middle school. He had gone away to college and yet still made time to take his younger siblings to the movie. It was awesome!
GO GO GODZILLA! I swear these videos never stop making me happy and giddy. Godzilla bless you Matt!
The soundtrack in this video SLAPS! Espescially in 3:31 with the strings background, why does it suit Godzilla so well. Make me want to do a Godzilla AMV with it.
That's Shinsuke Nakamura's theme from WWE, it was awesome seeing it used for this video
the gojira nerd in me loves any "suitmation" Godzilla movie, period. But Godzilla Minus One is seriously one of the best movies ever made, period.
It may be from being a kid during that time, 6, but Godzilla 98' holds a special place in my heart. It was great seeing a new version of Godzilla in theaters after growing up with both Showa and Heisie eras. I guess 98' felt more fresh and "modern" at the time because the setting. But then Godzilla 2000 came out after that and it was fun seeing that in the theater with Godzilla's new millennium design (Personally my favorite design). At the time my child brain thought 2000 was a sequel to 98', and Godzilla had mutated into his larger form. Oh well, I'll stop rambling now.
IMO, Godzilla 98 is an underrated film which doesn't deserve as much hate as it gets. I won't argue if someone says it's a terrible "Godzilla" film, because it kind of is, but I do think it's still a solid Kaiju movie in its own right and does manage to do some really cool things. If you ignore "Godzilla" in the film's title and just enjoy the film as a stand alone monster film, it's actually pretty fun. I would like to see this monster return and get some love, even if it's just a cameo.
I was soooo disappointed in Godzilla '98. Walked out feeling robbed of something that could have been great. Especially for the high budget that it had.
Offf first Big Action Bill with his Final Wars review now this. Love me some Godzilla content. Keep it up man.
I hate YT for never giving me notifications and plunging your videos deep into the algorithm
Lol that intro was 🔥
Personally the aesthetics of Millennium Godzilla with the green and purple, plus spike to the max and thin head is THE BEST depiction of him.
Totally agree. Legendary Godzilla looks awful.
@@williamchiafos3889 legendary is fine the way he is. Even toho likes the design of him.
@@Kaiju-bm4ts they are extending professional courtesy. Being polite. Besides, it isn't just the design. 2014 was garbage. Godzilla lucked out in that one and the picture quality was terrible. Murky. KotM was so so but again it showed that Godzilla needed luck and help. GvsK was absolute trash. It didn't make much sense and practically moved Godzilla to supporting actor status. I really wish people who just like a bunch of video game quality monsters fighting would find another venue. Toho ? I would tell all of this to them too.
@@williamchiafos3889 wow the level of exaggeration is just outstanding. First off what do video games have to do with this? To assume only video game fans like the monsterverse or were in charge of the monsterverse makes no sense as a claim. I highly doubt toho or anyone would take your bs assumptions seriously especially when you give off *"harcore old fashioned traditionalist"* vibes. Toho wasn't being nice for the sake of looking good as a business no they were being truthfully nice because they liked legendary's take on godzilla.
G14 was successful both financially and critically also the camera work in that movie was one of if not the best in this franchise. You obviously don't understand how picture quality works in movie if you can't tell good picture quality when it's presented. Kotm showing godzilla needed help isn't new when MOST of toho's movies did the same thing. As for gvk godzilla wasn't a supporting character when his name was LITERALLY in the title. Mothra or rodan were supportive roles godzilla in gvk was not. If you think your idea of a perfect godzilla movie is *"godzilla shouldn't get help"* then you obviously need to pay closer attention to what toho has done
@@Kaiju-bm4ts because it looks like video game graphics. Duh. Lmao Hardcore traditionalist ? Nope. I don't appreciate your bigoted tone. Young people are so presumptuous. Just don't think an OVER ABUNDANCE of CGI is very appealing. There are many reasons a real Godzilla fan would not like the last 3 movies. Go hate on someone else. And don't be an arrogant human.
I had no idea Final Wars did so badly at the box office, I loved that movie, I was so hyped to finally see it....it's just over the top fun, the mechagodzilla movies are the best out of the other films featuring mecha G , I did enjoy the sequel tbh, but it's been a long while, I'll have to re watch them. In general I miss the 2000 era from Japanese movies, horror, kaiju, kung fu action, drama they really released some killers back then like Versus by Ryûhei Kitamura, I thought he would go on to bigger things after Final Wars, but that seems to be his peak.
I also don't really know why wasn't Final Wars succesful but my guess is that most Godzilla fans were forgetting the franchise and leaving it for other things and most of the people who watched it didn't even know about the franchise so they just didn't get the movie's intention, while for the Kiryu Saga movies, while i do agree they are a very high mark in the Godzilla series specially in terms of special effects, i'd say they're not the best Mechagodzilla features, surely better than Showa, but nowhere near the masterclass that is the Heisei Mechagodzilla movie, but this is just my opinion.
@@tf2freakshow870 it was because people in Japan were mostly tired of godzilla by that time which is why the movie bombed in Japan. If anything it generated more hype in America than it did in Japan but it still flopped regardless
Thanks Matt for the review of this era of Godzilla. Much ❤ as always 😊
Like the first two Godzilla series reviews, excellent work!! Can't wait for the next two videos.
I think what's lost about the '98 Sony/Tri-Star Godzilla is that Emmerich really didn't want to do a Godzilla film and so took deliberate steps to make it just a giant monster rampaging through NYC. Taken on it's own, it's a B-Movie romp in the tradition of Beast from 20,000 Fathoms with Emmerich's 'Let's Blow Up the World' style. I hated it as a Godzilla film but like it as a bad popcorn flick to riff on with friends. To me, the Millenium Era was without an identity apart from Godzilla walking onto shore, beam blasts everything, Godzilla walks off into sunset. I do agree that GMK was a standout in the era due to its' spiritual grounding of Godzilla representing the dead of Japan's past coming to remind the current generation not to forget its' sins and it was one of the darkest kaiju films for me. Good video analysis of the Millenium Era.
Thank you so much for making these series video about Godzilla. For me, a nerd east asian boy who love Tokusatsu movies and TV shows so many years form childhood, big G just like an old friend of my life, ya know, even if you already know everything about those movies, still feel happy when you see other people talking about these stuff. Really looking forward to your Reiwa Era video and maybe some other Kaiju franchise like Gamera, Mothra, King Kong, those Non Godzilla but also made by Tohos SF/Monster Movies during 50s to 90s, etc. Stay safe, best wish.
Thank you so much for making this!! I've been so stoked since I watched the first two, it made me happy. I can't wait for the next one!
I lost my mind at the I Think You Should Leave reference. Thanks Santa!
I always love how final wars catches so much flack. That movie just catered to everyone who just wanted to see big monsters on the screen. Which is exactly what Godzilla fans are I think it's one of the best Godzilla movies not the best but one of the better ones.
Millenium Era isn't my favorite era, but it gave us my favorite iteration of Mechagodzilla in Kiryu and one of the best Godzilla movies period in GMK so I can't be too hard on it.
Yes, thank you, this is just what I needed tonight.
I love the gozilla designs in every film, and I love waching and rewatching each movie, qhich is why i love this era the most
Matt, another excellent effort. During this period, the different approaches to Godzilla highlight the confusion on how to move forward with him. While the movies all have something to offer, except for the American effort, the real triumph of this era is saving Godzilla from that lackluster effort. Really looking forward to your reviews of the Monsterverse and Shin Godzillas!
Thank you! It's such a strange era for Godzilla but also really fun at the same time. I'm really looking forward to covering Monsterverse and Shin!
Your burial of the 90s Zilla film was brutal.
Been watching your retrospective videos on a long car journey. 10/10 videos thank you for making these!
Hell yeah, Godzilla. Looking forward to when you cover the Monsterverse/Shin Godzilla movies. Your Godzilla videos are great.
I remember the Godzilla 98 ice cream, I loved the little chocolate chip Godzilla pieces in it, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
The Millennium Era isn't my favorite (that would be Heisei), but it holds a special place in my heart. I was able to see Millennium(2000) for my 16th birthday when it released in theaters, so it was the first "Real Godzilla" that I ever got to see on the big screen. I was also able to get subbed versions of the series as they released. The awesome girl who worked at Suncoast called me the day that Final Wars was put on the release schedule. She was like, "Hey Adam, umm I just saw that a Godzilla: Final Wars is going to come out in a few months on DVD, so you should come by and reserve it."
I went by and reserved it. We also hung out a few times and she watched it with me when it released. Too bad I had to move.
Godzilla 2000 was my first real Godzilla movie, too. But I saw it after reading the book of the same name, which is so much better than the movie. But I've still been a G-fan ever since.
Final Wars is massively underrated in my opinion. You’ve gotta take it for what it is. An intentionally made cheese fest, that puts fun above all else. It’s so ridiculous but it’s so much fun to watch Godzilla at his most powerful rampaging. Haha
Honestly I loved GMK the most, from when I was 5 I was terrified to watch the movie and set out to shake the scare I had with him. I watched it countless times to get used to it. It became my favorite Godzilla suit and movie. learning more about it in this video just sets that love I have for GMK more.
Fun fact: Research has shown that Godzilla Final Wars is the single greatest achievement in the history of mankind. Can't argue with the facts
Gmk all out attack was my first godzilla movie ever. Im glad that it made the top of your millennium list lol
5:41 That's Kunio Okawara, the mechanical designer of the Gundam franchise among many others, not Takao.
Thanks for catching that. That's my fault in using a mislabeled photo.
Heights: 50 meters tall (Showa Series), 80 meters tall and 100 meters tall (Heisei Series), 55 meters tall (Mostly in the Millennium Series), 60 meters tall (GMK), 100 meters tall (GFW), 108.204 meters tall and 119.79 meters tall (MonsterVerse).
I'm glad you liked "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla", James Rolfe (Angry Video Game Nerd) was more into Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. than, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. But we are entitled to our own opinions, even if we don't like it.
Godzilla 2000 was the first Godzilla movie I ever watched, and it's still one of my favorites. It's a shame it didn't get the sequel it deserves
Godzilla will always hold a special place in my heart man.
GMK is my favorite and I believe my first ever Godzilla movie. It'll always have a special place in my heart
My personal fav era of Godzilla, so many different interpretations of him
So I've always been something of a casual Godzilla fan, having seen less than a dozen of the original films from all three of the first eras and then watching all of Legendary's films, which I loved. After the absolutely masterful Godzilla Minus One (which I saw three times in theaters), I became somewhat obsessed with Goji and went on a three month binge, where I've been watching every Godzilla movie ever made. I've now seen almost the entire Showa era (It started to feel samey towards the end so I decided to move on and come back to it later), the entire Heisei era, and I'm only mission GMK from the Millennium era, which I saved for last. It's been a ride, and most of it has been amazing, but one thing I've noticed is that my favorites rarely like up with what the fandom considers to be the best movies in the series. For example King Ghidorah and Returns are my fav Heisei era films, while I actually did not care for Destroyah or Biolante. So far with the millennium era (again, haven't seen GMK yet), Godzilla 2000 is my favorite, and is actually one of my fav Goji movies of all time, and Megaguirus, though flawed and cheezy, is also one of my favs, and felt like a modern Showa era movie. I actually had more fun with it than Godzilla against Mechagodzilla, even tho I admit the latter is the objectively superior and well made movie (and too be fair GxMG did have an amazing final fight). I think I may have liked GxMG more if they had kept the MireGoji suit, which I thought was amazing, rather than the KiryuGoji suit, which I feel is basically the same design, just with rounder and less pronounced details that make it look a little soft and uninteresting. Anyway that's my wall of text. It was mostly meant to defend Megaguirus, which I think gets crapped on way too much, but it kind'a got away from me.
A note about millenium: the costume designer on set took bits and pieces of zilla's design into orga's final form, as he wanted the world to see "the real godzilla destroy the fake, american godzilla"
then we saw the real godzilla fight the real zilla and one shot him.
Zilla's design is different from the 98 Godzilla, Orga's design was loosely based off the 98 Godzilla, not Zilla.
@@cheesegrater5100 thank you for paraphrasing the first half of my comment
@@BigBoss-xc4qo You're welcome.
GMK and Final Wars are among my faves, ever!
Mine too
I like how you used Nakamura's theme from NXT Brooklyn 2. I was at that show.
Godzilla 2000 is probably my favorite design of the King of the Monsters
84, 2000, final wars and American reboot.
I'm surprised to hear Final Wars did poorly. I absolutely love that movie.
Thanks for the video
Final war is worth it, just For The Over the top Music and to See Godzilla Beat every singles kaiju in its history like John Cena
Would have given ANYTHING to get Godzilla Reborn. So many things about that production/film concept sounded SO DAMN cool.
My ranking
6. Godzilla vs megaguirus
5. Godzilla 2000
4. Godzilla final wars
3. Tokyo SOS
2. GMK
1. GXMG
I LOVE SHIN GODZILLA! I can’t wait for the next era!
for fans, you either love or hate final wars. and i love it.
I thought it was meh?..it was a fun movie though...
S.O.S, G2K, and Final Wars was AMAZING.
Hail to the King, baby
4:57 that's like Akira Toriyama after seeing Dragonball Evolution
The millenuim era is actually my favorite era of movies. I would rent each one from blockbuster whenever they released
Could you do a video on the Heisei Gamera Trilogy?
Definitely considering covering Gamera after I finish my Godzilla series
I do like the Mellenium design overall, and GMK's soundtrack is amazing.
Gmk was my first godzilla movie and is always gonna be my favorite of all time!
GMK arguably has one of the most mystical and epic soundtracks out of all the Godzilla films.
I love the Millennium era, but I prefer a solid consistent storyline like the Heisei series. It just helps with getting people invested if you keep plot threads between movies.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack Is Awesome!
Final Wars is by Far my favorite Godzilla movie.
My dad took me to see 2000 on opening night and I’ll never forget how empty the theater was. I couldn’t believe it.
Honestly godzilla98 is a great movie idc what anyone says
I liked Zilla (Godzilla 1998) because it was my first godzilla movie that I watched
I still remember watching Final Wars for the first time with my friend on RUclips. I was so hyped up the entire film, and just blown away with some of the stuff they did. Is it just an action romp with some blatant Matrix ripoffs? Yeah, but Godzilla smacking around Monster X while Gigan chases Mothra with his CHAINSAW ARMS is just so over-the-top cool that I don’t care. Seriously, Gigan’s redesign is so good. But even so, I think I still have a soft spot for 2000, as it was my very first Godzilla film. I just really like it. It brought in a new monster, something TOHO desperately needs to do more often, and Orga was just... cool. I disagree on the final battle too. I thoroughly enjoyed the two whacking each other around, though maybe it’s just nostalgia talking. I also realized how right you were about Tokyo S.O.S being more or less a monster fight movie. It does kind of just retread previous lore from older films, but at the same time it’s just pure action and I can’t really fault it for that. The Kiryu duology is overall really good, with Kiryu being by far one of the best reinterpretations of a classic Kaiju that I’ve ever seen. As for GMK, I must admit that as good as it is, I think I might’ve actually preferred the original roster of monsters. Anguirus and especially Varan would’ve been so cool to see, and I think would fit better as underdog monsters. But having Baragon was nice, especially after you watch the behind the scenes footage of the actress in the suit making the most adorable roaring noises while filming.
Would’ve been more interesting if the millennium era G was Godzilla Jr from the Heisei era grown up, and his first opponent was the reincarnated ‘54 G (similar to the GMK big G) then lead into the Kiryu films afterwards! In this hypothetical G 2000 film, I’d suggest the resurrected ‘54 G fight Anguirus just as GMK Goji fought Baragon, and the following Kiryu films could then bring in Rodan and Mothra. Then, ending the series with the 4th and final film in the series Godzilla: Final Wars. The film would work better with less monsters and a tighter focus in my opinion, keep the plot revolves around Kaiser Ghidorah as GKOTM did while using the rest of the monsters as buffers to weaken or slow down Godzilla before he reaches Ghidorah. Obviously, this all just my opinion on what I think would’ve been a more interesting direction for the millennium era to go in.
Nah, Final Wars needed more monsters like Varan, Baragon, Titanosaurus, Gorosaurus, Moguera, and Biollante
great video
Godzillas flip-flop age was pretty wacky, and the best movies are pretty underrated imo
I’d like to see a movie that’s basically like what destroy all monsters and final wars were supposed to be but with monsters from every era
great video!
also, I don't care what anyone says, Godzilla Final Wars is fantastic! and has brought me more joy than almost any other movie
they couldve had such a sick story with kiryu if they decided it to just be in the future. still my fav movie though lmao
Enjoyed the video, but I'll never agree that Final Wars is better than Tokyo SOS or G2000. Or pretty much anything, actually. SO GLAD that you placed GMK first, I absolutely love it.
Shinsuke Nakamuras theme in the background is perfect
Can't wait to see 2014 and Shin Godzilla videos. Definitely have some vague memories of Final Wars being madness
This is my overall favorite era.