Watching G:TSOS in the theaters was a dream come true. I adored GxMG, and I thought that that film's only real weakness was the occasional bad FX shot and a lacking Godzilla performance. With that in mind, I had been dying to see its sequel.
So now that I have, how did it hold up?
Pretty damn well.
The story acts as a direct sequel to both GxMG and the original Mothra, as the Shobijin appear to tell humanity that they must return Kiryu's bones to the ocean as his spirit does not wish to fight any longer, but merely to rest. They promise that if they do so that Mothra will defend humanity from Godzilla.
The government, pointing out that Mothra destroyed their cities once before, decides that the giant insect deity isn't trustworthy, and declines.
Meanwhile a very angry Godzilla begins to stir…
The effects in this movie are incredible. I make no exaggeration when I say that Godzilla's breath has never looked better. Not only is it a darker shade of blue then in the previous film, but it is also more…. Opaque would be the word, I guess, then it has ever been before. More solid and impressive looking. The first time the big guy fired his ray the crowd went nuts and applause and whistles filled the theater.
There are also a couple "WOW!" moments in the film. I won't spoil too much, but Godzilla's tail sweep/breath attack combo completely owned.
The Godzilla suit looks pretty much identical to its previous incarnation, but the suit acting is much, much better (I can only assume due to better direction). The portrayal of Godzilla is wonderful, and world's better then the one in GxMG. Godzilla is pure villain here, a big angry monster spoiling for a fight after the events of the last film. There's also a welcome return to the Godzilla performance from Godzilla X Megaguirus as the Big G pulls of some very cunning combat tactics during the various fights.
Kiryu, although slightly redesigned, is still basically the same dog, but with a few new tricks.
Mothra, however, is INCREDIBLE. The best version of this beloved kaiju ever captured on the screen. So beautiful that, if you're a Mothra fan, you might actually find yourself tearing up a bit as the sheer spectacle of her flies across the screen.
…..Uh, not that I did anything like that of course. Heh.
Moving on….
The story was fast moving, and not really all that intricate, but it was mostly satisfying. Right now I wish that there had been a little more character development for our new leads (I didn't understand the motivations of the female pilot until the very end of the film), and I wish that a few more characters from the last film had returned to finish up their story arcs. Akane's cameo was very unsatisfying and I wish that it could have wrapped up her story better.
However, both Kiryu and one other character that returns very, very briefly from the first film (the pilot who's brother was in the jeep that Akane hit…. Who's name utterly alludes me at this point) do at least get resolutions, and you get to see their character arcs come to a satisfying conclusion.
A big gripe of mine had nothing to do with the film itself, but with the subtitles which, despite the fact that you can very clearly hear the characters repeatedly saying "Kiryu" throughout the film, totally refuse to call him anything other the "Mechagodzilla" or "MechaG." I suppose I'm being nitpicky here, but I thought that was a bad call. The more personal and unique moniker of "Kiryu" would have been much more appropriate for the story that this movie was trying to tell.
The editing of the fights could have used a little tightening up, as I remember at least one instance where Godzilla is attacked, then is suddenly sliding along the ground. While this doesn't happen repeatedly throughout the film, when it does occur it's very distracting, and leaves the viewer wondering what they missed.
The acting was also solid throughout, with one bad line reading being the only instance of a below average performance in the whole film.
Overall, the film was, as a whole, triumphant. Godzilla is at his best, the action was fast and fun (if a wee bit sloppily edited at times), the effects were never anything less then incredibly solid, the story was interesting and, with the notable exception of some characterizations, well developed….. In the end, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. manages to improve on GxMG in almost every way, and like I said, I really enjoyed that film.
Final Rating: **** out of *****
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GAAAAGHHHH!!! I'm SOOO jealous!!