Line #26 Film/GodzillaFinalWars


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GodzillaFinalWars_7807.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Farewell, Godzilla.]]
3	->''"Listen kid: There are two things you don't know about the earth. One, is me. And the other is... Godzilla."''
4	-->-- '''Captain Douglas Gordon'''
5
6	''Godzilla: Final Wars'' is the 28th Franchise/{{Godzilla}} film and the sixth and final entry in the Millennium era. It is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and written by Isao Kiriyama and Wataru Mimura.
7
8	In a world where warfare and pollution have created human mutants and giant monsters of destruction, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) deploys its greatest weapons to bury Godzilla in ice. Many years later, the EDF discovers the body of Gigan, whose genetic composition matches the genes found in mutants. Then monsters begin attacking all over the world and the EDF is on the offensive when [=UFOs=] apparently destroy them. The Xilians claim to be of peaceful intention and warn of the coming of the destructive asteroid Gorath. But the EDF discovers the Xilians' true intention of taking over the Earth and, after one of the Xilians (Kazuki Kitamura) commits a coup d’état, all the monsters are unleashed and most of the mutants are controlled.
9
10	In an act of desperation, the remaining EDF members and their allies decide to free Godzilla (Tsutomu Kitagawa). With their [[MilitaryMashupMachine flying submarine battleship]] ''[[Film/{{Atragon}} Gotengo]]'', they guide him across the world, where he makes short work of the monsters; first [[CurbStompBattle trouncing Zilla in Sydney]], then facing Kumonga in New Guinea. He faces Kamacuras in Manazuru, Anguirus (Toshihiro Ogura), Rodan (Naoko Kamio) and King Ceasar (Motokuni Nakagawa) at Mount Fuji, Ebirah (Ogura) and Hedorah (Kazuhiro Yoshida) on the outskirts of Tokyo and finally arrives in Tokyo proper. As the mutants take their battle to the Xilians, though, Godzilla faces Monster X (Nakagawa) in Tokyo, who proves himself to be very powerful indeed, even mutating into a quadrapedal, golden beast known as Monster X-II, or Kaiser Ghidorah...
11
12	The film also stars Masahiro Matsuoka as Shinichi Ozaki, Rei Kikukawa as Miyuki Otonashi, Don Frye as Captain Douglas Gordon, Maki Mizuno as Anna Otonashi, Creator/KaneKosugi as Katsunori Kazama, Masakatsu Funaki as Commander Kumasaka, Kumi Mizuno as Akiko Namikawa, Kenji Sahara as Hachiro Jinguji, Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Otsuka as the Shobijin, Shigeru Izumiya as Samon Taguchi, Masatō Ibu as the Xilian General, Jun Kunimura as Major Kumoro and Akira Takarada as Naotaro Daigo.
13
14	The film was released on December 4, 2004. Due to the previous films not making enough yen, Creator/{{Toho}} decided to temporarily retire Godzilla with a bang for ''Final Wars''. They brought back many Kaiju that haven't been seen in many decades, a music soundtrack different to previous movies, and a more action-oriented story. ''Final Wars'' had a less than stellar box office performance and reviews were mixed. Some criticized it for not developing the story and characters enough while others lauded it for being a fun celebration of the King of the Monsters. It would be a decade before Godzilla would return to theaters with [[Film/Godzilla2014 the 2014 American reboot]], and two more years after that before Toho would produce another installment with 2016’s ''Film/ShinGodzilla''.
15
16	A [[{{Film/GodzillaVsHedorah2021}} short film]] released in 2021 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'' reused suits from the film, essentially making up for the latter character's very brief screentime in ''Final Wars''. This "Monster MilestoneCelebration short" tradition would be followed by ''Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks'' in 2022 with Godzilla going up against the Showa Gigan and ''Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar'' in 2023, which teased a 2024 battle against King Ghidorah to be titled ''Fest Godzilla 5: All Monsters Showdown''.
17
18	----
19	!!The film provides examples of:
20	* ActionizedSequel: For better or worse, there's way more action and more monsters in this film than [[Film/Godzilla2000 all]] [[Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus the]] [[Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack previous]] [[Film/GodzillaAgainstMechagodzilla films in]] [[Film/GodzillaTokyoSOS the Millennium era]].
21	* ActorAllusion:
22	** President Daigo, who escapes from Xilien captivity offscreen, gives [[ToMakeALongStoryShort a brief explanation]] that he was quite a crack shot in his youth. This is a reference to Akira Takarada's role as a James Bond parody in the 1965 film ''Ironfinger''.
23	** This isn’t the first time [[Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster Akira Takarada has interacted with the seemingly peaceful Xiliens]].
24	** Another reference to ''Invasion of Astro-Monster'' is present in the fact that Kumi Mizuno's character is nanamed Namikawa.
25	* AlasPoorVillain: The old controller is actually a bit more reasonable and an AntiVillain, and before he can try and defuse the situation after the Xilian deception is revealed, he gets shot in the head by X.
26	* AlienInvasion: The motive being to harvest mitochondria inside humans as a food source.
27	* ArcWords: "You decide how to use your power, whether it's for good or evil."
28	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The massive, global-scale kaiju invasion have Rodan destroying skyscrapers in New York City, Zilla trampling through a crowded city square in Sydney, Anguirus stomping over the Bund in Shanghai, King Caesar rampaging across an oil refinery in Okinawa, Kamacuras slicing a swathe of destruction in Paris... and Kumonga destroying a tiny cabin in the Arizona desert. In the middle of nowhere. Although it could be assumed that Kumonga was tasked with attacking Las Vegas or Phoenix, but the Xilliens displaces him a few hundred miles into the Arizona desert and decide to leave him there possibly because they couldn't decide on which city to target.
29	* BadassNormal: Captain Gordon, who unlike [[VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness another character]] with the same moniker actually lives up to the "defender of Earth" title despite not claiming it. He faces down superpowered mutants, aliens and {{kaiju}} with no powers of his own whatsoever [[BrassBalls save a pair the size of Mt. Everest]] (and maybe just a bit of CharlesAtlasSuperpower). Not that he's particularly modest, though, considering his BadassBoast,[[note]]See the page quote.[[/note]] BadassLongcoat, and ManlyFacialHair. He also carries a [[CoolSword katana]]. It helps that he's played by Don Frye, a real-life MMA fighter.
30	* BigBad: X, though he's the second in command originally until he gets tired of taking orders and [[KlingonPromotion just shoots his boss in the head and takes over.]]
31	* BigBudgetBeefUp: Wanting to end the series on a bang, this film was given the biggest budget of any of the movies up to this point, equivalent to nearly twenty-million USD, and it shows in the amount of action crammed in, increased production value, and sheer number of monsters which appear. Godzilla goes through his RoguesGallery like an unstoppable juggernaut; opponents which took an entire film to defeat before are demolished in mere ''seconds''.
32	* BlindIdiotTranslation: The English dub botches a scene where a celebrity played by Kenji Kohashi renames himself "X" to capitalize on the Xilians, making it seem like he and the Controller of Planet X are the same person.
33	* {{Brainwashed}}: Most human mutants, by the Xilians [[spoiler:because their mutant DNA has the same origin as that of the monsters: Xilian tampering]].
34	* BookEnds: The franchise started with ''Film/Godzilla1954'' where Godzilla's hatred of humanity was caused by his mutation of the H-Bombb test in the Bikini Atoll in 1954. While the [[Film/GodzillaAgainstMechagodzilla Kiryu]] [[Film/GodzillaTokyoSOS duology]] technically ended the original Godzilla ending his hatred, this film is where Godzilla, who didn't die in 1954, decides to end his decades-long grudge towards humanity with the help of his son.
35	* BossRush: Godzilla fights and defeats the Xilians' monsters in this fashion.
36	* {{Bowdlerise}}: The New York City sequence featuring the cop and the pimp were re-dubbed for international distribution, despite them already speaking English, to remove a [[ClusterFBomb handful of f-bombs]] that were dropped in the original dialogue.
37	* BroadStrokes: This film makes a number of references to Showa-era, Heisei-era, AND Millennium-era movies, all of which were set in different continuities from each other. (This is especially true for the Millennium era, in which all but two of the films are each set in their own disparate continuities. The only things they share in common is the original 1954 film as a point of origin.) Exactly where ''Final Wars'' fits into it all is unclear. The only returning actors are Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Otsuka as the Shobijin, who reprised their roles from ''Tokyo S.O.S.''.
38	* BulletTime: Ozaki and Kazama's training sequence.
39	* TheBusCameBack: The film featured many returning kaiju which hadn't appeared outside of the Showa Era up to this point, more than twenty (in some cases, thirty) years ago. This included Ebirah, King Caesar, Anguirus, Gigan, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Hedorah, Minilla, and Manda.
40	* TheCameo: Almost every Godzilla kaiju which didn't get a featured role in the film nonetheless show up as StockFootage, as an action figure, or both. Even those which which have never made an appearance alongside Godzilla before, such as [[Film/SpaceAmoeba Gezora]], [[Film/WarOfTheGargantuas Gaira]], and Film/{{Matango}}. [[note]]The only Godzilla kaiju which don't make ''any'' appearance are [[Film/SpaceAmoeba Kamoebas]], [[Film/KingKongVsGodzilla the Giant Octopus]], [[Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep the Giant Condor]], [[Film/KingKongEscapes Gorosaurus]], and Franchise/KingKong. Gorosaurus and Oodako ''were'' at points conceptualized to appear but ended up being scrapped before the final film.[[/note]]
41	* CanonImmigrant:
42	** Zilla uses Patrick Tatopoulos's creature design from the 1998 American ''Godzilla'' movie, making its first (and thus far only) appearance in the ''Godzilla'' film series - although the events of the 1998 film were mentioned in ''Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack''.
43	** To a lesser extent, both Anguirus and Gigan use attacks [[http://strangedesign.typepad.com/strange_design/2010/01/development-stories-1-thunderball.html first developed]] for ''VideoGame/GodzillaDestroyAllMonstersMelee'' and ''Godzilla Island'', respectively.
44	* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Not only is Monster X very well equipped in terms of beam techniques, but he's also ridiculously physically strong and knows ''martial arts'', not only being able to NoSell Godzilla's Atomic Breath without so much as a scratch, but then ''lifts Godzilla into the air'' and [[{{Fingore}} simultaneously snaps both of his wrists in one swift motion]] and even pulls off a brief combo on Godzilla that looks very professional.
45	* CombatPragmatist: Captain Gordon. Watch his fights closely. He’s making very simple, and brutally effective, minimalist movements versus his opponents’ more acrobatic styles.
46	* CompositeCharacter: Or composite race. The Xilians first hailed from ''Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster'', but were humanoid aliens. Here they have human disguises like the aliens from the black hole in the Showa films featuring Mechagodzilla.
47	* TheCorrupter: When X decides to kill everyone onboard the ship, he takes control of Ozaki. [[spoiler:Fortunately for Ozaki, Miyuki uses the sword given to her by the Shobijin on Ozaki, causing him to regain his senses]].
48	* CurbStompBattle: Godzilla defeats most of the monsters easily. Zilla especially goes down almost instantly, as does Gigan (the first time). This changes with Monster X.
49	* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' and the other "Showa Era" movies at least, since ''Final Wars'' is meant to be a nostalgic throwback to them. Although it is a lot more edgy than dark, as the movie is also full of {{camp}} but in a more [[RuleOfCool "WOAH! RADICAL!"]] use of the word. The aliens from Planet X dress and fight like characters from Film/TheMatrix, [[ActionizedSequel there's a bigger emphasis on action scenes]], [[StuffBlowingUp explosions]], [[TakeThat a spiteful joke fight between Toho's and Tristar's Godzilla]] [[UndignifiedDeath that ends with the latter being destroyed]] [[CurbStompBattle in less than a minute]], set to the sound of licensed butt rock music that was popular with teens of [[TurnOfTheMillennium that decade]]. Oh yeah, and the soundtrack is a lot more agressive than previous.
50	* DavidVsGoliath: Godzilla vs. Zilla, Godzilla vs. Kamacuras, Mothra vs. Gigan, and Godzilla vs. Keiser Ghidorah.
51	* DeadpanSnarker: Miyuki, whose dry wit might remind some of [[WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries Elsie Chapman]].
52	* DogPileOfDoom: The brainwashed mutants all jumped on Kumasaka as a desperate attempt to kill him when his superior fighting skills became an issue.
53	* TheDragon: X starts out as the Controller's Dragon; this doesn't last. Monster X/Kaiser Ghidorah and Gigan are X's CoDragons in turn.
54	* DragonInChief: Both Gigan and Monster X count as this. The latter especially after he transforms into Kaiser Ghidorah
55	* DragonTheirFeet: Both the Xillians and Gigan are defeated, yet Kaiser Ghidorah keeps right at it, establishing himself as the film's TrueFinalBoss.
56	* EndOfAnAge: ''Final Wars'' marks the final story in the Millennium era. As of 2023 (and possibly period), it's the last Godzilla film of any kind to use traditional suitimation, as outside of short films every subsequent Godzilla film has portrayed the character mostly or entirely with CG instead (the only suits made and filmed since were for a Snickers commercial and two Boss Coffee ads), and was the last movie to shoot water scenes on the Toho lot's famous "Big Pool", which was demolished shortly afterwards.
57	* ExtraLongEpisode: At 125 minutes in total running time, it was by far the longest Japanese Godzilla movie ever made at the time, when none exceeded 110 minutes (since then, ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' and ''Film/GodzillaMinusOne'' have almost equaled it in length). Not too surprising, considering this was 50th anniversary MilestoneCelebration depicting a massive BossRush where Godzilla rematches most of his Showa Era rogues' gallery in rapid succession.
58	* EyeScream: [[spoiler: After Ozaki gains his HeroicSecondWind and overpowers X, the (seemingly) young Xilien leader's eyelids (along with the areas around his eyes) start to turn an eerie black.]]
59	* FireballEyeballs: After Godzilla is freed, the camera closes up on his eye, which is reflecting blazing fire.
60	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Xilian's show they are on humanity's side by "saving" Okinawa from a rampaging King Caesar, but fans might remember that King Caesar is actually the ''guardian'' of Okinawa and would never attack it, hinting that there's more at play than meets the eye.
61	* GodzillaThreshold: A very literal example. The movie starts with the crew of the Gotengo sealing Godzilla in an iceberg. By the halfway point of the movie the xillains have unleashed an army of kaiju on earth destroying most cities. Then the heroes realize the method used to control the monsters wouldn't work on Godzilla. With nothing else to lose, they go bust out the king of monsters
62	--> '''Komuro:''' You're going to wake up Godzilla?...It's too dangerous. What if he destroys the world?\
63	'''Gordon:''' There is no world left to be destroyed.
64	* GratuitousEnglish: Gordon speaks only in English, but he and the Japanese cast perfectly understand each other. Kazama [[BilingualBonus speaks fluent English and Japanese]] (as can his actor, Kane Kosugi). In the Japanese release, however, Gordon was dubbed by none other than Tessho Genda!
65	** X can also speak English, although he only does so during his first confrontation with the crew of the ''Gotengo.''
66	* HeroicBSOD: Ozaki goes through a brief one [[spoiler:after Kazama commits a HeroicSacrifice]].
67	* HeroicSacrifice:
68	** Mothra, of course. Although, some fans believe she survived and flew away due to her being seen in a Post-Credits Scene.
69	** Among the humans, [[spoiler: Kazama flies the Dogfighter into the shield generator on the Xilian Mothership, breaking the barrier and allowing the Gotengo in at the cost of his life]].
70	* HighSpeedBattle: Ozaki and Kazama on motorcycles. Ends with a swift bit of CarFu.
71	* ImAHumanitarian / ToServeMan: The Xilians' goal is to make humans their food.
72	* HellbentForLeather: X's Xilian gang seem to have a taste for it. Miyuki wears a red leather jacket.
73	* HotScoop: Miyuki's sister, Anna Otonashi.
74	* HumanOutsideAlienInside: The Xilians. When Gordon asks X to show them his real face, X responds to Gordon in (heavily accented) English:
75	-->'''X:''' Well, I kinda like this face.
76	* {{Kaiju}}: There are 15 of them!
77	* [[HumanPopsicle Kaiju Popsicle]]: Godzilla
78	* KillAndReplace: The Xillians abduct and replace several key human figures early on. [[spoiler:{{Subverted\|Trope}} in that the people they abducted aren’t dead.]]
79	* KnockingTheKnockoff: One of the many monsters Godzilla fights against is Zilla, a CaptainErsatz of the Godzilla incarnation seen in ''Film/Godzilla1998''. Zilla [[CurbStompBattle is defeated by Godzilla in 20 seconds]] and the BigBad calls it a "useless tuna-eating lizard" after that.
80	* LargeHam: X, who even throws an epic temper tantrum at one point, and [[ChewingTheScenery eats more scenery than he should be allowed]] in the English dub.
81	-->'''X:''' '''GGAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RRRRRISE!!!!!'''
82	* LetMeGetThisStraight: A particularly egregious example happens after Captain Gordon unveils his plan.
83	* LoadBearingBoss: The Xilien leader blows up the mothership as soon as Ozaki defeats him.
84	* MetronomicManMashing: Godzilla does this to Kaiser Ghidora right before finishing it off.
85	* MonsterInTheIce: In the prologue, Godzilla is defeated by the Gotengo trapping him inside an Antarctic glacier. Fifty years later, an AlienInvasion with an army of {{kaiju}} threatens the Earth and the humans [[SummonBiggerFish decide to release]] Godzilla from his frozen dormancy to fight back.
86	* MonumentalDamage: With this number of kaiju and locations, it's inevitable, this time we have:
87	** Zilla knocks down the Sydney Tower during his first rampage, burnt down the Sydney Harbor Bridge with his acidic breath off-screen (although it's likely that the Xillians destroyed the bridge themselves since Zilla had trouble knocking down buildings on his own) and later on the Sydney Opera House gets crushed by Zilla's weight after Godzilla tail slaps him into the landmark before being completely destroyed by Godzilla's Atomic Breath.
88	** Kamacuras flies by the Eiffel Tower (in the background of a shot later on in Paris, you can see a destroyed Eiffel Tower in the background bent over), also the La Grande Arche de la Défense gets sat on by the giant mantis, damaging it a little.
89	** Anguirus finishes his battle with Karyu by sending it crashing right into the Oriental Pearl Tower.[[note]]Which was newly completed just 3 years before this film's release.[[/note]]
90	** Rodan finishes his destruction of New York City by knocking the Statue of Liberty's legs completely off-screen (you can't have New York City destruction without the Statue of Liberty involved) and the Met Life Building is destroyed during Rodan's first attack in a BlinkAndYouMissIt shot, also most of the New York City skyline is completely unrecognizable as landmarks such as the Empire State Building (which appears when Rodan makes landfall on a building near it during his first attack), the Chrysler Building (which appears during Rodan's aerial battle with the Rumbling) along with Rockerfella Plaza, Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Madison Square Garden, the Meadowlands Stadium and Times Square are all completely destroyed off-screen.
91	* MutualKill: [[spoiler:Mothra and Gigan slam into each other, resulting in a massive explosion. The end credits reveal (or at least hint) that she survived.]]
92	* MythologyGag:
93	** The imminent collision of rogue planet Film/{{Gorath}} is the plot of an earlier Toho film from the 60s.
94	** When the Gotengo goes to wake up Godzilla they send a message to the base. The music the base was listening to? Mechagodzilla's theme from his [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla debut film]].
95	** Godzilla's battle with King Caesar, Rodan and Anguirus ends with him just knocking them out, a reference to the fact these three monsters helped him fight against King Ghidorah (in Anguirus' and Rodan's case) and [=MechaGodzilla=] (in King Caesar's case).
96	** Hedorah gets his eye damaged... [[Film/GodzillaVsHedorah again.]]
97	** The first monster we see the upgraded Gotengo fighting is Manda, a reference to ''Film/{{Atragon}}''. They even defeat her in a similar fashion: freezing her.
98	** Monster X/[[spoiler:Keizer Ghidorah]]'s arrival is a reference to King Ghidorah's arrival by meteorite in his debut film.
99	** [[Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster This isn't the first time someone named Namikawa turned out to be an Xilian]]. She's even played by the same actress.
100	** King Caesar is seen attacking Okinawa, ironically he was its protector in the Showa series.
101	** Anguirus's Thunderball move is taken directly from the Atari video games.
102	** This isn't the [[Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain first]] [[Film/KingKongVsGodzilla time]] Godzilla was frozen.
103	** And once again, [[Film/DestroyAllMonsters New York City and Paris gets attacked by Kaiju, with New York City even being attacked by the very same Kaiju who previously attacked Moscow.]]
104	* {{Narrator}}: Creator/KoichiYamadera narrates the film's opening.
105	* NerdsAreSexy: Miyuki, which Ozaki comments on. Miyuki isn't amused.
106	* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight: Double [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. Captain Gordon is cornered by two Xilians who draw laser pistols on him. He then proceeds to put away his katana and raise up his ''fists.'' In response, they toss their guns.
107	* OddballInTheSeries: More so than most other entries, ''Final Wars'' is definitely one of the oddest installments of not only the Millennium era films, but of the whole series in general. The storytelling is much more suitable to an American blockbuster than a Tokusatsu film from Japan and human scenes (both fighting and dialogue driven) are more akin to films such as ''Film/IndependenceDay'', ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Film/XMen1'' rather than Godzilla. The only thing that indicates that it is a Godzilla film are the monster fights, and even then they’re more complex and over the top with their choreography compared to past entries. The best way it can be summed up is that it’s a Japanese take on an American blockbuster.
108	* OneLetterName: X, whose actual name humans wouldn't be able to understand.
109	* OneManArmy: Godzilla, who basically singlehandedly plows through an entire gauntlet of kaiju that the Xilians throw at him, each of which has taken down everything Earth threw at them up to that point, even taking out Anguirus, Rodan and King Caesar at the same time. [[PersonOfMassDestruction "Most destructive weapon on Earth", indeed.]]
110	* OneWingedAngel: Monster X [[spoiler:transforms into Kaiser Ghidorah]].
111	* PsychoForHire: Gigan and Kaiser Ghidorah both.
112	* PsychopathicManchild: Xillien Commander, the film's BigBad. He throws a tantrum accompanied by stomping and roaring like Godzilla when said latter defeats Gigan and completely obliterates Zilla aka Tuna Head. His childish ways add comic relief to a dark gruesome film filled with blood and genocide.
113	* PuttingOnTheReich: The Mutants dress in leather trench coats with red armbands. Subtle guys.
114	* RecycledSoundtrack: A minor but interesting one regarding [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IoTJNWzY_s the main theme:]] it is almost a note-for-note copy of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5owLlY100tY this unfinished but sometimes performed song]] Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer. Given Keith Emerson's involvement in the score and the band's dissolution before it's completion, this is a rather nice gesture.
115	* {{Redshirt}}: Most of the crewmen and pilots of the various UN battleships exists only to die messily when their vessels are destroyed by the combined might of rampaging kaiju and Xilien armada. The Gotengo gets a pass for being the last surviving vessel, until Controller X and his minions suddenly teleports into the Gotengo and promptly have all the unnamed extras gunned down.
116	* TheRestShallPass: Multiple examples.
117	** Kumasaka holds off most of the brainwashed M-Force, and does a pretty good job considering he's a regular human.
118	** Ozaki vs X
119	** Gordon vs two Xilians
120	* {{Retcon}}: Godzilla isn't killed by the Oxygen Destroyer in this timeline, just like ''Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus''.
121	* RidingIntoTheSunset: The film ends with Godzilla, having thwarted the alien invasion and finally persuaded to end his animosity with mankind, walking off into the sunrise with his son Minya.
122	* RuleOfSymbolism: Surprisingly, The entirety of the Godzilla vs. Zilla fight. The song used in this fight, "All to Blame" by Sum 41, capitalizes how the producers of the 1998 film wanted the movie to succeed, but became a failure because they wanted a different approach that would allow sequels ("you can't define me, or justify greed"), and since this incarnation of Godzilla is the [[Film/Godzilla1954 original Godzilla]] (via SparedByTheAdaptation), then him defeating the ''first'' American incarnation makes perfect sense. Even the chapter title is called "[[PretenderDiss Pretender of the Throne]]".
123	* ShoutOut: The Xilian's initial plan was to befriend humanity and help them with their own technology, only to want to actually turn them into cattle. [[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E89ToServeMan Sound familiar]]?
124	* SlasherSmile: X wears it very well.
125	* SpotlightStealingSquad: The detractors of the movie see Gordon and his crew as this.
126	* SpinAttack: Godzilla spins right before he destroys [[spoiler:Kaiser Ghidorah]].
127	* TheStarscream: X, who isn't fond of the subtle plan. A successful one as well.
128	* SuperMode: [[spoiler:X and Ozaki are both Kaisers, granting them immense powers.]]
129	* TakeThat:
130	** Ryuhei Kitamura and Shogo Tomiyama wanted the Japanese Godzilla to fight the [[Film/{{Godzilla 1998}} American Godzilla]] to show which was superior, resulting in one of the most brutal examples of this trope in action: Godzilla fights "Zilla" and effortlessly wins in less than 20 seconds. Just to rub it in further, the frustrated [[BigBad X]] then mutters: "I knew that tuna-eating lizard was useless!" (or, in the English dub, "I knew that tuna-head wasn't up to much!"). The name of the scene in question, "Pretender to the Throne", and the music used in the fight,[[note]]Sum 41's ''All To Blame''[[/note]] serve to further highlight Toho's opinion of the American Godzilla (Well, [[Film/Godzilla2014 the first one]] at least).
131	*** Even the ''name'' "Zilla" is a TakeThat, the lack of "God" in its name is clear mockery (and based off an actual criticism leveled at it).
132	** Much like with Zilla, the very brief scene with Hedorah appearing and getting unintentionally stabbed in the eye by Ebirah can be interpreted as such, considering Tomoyuki Tanaka's reaction to ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'' and the fact that he made sure that Yoshimitsu Banno, the director of ''vs. Hedorah'', would never direct another Godzilla film.
133	** A boy throws a Squirtle action figure into his fireplace while screaming insults at it. This was a clear jab at ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' (which was, at the time, more popular than Godzilla), as well as the ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' franchise, the ''Godzilla'' series' biggest rival.
134	* TakingYouWithMe: The Xilien leader attempts to take Ozaki down with the base after he is defeated.
135	* TokenWhite: Captain Douglas Gordon, who is Canadian, is among the main cast who are predominantly Japanese.
136	* TrueFinalBoss: Kaiser Ghidorah, the last villain (Xilian or monster) standing.
137	* TheUnpronounceable: The species and individual names of the Xilians. They use code names instead.
138	* VillainousBreakdown: X loses it every time one of his monsters is beaten by Godzilla. [[spoiler: And also after his failed TakingYouWithMe moment, as he screams to the heavens while his base explodes around him.]]
139	* WaistDeepOcean: The last shot of the film is Godzilla and Minilla wading into the sea and off into the sunset. Notably, this was the very last scene ever filmed in Toho's "Big Pool" set (constructed over forty years specifically to film {{kaiju}} ocean scenes), as it was demolished immediately after filming of ''Final Wars'' wrapped.
140	* WeUsedToBeFriends: Given the BroadStrokes approach to continuity, it seems likely that Anguirus, Rodan and King Caesar were once allies to Godzilla as they were in the Showa series, but he has to fight them since they're being controlled by the Xiliens, which explains why they're the only monsters Godzilla doesn't kill after defeating.
141	* WholePlotReference: The movie is basically a rehash of the earlier Godzilla movies ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' (which also had scenes of New York City and Paris getting attacked) and ''Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster''.
142	* WouldHitAGirl: Captain Gordon. At one point he fights two Xilians, one male, one female. He dispatches the male, then has a fight with the female. After he gets the upper hand, he has his fist pulled back ready to deck her, when she asks "you wouldn't hit a woman would you?". He then hesitates, opens his hand, smiles...then says "Yeah." and knocks her out with a karate chop to the neck!

Context Film / GodzillaFinalWars