Line #2 YMMV/GodzillaFinalWars


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2	* AngstWhatAngst:
3	** Even more than usual in a Godzilla film! The humans on the ''Gotengo'' barely bat an eyelid when most of the crew is shot in front of them on X's order. [[ForgottenFallenFriend None of them come up again]].
4	** Specifically after Kazama dies, basically no one reacts beyond a few shocked glances between one another and Captain Gordon telling Ozaki to get a grip. Then it's on with the action-fest.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: As with the rest of this film, the music is...hotly debated, with one exception. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2hrncmqJ0 This]] track (featuring a spoiler title) is widely considered really fun. When it or either of its two variants gets going, you know there's one hell of a scene approaching.
6	** Keith Emerson's contributions to the score in general are some of the strongest. The main theme of the movie is polarizing, but has its fans. The rendition which plays at the end, with the opening fanfare, is particularly triumphant.
7	** Some of Nobuhiko Morino's specific stings are actually pretty cool. For instance, the song that plays when Ozaki realizes that there's something wrong with Commander Namikawa is kinda unsettling and fits well with the vibe of the scene.
8	* BadassDecay:
9	** Gigan, [[EnsembleDarkhorse a fan favorite monster]] and one of the few creatures from the Showa era to come back for more than one outing (appearing in his title film, ''{{Film/Godzilla vs Megalon}}'', and ''Zone Fighter''), as well as the first monster in the franchise to make Godzilla bleed, is easily killed by Godzilla once he wakes up and then gets repaired with his scythes replaced by [[TakeALevelInBadass chainsaw hands]] only to get killed again after a lengthy battle with Mothra. Like with Hedorah below, he too gets a proper rematch with Godzilla using their Final Wars designs to celebrate Gigan's 50th anniversary.
10	** Kumonga, [[BigBad the primary antagonist]] of ''{{Film/Son of Godzilla}}'' and one of the monsters who helped take Ghidorah down at the end of ''{{Film/Destroy All Monsters}}'' is dispatched with Godzilla hammer throwing the giant spider off-screen.
11	** Hedorah, the titular antagonist of ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'', arguably tied with Ghidorah as Godzilla's most powerful Showa opponent (the only monster for whom Godzilla's atomic breath was a complete NoSell, as well as one who brutally wounded and even almost killed Godzilla during the height of their fight) is killed in the same incident as Ebirah, after about ''ten'' seconds of screentime. A rematch of proper length between the two Final Wars incarnations of the characters would end up being produced for Godzilla Festival 2021 as a short film commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hedorah's first appearance.
12	* BrokenBase:
13	** Considered the best by some for its cast of kaiju and nonstop action. Considered the worst by some for its focus on the humans instead of the kaiju and the action instead of the story. It doesn't help that many of the scenes with the human characters are taken wholecloth from other famous films such ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/IndependenceDay'' and ''Film/XMen1'', sometimes frame by frame.
14	** Monster X being a disguise for Keizer Ghidorah. Some view it as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot in that Godzilla didn't actually get to fight a new monster in the movie, while others view a showdown between Godzilla and his ArchEnemy as a fitting send-off for the franchise at the time.
15	** As alluded to above, the music. Was [[Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer Keith Emerson]] out of place to score a Godzilla movie, or does his approach add to the fun campiness of the film?
16	** Gigan's Millennium design. Some fans love it for being more threatening, sleek and overall futuristic-looking than the Showa version, while others think this redesign pretty much got rid of nearly everything that made Showa Gigan so fondly remembered. The fact Gigan had a very distinct, albeit cowardly, personality in the Showa series but is just an idiot in this film doesn't help either.
17	** There's also Godzilla's design in this film. Either you love it for how slim and sleek he is, or dislike it because his face reminds you too much of a rat's.
18	* CatharsisFactor:
19	** Fans get kick out of Godzilla killing Zilla in less then a minute to show who the real King of the Monsters is.
20	** Ozaki, after getting his HeroicSecondWind, brutally beating the ever living shit out of X is an immense feeling of satisfaction after seeing how much of a real [[AliensAreBastards bastard]] X is and all the actions he did against Earth in the name of his sick conquest.
21	* CommonKnowledge: While it's widely believed that the CurbStompBattle between Godzilla and Zilla is an intentional TakeThatScrappy response to the unpopular American version (just look at this page), [[WordOfGod the director has explained in interviews]] that the original intent was to have a proper East-versus-West faceoff between the two that [[WhatCouldHaveBeen had to be truncated for time]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20230407232423/https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2019/01/02/godzillas-final-cut-director-ryuhei-kitamura-on-crafting-godzillas-50th-anniversary-film-godzilla-final-wars/]]. Accordingly, since they could only spare a small time for the fight, they instead played it for comedy. Similarly, the dated CG wasn't intentionally low-quality compared to the Kaiju suits of the other monsters - the other uses of CG in the Millenium films are of comparable quality (the same sub-par CG animation was also used for Rodan and Kamacuras in many shots; with Manda being the ''other'' all CGI monster), and it was obviously not worth the cost of commissioning an all-new Kaiju suit for the All-CG character for what amounted to a [[TheCameo cameo]].
22	* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Controller X]], or simply [[AliensAreBastards X]], is a hegemonic alien warlord who wants to rule the Earth, but while his former master wanted to do it peacefully and was well-intentioned, X, after [[TheStarscream killing him]], took the conquering to more extreme levels. Instantly letting his alien henchmen go around and destroy everything in sight after making them his own mindless slaves, and awakening the aforementioned Gigan, X doesn't care at all who gets killed during the attack, and is fully aware of how sadistic Gigan is. Capturing and holding a bunch of humans hostage during the climax, X orders his men to slaughter the crew, [[ItsPersonal except for those he wants to kill for himself]], trying to brainwash Ozaki into serving him, only to attempt to kill him when he breaks free. Psychotic and arrogant, X had no problems with causing a [[KillAllHumans massive genocide on humans]] just so that he could rule Earth, and while multiple other villains have the same goals, it is X's utter sadism that makes him stand out.
23	* ContestedSequel: It's not uncommon to find completely polarizing opinions on this film from many fans to the point that it's mentioned as one of the best entries in the series as much as it is mentioned as one of the worst. What made ''Final Wars'' especially polarizing was its heavy focus on the human characters engaging in kung-fu fights with aliens. Some see it as a nice departure from boring character exposition segments. Others see the emphasis on humans fighting to be distracting and cliched.
24	* EnsembleDarkHorse:
25	** Gigan finally making a reappearance with a far more menacing design was well-received.
26	** For human characters, Captain Gordon has been very well-received. Being played by Don Frye helps.
27	* FranchiseOriginalSin: As noted above, one of the most controversial aspects of ''Final Wars'' is that [[TheyCopiedItSoItSucks brazenly borrows ideas and scenes]] from many big-name Hollywood blockbusters popular during the late 90s and early 2000s. The ''Godzilla'' franchise is no stranger to this trend as previous films tended to appropriate concepts or pay homage to iconic scenes from pop-culture on both sides of the Pacific (e.g. ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', ''Film/{{Reptilicus}}'', ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' among many more) and even owes its very existence to it as the [[Film/Godzilla1954 1954 film]] was inspired in large part by ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'' and ''Franchise/KingKong''. This tendency wasn't such a problem before because the filmmakers who had a hand in making the preceding films put unique spins on the concepts that they copied or made an effort to hide their influences. ''Final Wars'', meanwhile suffers significantly as the film leaves no room for subtlety whatsoever thanks to it's over-the-top, brash and in-your-face tone while not even bothering to do something different with what it imitates.
28	* FridgeBrilliance: Beyond being a flagrant TakeThat, it makes sense that Godzilla beat Zilla so easily. Zilla has no powers beyond being very big, while Godzilla has super strength (even for his size) and radioactive breath. If we reduce them to human size, it is like a normal human fighting a superhero.
29	* InferredHolocaust: The heroes defeat the Xillians and Godzilla departs peacefully but pretty much every city on the planet has been devastated and millions if not billions have been killed as well as the fact that several monsters are still alive.
30	* MagnificentBastard: [[BadassNormal Captain Douglas Gordon]] is a soldier for the Earth Defense Force, making a name for himself as being the one who imprisoned Godzilla in the Arctic. A macho, reckless, yet effective Captain of the ''Gotengo'', Gordon leads a battle against Manda in an underwater volcano, killing the dragon, but risking his crew's lives. This and taking a swing at his superior officer get him court-martialed. When released, Gordon helps expose the Xiliens' treachery and when their invasion begins, Gordon comes up with the plan to fight back; saying the world's already lost, and humanity might as well go out fighting, Gordon and his crew [[GodzillaThreshold unleash Godzilla from his prison]]. From there, they lead Godzilla to different cities to wipe out the attacking monsters, with Godzilla causing more destruction as collateral damage. Infiltrating the Xiliens' mothership, Gordon fights one of their squads with his [[GoodOldFisticuffs bare hands]], coming out unscathed. Gordan's plan otherwise works, and Godzilla wipes out the Xiliens' monsters, the plan to recapture Godzilla backfiring when Godzilla shoots down the ''Gotengo''. Even so, Gordon prepares to [[FaceDeathWithDignity face Godzilla with his crew on foot]], in what they think is going to be a last stand.
31	* MemeticBadass:
32	** Captain Gordon, the BadassNormal who takes on the Xiliens with nothing but his fists and a katana.
33	** Of course, we can't forget Godzilla either, perhaps the most dominant incarnation of the character to date, surpassing his Heisei incarnation.
34	* MoralEventHorizon: X crosses it when he shoots the Controller and then gives the rest of the planet a lecture on how they are like cattle meant to be enslaved by a superior species.
35	* MythologyGag: Possibly unintentional, but Zilla is sent to attack Sydney, where he has his ill-fated meeting with Godzilla. The unmade Script/Godzilla2 was to be set primarily in Australia and had Zilla fighting another monster in Sydney.
36	* {{Narm}}: Controller X in the English Dub. His line delivery is ridiculously over the top, to the point it's a wonder his mouth isn't stuffed with the scenery he chews. That said, it's [[NarmCharm ludicrously enjoyable to watch.]] It's pretty clear that the dub voice actor was having too much fun with the role.
37	* ShockingMoments: Monster X transforming into Keizer Ghidorah might have surprised many for those who watched the movie for the first time.
38	* SignatureScene: Godzilla‘s [[CurbStompBattle fight]] against Zilla.
39	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
40	** After some digital growing pains in ''Film/Godzilla2000'', the Millennium series maintained a fairly high standard for its special effects scenes until ''Final Wars,'' which seems to have had a similar budget as the others despite ''way'' more monsters to cover. The monster suits are a bit controversial, with many finding them cheap and too humanoid in proportion, and the physics in many scenes suffer from a sense of "weightlessness" as the creatures bounce and leap around like...men in costumes, rather than giant creatures. This was a deliberate rebuttal to the extremely slow, heavy movement of the monsters in the prior films, though some would say they went too far in the other direction.
41	** The CGI in the film also suffers from being dated and obvious. While the terrible CGI Zilla and Manda are especially notable as entirely CGI characters, there are scenes featuring Rodan, Kamacuras and Kaizer Ghidorah that also stand out as sub-par.
42	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some fans aren't exactly fond of Gigan's Millennium design, even calling it way too overdesigned and gritty for their taste. It doesn't help that this design puts more emphasis on Gigan's robotic qualities rather than his biological ones, which makes him look somewhat less like a cyborg for some.
43	** Rodan's Millenium design. While meant to be a throwback to his debut appearance from 1956, it makes him look [[UnintentionalUncannyValley bizarrely humanoid]].
44	* TheyCopiedItNowItSucks: A common criticism of the film is that it borrows too much from late 90s and early 2000s Hollywood blockbusters like ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Film/IndependenceDay'' and ''Film/XMen1''. Granted while ''Godzilla'' movies have taken inspiration from other movies but ''Final Wars'' takes it to the extreme with many action scenes and costumes copied wholesale. Most notably, the character of Shinichi Ozaki strongly resembles actor Creator/KeanuReeves and at one point in the film stops laser blasts in mid-air in a manner very similar to Neo's most famous scene in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded''.
45	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Rodan, King Caesar, and Anguirus are spared by Godzilla after their fight....and never show up again in the movie afterwards. Wouldn't it have been great to have them reappear in the final battle with their brainwashing somehow broken, assisting Godzilla like old times alongside Mothra? They definitely would have been needed against the revived Gigan and Monster X, especially King Caesar with his ability to reflect X's beams back at him, speaking of Caesar, he would no doubt be '''enraged''' at the Xillians for forcing him to attack and destroy Okinawa, the very land he was sworn to protect which would have given the good King a good reason to team up with his old allies, no surprise fans were disappointed.
46	** Hedorah also gets this hard due to subjected to a rather large BadassDecay, he would have been a HUGE asset to the villains (especially teaming up alongside Monster X and Gigan) and would have been a good reason to necessitate Rodan's, Anguirus and King Caesar's help, especially against three very powerful monsters, especially once Monster X transforms.
47	** The fact that we didn't get more world cities in the final film, such as Los Angeles [[note]]which is the second most populated city in the US next to New York City[[/note]], San Francisco [[note]]originally planned to be in the script for ''Destroy All Monsters'' where it would have been attacked by Variant[[/note]], Phoenix, Las Vegas [[note]]the later two were heavily implied to have been the initial targets for Kumonga but due to the cities' close proximity to each other the Xillians just dumped the poor spider in the Monument Valley desert in Arizona[[/note]], Washington DC [[note]]which are just begging to get smashed up by Godzilla Kaiju[[/note]], Moscow, Beijing, London [[note]]seeing as all 3 were in ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' which would have made up for it's mention by actually showing the latter two cities on-screen, though Shanghai's appearance makes up for the Beijing mention[[/note]], Berlin, Seoul [[note]]which has been only smashed up once by a forgotten Kaiju named Yonggary and is South Korea's answer to Tokyo[[/note]], Bangkok, Cairo, Bueno Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
48	* UnexpectedCharacter: Monster X's final form: Keizer Ghidorah....and to a lesser extent...[[Film/Godzilla1998 Zilla...]]
49	* VindicatedByHistory: At the time of its release, Final Wars was the biggest bomb of the Godzilla series (finally unseating previous "champ" ''Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla'') chiefly because the Japanese dislike Ryuhei Kitamura's films; from ''Film/GodzillaVsBiollante'' onward Toho released a giant monster movie of some sort on a yearly basis. However, in [[https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/research/articles/161642/ a poll conducted among Japanese fans]] many years later, ''Final Wars'' was ranked sixth, beating fan favourites such as ''Film/MothraVsGodzilla'' and ''Film/GodzillaVsKingGhidorah''.

Context YMMV / GodzillaFinalWars