Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidorâ: Daikaijû sôkôgeki (2001)

Three ancient guardian beasts awaken to protect Japan against Godzilla.

Director:

Shûsuke Kaneko

Writers:

Keiichi Hasegawa (as Kei'ichi Hasegawa), Shûsuke Kaneko

Stars:

Chiharu Niiyama, Ryûdô Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chiharu Niiyama	...	Yuri Tachibana (BS Digital Q reporter)
Ryûdô Uzaki	...	SDF Adm. Taizô Tachibana
Masahiro Kobayashi	...	Teruaki Takeda (science writer)
Shirô Sano	...	Haruki Kadokura (Yuri's boss)
Takashi Nishina	...	AD Aki Maruo
Kaho Minami	...	SDF Intelligence Capt. Kumi Emori
Shin'ya Ohwada	...	SDF L:t. Gen. Katsumasa Mikumo (as Shin'ya Ôwada)
Kunio Murai	...	SDF HQ Secretary Masato Hinogaki
Hiroyuki Watanabe	...	Yutaka Hirose
Shingo Katsurayama	...	SDF Intelligence Maj. Tokihiko Kobayakawa
Toshikazu Fukawa	...	Adjutant Miyashita
Masahiko Tsugawa	...	Chief Cabinet Secretary
Hideyo Amamoto	...	Prof. Hirotoshi Isayama the Prophet
Nobuaki Kakuda	...	Commanding Sector officer (as Nobuo Kakuda)
Takafumi Matsuo	...	Mototsu Station police officer

Storyline

Strange incidents occur when an American submarine has been destroyed by a mysterious force at sea off the shores of Guam. Only Admiral Tachibana was certain that behind the disaster was none other than the destructive King of the Monsters, Godzilla! 50 years after his attack on Tokyo in 1954, Godzilla has mysteriously returned to life to destroy Japan, and General Tachibana, whose parents died in the monster's destructive wake, was prepared for his return to protect Japan from yet another tragic disaster, but is dismissed by the overly confident Japanese government, who underestimate Godzilla's power. But to further prove Tachibana's claim, his daughter Yuri, who works for the TV news program "Digital Q," investigates strange phenomena in three separate areas in Japan (two of which involve the deaths of immoral youths), and meets a mysterious old man named Isayama, who proclaims that aside from his infamous nuclear origins, Godzilla is an accumulation of vengeful souls (of both ...

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Plot Keywords:

godzilla | mothra | ghidorah | kaiju | gojira | 

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Taglines:

Saigo ni ikinokoru no wa dare da!? (Who will be the last to survive!?)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 December 2001 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Daikaiju Sogougeki

Filming Locations:

Studio 1, Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$9,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

JPY 257,450,000 (Japan), 16 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 89 min (USA) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mothra was also revamped. Like Ghidorah, Mothra is portrayed as being far smaller than normal and looking more like a Butterfly than a Moth. Her poison powder and hurricane wind attacks were removed, and were replaced with a burst of stingers fired from her abdomen. In addition, Mothra's fairy servants, the Shobijin, are dropped completely, (though a homage exists in the form of twins from Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys who look up in awe at Mothra as she flies overhead).

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Goofs

When the fighter planes attack Godzilla, the pilot yells "missiles away" but free fall laser guided bombs are used.

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Quotes

[Baragon is approaching in the distance]
Husband: It's the red Godzilla.
Wife: He may be frightening, but he's cute.
Husband: Quick, take a picture before we run.

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Alternate Versions

During the November premier, in addition to the unfinished special effects shots, the score was incomplete. It has been remixed since then.

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Connections

Follows Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Soundtracks

Great Monster War March
(AKA: "Monster Zero March")
Track from "Ostinato" Album - 1986
Ending Credits Theme 2
Composed by Akira Ifukube
Arranged by Hiroshi Kumagai

User Reviews

Well, I was kinda disappointed...

The rap among Big-G. fans is that this is - as one reviewer put it - "the best of the best". And after reading about the historical-spiritual content of the plot, I really had high hopes for it.

But I was disappointed. Because my hopes were so high, my disappointment may be clouding my judgment; but the problem is simple: at the beginning of the film, there's a great to-do made about Godzilla representing the souls of those slain in WWII, and also a subplot initiated, about Mothra, Ghidorah and Baragon being mythic protectors of Japan.

But, ultimately, not much of this is used to tie up any of the narrative threads; and the issues get more confused as the film progresses and it becomes unclear whether the problem of the past is what actually happened, or whether it is simply that the government was dishonest about it.

The issues do introduce the monsters and get them into battle. And then, at the end of each battle - especially the last - the mythic element is brought back into play to account for some highly impressive special effects. This is no doubt the most sophisticated special effects display we've seen in any Godzilla movie, and it is way better than the trashy cgi show of the American Godzilla rip-off of '98.

I like the special effects, and it's always a pleasure to see the Big Green Guy (looking nastier in this movie than he ever has) knock down a few buildings and kick monster butt. I also appreciate the humor, e.g., the "Blair Witch" parody. The acting is very effective all around, and the direction is above par for the series. Still, really, this film has a tad less "spiritual" clout than "Godzilla vs. Mothra" - and I'm referring to the 1960s version (AKA "vs. the Thing"). Partly this is because the story seems to be struggling for a compromise: the stupidities of the past are counter-balanced with the social stupidities of the present - many of the victims of the monster mêlée suffer because they wander into the battle zone like tourists, unable to comprehend the destructive forces around them. The point is well taken; but it's unclear what the long range consequences of this might be. None of the loose ends are tied up - not even the meaning of Godzilla's ever-beating heart (which we know, from countless other films, is actually a nuclear reactor).

And just as a side note, I REALLY object to Ghidorah being portrayed as a "good" monster - the beast is utterly brainless, that's what makes watching Big G. slap him around so much fun.

I just feel that more effort was needed on the story, even if at the expense of the special effects.