Watch Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Best movie ever!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

A direct sequel to 2002's "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla", this film opens with Mothra's twin-fairy familiars appearing at the home of Shinichi Chujo (Hiroshi Koizumi, last seen in this role in 1961's "Mothra") with a warning that unless the original Godzilla's remains (parts of which are incorporated into MechaGodzilla) are released into the ocean, Mothra will declare war on mankind; alternatively, if the mecha is decommissioned, Mothra will defend humans against incursions by Godzilla (last seen driven off by MechaGodzilla but still alive). When Godzilla reappears in Tokyo, Mothra does indeed attack him in her ineffectual way, blowing him about with the wind from her wings and, suicidally, sprinkling him with the scales that she need to stay aloft. At this juncture, MechaGodzilla is dropped into the fray. Both of mankind's defenders are defeated but, it is revealed, Mothra had laid an egg on a nearby island, which hatches releasing twin 'caterpillers', who quickly swim to Japan and attack Godzilla. As usual, the larval Mothras are more effective than the adult morph, biting the tip of Godzilla's tail (which he hates) and attempting to immobilize him with silk. What follows is the expected pyrotechnics, destruction scenes, and monster/human heroics, as attempts are made to resuscitate MechaGodzilla while Godzilla is distracted by the larva and the intrepid pilots of the "White Herons". As Godzilla films go, this one is pretty good, with great special effects (both CGI and models/suit-mation) and an entertaining story. Since MechaGodzilla was introduced in the previous film and Mothra is involved in this one, the usual kaiju pseudoscience is replaced by pseudo-spirituality (which seems inconsistent at times, as despite the fairies' warnings, both Mothra's larval and adult stages seem willing to accept MechaGodzilla's help in the fight). The deal the fairies make to Chujo would resonate in Japan, as the offer is essentially the choice between defending yourself or 'demilitarising' and relying on a powerful ally, issues the Japanese have been wrestling with since the end of the Pacific War in 1945. Once again, Toho brings back characters from the early kaiju films, which adds a nice touch of continuity of the Godzilla-verse (although collective kaiju amnesia is still at work, as previous interventions by Mothra (e.g. 1963's "Godzilla vs. the Thing") or MechaGodzilla (e.g. 1975's "Terror of MechaGodzilla") have been forgotten). The battle scenes (the raison d'être for everything else in the film) are very well done, especially destruction of Tokyo (the collapse of Tokyo Tower is a standout). The Mothra puppet looks much better than the wooly version in 1992's preachy "Godzilla vs. Mothra", as does the star-kaiju and his cybernetic twin. As usual, the mecha has to fire off all of its arsenal of cannon, missiles, masers, etc. before activating the weapon that might actually work, contributing to the collateral damage but making the movie more visually exciting. All of the standard Godzilla characters are back and the acting is typically melodramatic and over-the-top (I was watching a subtitled version but the tough-guy posturing and heroic sentimentality is unmistakable). The military mobilization scenes just get better and better as the series progresses (compare shots of tanks in this film with the wobbly plastic models rolling up to be melted in the '60's films). "Tokyo SOS", the 28th entry in the franchise, doesn't bring much new to the table, but is a well done and entertaining monster rumpus, although neophytes to the genre might be slightly put off by the new-agey spirituality as personified by the tiny, and now scantily clad, twin fairies. Unlike the preceding film, MechaGodzilla's name "Kiryu" is not used in the subtitles (but is spoken by the actors) and plot points involving the mecha's 'connection' with Godzilla and its reluctance to fight at times might seem inexplicable to viewers who have not seen the previous film.

The Millennium-Era series of "Godzilla" features - released over a five-year period between 1999 and 2004 in Japan - is an interesting film series, to say the least. I have been slow in getting to it, having grown up on both the Showa-Era (1954-1975) and Heisei-Era (1984-1995) "Godzilla" film series. The first film I ever saw from the Millennium Era was 1999's "Godzilla 2000" - which, as I remarked in another review - was the last film I ever saw at the now-defunct Cineplex Odeon at my local shopping mall before it closed down forever in early 2000. I was 14 when that movie came out and when the Cineplex Odeon finally closed its doors.Just yesterday, I watched "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" (2002). Today, I just finished watching its direct 2003 sequel, "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." When I remarked how interesting the Millennium Era is, I mean that it's interesting in that like the Heisei-Era "Godzilla" films, it completely disregards all the films that came before it - pretending that they never happened - and instead goes right back to "Gojira" (1954), the gloomy black & white monster flick that started it all. But unlike the Heisei Era, each film in the Millennium series is a stand-alone feature that not only disregards all previous "Godzilla" features from different eras, but each film in the Millennium Era prior to it is also disregarded. So, in other words, "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" disregarded the three films that preceded it."Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" is the only film to have a sequel, which is "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." "Tokyo S.O.S." is a better film than its predecessor, and also a unique one. Since "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" and "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." are stand-alone features that started 45 years after "Gojira" - these two films are unique in that they also include a loose continuity of sorts with other non-Godzilla-related Toho "kaiju-eiga" (Japanese giant monster films), namely "Mothra" (1961) and "War of the Gargantuas" (1966); for this sequel, "Mothra" is the film most referenced and shares the greatest continuity, and it also includes a few references to "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964) - the latter film of which has the benefit of being Godzilla's last portrayal as the bad guy in the Showa-Era film series."Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." is set in 2004, one year after Godzilla ravaged Japan, but was thwarted by the Japan Self-Defense Forces' (JSDF) Mechagodzilla, a.k.a., "Kiryu" (meaning, "Machine Dragon" in Japanese). Mechagodzilla, as you remember, was built around the remains of the first Godzilla that was killed in 1954, and shares that long-dead monster's genetic memories. Though Mechagodzilla managed to save Japan from Godzilla, the monster cyborg was heavily damaged and needed to be repaired.Now, the JSDF is pondering whether or not to deploy Mechagodzilla into the field again, being that its most powerful weapon, the Absolute Zero, is damaged beyond repair and without it, Mechagodzilla will not be able to defend the country against Godzilla. Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) mechanic Yoshito Chujo (Noboru Kaneko) is on vacation at his uncle's house when he's visited by the Shobijin (Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Ohtsuka), the miniature twin fairies who act as guardians for the benevolent insect monster-god Mothra. Chujo's uncle is none other than Dr. Shinichi Chujo (the late Hiroshi Koizumi), the Japanese linguist who first discovered Mothra and the Shobijin on their native Infant Island and witnessed Mothra's subsequent destructive rampage in Japan 43 years earlier in 1961.The Shobijin have come to warn them that because Mechagodzilla is built around the skeletal remains of the original 1954 Godzilla, that this is why Godzilla keeps returning to attack Japan. If Mechagodzilla is returned to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, then Mothra will gladly take its place to guard Japan from Godzilla's attacks. Meanwhile, Godzilla surfaces once again to attack Japan, and Mothra joins the fray. Pretty soon, though, the JSDF also realizes that Mothra alone will not be enough, and that they have no choice but to deploy Mechagodzilla once again into battle - but the question remains of whether or not the mighty Mechagodzilla will survive another lethal encounter with Godzilla?Maasaki Tezuka returns behind the camera to direct this stellar follow-up to "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla." The greatest thing to be said about this feature is to see Hiroshi Koizumi, a regular during the Showa Era in numerous Toho kaiju-eiga, reprising a role he first took on over 40 years earlier. As a supporting player to a younger generation of cast members, Noboru Kaneko makes for an effective leading performer who is dedicated to his job and knows every inch, inside & out, of the cyborg creature that he has been charged with maintaining. He also has a close friendship with Kiryu pilot Azusa Kisaragi (Miho Yoshioka) - having replaced Akane Yashiro (Yumiko Shaku) from the previous film and who appears here in a brief cameo. I was a little startled to learn that Yumiko Shaku wasn't going to be the lead in this sequel, as I did find her replacement in Miho Yoshioka to not be as engaging or sympathetic as she was in "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla." This was really my only serious disappointment with this flick."Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." has some stellar monster battles, a beautiful reappearance of Mothra, and an awesome mix of old & new (in more ways than one). This was the last film before the all-out monster battle royale that was this series' epic closer, "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004).7/10

Godzilla: Tokyo SOS is the only film of the Millennium series that is preceded by another film. Picking where Godzilla X Mechagodzilla left off, the Japanese Defense Force is in the process of repairing Mechagodzilla after his last outing with Godzilla. Yoshito Chûjô, played by Noboru Kaneko, is an mechanic working on Mechagodzilla and was visited by the tiny twin fairies of Mothra, the Shobijin. They warned him that the people must return Mechagodzilla to the sea, for the dead must not be disturbed (Mechagodzilla was created from the bones of the original Godzilla). If the people do not heed to their warnings, Mothra will declare war on mankind, which I think is a departure from Mothra because she has always been depicted as a benevolent creature. But, without Mechagodzilla, Japan has no defense against Godzilla.This film provides many references to previous Toho films, including bringing back the two character leads from Godzilla X Mechgodzilla, containing footage from the previous movies and even bringing back Kameba, the gigantic turtle from "Yog, Monster from Space" (1970). Perhaps the most notable mention is the return of Professor Shinichi Chujo, played by Hiroshi Koizumi, from the original 1961 Mothra movie. Koizumi reprises the role he did 42 years earlier, and delivers drama about Mothra's previous attack on Tokyo and referenced photographs from his trip to Infant Island in the original Mothra film.The movie is filled with drama and heroism. The part where Chujo's grandson made the Mothra sign to call her for help was one of my favorite scenes. Michiru Ôshima gave another brilliant music score and Eiichi Asada did an awesome job on the special effects. Mechagodzilla's rockets and Mothra's wing attacks were among my favorite special effects in the film - all contributed to exciting action-packed monster mayhem. Some downsides to this movie is that as this movie also serves as a sequel to the original Mothra movie, Mothra and her larvae were not emphasized enough. Godzilla was also portrayed as very weak - in some of the battle sequences with the robot, Godzilla just stands there as if he is letting Mechagodzilla attack him. And, Godzilla rarely gets any chance to do some city stomping. As with most films in the Millennium series, this movie focuses on the military - an element that gets repetitive. But, on another note, the cast of characters are likable for the most part and Mothra's design is this film is my favorite of the monster, though she is really overused by this time. Grade B-

This is one of the few Godzilla movies I have seen (the others are "Godzilla vs King Ghidorah" and the American movie) and this is the best of them. This is a cheesy movie, naturally, but it is very entertaining and enjoyable. The battles between the different monsters (Godzilla, Mechagodzilla and Mothra) are absolutely terrific and it is obvious that the creators of this film had great fun with it. The plot is nothing spectacular, really - Godzilla attacks Tokyo and Mechagodzilla and Mothra try to stop it - but who cares about the plot when huge monsters are beating the hell out of each other? There are also some touching scenes in the film, and some tense situations too. In conclusion - a good scifi action movie. Recommended for fans of monsters, robots and dinosaurs.