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	GMK "...it should at least be commended for its dark, unflinching portrayal of a pop culture icon." - Ningen GMK (2001) AKA: Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Attack Director: Shusuke Kaneko Producer: Hideyuki Honma Cast: Chiharu Niyama, Ryudo Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi, Shiro Sano, Takashi Nishina, Kaho Minami, Shinya Owada, Kunio Murai, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Shingo Katsurayama, Toshikazu Fukawa, Masahiko Tsugawa, Eisei Amamoto, Nobuo Kakuda, Takafumi Matsuo, Kazuko Kato Running Time: 105 min. Plot: Fifty years after the first attack in 1954, Godzilla returns to Japan to take revenge. Congregated with souls of countless Pacific War victims, Godzilla can be killed by no weapon except three dormant Sacred Beasts fighting together with humans... Can the monster be defeated and the world be saved from this great disaster? Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com Reviews NINGEN'S REVIEW: Shusuke Kaneko was hired to direct this Godzilla film, because his Gamera movies made more money than Toho's Godzilla films. He decides to pull a Tim Burton and "re-imagine" the franchise as a direct sequel to G '54. And then he decides to pull a Miyazaki by making it an indictment against contemporary Japan. You see, the Japanese have lost touch with their Shinto culture, and that's why they got gangs robbing people. (I guess they forgot about the Period of the Warring States.) So, Godzilla becomes vengeful again, instead of the usual tough guy who's in touch with his feminine side. What's Tokyo to do? Why, rip off Daimajin, and awaken statues of Mothra, Anguilas, and Monster Zero to defend the planet, of course! So they use the dragon balls to bring them back to life, Anguilas dies first, so Mothra and Monster Zero have to settle their differences to merge into Gogeta. Suffice to say, I consider this one of the more over-rated Godzilla films. It was trying to be scary, but the lengthy fight scene near the end takes away its edge and causes the film to wear out its welcome. Other than being the prettiest of the bunch, it has nothing new to offer to the series. To be fair though, if Toho had let Kaneko choose less popular monsters, as he envisioned, it's possible he could've done something more original with the film. Nonetheless, it should at least be commended for its dark, unflinching portrayal of a pop culture icon. NINGEN'S RATING: 7/10

GMK

"...it should at least be commended for its dark, unflinching portrayal of a pop culture icon."

- Ningen

GMK (2001)

AKA: Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Attack

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Producer: Hideyuki Honma

Cast: Chiharu Niyama, Ryudo Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi, Shiro Sano, Takashi Nishina, Kaho Minami, Shinya Owada, Kunio Murai, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Shingo Katsurayama, Toshikazu Fukawa, Masahiko Tsugawa, Eisei Amamoto, Nobuo Kakuda, Takafumi Matsuo, Kazuko Kato

Running Time: 105 min.

Plot: Fifty years after the first attack in 1954, Godzilla returns to Japan to take revenge. Congregated with souls of countless Pacific War victims, Godzilla can be killed by no weapon except three dormant Sacred Beasts fighting together with humans... Can the monster be defeated and the world be saved from this great disaster?

Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com

Reviews

NINGEN'S REVIEW: Shusuke Kaneko was hired to direct this Godzilla film, because his Gamera movies made more money than Toho's Godzilla films. He decides to pull a Tim Burton and "re-imagine" the franchise as a direct sequel to G '54. And then he decides to pull a Miyazaki by making it an indictment against contemporary Japan. You see, the Japanese have lost touch with their Shinto culture, and that's why they got gangs robbing people. (I guess they forgot about the Period of the Warring States.)

So, Godzilla becomes vengeful again, instead of the usual tough guy who's in touch with his feminine side. What's Tokyo to do? Why, rip off Daimajin, and awaken statues of Mothra, Anguilas, and Monster Zero to defend the planet, of course! So they use the dragon balls to bring them back to life, Anguilas dies first, so Mothra and Monster Zero have to settle their differences to merge into Gogeta. Suffice to say, I consider this one of the more over-rated Godzilla films. It was trying to be scary, but the lengthy fight scene near the end takes away its edge and causes the film to wear out its welcome. Other than being the prettiest of the bunch, it has nothing new to offer to the series. To be fair though, if Toho had let Kaneko choose less popular monsters, as he envisioned, it's possible he could've done something more original with the film. Nonetheless, it should at least be commended for its dark, unflinching portrayal of a pop culture icon.

NINGEN'S RATING: 7/10