Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidorâ: Daikaijû sôkôgeki (2001) Directed by Shûsuke Kaneko

It's not hard to like this movie. It's not only a very entertaining one but also a pretty tight one, when it comes down to its writing and characters.

It also definitely doesn't hurt the movie that is stars 3 of the best kaijus in it, all together; Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah. That alone is plenty of reason for me to like this movie but luckily there also is far more to the movie than just that.

The movie is actually quite different from all of the other Gojira sequels, in the sense that it's more like a classic monster movie, let's say in the vein of "King Kong". The kaijus in this movie are all being treated like genuine movie monsters, who cause panic and destruction and need to be stopped. The emphasis of the movie doesn't necessarily gets put on the kaiju fights of the movie, which is something that all other Gojira sequels love to do. It sort of in a way makes this a more credible and serious kaiju movie, that luckily at the same time also remains a very entertaining one to watch as well.

But credibility and seriousness are of course two very relative things within a Gojira movie. It still above all things remains a science-fiction and fantasy movie, in which there also is plenty of silliness but it's never pushing things too far and the movie never becomes a too ridicules one with anything, unlike most of the other Gojira sequels.

Normally the plot lines and characters within these type of movies often get in the way of the movie its entertainment and become some needless distractions for it. But since this movie basically at all times put the emphasis on its human characters, it never becomes a distraction. Gojira and the other kaijus really are secondary characters in this movie but in this case that actually is a good thing. By focusing more on the human characters, the characters and the story are provided with some more depth to it, with as a result that the movie as a whole also works out as a more engaging one. The characters in this movie are quite solid and fun to follow around, without taking anything away from its kaijus, who are all still as awesome as ever of course.

The movie has a good build up and flow to it, which all helps to make this movie a very pleasant one to watch. There besides is plenty of fun and action in it, that's all pretty good looking as well. It's still very obvious that this movie didn't had 10% of the budget of some big budget Hollywood blockbusters but it also does show that you should be perfectly capable of making a both spectacular and entertaining movie, with only the fraction of a budget of a big Hollywood production to spend. As long as you are creative, imaginative and your intentions are all right (to make a genuinely good and enjoyable movie, not to make millions of $ or ¥), then you are halfway there already. Guess that's also really one of the things I admire and enjoy about these Gojira movies; they are never the most impressive looking ones but they are always good and fun to watch regardless.

The 'millennium series' continues to impress and brings some more quality entertaining with this movie!

8/10

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