Netflix And Chill: Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)

Here we are, at last. It is the third, and final, instalment of this animated Godzilla movie trilogy, and I wish I had known weeks ago that the first film would easily stand out as the best of the three. It’s done now though, all over, and I can do my part to convince everyone else to ignore what is a truly awful, and horribly dull, Godzilla story arc.

We once again follow on from the events of the preceding movie, but there’s a new addition to the threat in the form of something that is powerful and monstrous, but doesn’t necessarily conform to the laws of our universe. It’s the kind of danger that might be best dealt with by a giant beastie like Godzilla.

I have to admit it, I almost threw my toys out of the pram after watching this. I wasn't going to review it, I was mad, and it even soured me on the idea of spending more time in 2024 exploring more Godzilla and kaiju movies. That's how bad it was, both as an individual instalment and as an end to the trilogy.

Hiroyuki Seshita and Kôbun Shizuno once again direct, and it's Gen Urobuchi still responsible for the screenplay, and I can only assume that they had such strong belief in their concept that they convinced everyone else to go along with it. I have rarely actually mentioned the animation in any reviews of the previous films in this trilogy, maybe even forgetting to comment on it at all, but I just don't have the heart to be critical of people who were already so badly let down by such a weak screenplay and flawed premise. There's plenty of potential here, and the animators do a decent job of presenting something that is stylised, impactful when it can be, and fittingly spectacular when Godzilla gets to do Godzilla things.

Mamuro Miyano leads the voice cast again, playing Haruo, and others also return to their roles, but there's no point in once again namechecking them. The main thing to consider is that this is a Godzilla movie that drops the ball when it comes to the most important part, actually handling Godzilla. There ARE moments here that are better than anything in the previous film, but it's a case of too little too late as everything leads toward a hugely disappointing conclusion. It all ends with a whimper, rather than a band, and no Godzilla movie should end that way.

Some people started to warn me away from this trilogy when I started it. I wish now that I had listened to them all, but my completist mindset wouldn't allow it anyway (of course). These movies aren't even decent little time-wasters, especially now that we have a wealth of other Godzilla material to choose from, in the past few years alone. Avoid at all costs.

3/10

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Netflix And Chill: Godzilla: City On The Edge Of Battle (2018)

Oh dear. The fact that this is the second in a trilogy that has already gone from bad to worse does not bode well, but I'll inevitably be scheduling the third instalment to be watched next week. The completist in me wouldn't have things any other way, but my expectations are now about as low as it's possible for them to be.

It's all of the same people behind the scenes (co-directors Hiroyuki Seshita and Kôbun Shizuno, and writers Gen Urobuchi, Sadayuki Murai, and Tetsuya Yamada) for this continuation of the story that began in Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters. A battered and bruised Haruo (Mamoru Miyano) still wants to take down the mighty Godzilla, although that might be more difficult now that the real size and power of the legendary kaiju is now known, and he has some more people alongside him to apparently help him in that endeavour. One or two may have strange ideas about precisely how to do that though, especially when they discover a location full of nanometal that was clearly the birthplace of Mechagodzilla, and is therefore named Mechagodzilla City.

Although it looks nice enough throughout, that's all that Godzilla: City On The Edge Of Battle has going for it. The plotting feels weak, especially with the relatively small amount of screentime given to Big G, there's nothing/nobody to invest in (considering what happened to so many characters in the last movie, and considering how individuals are simply defined by their need to fight Godzilla), and there's something particularly depressing about the middle feature of a trilogy that doesn't seem interested in actually progressing things further.

I want to be kind to Miyano, as well as Takahiro Sakurai, Kana Hanazawa, Jun'ichi Suwabe, Reina Ueda, and Ari Ozawa, to namecheck a number of the key players, but there's nothing that feels exceptionally praiseworthy. They're all perfectly fine, considering what they have to work with, but nobody stands out, not even the apparent hero of the whole thing. This is all down to the writing, and the fact that the concept of this animated trilogy mishandles Godzilla, but the cast members subsequently suffer because of the decisions made elsewhere.

I am sure I remember some people enjoying this trilogy when it was first release. I definitely recall people mentioning that things improved after the first instalment. Now I have seen numerous people advising me against wasting my time with this (it's too late now!), but there are still some who claim that it's a treat for Godzilla fans. I assume that those people were maybe desperate for anything that reassured them that their favourite kaiju wouldn't be trapped in the bombastic and wildly-varying American projects built around it. We now know that different Godzilla projects can be delivered concurrently, and I would say that the past few years have handed us quite the full platter to pick and choose from. So there's no need to remember that this exists.

Once I have watched the next, and final, instalment, I'll be doing my best to wipe them completely from my memory. Unless that somehow does enough to make the whole trilogy feel worthwhile.

3/10

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Netflix And Chill: Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters (2017)

It is the future. A rampaging Godzilla has pretty much destroyed Earth, making the planet so hostile and uninhabitable that the only hope for humanity is to find another planet to colonize. Captain Haruo Sakaki (voiced by Mamoru Miyano) doesn't think that will happen though, and he's unhappy with the plan to send the elderly ahead as scouts on the planet that has been picked as their potential new home. Convincing people that Godzilla does actually have weak points, a plan to return home and kill the beast is hatched. If it is still alive by the time that they return. Godzilla IS still alive, as are many other creatures that now thrive in the radically altered ecosystem of Earth.

Co-directed by Hiroyuki Seshita and Kôbun Shizuno, and written by Gen Urobuchi, this is a strange feature for many Godzilla fans. On the one hand, it's always good to see the big monster used in ways that keep it in the public consciousness. On the other hand, it's a bit odd to suddenly be served up some animated Godzilla that isn't a return to the late '70s cartoon that had such a great theme tune, and the cuteness of Godzooky. Setting up an animated trilogy, and I'll be getting to those next two instalments in due course, Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters feels like something that should have been a short prequel to the main adventure. Unfortunately, it has been stretched out to 88 minutes.

The voice cast are all perfectly fine, but they're portraying characters who aren't all that interesting. Nobody stands out here, aside from Sakaki, which makes the work feel much harder to appreciate. Still, it's worth mentioning Takahiro Sakurai, Kana Hanazawa, Tomokazu Sugita, and Yûki Kaji, alongside Miyano. Of course, many (most? all?) Godzilla films take more care with the monsters than with the human characters, so having a cast of people we don't ever really care about isn't exactly a reinvention of the formula. It's just a shame that the rest of the film doesn't deliver enough spectacle to make up for the weak characters.

It's all just a bit lacking in actual kaiju action, and the plotting doesn't let the one or two main points make the impact that they should. The animation is mostly nice and smooth though, and the third act is more enjoyable when we finally see some proper action. I am hoping the next instalment is better though. This sits quite near the bottom of the rankings when compared to all other Godzilla movies, but I might feel a bit different about it if everything has been put in place for an epic story that needs three features to do it justice.

4/10

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