I wish I could enjoy this movie in its entirety, but alas, that's only the last 30 minutes of it. For all it's elaborate setup, it's still a simple, cheesy kaiju movie. Have the monster appear out of nowhere, cause carnage and destruction, work out a solution, proceed to the cheesy action. It's a shame such a simple sequence of events had to be made convoluted mostly because the screenplay had to fill the alloted 1:30h hour mark for a full on movie to be released in theaters.
The story is the worst part of it. Gen Urobuchi could never make exposition dumps natural or compelling
...
in any way. So the 1st whole hour is just a grueling trudge through pointless politicking and technobabble all alluding to the final fight and the character of our MC. It is blatant, obvious and patronizing, on top of being needlessly convoluted. Godzilla attacks! Gasp! Let's have 2 alien races come and not-save-us-by-making-mecha-godzilla, cuz we need to throw that reference in, all to have us start in the setting of spaaaace! What the fuck does space have to do with my kaiju apocalypse?! The movie agrees and has us go back to Earth... 1000 years post-Godzilla cuz spacetime continuum. Except it's 10 000 years once we see the Earth, except it's 20 000 years after we examine the carbon contents of the plants. So all this setup was to just get us into a jungled up foggy ass Earth to face Godzilla, and dinosaurs while we're at it! All the talk about living in a ship, wandering through space, that's just to fill time, we're on Earth, so everything's fine right? It's not like you'll be facing those same issues when plant leaves are harder than your pocket knife and shatters it on impact. There's no point to it all, it doesn't ground itself for the super serious tone it goes for, and doesn't really explore the despair it mentions.
Characters, as usual, make the story in anime. Except when they don't, when we have a rebellious MC that starts out with a suicide bomber threat because he cares for his grandpa, only to obsess over Godzilla's murder for the rest of the runtime. Very consistent, deep character writing indeed. Metphies, the "alien" companion gets a special mention as being the plot device that enables the MC to be batshit crazy without consequences and be reprimanded again, on top of blatantly stating in metaphor what's about to happen, the worst kind of foreshadowing, when you're too lazy to allude it and just outright state it. He also doubles as a mouthpiece preaching not-Christianity like a crazed priest, who worships *drumroll* God(zilla) - The King of Monsters!
The rest of the cast are your usual military hardasses and politicking council members who don't do jackshit, but get to expodump it anyway. The rival that screws the MC, gets it wrong and redeems himself. Add a stock waifu, and bam, a whole cast of colorful characters which you will instantly forget once you're done watching!
Polygon Pictures have been infamous for their shoddy CG Netflix shows, but this time, they actually improved their model rigging and it doesn't feel like animations are played in 15 FPS. Movement is just smooth enough to feel natural from the characters. The grimy aesthetic isn't bad when it works, but those are rare few moments. The shadows are too heavy, too high on contrast, the metalic scratches don't seem natural at all, the background art which they use seems unpolished and blurry in order for the CG to fit in easier. And despite all that the directing is competent enough to make use of 3DCG action framing that makes things feel tense and exciting. A shame that even the director's professional work couldn't make up for Urobuchi's amateur approach to exposition and setup. And something important for Kaiju fans- Godzilla is but ugly and the crew knew it, the shots were skewing away from the rough model, deliberately avoiding to show it off. It's very disappointing to see how the studio is taking 1 step forward, yet 2 steps back into the pit of "CG trash".
Sound design just doesn't really match what you'd imagine is bullets hitting metal-like objects. There's no real satisfying crunch to the explosions, just a loud noise. Again it falls down to the serious presentation of the show falling flat on its face, As all the the inappropriate OST used for key battle scenes, it really takes you out of the experience, trying to piece together what it's conveying with techno chip music when it's been using ambiance and orchestra for the most part. Shows that live off spectacle alone can get away with shoddy SFX if they get it right, and even when it does, it's immediately undermined by another sound effect that just doesn't seem to fit or make sense, because the audio director also didn't have a good idea of what the scenario was supposed to be.
The only enjoyment I got from the movie is the Godzilla fight obviously. It's so cheesy, and very much feels like a video game boss raid. Controlling the movements, the timings, positioning, distracting aka aggro control, now THAT is some fun stuff to any gamer to observe. Virtual tactics applied in a movie. On top of the visual spectacle, the movie redeemed itself on that front, as an in-the-moment thrilling joyride. Only to end on a cliffhanger with a cynical message that holds no water or meaning due to the empty setup up to the Godzilla encounter.
So yes, this is a pretty awful movie when you watch it with any modicum of standards, be it for narrative or visuals. It doesn't even work as a cheesy action flick due to the grueling 1 hour exposition setup before the actual Godzilla scene. It was torturous to watch, and I didn't even get a proper reward for getting to the end, I only got another preaching lecture to hype up the next movie, as this is now a trilogy... yay...
Alternative Titles
Japanese: GODZILLA -怪獣惑星-
More titlesInformation
Type:
Movie
Episodes:
1
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Nov 17, 2017
Licensors:
None found, add some
Studios:
Polygon Pictures
Source:
Original
Duration:
1 hr. 27 min.
Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Statistics
Ranked:
#77462
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#2766
Members:
63,131
Favorites:
70
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 33 / 33
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Your Feelings Categories Jan 18, 2018
I wish I could enjoy this movie in its entirety, but alas, that's only the last 30 minutes of it. For all it's elaborate setup, it's still a simple, cheesy kaiju movie. Have the monster appear out of nowhere, cause carnage and destruction, work out a solution, proceed to the cheesy action. It's a shame such a simple sequence of events had to be made convoluted mostly because the screenplay had to fill the alloted 1:30h hour mark for a full on movie to be released in theaters.
The story is the worst part of it. Gen Urobuchi could never make exposition dumps natural or compelling ... Jan 23, 2018
Godzilla has had it rough since his reawakening. With the boringly slow pace of the Legendary Godzilla, to the blazing fast pace with no real motivation that was Shin Godzilla, none of the recent Godzilla movies have really been all that good lately.
Will this Movie make the difference and usher in a new age of excitement and kaiju goodness for Godzilla and all his fans? No… no it won’t. To be honest… the trailer was enough to make me want to avoid this movie. The CG looked god awful, and I wasn’t entirely impressed with the premise… I don’t even really understand what motivated me to ... Jan 19, 2018
After watching this movie, I feel while it was just bad and was compiled to writing a review for it. It held potential to be a lot better. For everything that happens, I didn't feel like I was rewarded or really that surprised, even with the ending events. Although it does open it up nicely for part 2 and 3 in the future. This movie is a glimpse at what the whole series could have been but never quite gets there.
Note - This review will be spoiler-free so I won't go too deeply into it As for the story, it was one of the movie's biggest ... Jan 17, 2018
Overall, this movie was great, though it could have went deeper into the backstory of the main character, other than "i hate all the titans, i will kill them" type of attitude.
My enjoyment of the film was pretty fulfilled, i waited and received what i expected, nothing too fabulous, but at the same time it wasn`t unsatisfying to watch. so as i would say, this movie gets a clean 7.5, though out if 10, even though i marked it a seven Art: the few Godzilla scenes there blew me way, though it was mainly because of the feeling of size coming off of him ... Jan 27, 2018
Warning possible Spoilers
Now I'm a pretty big fan for the Godzilla franchise, so I was wondering how an anime version would do, turns out not very good, in fact it was horrible could even dare say it was worse than the American Godzilla movie from the 90's. Story (3/10) The story is basically, Godzilla and a bunch of monsters ravage Earth and Humanity flees in a ship. After being adrift in space for what they think is 1000 years they finally go back to Earth and try to kill Godzilla. Yep it's a very simple, run of the mill story that has absolutely nothing interesting going for it, ... Aug 6, 2018
Godzilla Kaijuu Wakusei is a 3d anime film that aired last year with a screenplay by Urobuchi Gen, yes the writer of Madoka & Psycho Pass. Polygon Pictures led the way for this one. Yes, the studio behind Ajin. So, I'm pretty hopeful. I haven't reviewed anything bad from Urobuchi. Plus, Godzilla is just easy to write for. So, let's see how this goes.
Story: We open with a space ship. Aboard, we find a young man, Sakaki, threatening to blow a shuttle craft to smithereens because he doesn't want the higher ups to send a bunch of elderly volunteers down to a harsh planet and, most likely, ... Jan 21, 2018
polygon have done very well to set up a flop like this, with their last 3 ventures into 3D animation all having been quite exceptional, with this I had high hopes but a good theatrical kick in my supportive nads has been dealt..
story (hurts self in confusion/10) i honestly don't know where to begin with this, building off the confusion in blame polygon have once again dropped you in the middle of a situation with no data and expect you to get whats going on, the pacing is iffy and there are actually moments when the exposition will talk about something irrelevant to the plot during ... Jan 26, 2018
A Godzilla movie that doesn't know how to be a Godzilla movie.
This film has a lot in common with Polygon Pictures' last film, the disappointing Blame! adaptation. A whole lot of world building and exposition, some brief, sporadic action scenes involving nameless characters dying in bloodless battles, and then a big, pretty boss fight at the end filled with heroism, explosions and the word "BASTARD!" being yelled a lot. Unfortunately, Godzilla doesn't really work as an action film the way Blame! (kinda, sorta, not really) does. The best Godzilla films are not action films, they're disaster films. It's fun to watch cities (usually Tokyo, which must ... Jan 26, 2018
I'll keep this simple + no spoilers:
It had a lot of promise but everything was cramped. It should have been extended into a 12 ep series, going deeper into characters, motivations and decisions. My score is as generous as i can bring myself to be. I feel that most people will at leave having felt that this was rushed and should have been expanded. Wasted potential and opportunity. Worst point i'd say is character development. There is very little in the means of complexity. Many characters are relatable, decisions are understandable and emotions are sympathisable...to a point. It is a very shallow point and, as is ... Jul 29, 2018
I'd say this is more impressive than anything. They managed to make a film about Godzilla into a snore fest. Prepare for massive spoilers if your a massive Masochist and are gonna watch this despite the warnings.
~Spoilers~ This was my first time watching a Godzilla film made by Japanese. So it might be me and my overly high expectations but I was expecting something decent. It was so much worse and I actually enjoy that shitty '98 film Godzilla more than this. At least with '98 Godzilla, there wasn't just an unending feeling of boredom. I am able to sit down and watch that film while ... Feb 13, 2018
This is my first review for anything really so im not exactly and expert. This review is also spoiler free.
I just watched the Godzilla Movie part 1 on Netflix and it is actually really good in my opionon, i didnt want to at first since it had a MAL rating of below 7 and the reviews werent exactly the nicest. However, the movie was really enjoyable and although they did use CGI the art looked great, the story took a while to get started because they seem to have decided that half the movie should be setting it up so it makes sense, which dont ... Jan 24, 2018
***SPOILER FREE***
Blurb: Long live the King. Let me point out that if you're not someone who enjoys monster/kaiju movies, then you'll probably end up giving this film a 6-7 mainly because of the animation. However for other Kaiju fans, this film promises to be the start of something definitive when it comes to the MonsterVerse. The film shines with it's crisp animation and voice-acting. I highly recommend watching the Subtitled version with Japanese audio, as the English audio has more than a few issues with both translation, and syncing with lip-movements. When it comes to the story, one does get a sense that too much as ... Jan 17, 2018
Amazing movie. I love Godzilla movies and I love Sci-fi and mecha.
Overall: 8 This is great in terms of a movie but since it is a movie things will be rushed. I feel that this would've been better split into episodes. But everything felt really rushed. The story progressed way too fast to be really enjoyable. If this were made episodically then I'm sure the rushed feeling wouldn't be there but would throw something off. If it were made into a series of movies like the Break Blade series then there would be enough time for everything without the feeling of being rushed. Story: 7 I believe there ... Jan 25, 2018
This is my first review, english isn't my native language so i am sorry about grammar.
i myself really liked this movie and i am waiting sequel. story:7 i put seven, bc they could have tell more about backstory about characters. and story is ittle too rushed. art:8 it's normal 3D animation, like for example ajin, the art is similar. ... Jan 28, 2018
REVIEW WITH NO SPOILERS
This is the first movie from a new Godzilla series. The story is really typical... the monsters came from nowhere and now the humanity is basically extinted. There are some new elements in the premise... but nothing really innovating. The animation has some pretty scenarios (really beautiful)... but the character's design is ugly... not THAT ugly like in Ajin, but bothers a little. There is no great character here, but there are some great moments in the story (the last 30 minutes). If you are looking for a cliché kaijuu apocalypctical story with some good scenarios... here it is!! Feb 6, 2018
So... this movie happened. And, as I had anticipated, I did not enjoy it. It's unfortunate because I love the Godzilla franchise, honestly. Even the goofy movies where he's doing wrestling moves.
Story: 3/10 So, the story is that a bunch of Kaiju popped up on Earth one day, forcing humanity to go into space to seek another planet. Eventually, the last of humanity decides to just return to Earth, believing that Godzilla and Co. would probably be dead by now (like a few thousand Earth years had passed by the time they decided to go back. All in all, it's not a very good story (which ... Feb 3, 2018
Godzilla: Kaijuu Wakusei or Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is the 32nd film of the entire Godzilla franchise produced and distributed by a well-known company, Toho Company Ltd. notable for the distribution of Pokemon movies, Kimi no Nawa/Your Name and some Hollywood movies like Kong: Skull Island. Polygon Pictures (a CGI anime studio that brings you Knights of Sidonia) provides the movie's animation and IMO is the second movie after Blame! and is a part of Polygon Pictures Anime Universe. (Ahem) Let's get to the review, shall we?
Voice Acting: In terms of voice acting, They brought all-star cast members and their voice acting skills are good. ... Jul 9, 2019
Godzilla: Planet Eater was a bat shit insane idea that should have never worked but for some dumbass reason( God cooked up while high) it worked. Do keep in mind that it was all done in CG.
Plot: It actually pretty good even though it sounds like something a japanese Micheal Bay wrote.The plot however in the beginning part seems very unnesscarily complicated. There is also a romance thing that really sucks as the two individuals apart of it have little chemistry and I feel little to none spark with them as it is a one-sided relationship. Characters: The characters motivations really make sense but the extras ... Sep 7, 2018
I only bothered to watch this because Kana Hanazawa is in it.
Basically, Godzilla is a story recycled decades ago when Japan went mad with Tokusatsu-esque shows; this is one of them, alongside those other monster-movies (that space-turtle parodied in Yakitate!Japan actually is one of them), and anti-monster children-shows like Ultraman, for example. Then in the 90s, US of A's take went something so Hollywood-ish about a radioactive lizard, and how the US Army and every American arsenal can defeat it. This, then, is just the true story of Godzilla rehashed into a modern Netflix-y thing: a monster that cannot be defeated (despite again, one of the ... Jun 16, 2021
Having watched pretty much every Godzilla movie there is, I must say that overall I prefer the human-centric ones. Shin and G2014 are probably my favorites, with the 1954 original being in a league of its own. So believe me when I say that on paper, this movie looked incredible to me. A human-centric Godzilla movie in an anime art-style with new interesting lore to go with it? Sign me up!
But no, it's pretty terrible. Let's break it down into a few bullet points because I don't even feel like writing a structured review: -Characters are so painfully generic that you might as well copy ... |