Where most people might consider going to a bar or fancy restaurant and having drinks for their 21st birthday, I’ve elected to go see a movie I’ve been anticipating since 2014, through ups and downs and worries it might get cancelled. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is shaping up to be the movie I’ve been waiting for and more.

In the spirit of this, I have been saving a group of reviews for this month, specifically to celebrate the latest installment of Legendary’s “Monsterverse” and my 21st in one go. We’re not doing a single or double-feature, this is a triple-feature. Today, we’re going to be covering the entire Godzilla anime trilogy.

Now, most super-duper-hardcore Godzilla fans have probably already seen these three movies. I’ve watched them all in the past before I sat down to watch them for this review. As per usual, however, this is for the people on the fence, or in need of something to watch. Chances are, casual Netflix folks haven’t watched these movies, maybe haven’t even encountered them for more than a brief second. For these people, I’m going to evaluate each film’s individual merits, and then discuss how all three hold up as a single piece.

Part 1: Planet of the Monsters

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is a movie I was unsure of the first time I watched it. A common complaint with Godzilla (2014) is that there wasn’t enough Godzilla in the movie, and a case could be made that Planet of the Monsters has the same problem. While there isn’t a lot of giant monster action in the first two acts of this movie, the third act makes up for it in full, with a truly exciting final battle scene.

That final battle, and most of the on-earth scenes of the film, is beautiful. This movie has incredible set pieces that the artists should be praised for in droves. This is a praise that spans forward into the other two films.

While on the topic of visual appeal, I want to also mention that the art style of the people is drastically different than that of the monsters, which I think is both intentional and genius. The juxtaposition of the two gives the clear impression that these two things are not alike.

Planet of the Monsters also takes the core metaphor behind Godzilla as a character and develops it. Where Godzilla is typically a hard allusion to the horrors of nuclear power, Planet of the Monsters has themes and concepts that draw a line not only to Godzilla as a result of technological advancement, but what horrors rapid climate change can cause. With any adaptation or revival of classic characters such as this, it’s important to maintain the original themes, but develop them in meaningful ways, which this movie does easily.

Now, I’ve praised this movie a lot, but overall, it’s not as great as I may have made it seem so far. I found myself bored during most of the second act, because a lot of it is just characters asking each other what they should do. That, and the pacing is awkward and inconsistent.. Sometimes it’s good to have varied pace, but this movie has short bursts of speed followed by long, unnecessary periods of slowness.

Overall, the story of the movie is fine, not amazing, but not terrible. The pacing is what kills it, and makes this movie hard to watch a second or third time. It’s not that the movie’s bad, it’s just that it’s a difficult, grind to watch, even being only about 90 minutes long.

I think this movie is a good watch the first time you see it, but I wouldn’t recommend repeated viewings.

Rating: 5/10

Part 2: City on the Edge of Battle

City on the Edge of Battle is a mess. A beautiful, ridiculous type of mess, but still very much a mess. The things I praised the first movie for still apply for the most part, as do my criticisms, albeit much harder.

This movie also continues to develop on the climate change metaphor, bringing in climate change and nuclear power as factors in the rise of monsters on Earth.

What I will say is that you don’t necessarily have to have seen Planet of the Monsters to follow this movie. There are some things that aren’t fully recapped, but for the most part, you could skip Part 1 and go straight to Part 2.

That being said… I  don’t why you would. City on the Edge of Battle is easily the weakest movie in the trilogy, as its concepts rely heavily on stringing the first movie to the third. While they’re easy to follow without seeing Planet of the Monsters, you probably won’t get much out of them without watching The Planet Eater.

Rating: 4/10

Part 3: The Planet Eater

This movie is a gift. It far surpassed my expectations after seeing the first two movies. Everything great about Part 1 and 2 carries over to Part 3, but the pacing, writing, and concepts are so much better that it leaves me wondering why they weren’t doing this the whole time.

Godzilla: The Planet Eater is far from perfect, mind you. It has its dull moments, but overall is exciting because it’s fresh and different than any Godzilla movie that came before it. Granted, it has its moments of anime-weirdness, but overall was more entertaining than the other two movies combined.

Not only is the subject matter of The Planet Eater new and interesting, this movie features the most unique and interesting take on King Ghidorah ever seen. While it’s never going to be an iconic version of the character, I think ideas presented in this movie can go on to inspire more nuanced and fresh takes on the classic Godzilla enemy, and that’s exciting.

Now, you are going to struggle a bit more with this movie if you haven’t seen the other two. This is very much the climax of the story, and it shows in the storytelling. I still think that this movie is exciting enough to hold its own, but without any of the foundation of the previous films, it may be a bit more difficult.

Rating: 7/10

The Trilogy

These three movies absolutely stand out more as a trilogy than they do on their own. Each movie represents an act of the story, and I think, in another world, this could have been condensed into a single, albeit long, film.

Watching these back to back will provide the most payoff for the powerful conclusion in The Planet Eater, but watching Parts 1 and 2 over will absolutely be a grind to get to the finish. For someone truly in love with Godzilla, this grind may be worth it, but for people who are just here to watch movies, not so much.

I think these are worth one look as a whole, but you should definitely space out your viewings so the boring parts of the first two don’t bog you down. The best content is absolutely in Part 3.

Trilogy Rating: 6/10

Thank you for reading! If you want to be notified of when the next Netflix Dumpster Dive comes out, feel free to follow the site, and you can also follow me on Twitter. I published my new fantasy book in July of 2018, and it’d mean the world if you’d check it out, and if it’s not your cup of tea, share it with someone who might like it. Thanks again, and I hope to see you here next time.

-Vincent

© 2019 Vincent C. Russo. All Rights Reserved. This post is intended for review and constitutes fair use. These films and any images used belong to their respective owners.