Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

Godzilla: Tokyo SOS--not the best title for a Godzilla film, but certainly one of the best as a film, and most satisfying. If you have followed Godzilla movies for years, as I have, the various series and timelines can leave you yearning for some sense of continuity, particularly when the end of "Godzilla" was in sight (Toho announced they were ending all Godzilla movies). This movies acts as both a sequel to "Mechagodzilla" and as a sort of finale to the entire set of lifecycles of Godzilla, by bringing the 1954 Godzilla face to face (so to speak) with the 2003 Godzilla for a final meeting. The conclusion (which I won't give away) is both fitting in terms of the arc of the movies, and evolves naturally through the film. "Final Wars" may indeed be the last Godzilla flick--who can say for sure--but if it is, "Tokyo SOS" does a much better job of providing us with plenty of great action and a sense of resolution regarding the monsters' (or 's?) fate. "Final Wars" then appears as a kind of "Honourary roll of the credits," by revisiting many of the monsters that have appeared in Godzilla films over the past 50 years--not really the final installment (which Tokyo SOS is) of the Godzilla saga.

This is the film release before the final Final War movie.
Tokyo S.O.S has kept the feeling and the music that we are used
to when looking at a Godzilla movie.
The music is great and everthing else seems to have improved. Good work from Toho and one pleasant surprise as per the other reviews is: Hiroshi Koizumo, reprising his role from the original "Mothra."
Excellent....for the Godzilla fans....you will enjoy.

"Godzilla: Tokyo SOS" (released in Japan under the rather cumbersome moniker "Godzilla X Mothra X Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS") is one of the best of the recent Godzilla movies. For those of you who don't like all that pesky plot and character development getting in the way of monster carnage - this is your movie. A startlingly long amount of the running time is devoted to a three way melee between Godzilla, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla, and it's some of the best monster action Toho has ever filmed. What little human plot there is is made a bit more interesting than usual by the presence of Hiroshi Koizumo, reprising his role from the original "Mothra."
The DVD from Columbia doesn't look as good as it should considering that this is a 2003 movie. There are scenes, particularly near the beginning, of very heavy grain, and there are some truly grotesque moments of edge-enhancement. Purists will be happy to know that subtitled Japanese audio is available as well as the English track. Unlike most of Columbia's Godzilla DVDs, there is a rather substantial extra - a Toho-produced 20-minutes behind-the-scenes documentary about the special effects. It's pretty interesting, but definately not for casual fans. Also included are some random trailers, including the Japanese teaser for "Godzilla: Tokyo SOS."