Welcome to "Godzilla: Final Wars." Now this is what a Japanese kaiju-eiga film should be. The plot is utterly ridiculous (taking its cues from literally hundreds of martial arts movies, 1999's "The Matrix," past G-films, and even the maligned American version of Godzilla) and rolls it all into one big monster bash. It's a party where everybody is invited, even those here in America can be in on the fun.

2004 marked the Big Guy's 50th anniversary and this film was released to commemorate it. "Godzilla: Final Wars" isn't a call for the end of Godzilla, but is a cause for celebration. Many monsters who haven't been seen in over 30 years make their cameos here, and they all get dealt with appropriately by the Big Green Guy. This latest and presumably last entry for a decade or so, is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (whose work on 2000's "Versus" has not gone completely unnoticed here in the United States), which explains the frenzied kung-fu fighting and all-out monster mayhem. But is it worth it? The answer: yes

This time out, aliens (in a plot that more than resembles 1965's "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero") have come to our planet promising us a stay from an impending apocalypse. We unwisely accept their offer without a whole lot of contemplation but a few individuals due a little investigating and uncover a secret plot to destroy the world. Led by the unnamed and hyperactive adolescent Controller of Planet X (Kazuki Kitamura), they manage to fool us good.

These aliens, known as the Xilians, have secretly captured all of earth's mightiest and most destructive monsters and are using them to decimate the world's major cities. The M Organization, a team of hi-tech mutant humans, is put on the case along with an American captain named Gordon (Don Frye) and an elite M soldier named Ozaki (Masahiro Matsuoka). Realizing they haven't got long before the monsters have won, they conclude they have only one option: free Godzilla from his icy South Pole prison (a spectacular opening sequence highlights this feat) and he will singlehandedly deal with the monsters and the Xilians.

I've been watching Godzilla since I was old enough to collect memorabilia and stage spectacular, imaginary scenes of Japan's (or some other choice city's) destruction. I have also been highly critical of the third generation of "Godzilla" movies, being that the special effects quality has been lacking and the appearance of many unappealing new foes (Megaguirus, anyone?). Here, the filmmakers have made the brilliant choice of going back and searching the annals of Godzilla's history and raiding the baddies from there. I am a little unnerved, however, to see Godzilla battling some of his old allies, but I dismiss this criticism with a wave of the hand - different generation, different monsters, different cause.

Each new monster is given a wicked-cool image makeover (the upgraded cyber-monster Gigan is especially more terrifying) and one may not need to be a buff to know who each monster is. Frenzied martial arts action scenes and monster destruction thrusts the film along at a rapid pace but pick up significantly in the second half (sadly, though, the Big Guy doesn't make his big appearance for at least a good hour), and you've got to sit through plot and minor monsters leveling major cities. (In one hard-to-grasp sequence, M team members manage to take on Ebirah using only rockets and lasers.)

Acting is okay (an achievement in itself for this kind of movie) and dubbing is not a problem anymore since the DVD I watched came with optional English and Japanese audio tracks; Japanese does suffice. The dialogue is somewhat cheesy but I didn't care, I actually respected some of the human characters, particularly the stoic Captain Gordon (another amazing feat for this presumed last entry).

Lastly, the monsters don't disappoint. I can spot them: the Kamacuras (giant praying mantis), the Kumonga (giant spider), King Caesar, Anguirus, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Hedorah, Minilla, Manda, and even the American Godzilla (named "Zilla") has a brief showdown with Godzilla and is dealt with properly.

"Godzilla: Final Wars" is a proper way for the Big Guy to retire. It's a monster mash, all right, and I wasn't disappointed one bit. For this fond G-fan, "Final Wars" is Godzilla seen as he's meant to be, in a monster mash. I'm hesitant about recommending most "Godzilla" movies to those that don't understand Godzilla or Japanese monster movies as a whole; I don't blame them. However, this is in a category of its own. It may be a movie for anyone with an open mind about them, even if they know nothing about Godzilla. For those with an already dense interest in Godzilla, it's the monster bash they've been waiting for.

10/10

The 2004 movie "Gojira: Fainaru uôzu" (aka "Godzilla: Final Wars") wasn't actually all that bad, and it was definitely in the ranks of one of the better movies in the franchise for some time.

"Godzilla: Final Wars" was actually good entertainment from start to end. At least for the most parts. Certainly, there were some less than mediocre things to the movie, so it wasn't all gold and happy days.

There was a good amount of Kaijus in the movie, most of which were familiar monsters, and even some with some upgrades. So that was nice and had a good feel of familiarity to it.

However, there was just a bit too much going on throughout the course of the movie. Some parts were just a bit too silly for me, and that was working against the movie in my opinion. It felt like director Ryûhei Kitamura was trying to accomplish a little bit too much in terms of what was actually delivered in the movie. And also felt like they wanted to experiment a bit too much in terms of how they could push the boundaries of the "Godzilla" franchise.

The aspect with the Earth Defense Force was just a little bit too comical for me. Especially since they were essentially just people - well mutants, actually - wearing snazzy black outfits and carrying heavy firepower. But for a task force created to take up the fight against Kaijus they seemed horribly underequipped and understaffed.

"Godzilla: Final Wars" was definitely entertaining, but it wasn't the best of the movie in the franchise.

I'm new to the Godzilla series, and I thought this was epicly awesome! It takes an hour to bring Godzilla in the movie, but the pay-off is definitely worth it! There's aliens, action, fighting, shooting, martial arts, monsters and the King of Monsters himself; Godzilla! It's an absolute blast. An organization called the Earth Defense Force (EDF) is created to protect the planet. They freeze Godzilla, but must soon deal with an alien invasion. The aliens control Anguirus, Rodan, King Caesar, Kamacuras, Monster X and many more. Earth's final chance of survival is Godzilla. If you love monsters and mind-numbing action, you'll love GODZILLA: FINAL WARS!!!