Of course, it helps that Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was my first Godzilla film out of the series, and I first saw it with my mother when I was four years old.
I love this film, and everything about it. The music is great, the tone is perfect, even the untranslated Japanese is great, leaving you with an actual sense of diversity, instead of everyone speaking English.
Now, that isn't to say it's without its flaws. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! cut out a LOT of character development that Gojira had for Ogata, Dr. Serizawa, and Emiko. The film largely glosses over Serizawa's anguish over whether to use his Oxygen Destroyer or not, and makes it appear as if he changes his mind rather quickly. Ogata's English voice is also noticeable, especially at the end when he's frantically calling for Serizawa, and then suddenly says "pull the line up" with a completely different tone, and even in a different pitch.
The film also cuts out some scenes that would have been better left in, and some extra dialog that actually explains things, such as Dr. Yamane telling the military not to flash bright lights at Godzilla, as it only angers him. This is evidenced when Godzilla notices the flashing lights of cameras and goes straight for the people on Tokyo Tower.
Despite these flaws, the film more than holds up as a worthy western release of a foreign film and stays largely true to its original counterpart.
Favorite Godzilla film by far
Of course, it helps that Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was my first Godzilla film out of the series, and I first saw it with my mother when I was four years old.
I love this film, and everything about it. The music is great, the tone is perfect, even the untranslated Japanese is great, leaving you with an actual sense of diversity, instead of everyone speaking English.
Now, that isn't to say it's without its flaws. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! cut out a LOT of character development that Gojira had for Ogata, Dr. Serizawa, and Emiko. The film largely glosses over Serizawa's anguish over whether to use his Oxygen Destroyer or not, and makes it appear as if he changes his mind rather quickly. Ogata's English voice is also noticeable, especially at the end when he's frantically calling for Serizawa, and then suddenly says "pull the line up" with a completely different tone, and even in a different pitch.
The film also cuts out some scenes that would have been better left in, and some extra dialog that actually explains things, such as Dr. Yamane telling the military not to flash bright lights at Godzilla, as it only angers him. This is evidenced when Godzilla notices the flashing lights of cameras and goes straight for the people on Tokyo Tower.
Despite these flaws, the film more than holds up as a worthy western release of a foreign film and stays largely true to its original counterpart.