At the time I'm writing this the Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. / Godzilla: Final Wars Bluray collection is the only set with Godzilla films solely from the Millennium Series. (Godzilla vs. Megaguirus was shared with a Heisei film.)
That will change September 9thwhen Sony releases the rest of the Millennium films-- Of which I hope have slightly better presentations than this set. It's not that this collection is particularly bad; at this point it's par for Sony's course. At the very least this set includes some noteworthy upgrades.
Packaging:
Like the other Sony Bluray editions, this is delivered to fans with a standard, two-disc case. Both films get their own disc, of course, and the cover is reversible.
GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is an example of technical competence and franchise passion over directorial shortcomings. Masaaki Tezuka won't go down in history as a particularly great director, but he's successfully given fans an explosive conclusion to an entertaining two-part story. His reverence to Toho science fiction mythology isn't just a gimmick, it expands the film's epic scope. Granted the film plays like a remake of Mothra vs. Godzilla, with Kiryu replacing Mothra's egg as the MacGuffin, but at least it has a built-in humility that respects past adventures. It's a Godzilla film made for “hardcore” fans by a hardcore fan.
Picture/Credits:
There's some decent improvement over the shoddy DVD release. The odd, blue color timing issue from the Sony DVD is no longer prevalent. As Mothra flies in front of the sunset everything is lit orange instead of the saturated blue from the DVD.
While the grain is rather nice and consistent, the picture is fairly soft throughout. Bright / daylight scenes hurt the most. If it weren't for the color corrections this wouldn't be much of an upgrade from the DVD.
A hideous title overlay still plagues the opening credits. This is a crying shame since it's arguably one of the best graphic cards of the entire series. Ending credits are intact as they were on the DVD.
Sound:
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 really boosted the hell out of Tokyo S.O.S.'s sound. This might have been the best sound upgrade of Sony's entire Godzilla library if it weren't for Final Wars. More on that later.
The music really booms with this upgrade. Effects, bass and roars are as strong as ever on this disc. I was very impressed with the way everything sounded around myself.
Subtitles:
As far as I can tell the subtitles are the same as the DVD version: Dubtitles. I hope fans continue to look past the irritating subtitle “MG” or “MechaG” appearing whenever someone clearly says the word “Kiryu”. It seems that if a movie was already subtitled then Sony didn't bother to repair the script.
Extras:
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. retains the same supplements as the DVD. The Making of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is an outstanding look at how tokusatsu is shot. Although it's a low-fi, non-animorphic supplement it's still worth watching and re-watching. A single theatrical trailer also accompanies the disc. It's a little disappointing considering the trailer collections for other movies.
Menu:
Like the Godzilla vs. Megaguirus menu, it features the 2000 suit against a blue tinted city. It would've been nice if it at least matched the design from the Kiryu movies... That's asking Sony to go too far though.
Consensus:
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is a massively entertaining movie with considerable upgrades to picture and sound. Although the softness of the picture is an issue, the fixed color timing and fantastic sound boost is a wonderful adjustment. The extras aren't anything new, but it gets points for having more than the Heisei discs.
GODZILLA: FINAL WARS
Admittedly I enjoy the idiosyncratic absurdities of Godzilla: Final Wars. I also acknowledge it's one of the worst messes in the entire series. In an attempt to create a post-Godzilla, action epic, acclaimed director Ryuhei Kitamura made a borderline parody of the entire Toho science fiction universe. In a sense he takes the weakest aspects of the Godzilla series and turns them into hilariously fun sequences. On the other hand he apes Independence Day, Star Wars and The Matrix to a paragon of failure. Martial arts are favored over monster battles and characters are established solely for the final set piece. It's a bad, but knee-slapping fun Godzilla movie in the vein of Godzilla vs. Megalon. Some audiences less familiar with the material might enjoy it, but they won't look at Godzilla as anything more than a comedy.
Picture/Credits:
Final Wars is said to suffer some HD transfer problems due to the way it was shot. I can't speak precisely of the process, but the results are a crying shame. So far it boasts the weakest high definition transfer of the Millennium Godzilla Series.
The majority of the movie looks very flat and it doesn't help that Kitamura's shooting style is fairly soft to begin with. The extreme color tinting inherent to much of the film is hurt by soft definition as well. When blues and greens need to pop in large spaces (like the sky and barren landscapes) it simply looks muddled and washed out.
English credits were never an issue with Godzilla: Final Wars to begin with. There's no need to fix them or expect a title overlay.
Sound:
It had to shine somewhere. Mixed in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Godzilla Final Wars may be the pinnacle of audio upgrades for a Godzilla release. The mix is home theater ready and perhaps the only exhibition level aspect to any of the Sony Godzilla discs. I'm hearing parts of the battles and details in the music I had no clue were there. Great work here. If you have a solid sound system make use of it with this movie.
Subtitles:
Same as the Sony DVD. It's always been hard to tell if the movie includes dubtitles or not. A good third of it is in English and it's hard to screw up what few lines these characters have. Overall it seems accurate and all the in-jokes are intact. Why worry when you have Don Frye, right?
Extras:
B-Roll to Film is a “making of” featurette similar to Tokyo S.O.S.'s behind-the-scenes extra. It was also available on the DVD edition and, like the Tokyo S.O.S. featurette, is a standard definition, non-anamorphic piece. Worth looking into if you're a fan of the film.
Three teaser trailers and a theatrical trailer is also included. I wish the same treatment were given to Tokyo S.O.S.
Consensus:
Sometimes being an awful Godzilla movie pays off if it's funny as hell. It's just a shame it had to be his 50th Anniversary film. What's worse is the HD upgrade is barely any different from the DVD edition. Luckily the sound is outstanding. Extras are slightly different, but only worth it for completists. As we all know the Godzilla series endures.
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