FIGHTS: Review - 'Godzilla' (2014) brings traditional kaiju fun to the modern era

TRADITIONAL TOHO-INSPIRED THROUGH-LINE WITH QUALITY CGI HIGHLIGHTS OF NEW FILM
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

Godzilla (2014) was a great ride that hearkened back to the Toho film days set in modern times.  Sure there were plenty of dumb/weird plot points in the movie.  But I didn't show up to see 'Godzilla' to see Academy Award-calibre story and performances.  I came to see Monster-on-Monster Fights to the Death!

I really don't have to tell you the plot.  It's really this simple:  Bad monsters show up and start wrecking shop, Godzilla shows up and fucks them up.

Okay, the human element adds a little more complication to that.  But that's really it.  Here are some notes from the flick.  Also, lots of spoilers.  Sorry.

I WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE BRYAN CRANSTON

The previews to this flick promised lots of Bryan Cranston.  Boy, was I surprised when they offed him early in the flick.  I'll be honest with you, I kind of felt hosed.  The guy put his acting chops on display with his kooky character, and it was great.  But, alas, we lost him early.

THE CONSPIRACY EDGE

As a noted and open conspiracy kook, I was so happy they played up this angle.  If they're going to modernize the story, then having one of the main characters be a part of this global subculture was a cool choice.  Because, let's face it, they don't tell us the truth about ANYTHING.

NODS TO MOTHRA

There were some nods to the classic Godzilla kaiju-friend Mothra in the flick, including a screen in the young (kids) classroom, and a weird 'MOTH RA' lettering on an old fishtank in their old house.

RODAN HAD TO BE AN INFLUENCE ON THE FLICK

I'm not sure how the MUTO's were developed, but I stand by the theory that they stole concepts from the story of Rodan, another one of Godzilla's classic kaiju battle buddies.  You don't think so?  Check out this previous speculative blog HERE.

BUILD UP TO THE MONSTER

Like the old Toho titles, a majority of the movie is the buildup to the monsters.  You get a lot of story, the human element, and teases of the monster.  There's even a mid-film fight scene in Hawaii that's pretty cool.

KAIJU SUPERFIGHT

Check it out.  Like in the original Rodan, two monster mates are trying to make more MUTOs.  They communicate with each other.  But that communication is also intercepted and interpreted by Godzilla, who, apparently, lives underwater.  A crazy element of the movie is that Godzilla is some sort of prehistoric balancer of nature who lives to fight it out with big monsters to keep the earthly peace.  He finds them both and they throw down in San Francisco, just trashing the city.  It's a great CGI/non-costume battle that finishes with Godzilla vomiting electric fire into the mouth of Mama Muto for the big finish.

AND SPEAKING OF THE BIG FINISH

I had to cheer at the ending, because that's exactly how a Godzilla movie has to end.

Godzilla had been knackered after the fight and passed out in downtown San Francisco.  But later that morning, he woke up, got back up, and drifted back out to sea.  I immediately knew that was it, that was the end of the movie, because every Godzilla movie ends that way.  Godzilla shows up, kicks ass, then goes home.  Loved it.

Was it a perfect movie?  No.  I have to admit, there were some ridiculous aspects to the story that I chuckled at.  But I let it slide because I came for the hoss fight, and I got what I wanted from it.

Look, if you haven't seen the movie yet, go check it out.  It's a good time.

And if you liked the blog, support the blogger by getting a book for yourself at ZBFbooks.com.

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Remember the #Godzilla -style tribute by the Beastie Boys

SWEET LATE '90s JAM PAID HOMAGE TO GODZILLA STYLE IN MUSIC VIDEO
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

Hey, so you 'member when the Beastie Boys paid tribute to Godzilla in their 'Intergalactic' video?

Directed by Nathaniel Hornblower (MCA), it's one of the many ways the Beastie Boys had fun with their music, and will always be one of my favorite music videos.  In it, a breakdancing jaeger-themed robot, piloted by a trio of scientists, is flying from space to earth to combat a Lovecraftian kaiju.  They throw down in a wacky Toho-style model fight.

Word on the street was the two dudes in the costumes were getting mad at each other during filming and actually fought.

Check it out.

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Retrospective - #Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994)

No one in the states saw it.  At least not in theatres.  But Godzilla was mixing it up with monsters deep into the 90s.  Here's a great one, 'Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla', a title that features a precursor to the jaegers seen in 'Pacific Rim'.  While not anywhere close to Godzilla's other friend, Jet Jaguar, this jaeger can still hold its own against intergalactic beasts.

PLOT

Godzilla cells brought into space by Biollante and Mothra are exposed to intense radiation from a black hole. The celestial fission creates a highly aggressive extraterrestrial beast closely resembling Godzilla. This "SpaceGodzilla" quickly makes its way to Earth.

Meanwhile, a group of soldiers and scientists are setting up at Birth Island to try Project T against Godzilla, who has taken up residence on the isle. The plan is to plant a device on Godzilla which will allow the Japan Self Defense Forces to control the mutant dinosaur telepathically. With help from psychic Miki Saegusa, the project is put into action, but it ultimately fails. Afterward, the Cosmos, Mothra's twin priestesses, appear to Miki and warn her of SpaceGodzilla's arrival. With Mothra gone to space, the world will have to rely on Godzilla to stop the invader. SpaceGodzilla gets closer and closer to Earth, destroying a NASA space station along the way, Moguera, a giant penguin-like robot built by the JSDF to replace the Mechagodzilla, is sent in to intercept SpaceGodzilla, but the alien uses a number of psychic attacks to cripple the robot, forcing it to retreat.

Attracted to Godzilla's radiation, SpaceGodzilla lands on Birth Island, where it finds Godzilla's son, Little Godzilla. SpaceGodzilla mercilessly attacks the small creature when he approaches it curiously, and Godzilla comes to his son's rescue. Godzilla puts up a good fight, but finds himself overwhelmed by SpaceGodzilla's power and is knocked out. With Godzilla temporarily subdued, SpaceGodzilla creates a small cage made of crystals and traps Little Godzilla inside of it. It then leaves for Japan, intending to destroy it. Godzilla, after failing to free his son from the cage, follows SpaceGodzilla.

Shortly thereafter, the Yakuza captures Miki and brings her back to their base in Fukuoka in an attempt to use Project T to gain control of Godzilla. Fortunately, a recovery team is successfully dispatched and Miki and the team escape before SpaceGodzilla arrives and destroys the building. SpaceGodzilla lands in central Fukuoka and forms a massive fortress of celestial crystals. Moguera arrives to once again fight SpaceGodzilla, but is still no match for it. Godzilla arrives in Kagoshima Bay and fights SpaceGodzilla, but SpaceGodzilla's cosmic powers easily allow it to gain the upper hand.

The JSDF discovers that SpaceGodzilla is using Fukuoka Tower as a power converter, using it to transform the Earth's core into an energy that SpaceGodzilla can absorb, slowly killing the planet. While Godzilla wrestles with SpaceGodzilla, Moguera splits into two different mechs: the Star Falcon, a flying battleship, and the Land Moguera, a tank. The mechs damage the crystal fortress while Godzilla pushes over Fukuoka Tower, cutting off SpaceGodzilla's energy supply. Moguera quickly reforms and blasts off SpaceGodzilla's crystal-like shoulder formations, weakening it. Enraged, SpaceGodzilla beats Moguera into submission and starts to throttle Godzilla, who further wounds SpaceGodzilla by gouging out his eyes.

With SpaceGodzilla brutally beaten and blinded, Moguera uses up the last of its power supply by ramming into the alien beast, but SpaceGodzilla impales Moguera with his tail and hurls it into the remains of the crystal fortress. Godzilla blasts SpaceGodzilla with his atomic ray, sending him crashing on top of Moguera. With a supercharged atomic blast, Godzilla eradicates SpaceGodzilla including Moguera's remains, and cosmic energy floats from the inferno and vanishes in the atmosphere.

Having won the fight, Godzilla makes his way back to Birth Island. Before he departs, Miki uses her psychic powers to remove the mind control device from Godzilla's neck in which he turns to her and nods. Little Godzilla is then free from the crystal prison and can blow bubbles of fire.

FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS
-- THUNDER THIGHS
Godzilla has HUGE Sumo-like thighs in this one.  I don't remember him having thighs so big it made his upper body seem out of proportion.  But here we are.

-- MOGUERA, A JAEGER PRECURSOR
Piloted by a three-man team (!!!), Moguera is a penguin-like mecha that is designed to replace Mecha Godzilla in defense against Godzilla.  When the threat of SpaceGodzilla is discovered, it is Moguera that is the first to try to intercept the beast.  It engages in a lopsided dogfight in space (!!!) with the monstrous threat.  The team is crucial in Godzilla being able to put SpaceGodzilla away for the finish.

-- GODZILLA PROTECTING BABY GODZILLA
So, Godzilla had a baby (by who??) who is assaulted and imprisoned in a crystal prison by SpaceGodzilla.  Godzilla tries to got to bat for his son, but is punked out by the galactic beast.  Buy only briefly subdued, Godzilla goes on the offensive again and tracks SpaceGodzilla.

-- SPACEGODZILLA CAN LEVITATE SHIT
Using the power of the crystals, SpaceGodzilla can levitate stuff with its mind, including itself and Godzilla.  It also uses its mind to fire pointy crystals at Godzilla, making them rain from the sky or shoot directly at Godzilla.  SpaceGodzilla can also project a crystal shield with its mind as well.

-- FIGHTING IN A GODZILLA-SIZED PHONE BOOTH
One of Godzilla's strengths is fighting on the inside of an adversary's defenses.  As documented before, Godzilla has great hand techniques, headbutts, and bites.  This time, Godzilla is able to use his bite to defend from SpaceGodzilla's own firey red electricity bolt.

-- SPACEGODZILLA IMPALES MOGUERA, FLINGS WITH TAIL
SpaceGodzilla uses its tail as a weapon, impaling the jaeger Moguera and flinging it into a building.  Nice move.  With Moguera disabled, two of the pilots bail, but the captain stays with the ship, gets it back online, and kamikaze's SpaceGodzilla, knocking it on its back and immobilizing the monster to give Godzilla just enough time to roast the space menace with an epic finish via Godzilla's Electric Fire!

This one is crazy, but it's fun to see the influence this movie must have had on 'Pacific Rim'.  Check it out when you can.  It's fun.

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Retrospective - #Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

GODZILLA MIXES IT UP WITH A GIANT LOBSTER IN THIS CORNY CLASSIC
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

Things always get crazy in a Godzilla movie.  'Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster' was no exception. I'll let Wikipedia fill you in on the plot of this entry, and then ZBFbooks.com will provide some highlights during the final fight.

PLOT

After Yata (Toru Ibuki) is lost at sea, his brother Ryota (Toru Watanabe) steals a yacht with his two friends and a bank robber, the crew runs afoul of the giant lobster Ebirah, and washes up on the shore of an island, where a terrorist organization manufacturesheavy water for their purposes, as well as a chemical that keeps Ebirah at bay. The organization, known as the Red Bamboo, has enslaved natives from Infant Island to help them, but the natives hope to awaken Mothra to rescue them.

In their efforts to avoid capture, Ryota and his friends, aided by a beautiful native girl, stumble across Godzilla sleeping within a cliffside cavern. The group devises a plan to defeat the Red Bamboo and escape from the island. In the process, they wake Godzilla using a lightning rod. Godzilla fights Ebirah, but the giant crustacean escapes. Godzilla is then attacked by a giant condor and a squadron of Red Bamboo fighter jets, but destroys them.

The humans retrieve the missing Yata, free the enslaved natives and Godzilla begins to destroy the base. Godzilla smashes a tower that has a self-destruct button that makes the island unstable. Godzilla fights Ebirah and defeats it, ripping off both Ebirah's claws and causing it to retreat into the sea. The natives summon Mothra to save everyone, however, Godzilla challenges Mothra when she gets to the island. Mothra manages to push Godzilla away and carry the people off. Godzilla escapes the island just before it explodes.

BIG FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS

-- EBIRAH'S SPLASH ATTACK
You remember how when you went to the pool as a little kid and cupped your hands to splash your buddy?  Well, Ebirah uses this move to stun Godzilla when they're fighting in the water.  It works enough to blind him so Ebirah can drag him under water

-- GODZILLA USES BIG ROCKS TO SMASH STUFF
When Godzilla is dragged under water, he picks up a big rock and smacks Ebirah with it.  Ebirah wants none of it and takes off.

-- GODZILLA GETS SMACKED AROUND BY THE BIG ASS CLAWS
Ebirah doesn't put up much of a fight, but when he connects with his claw with looping hooks, they rock Godzilla.

-- GODZILLA'S WTF FACE WHEN MOTHRA SHOWS UP
After tearing off Ebirah's claws before running it off, Godzilla celebrates.  It's then he looks to the sky and see's an old enemy:  Mothra.  Mothra shows up to help some of her friends off the island, and it flips Godzilla out.

-- MOTHRA EXPLOITS GODZILLA'S HIGH CENTER OF GRAVITY
When he's not fighting or grappling with a giant monster, Godzilla has a very hard time maintaining a low center of gravity.  When Godzilla charges Mothra, who's just trying to save her human friends from an exploding island, Mothra uses her wings to generate high winds that knock Godzilla over.  That gives Mothra enough time to fly her friends away.

-- GODZILLA DOES A CANNONBALL INTO THE OCEAN
As the humans fly away, they don't want Godzilla killed in the explosion.  So they shout at Godzilla to jump off the island.  It seems to be able to understand what's going on, and he jumps in the ocean, cannonball style.

It's a fun classic entry to the series.  Check out the trailer here:

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Retrospective - The Scraps in 'Terror of Mechagodzilla'

IT'S A KAIJU STREETFIGHT ON THE ISLAND OF JAPAN
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

'Terror of Mechagodzilla' is reputed to be one of the least favorite of the original Godzilla franchise, but I didn't mind it.  It's the last of the original franchise.  And as fights go, the final two-on-one scrap is a good send off to the original franchise.

Here's the plot, as condensed from Wikipedia:

"Continuing after the end of the final film, Interpol agents, led by Inspector Kusaka, search for the wreck of Mechagodzilla at the bottom of the Okinawan Sea. Using the submarine, Akatsuki, they hope to gather information on the robot's builders, the alien simians. The Akatsuki is suddenly attacked by a giant aquatic dinosaur called Titanosaurus, and the crew vanishes.

Interpol starts an investigation into the incident. With the help of marine biologist Akira Ichinose, they trace the Titanosaurus to a reclusive, mad scientist named Shinzô Mafune, who wants to destroy all mankind. While Ichinose is visiting his old home in the seaside forest of Manazuru, they meet Mafune's lone daughter, Katsura. She tells them that not only is her father dead, but she burned all of the notes about the giant dinosaur (at her father's request). Unknownst to them, Mafune is still alive and well. He is visited by his friend Tsuda, who is an aide to the simian alien leader Mugal. He is leading the project to quickly rebuild Mechagodzilla. Mugal offers their services to Mafune, so that his Titanosaurus and their Mechagodzilla 2 will be the ultimate weapons. They hope to wipe out mankind and rebuild the world for themselves.

But things are complicated for both factions when Ichinose falls in love with Katsura and unwittingly gives her Interpol's information against Titanosaurus, the new Mechagodzilla, and the aliens. It's also discovered that Katsura is actually a cyborg, due to undergoing surgery and Mugal still has uses for her. Meanwhile, Mafune is desperate to unleash Titanosaurus without the aliens' permission, so he releases it on Yokosuka one night. By then, Interpol discovers that supersonic waves are the Titanosaurus' weakness. They had a supersonic wave oscillator ready, but Katsura sabotaged the machine before they could use it. Fortunately, Godzilla arrives to fight off Titanosaurus.

Later, when Ichinose visits Katsura, he is captured by the aliens. Tied up, Ichinose can only watch as Mafune and the aliens unleash Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus onYokosuka, while Interpol struggles to repair their sonic wave machine and the Japanese armed forces struggle to keep the two monsters at bay. Katsura, while being controlled by Mugal, ignores Ichinose and controls both the dinosaur and the robot as they destroy the city.

Godzilla comes to the rescue, though he is outmatched by the two titans. While Interpol distracts Titanosaurus with the supersonic wave oscillator, Godzilla is able to focus on attacking Mechagodzilla. Interpol agents infiltrate the aliens' hideout, rescue Ichinose, and kill Mafune and many of the aliens. The remaining aliens attempt to escape in their ship, but Godzilla shoots them down. Katsura, while being embraced by Ichinose, shoots herself to destroy Mechagodzilla. Godzilla, with the help of the oscillator, defeats Titanosaurus, and heads back to sea."

THE FINAL FIGHT
GODZILLA vs. TITANOSAURUS AND MECHAGODZILLA
As you might imagine, the final fight is a throwdown of epic proportions.  Here are some highlights from the scrap:

GODZILLA'S SUSCEPTIBLE TO WIND ATTACKS
As seen in 'Godzilla vs. Mothra', Godzilla seems to have issues with his center of gravity when it comes to wind attacks.   Titanosaurus flaps his tail which has long and flat scales like a fan to fend of Godzilla and send him tumbling.

GODZILLA DISPLAYS SWEET HAND SKILLS AND HEADBUTTS ON THE INSIDE
I wouldn't call him trained by Freddy Roach or anything, but Godzilla uses striking combos, including a headbutt combo, on the inside of Titansaurus.  Maybe just Balrog.  In the clinch, Godzilla takes advantage.

TITANOSAURUS PUNTS GODZILLA LIKE A CHAMP
In a display of incredible power, Titanosaurus punts Godzilla across the Japanese landscape.  Cowboys, sign this guy today.

With a little help from the humans, who use a sonic weapon to disable Titanosaurus, it gives Godzilla enough time to get the advantage on the double-team.  It rips Mechagodzilla's head off and tosses him into a shallow grave Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla had made for Godzilla.  Then it gives Godzilla the space needed to roast Titanousaurus, knocking him into the ocean.

As much as it's not considered one of the best, I enjoyed the movie.  But I"m pretty easy to please when it comes to giant Kaiju monsters throwing down.

Check out the full movie below and see the fight for yourself.  You're welcome.

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Rodan (1956) - Things You Need To Know

ALL AVAILABLE DATA POINTS TO CLASSIC RIVAL AS THE KAIJU GODZILLA NEEDS TO BEAT IN 2014

by

Bowie V. Ibarra

With the new 2014 Godzilla movie just around the corner, the latest trailer shows what seems to be Godzilla's matchup:  Rodan.

I'm no Godzilla expert.  But I did happen to purchase 'Rodan' on VHS a few months back and finally had a chance to take in the title.  With that said, here's some broad facts you need to know about this anticipated matchup.

GODZILLA

Stats

- Huge

- Massive strength

- Has fighting ability, including a flying drop kick, hand techniques, headbutts, throws, and a bite.

- Breaths a kind of electric fire

- Scales provide strong armor against bullets, heavy weapons, artillery, bombs, and missiles.

- Only notable losses are against King Kong and Don Frye manning a flying battleship

- Has an indomitable fighting spirit, and will not stop fighting until he's beat or contained.

- Was once destroyed with the Oxygen Destroyer bomb.  But the scientist who created it was the one who used it underwater against Godzilla.  He died unleashing the bomb, and the notes had been destroyed beforehand.

RODAN

Stats

- Also huge

- Flying faster than the speed of sound into the sonic range.  Tailwind of sonic speeds have disabled fighter jets and have been known to affect the structural integrity of buildings.
- When on the ground, the winds created by the flapping of his wings can knock shit over.

- Has been known to use a smoking breath attack.

- Scales provide strong armor against bullets, heavy weapons, artillery, bombs, and missiles.

- Has been known to fly in pairs, and live near kin.

- Because of the bond it forms with its kin, will sacrifice itself to die with its kin if it is threatened with living alone.

- Lives underground and feeds on giant dragonfly larvae.

- In later movies, fights Godzilla, but becomes his friend.  They later form a tag team and fight against other monsters from the series.

So how is this epic matchup going to play out in 2014?  We don't have too long to find out!

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: 'Godzilla' Retrospective - Shu-Izmz commentary for the epic Godzilla 1998 turd

ZBFBOOKS.COM BEGINS ITS GODZILLA RETROSPECTIVE WITH THE SHU-IZMZ COMMENTARY
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

As the newest Godzilla movie builds momentum for its debut May 16th, ZBFbooks.com would like to look back on some of the Godzilla movies from the past.  With a collection of Godzilla VHS titles collected over the years, ZBFbooks.com will take a look back as we all get ready for the latest and greatest title.

One of the titles we at ZBFbooks.com was going to cover was the dynamic Godzilla turd from 1998.  Thankfully, the boys and girls at Shu-Izmz.com went ahead and did one better.  They put together a DVD style 'Fan Commentary' of the disastrous movie effort that's fun to listen to as you watch the flick.

Here it is.  Check it out, and get ready for more retrospectives leading up to the release.  And for more great reviews of horror and retro flicks, visit SHU-IZMZ.COM today!

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Review - 'Godzilla: Final Wars' was ready made for PacRim fans ten years before

GODZILLA IS LUCKY HE GOT TOP BILLING OVER DON FRYE
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

 

Listen to me, Godzilla: Final Wars was outstanding as it not only put together some of the greatest monsters to ever come out of Japan to fight Godzilla, but the one of the greatest monsters to come out of the good ol' US of A to fight Godzilla:  Don Frye.  Check this out.

 

So, Godzilla had been put down at the north pole by a young Don Frye, who was an airman in a giant fighting rocket.  He was the one that pulled the trigger that buried Godzilla under a mountain of ice.

 

So a few decades later, Don is the captain of his own fighting rocket ship, who takes down kaiju with reckless abandon.  He gets in trouble after a mission for the tactics he used to take down the flying fire serpent monster, Manda, and gets put in the brig.

 

Members of his team are mutants, who have elevated fighting ability to defend the earth.  But the monster Gigan is discovered, and a scientist notes that Gigan has the same mutant DNA as the human mutants.

 

A race of aliens arrives to earth, the Xilians, and attempt to covertly take over the earth using the planet's most diabolical monsters that had gone on a rampage.  When the plan is discovered, the monsters wreck shop on the earth.  Don Frye is freed from prison, and with the remaining humans, is the earth's only hope against the invading aliens.

 

Their plan:  Free Godzilla from his icy tomb to throw down with a huge lineup of monsters:  Anguirus, Ebirah, Gigan (who is an absolute mecha-terror in this one), Rodan, Hedorah the Smog Monster, Kamacuras, King Caesar, Kumonga, Godzilla 2000, and the powerful Monster X (Monster XX II), who makes its first appearance here.

 

When I say 'the story is actually pretty good', remember we're talking about a Godzilla movie here.  This isn't 'The English Patient', okay.  Just to make that clear.  It's a fun story of face/heels with high stakes and lots of monster action.

 

But what I appreciated the most, even over the monster action, was the cast.  Don Frye in a featured role, playing a military leader and putting his MMA training to good use in some of the final human on mutant fight scenes.

But he's not the only martial arts action here in the movie with legit street cred.  The legendary modern MMA fighter, Masakatsu Funaki is also featured in this movie.  And the son of the old school Kung-Fu Theatre flicks, Kane Koshugi, son of Sho Koshugi is also featured.  Hell, he's an action star in Japan.  Gary Goodridge even makes an cameo, as well as Kasayuki Fujita.

 

Bottom line, if you like Godzilla movies, you got to check this out.  You'll get an extra treat if you are familiar with some of the big names from MMA's early days.

 

Eat your heart out, Pacific Rim!

 

 

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' Zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  His latest novel, 'Alamo Rising' is a supernatural horror story about a curse unleashed in San Antonio, Texas, and is available in Kindle or paperback here.

 

Network with Bowie at his official website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

 

FIGHTS: REVIEW - 'Pacific Rim' delivers Throwback Monster Flick Action

DEL TORO HONORS MONSTER MOVIES FROM THE PAST IN SOLID ACTION FLICK
BY
BOWIE V. IBARRA

When I read Vince Mancini's Pacific Rim Review on the highly-touted Film Drunk Movie Review blog, I was a little disappointed with his opinion.  Hip and smart, Mancini usually has a good perspective on movies and how the public will vibe to them.

Good thing he was wrong about 'Pacific Rim'.

The movie was a real tribute to all of the monster vs. robot movies that have come before, as far back as 'Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla', King Kong, and even Voltron.

Very much like the Silurians of Doctor Who fame, the Kaiju's are giant beasts who were living in the mantle of the earth and were unleashed by earthquakes and a strange rip in the space/time continuum.  They slowly began to ravage the earth, and were ultimately finally challenged by the Jaegers, giant man-made robots piloted by two operators working in conjunction with each other.

Having just seen the original 'Godzilla', I was afraid PacRim was going to be all action with no emphasis on the response of the scientific community.  In the original Godzilla, no weapon could stop the monster.  The only way he was destroyed was not through brute force, but with science.

Fortunately, the movie did include that element prominently, as the two scientists who were able to figure out the biology of the creatures with scientific method and predict attacks with math.

I was happy to see that a combination of power and science were brought together to fight the monsters.  And you don't know how awesome it was when one of the Jaegers busts out the 'Sword'.  It's a monsters vs. robots flick you need to see today.

Don't expect Academy Award-winning dialogue, or even acting.  But the story and the performances from all of the actors was still outstanding.

The movie stands as one of the best flicks of the summer and is ZombieBloodFights.com approved.  Go see it when you can.

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BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the noted zombie horror series, 'Down the Road', from Permuted Press and Simon and Shuster.  His latest novel, 'Pit Fighters: Double Cross' is a combat sports themed book about the adventures of a MMA stable in south Texas, featuring a Mexican luchador who crosses over into MMA.  'Pit Fighters: Double Cross' is available in paperback and Kindle for as low as .99 cents.

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You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories and check out his book trailers at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.