Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
aka Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidora: Daikaiju sokogeki
Article 5676 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-18-2019
Directed by Shuseke Kaneko
Featuring Chiharu Niiyama, Ryudo Izaki, Masahiro Kobayashi
Country: Japan
What it is: Japanese Monster Mash

When Godzilla reappears in Japan, a trio of guardian monsters appear to do battle with him.

One of the advantages of doing a series of separate sequels to the original is that you can safely ignore whatever the other sequels have set up, allowing events and characters a variety of interpretations without being stuck in the mud of canon. This movie gives the monsters a decidedly mystical edge, and it’s nice to see Ghidorah play a hero for a change. This was directed by Shusuke Kaneko, who was responsible for the Gamera movies from the nineties. He does an excellent job with this one; though the characters aren’t quite as interesting as the ones in GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, and it’s a bit slow to get started, it is one of the most satisfyingly spectacular of the Millennium series. It also has a bit of a sense of humor and takes a quick potshot at the American version of Godzilla from 1998. Godzilla is particularly savage (and savage-looking) in this one. One minor complaint; it’s a shame that Baragon (one of the Guardian monsters) doesn’t get equal billing with the others; he’s no less heroic in this one.