Godzilla The Planet Eater Review
0The Planet Eater, the third and last entry in the animated Godzilla trilogy released on Netflix in North America and in theaters internationally, is much better than the previous two frustrating installments, which were difficult to connect with both emotionally and viscerally. I reviewed both previous films and while I found Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters' biggest selling point to be its fresh take on the titular creature, I deemed its followup Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle a "huge failure." Getting through the first two films may have felt like a chore, but The Planet Eater offers an emotional payoff and makes the trilogy as a whole much better when viewed as the conclusion of a single, ambitious longform story.
The Planet Eater follows protagonist Haruo Sakaki in his third face-off against kaiju, after meeting Godzilla on Earth in Planet of the Monsters and then luring him to the city-sized Mecha Godzilla facility for a showdown in City on the Edge of Battle. As teased in the post-credits sting of the second film, King Ghidorah appears here to confront Godzilla Earth in a final battle. Drawn with geometric CG and golden in color, King Ghidorah arrives to the roaring sound of thunder, bringing a sense of awe and intensity befitting his godlike status. More of this visually rich show-don’t-tell approach would have made the appearance of Godzilla in the two previous films much more exciting.