Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. / Godzilla: Final Wars

After making his debut in 1954 in an atomic-monster movie that was also a dark and solemn nuclear parable, Godzilla went on to headline 28 Japanese feature films over a 50-year period. This double-bill collects the final two Godzilla productions from Japan's Toho Studios. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), directed by Masaaki Tezuka, opens with the Mechagodzilla (built over the bones of Godzilla, whom Mecha defeated in a previous film) under repair. Psychic fairies, dispatched by the giant monster-moth Mothra, warn the repairmen/scientists to stop their efforts, but to no avail. When Godzilla returns, he thus faces two foes: Mothra and the human-controlled Mechagodzilla. In an inspired bit of nostalgia, Hiroshi Koizumi reprises his 1961 role as the doctor who discovered the original Mothra. Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Big G with a combination tribute, summation, and send-off that brings back all the old monsters for one last series of fights that extend worldwide. Knowingly and fondly campy, it's a good-natured love letter to the classic Godzilla flicks of the 1960s and '70s, directed by a fan of the old school: action stylist Ryuhei Kitamura, who delivers one giant battle after another. Unabashedly entertaining, Final Wars even delivers a hilarious parting shot at the 1998 American remake when the man-in-the-suit monster takes on a suspiciously familiar CGI lizard and tromps it in record time. This is the best of four Godzilla double-features from the '90s and the '00s newly released on Blu-ray (the others are Godzilla vs. Destroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah / Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II / Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla). Extras include a vintage behind-the-scenes featurette. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)