Godzilla: War of Legends

Godzilla: War of Legends is an animated Kaiju movie set in the Godzilla franchise. This revolves around a young woman named Erica Kusanagi in a facility called "The Academy" being trained to help fight against giant monsters called Kaiju, including the most powerful of them all, Godzilla only to face off against a far greater threat. The movie is rated PG-13 for "intense prolonged sequences of monster/action violence, destruction and some frightening images".
The movie received extremely positive reviews upon release with critics praising the movie for its action sequences, animation, respect for the source material and characters.
== Premise ==
Mankind is engaged in a brutal fight for survival against gigantic monsters called, Kaiju, especially the worst of them all, Godzilla. In order to ensure the tide stays in their favor, human beings with extraordinary abilities called "Keizers" are trained in a facility known as The Academy, including one young woman named Erica Kusanagi who was born into two worlds, both bound in tradition. However, when a new threat arises, humanity will soon find itself allied with the beasts it was fighting against in a far greater war.
== Synopsis (warning spoilers) ==
Mankind came into war against gigantic monsters called Kaiju, the first of them being Godzilla who appeared in Tokyo on 1954. In order to help combat the threat posed by the Kaiju (aside from a few in the form of Mothra, Battra, Manda and King Seesar), the UN authorized the creation of an organization known as G-Force including a special training branch for humans with extraordinary abilities known as Keizers simply called the "Academy" headed by Akane Yashiro. Among these Keizers is Erica Kusanagi, a hot-headed woman born from Inuit and Japanese descent. Over the course of the years, G-Force has either successfully corralled the Kaiju into a holding facility known as Site Omega or destroyed save for a few such as SpaceGodzilla, Gigan, Destoroyah, Hedorah and Godzilla himself. Erica's father is currently in intensive care for a serious illness.
== Cast and Characters ==
* Erica Kusanagi: (voiced by Claire Danes/Cora Baker [Young]) A young Keizer woman of early twenties born from a Japanese mother and an Inuit father. As a Keizer she has extraordinary abilities but her greatest weaknesses come from her temper and her brashness.
* Xiang Kwan: (voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch) A young Chinese man of 20 and fellow Keizer to Erica. Xiang comes off as somewhat cold, aloof and stoic however, he does care about Erica and is hinted at having a romantic relationship towards her even though he denies it.
* Maya Valorez: (voiced by Michelle Rodriguez) A hot-headed Latina Keizer who is good friends with Erica.
* Alan Brown: (voiced by Charlie Hunnam) An American Keizer who is good friends with Xiang.
* Elizabeth Adams: (voiced by Cree Summer) An African-American Keizer.
* Ki Nari: (voiced by Jamie Chung) A Korean Keizer.
* Douglas Gordon: (voiced by Don Frye) The commander of G-Force's Atragon fleet and captain of the Gotengo.
* Mitsuo Katagiri: (voiced by Ron Yuan) The commanding officer of G-Force. A stern, yet well-meaning man.
* Takai Aso: (voiced by J.K. Simmons) The G-Force field commander.
* Akane Yashiro: (voiced by Gillian Anderson): The head of the Academy and pilot of MechaGodzilla. She has a relationship with Tokimitsu Yuhara.
* Tokimitsu Yuhara: (voiced by Mark Hamill) The vice director of the Academy and the widowed father of twelve-year-old Sara Yuhara.
* Sara Yuhara: (voiced by Jessie Flower) Tokimitsu's daughter.
* Johnathon Pohl: (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson) A swarmy scientist who wants to use the captured Kaiju as weapons, including Godzilla. He is a minor antagonist.
* King Ghidorah: (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) The film's primary villain, a three-headed golden dragon who was once a guardian turned cruel. He forms an alliance with several Kaiju and has an army of dragons at his disposal.
* Shinichi Ozaki: (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) A high-ranking Japanese Keizer.
* Kagejotei: (voiced by Gina Torres) Another former guardian dragon monster and King Ghidorah's queen. She has a mane of shadows stretching from the base of her neck all the way down to her tail.
Additional voice actors consist of Laura Bailey as Erica's younger sister, Cora Baker as her niece, Eric Bauza as Erica's father Michael, Wendee Lee as Erica's mother Mayumi, Liam O'Brien as Erica's brother Ben, Kyle Herbert as Erica's brother-in-law and Dave Wittenberg as Kazama, a Keizer under Ozaki's command.
==Kaiju==
*Godzilla - The King of the Monsters, a giant dinosaur mutated from the early 50's H-Bomb testings in the South Pacific. 
*Rodan - A giant pteranodon.
*Anguirus - A giant ankylosaurid. 
*Mothra - A giant ancient moth and one of the four guardian monsters of Earth. 
*Gigan - A gigantic biomechanical Kaiju originally created by G-Force as an Anti-Kaiju weapon before it turned on humanity. 
*Hedorah - A monster that feeds on pollution composed of toxic waste, sludge, and various other substances. 
*Destoroyah - A Micro-Oxygen-based Kaiju from the Precambrian Era mutated by a chemical that killed the original Godzilla. 
== Soundtrack ==
The score was composed by Steve Jablonsky with the inclusion of stock music by the late Akira Ifukube.
# 1954
# Prodigies in Action
# Erica
# Anguirus Attacks
# Downtime
# Attack in Osaka
# Godzilla Arrives
# Battle in Osaka
# Godzilla's Wrath
# Gathering
# Mother's Milk
# Heed our Warning
# Battle in Tokyo Bay
# Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla
# Fall of Godzilla
# The King Imprisoned
# Pohl Exposed
# King Ghidorah
# Prepare for Battle
# Godzilla is Free
# Prison Break
# War in Yokohoma
# Duel of Kings
# Godzilla Victorious
# Erica and Godzilla
# Finally Over
# King of Monster Island
# Godzilla's theme (Akira Ifukube)
== Critical Reception ==
The movie received extremely positive reviews from both critics and fans alike. The movie holds a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has a Metacritic rating of A-.
Category:Godzilla
Category:Kaiju films
Category:IMAX films
Category:3D films
Category:Anime-influenced animation
Category:Legendary Pictures films
Category:Films with Interracial Characters
Category:Films about Dragons
Category:Animated Films
Category:Adaptation
Category:Films set in Japan
Category:Japan in Animation