Destroy All Monsters (Johnsonverse)

Destroy All Monsters is the ninth Johnson Studios-made Godzilla film.

Plot

By 1968, the location of Monster Island has been discovered, and the UN's Earth Defense Force has moved in to provide security at Godzilla's request. A special control center is constructed underneath the island to ensure the monsters stay secure, and serve as a research facility to study them. When communications with Monster Island are suddenly and mysteriously severed, and all of the monsters begin attacking world capitals, Dr. Yoshida of the UNSC orders Captain Yamabe and the crew of his spaceship, Moonlight SY-3, to investigate Monster Island. There, they discover that the scientists, led by Dr. Otani, have become mind-controlled slaves of a feminine alien race identifying themselves as the Kilaaks, who reveal that they are in control of the monsters and seeking vengeance for the defeat of their allies, the Xiliens. Their leader demands that the human race surrender, or face total annihilation.

Godzilla attacks New York City, Rodan invades Moscow (which the EDF does not respond to due to the Soviets' actions in the previous movie), Mothra lays waste to Beijing, Baragon destroys Paris, Manda attacks London, Anguirus smashes Toronto, Varan annhilates Berlin, and Kumonga demolishes Kuala Lumpur, which is set in to motion to take attention away from Japan, so the aliens can establish an underground stronghold near Mt. Fuji in Japan. The Kilaaks then turn their next major attack on Tokyo, sending Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and Manda to attack it (most damage comes from military fire attempting to drive off the monsters) and without serious opposition, become arrogant in their aims, until the UNSC discover the Kilaaks have switched to broadcasting the control signals from their base under the Moon's surface. In a desperate battle, the crew of the SY-3 destroy the Kilaak's lunar outpost and return the alien control system to Earth. While there, they ensure all alien bacteria is off the Moon and out of its orbit in preparation for Apollo 8 (the SY-3's flight to the Moon is off-record as a result, in order to make Apollo 8's flight more spectacular).

With all of the monsters under the control of the UNSC, the Kilaaks unleash their hidden weapon, King Ghidorah. The three-headed space monster is dispatched to protect the alien stronghold at Mt. Fuji, and battles Godzilla, Minya, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, Baragon, and Varan. While seemingly invincible, King Ghidorah is eventually overpowered by the combined strength of the Earth monsters and is killed. Refusing to admit defeat, the Kilaaks produce their trump card, a burning monster they call the Fire Dragon, which begins to torch cities and destroys the control center on Ogasawara. Captain Yamabe pursues this new threat in the SY-3, and narrowly achieves victory for the human race. The Fire Dragon is revealed to be a flaming Kilaak saucer and is destroyed. Godzilla and the other monsters are eventually returned to Monster Island to live in peace, as the body of King Ghidorah is taken in by the EDF for study, revealing many startling facts, such as the fact that Ghidorah's scales can be easily penetrated by melee attacks.

Changes

Story

There is much more focus on the monsters than the humans, a problem with the original
Cold War references are added, mainly regarding the Soviet weather control experiment in the previous film and the Space Race
The ending is expanded to show King Ghidorah's body being taken by the EDF for study
Mothra is in her Imago Form
Minya is a bit bigger and is starting to show some Godzilla-like traits
Baragon and Varan's roles are vastly expanded; Gorosaurus' attack scene is even given back to Baragon as per the early drafts of the original film

Visual

All of the monster scenes were re-shot with the new suits; new model sets were also built for these new scenes, including a massive Tokyo set that was built on open land near Fresno, CA; these scenes, as a result, were shot under natural light
- Not all of the scenes were shot new; several shots in the Tokyo attack scene were stock footage from the TV series Monster World; at least two shots were not properly matched with the new footage, as in one shot, Godzilla's foot actually belongs to Cthulhu, and the other shot has a fleeting glimpse of Unit-01
Several shots of King Ghidorah flying which came from the original version were digitally restored