Friday, August 28, 2015

THROWBACK REVIEW: Jackie Chan Adventures (Season One)


I loved growing up in the 90's.  Say what you want, but I firmly believe that some of the strongest cartoons out there formed in this little era.  I mean yeah, a lot of them were silly, pointless, and whatnot, but if you ask me, the late 90's and early 2000's house some of the best cartoons out there.  You can argue that cartoons that came out in the early 2000's shouldn't really be considered for the 90's generation, but I make a few exceptions as I wasn't in high school until about 2005.  But before those high school years, there was only one place I went for my cartoon doses.  And a lot of you with me in the 90's nostalgia will immediately agree with me.  Kids WB.  If you had Kids WB, your life was set.  Since I didn't have cable, I didn't grow up with Cartoon Network, but I didn't care.  Everyday after school, it was rush down to the television to see what Kids WB had going on, every Saturday Morning, it was Kids WB.  No FOX Kids, no ABC One Saturday Morning, it was all about the Kids WB.  Everything cool was on there.  Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Animaniacs, Batman Superman Adventures, Men in Black, The Zeta Project, Hysteria, Detention, do I need to go on?  I could go on and on listing some of the shows I loved watching.  Hell, it was where Pokémon Fever started in the US.  I didn't need Toonami!  In fact, Toonami moved to Kids WB for a while!  Why wouldn't they? Kids WB was on top of the world!  The WOOOOOOORRRRLD!!!!

But I will give praise to Kids WB probably another day.  For now, I'm just gonna focus on a show that I didn't think I would enjoy so much when it was introduced...and yet it surprised me.  I say that I didn't think I'd enjoy it, because the title character was a guy I wasn't too familiar with.  It was something more my nextdoor neighbor childhood friend loved, as he was into the martial arts and whatnot.  In fact, he still looks up to Jackie Chan as a bit of a life idol.  And who can blame him?  Back in the day, Jackie Chan was arguably the world's most famous stuntman.  Capable of doing insane stunts regardless of how difficult it looked, and of course, those fast fists were always exciting to watch.  He's become one of my favorite people to watch on screen.  So when it was announced on Kids WB that a new show, simply entitled Jackie Chan Adventures was coming soon, I'm sure a lot of people were excited.  Why wouldn't they be?  Jackie Chan in real life is awesome enough to watch, but as a cartoon?  The sky was the limit.  My only concern though would have been that Jackie Chan was the star of a lot of Kung-fu movies.  ANd while each is entertaining in and of itself, a lot of them are pretty dumb and forgettable movies.  In fact, there's only a handful of them that I really enjoy and would watch again. So how could they make Jackie Chan Adventures something that would make me want to come and watch it again?  Well...they did.  Because even today, I think Jackie Chan Adventures is one of the best cartoons out there.  It had a five season runtime, but I am gonna stick to the first season for now.  Maybe another day, I'll give the other seasons a review, but let's just stick to season one for now.

The show stars the titular Jackie Chan, a rather talented "amateur" archeologist, who lives with his...uncle named Uncle.  This is actually one of the show's biggest and most subtle joke.  Never is he referred to as any other name.  He's just Uncle.  Jackie's niece, Jade, even brings this up in season two, when her parents call him Uncle, when she asks "Is Uncle everyone's uncle?" to which they respond "He's actually our cousin...aren't you?" It's a subtle joke that is all around humorous.  Jade plays Jackie's niece, who is voiced ironically enough by Stacie Chan (though she is not related to Jackie Chan). And while I'm on the subject of voice actors, one thing that some people will complain about the show is that the titular character, Jackie Chan is not voiced by Jackie Chan himself.  Instead, Jackie Chan appears in short live action bits at the end of the show, where he answers questions that kids who watched the show would ask him, and would serve as the show's executive producer.  Honestly, the fact that Chan doesn't voice himself sits perfectly fine with me because if you've ever seen a movie with Jackie Chan, you will notice that he's not the best speaker of English.  It made sense for someone more clear in the language to voice the main character, it made it easier for kids to understand.  And strangely enough, it actually is a pretty dang good impersonation. So while some might find it annoying, I think it was one of the better moves. Anyway, back on track, Jade is the sidekick who always follows Jackie when he's off to collect an important artifact, or investigate something potentially dangerous, despite being told to stay where she is.  She's a thrill seeker, who is very much impressed by what her Uncle does off the record as an archeologist. And that pretty much covers the bases for our main characters.  

Jackie is recruited by a secret branch of government known as Section 13 for his knowledge in archeology.  Section 13, led by a man named Captain Black, is in charge of monitoring all major criminal activities in America, primarily those run by an organization called the Dark Hand.  Black informs Jackie that the Dark Hand recently began targeting historical artifacts, and they are hoping Jackie can help them find reasons to this.  The Dark Hand is one of the coolest things of the show.  You can argue that they're the clichéd villains who are always in over their head, but the show almost seems to just make fun of that.  The organization primarily follows three elite henchmen named Finn (a man who is all about the cool), Ratso (a buff, tough, yet innocent at heart guy), and Chow (who is a bit of a wise-guy).  In season one, they also had the large, big, and lovable Tohru as one of the main enforcers of the Dark Hand, though he would pull the classic bad guy gone good card in due time.  The boss of the group is a man named Valmont, who is your typical criminal mastermind, though he can be a bit incompetent at times, yet just as threatening when he needs to be.

We learn in the first couple episodes that the Dark Hand is after twelve Talismans, which supposedly have an incredible power.  The pacing of this is pretty impressive.  For a while in the show, you'll be scratching your head wondering if the Talisman's are just "supposedly" magic, or really magic at all. In fact the pacing of magic of this show is just all around fun.  The character Uncle for example, mainly starts out in the show as comedy relief, and kinda just a silly character.  But as the show progresses, it's revealed that he was actually the student of a powerful Chi Wizard, and as silly as that sounds, he actually becomes one of the most loved characters of the show.  Here, when each Talisman reveals just how much power they have, it's almost always satisfying to see.  Each Talisman is named after an animal in the Chinese Zodiac, and each one wields a different power.  Whether it's the ability to wield telekinesis, or travel super fast, or produce an explosive combustion blast, there is nearly always something cool in the Talisman lineup, though there are a few which seem relatively simple (which is again made fun of in season two, when Finn gets the three talismans which have "all the loser powers").  And each episode of season one is dedicated to a specific talisman, in which Jackie Chan races the Dark Hand to find.  While Jackie is kept in the dark as to why the Dark Hand wants all twelve Talismans, it is revealed to us that the Dark Hand is collecting them for a demonic sorcerer trapped in a statue form named Shendu, who would become one of the show's bigger antagonists.  Giving him all twelve would free him from his prison, and they would be rewarded with a large portion of treasure.

The episode format is pretty simple, and it can be said that each episode of each season follows a certain formula.  That formula may be altered slightly with each passing season, but for the most part, Season One follows this simple formula.  Jackie finds a talisman, Uncle does research on said Talisman, the Dark Hand tries to get it, they might get it for a certain amount of time, Jackie goes to get the Talisman back, Jade tags along, they discover the magic of the Talisman, and give the Dark Hand what's coming to them.  For as repetitive as the formula is, the show does an impressive job of keeping it fresh.  You don't get bored watching these episodes.  Each episode presents different problems, different outcomes, and there are times when the Dark Hand wins. Heck, by the season finale, Shendu is of course resurrected when the Dark Hand acquires all twelve Talismans in one of the coolest ideas I've seen.  

Let's talk about the action.  It's easily the best thing about the show.  As over the top as it can get, it's beyond fun to watch.  And the show isn't afraid of pushing that over-the-top action, to the point where it makes fun of itself.  It does this in the first episode, when Jackie fights the Dark Hand thugs for the first time.  He's outnumbered three to one, his opponents have technologically advanced weaponry, and Jackie fights them off with fists and windshield wipers.  Valmont simply says "Three of my best men, armed with advanced weaponry, were defeated by an archeologist?" To which Finn replies, "Uh, did we mention he had windshield wipers?" It doesn't stop there.  It will push your limits of believability in some of the funniest ways I know.  Another prime example is when the Dark Hand blows up a bridge, when the train Jackie is on is bound right for it.  Anybody else would probably die.  Jackie?  He runs up a falling train on top of the cars, as the Dark Hand look on in absolute disbelief, before Jackie just barely makes it off the train as it falls into the gorge below, and Ratso delivers one of my favorite lines "No way he's human." Go Jackie.  But for as fun as all the action is, I gotta say I am honestly kinda disappointed in the season finale, because the final fight between Jackie and Shendu is honestly, underwhelming.  I mean yeah, it's still a fun fight in which Jackie is magically enhanced to remove the Talismans one by one from the walking breathing Shendu, who is preparing for a rampage that will destroy Asia.  But it is kinda clunky, and it keeps cutting away to the agents and Uncle who keeps delivering his famous "Magic must defeat magic" line.  I think it could have gone a little longer, but it's still a satisfying way to end the first season, and it does give us a satisfying way of showing us what we may be in for in Season Two.

The Talisman Hunts of Season One were arguably the strongest story arcs of this show, and one hell of a way to start a show that I love to this day.  Season Two was still pretty good, but there are some gripings that one day I will get to.  Season three was still enjoyable though it kinda recycled season one.  But afterwards, you could see the show starting to get a little tiresome, so I guess it's a good thing it didn't last too long. But for what this show was, it was more than impressive.  It was one of those shows that I couldn't miss after I got introduced to it.  A world with fun martial arts fighting, with almost just the right amount of supernatural in it to make it one very fun adventure.  Heck, in Season Two, there are episodes that I highly regard.  One is a two part episode, which honestly I feel should have been made into an entire season, in which Shendu possesses Jackie Chan's body to find a magic book that alters history.  It's a story that is beyond fun to watch, but deserved more than just two episodes.  Season two also revisited Season one for us by giving us a few adventures that take place in the Talisman Hunt, which are not only fun to watch, but one of them is probably one of my all-time favorite episodes of the show.  There was so much that this show had to offer, and even if it wasn't always serious in itself, it was always lighthearted fun and always left you on a high, wanting to pull off the moves that Jackie Chan could, and fight off evil demons or street thugs as he did.  And if you're one of those fans of Chan's work, there are several references to the film work that Chan is famous for.  And to all of you anime fans out there, the influence it takes from a lot of anime can be seen.

Jackie Chan Adventures Season One is a wonderful three and a half stars out of four. Sure there may be some clichés and whatnot in the show, but it doesn't detract from any enjoyability it has to offer.  The characters may not be as developed as I would have liked, but each are fun and memorable in their own ways that other characters from other shows are not.  If you didn't get a chance to see this show, I'd highly recommend it.  You can catch the first and second seasons of the show for free on Crackle, or just stream them on other cartoon sites.  Season's three through five are a bit harder to find.  And none of this is helped by the fact that the show is near impossible to find on DVD.  Why doesn't this show have it's own box set yet?   I will buy each and every season if it does find its way to home media, but until then, it does have a home on the internet, and in my heart.  I invite you to experience the thrill and adventure for yourself.

Please feel free to suggest a movie or show for me to review.  Leave a comment down below about your thoughts on the show, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3.5/4

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

REVIEW: Godzilla (2014)


How do you bring the King of Monsters, arguably the most famous giant monster, back to the big screen after a ten year absence in films?  Well...I say that this is a pretty damn good way to do it.Now already I can hear a few groans from some of the readers.  This movie is probably one of the most controversial films in recent years amongst fanbases since "Man of Steel" (though I haven't seen that film).  Every time it comes into conversation, the fans are split.  Some love it, some hate it.  For me personally, this was the first time I saw Godzilla on the big screen, so you can maybe say it holds a special place in my heart.  For maybe 15 years I've loved Godzilla.  I remember my very first Godzilla film, which was "Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth" (1992).  And after that, every trip to Hollywood Video turned into me just annoying the hell out of my parents with each silly Godzilla film I'd find (eventually leading to them refusing to rent them. Curses, foiled again).  Well my love of Godzilla didn't stop, and it ultimately lead to my love of even more classic giant monster movies, many of which I will one day review, if not all of them.  Many people in America however had their first Godzilla experience with the 1998 reimagining.  A film again that will be reviewed another day.  So you can imagine that after so many people felt betrayed by that film, there was a lot of nervousness for this film.

Well...I walked into that theater and had a blast.  And even as I type this, after watching it again for...who knows how many times I've seen it now, I still can't see why so many will bash this.  I've heard some nasty words associated with this film.  Now it's by no means perfect, but when I compare it with so many of the other Godzilla films out there...I gotta say this film is superior to a vast majority of them.  I'm not just saying that because of Hollywood's massive budgets, I'm saying that because...well...it's just an overall stronger film.  If you watch films like "Godzilla and Mothra: Battle For Earth", "Godzilla VS King Ghidorah", or any other Godzilla film for the most part, you will notice that though they can be cheesy fun to watch...you can't really say that much else about them.  Most characters are forgettable, the storylines are forgettable, you remember the monsters, and the fights.  Why?  Because I hate to say it, but some of the stories of the Godzilla movies are just ridiculously silly.  But more on that later.  Let's talk about why this film hit so many right notes with me.

First of all, I gotta give the effects crew the credits they deserve, Godzilla looked fantastic.  Easily becoming my favorite rendition of the monster I've ever seen.  The MUTO monsters I will say were a little bland and generic, and I've heard some people compare them with the Cloverfield monster, and I can definitely see why in some areas, but even the MUTO monsters have some likability.  I loved the deep pulsing sounds that have probably ruined my soundbar in the basement.  There's one scene in particular that when I first saw it, even caused chills to go down my spine, as one of the monsters lumbers near a bridge next to our heavily plot armored hero (more on that shortly).  And it just felt like I was right there on that bridge, holding my breath, praying I wouldn't be smashed.  Godzilla himself...where do I start?  How about that dominating roar?  I hope you don't mind me geeking out a bit here, and doing a comparison, but the 1954 original Godzilla roars are terrifying.  The second one I hear in the opening credits of that movie is a roar that would genuinely terrify me if I heard it in real life.  But after the 1954 movie, I felt the roars of Godzilla kinda decreased in quality a lot of the time.  They felt compressed.  Quieter.  Now don't get me wrong, there are some good roars in movies after the original, but a lot of the time (especially in the Showa era), it was just out of place almost.  The first time we hear Godzilla roar in this film, you can immediately detect this otherworldy presence about Godzilla.  There is power restored in that roar.  And the way the fighting is presented from his powerful tail attacks, to his mauling biting, it just a real treat that is absent in other Godzilla films.  The CGI really did bring some life to him.

Another thing that just really gets me excited about this film, is the fact at how it's presented.  There are numerous solid sequences in this film.  Now people have complained about a lack of Godzilla on screen, and how it tends to focus on the people, but honestly, it didn't bother me so much, mainly because I felt the story was sufficient enough to keep my interest.  I believe the writers did a good job at presenting a strong story revolving around these monsters, and while it doesn't directly focus on the monsters as so many would have liked, it's paced brilliantly, and made me happy enough.  The beginning of this film, is solid, possibly one of the best setups for a Godzilla film I've ever seen. The action when it's on screen, is gorgeous.  In the theater, when things got going, I was mentally cheering, from first seeing Godzilla's gorgeous Atomic Blast, to his impressive melee attacks.  The skydiving scene, to the music of "2001: A Space Odyssey" of all things, is a high point in the film.  But without a doubt, my absolute favorite scene was the introduction of Godzilla himself.  It's more a string of scenes actually, starting inside an Aircraft Carrier where they detect a massive signature approaching from the sea, while they're fighting one of the MUTO monsters.  This sets in motion the best Godzilla introduction I have ever seen, and likely ever will see.  And I gotta say it is a gutsy intro, referencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami (more on that shortly).  We see a massive wall of water just overtake Honolulu, as the city goes dark amidst frenzied music, then there's silence, until four flares pop from flare guns, and illuminate this massive bulk that isn't fully on screen yet.  Then we go to the airport where the MUTO is on a rampage, being engaged by the military, it downs a helicopter amidst a chain reaction of explosions, and we see this massive foot just come down and silence everything.  The MUTO tries to give this threatening roar at it's new opponent (can you tell I am about to go full geek mode yet?), and the camera just pans up until we finally see Godzilla in his full glory, giving that awesome roar!  My God, I wanted to cheer so badly when I saw that the first time.  

Okay...let me breathe a minute.  

I've been overly positive, but as much as I hate saying it, the film does have some flaws that can get at you.  Firstly, yes, the action can be a absent at times.  There's a lot of passive destruction in this movie.  Destruction that happens off screen.  The first time they pulled this, with the first Godzilla and MUTO fight, I didn't mind so much.  I thought the move was actually kinda clever as we saw it in images through a TV news broadcast.  But they pulled this card a few more times, and it kinda started to get at me.  This film taught me that a lot of Godzilla fans aren't the most patient people.  A lot felt the lack of action, the lack of Godzilla as perhaps a second betrayal.  They just wanted that camera to pan the other way, just look over there, let us see what's going on!  And they were forced to watch a plot about disarming a bomb that many of them probably didn't care much about.  Again, I didn't mind that plot, it kept my interest, but I will not deny, that even I would have liked at least five more minutes worth of action in this movie.  

Another thing that can get to me, is just some of the clichéd elements.  Now the movie itself is clichéd to high heaven, though at some glimpses, it's not often noticeable, but there are moments in this movie that make me chuckle for the wrong reason.  Elements ranging from our plot armored hero pointing a pistol into the face of a monster 10,000 times his size, to a character simply asking "Where is Godzilla?"  Speaking of which, I can count out a few times where our hero, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, should have died more than once.  He should have drowned, been killed in a van, been blown up, the plot armor is very much apparent.  The only reason this can be annoying is because the film's most famous star (next to Ken Wantabe) is Bryan Cranston, who played a paranoid conspiracist, who is arguably the best character in this movie.  And he gets killed about 30 minutes in.  Poor Joe.  Bryan's performance was fantastic, and I felt that he would have been a far more interesting protagonist.  That's not to say that his son isn't any interesting, his performance certainly isn't terrible, but he's just an army guy, following orders this movie, and trying to get to his family.  He doesn't really give much of an emotional performance as Bryan did.  Another thing as far as casting was concerned (and I know I shouldn't nitpick this too much), is that the child actors they have in this movie...they're duller than dull.  I mean any movie takes a risk when it comes to child actors, but...was this kid really the best they could do?  I mean the first time we see the child actor, he seems fine, he's having fun with his dad, but after that scene...he tends to be a lifeless statue at times.  

My third and final issue with the movie is ironically enough, elements of the ending.  A lot of people make fun of this movie for literally calling Godzilla the hero of the movie.  It's not subtle at all.  While much of the ending is actually very well done, I had to laugh again for the wrong reasons when I saw a TV news banner read "King of the Monsters - Savior of our City?"  Yeah, half the city is completely devastated, tens of thousands probably dead, but hey the MUTOs are dead, and Godzilla is alive!  Cheer your savior on everybody!   And the people in the movie do just that.  They cheer.  The ending, though it does a lot of things right, kinda hit cheese levels there.  

But for what this movie is, I think those few issues I have are easily outweighed by what this film does right.  I've already typed up quite a bit (this is already my longest review yet), and I want to type out even more about why I love this film as I do, but I'm gonna try and be brief.  The soundtrack to this movie is great.  It fits the moods getting portrayed, and it may just be me, but I believe i hear a bit of a tribute to the original film at the end, played on the piano.  Nice touch.  The pacing of this movie, is beautifully done.  And the ending, that is done right, in which we see a battle-worn, and tired Godzilla recovering from his brutal fight, walking toward the ocean strong, head held high before giving us one final roar, before vanishing beneath the water, is beautiful.  A great way to tell us that the King is back, and still on top. 

But what I think I like most about this movie is the fact that like the 1954 original, it is giving us a bit of a message, warning us of our own destruction.  1954 of course had a message speaking out against nuclear warfare, and referenced the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Here, we reference more of a natural phenomenon which resulted in one of the worst disasters in our recent history, the 2011 Japanese Earthquake, which resulted in a monstrous tsunami, and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster which happened days afterward.  Both events are referenced in this movie, and I gotta say it's pretty damn eery.  It does help restore the idea that Godzilla isn't just the King of Monsters.  Godzilla is meant to represent the embodiment of fear, destruction, and death, whether it's by nature's hand or our own.  And there was a little bit of both in that here.  So with all that is said and done, what's my rating?

Godzilla is a three and a half out of four stars.  There's enough drama and story, and enough action to keep the interest.  If you can wade out the clichés, and bland character development of our plot-armored soldier boy, the ride this film gives us is well worth taking.  As a reboot to the Godzilla franchise, it did it's job, and as America's chance at redemption in the Godzilla franchise, it easily achieved that.  A great step in the right direction, and definitely the movie we needed in 1998. And again, a movie I feel that overshadows many films already in the Godzilla franchise.  Why do I say that?  Well to put it plain and simple, because I see effort in this film.  A lot of the other Godzilla films out there are rushed, have little to no story, and therefore really aren't that memorable on a whole watching them as an adult.  Heck, if I remember right, five of them made my list for "Worst Giant Monster Movies" out there.  Here, the film doesn't just go the route that your average Transformer movie goes.  It gave us a satisfactory beginning, middle, and end.  The action was paced great.  Godzilla doesn't just stand there as his opponent lashes on him with a shower of attacks.  The action is fluid, dynamic, and might raise the bar for Toho, who is now making their next Godzilla film, and I wish them all the best with that project.  I just hope that it's not rushed as so many of their films clearly are.  But until we see what they have for their loyal Godzilla fanbase, I will say that if you haven't seen this movie, or even if you have and maybe didn't enjoy it the first time around...give it another shot.  You might be glad you did.  I of course am anxious to see what the future holds in store for us in 2018, now that we got three more Toho monsters, but as a reintroduction to the world-famous monster...this film hits a home run.  And I couldn't ask for anything more.

Phew.  Sorry for the long read.  If you did read the entire thing, thanks for bearing with me!  Please feel free to suggest any films for me to view down below.  Leave a comment telling me what your thoughts are on this film, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3.5/4

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Battle of the Century: Kaiju Death Battle Elimination Tournament


Welcome to the main page for the poll based death battle tournament, featuring some of the most famous and iconic skyscraper sized monsters to ever be made, along with a few all stars you might not know about. This is a tournament, created in good fun to pay tribute to some of the world's best monsters, in the style of a fun, imaginative tournament where abilities, strengths, and weaknesses will be tested.

The mighty creatures that appear down below have been called forth to test their mettle.  The battleground is anywhere.  Land, sea, air, city, mountain, plain, desert...no place is a safe haven.  Your voice will help each monster in battle.  Conflict is inevitable.  

Let them fight.

RULES
1. Monster battles will be selected at random. Each monster participating in this tournament will be assigned a number.  A random number generator will randomly select two monsters, and those two will combat. This means iconic monsters may not make it past round one. This isn't a ranking tournament. This is again, for fun. We all know that Mothra can hold her own against a number of foes but if she's facing King Ghidorah in round one, she might be out for the count.

2. I'm going to say this only once.  Size.  Doesn't. Always. Matter.  Okay, maybe that's a strict way of putting it. How about, size shouldn't be your only factor.  I say this because when I ask about who would triump between X and Y, I tend to get a lot of "X because he weighs more and is bigger".  Remember, this is based on the overall abilities, intelligence, cunning, strength, and just overall combat factor of the monster.  If I must, I will do what Toho has done before, and reduce or increase the size of monsters in certain stages.  I don't want to, but I will if I feel the need to.  That way if King Kong finds himself facing Varan...people don't just vote for Varan because King Kong in their eyes is only 30 feet tall.  If I am forced to, I will Toho size King Kong.

3. If a monster is shown to have done it before, he can likely do it here.  Now, when it comes to the abilities of the creatures, I will usually allow abilities if they've been done repeatedly before.  However there are things that will be left out.  Example...Godzilla will not be able to fly using his Atmoic Breath, or do physics defying dropkicks.  I'm sure they're fun to watch on screen, but it won't be done here.  I will provide a detailed list of abilities and attacks that are possible for each monster.

4. There can be no victor if there is no battlefield. I am forcing this. I don't care if a monster has the capability of blowing the planet up. If it has the capability of destroying the land in such a fashion, or whatnot, it will not be able to use it here.  

5. The polls will be placed in three (maybe four) groups.  The Google+ Communities of Death Battle, Godzilla, and Kaiju/Jurassic Park Fanbase. Votes will be combined to determine the winner of each round.  Results will be posted with each new round.

6. Have fun.  This poll tournament is meant for the purpose of entertainment.  This isn't a poll to try and show that certain monsters aren't the greatest, or that a certain group of monsters are supreme.  This is meant for absolute fun.I'm sure the overall winner of this tournament is going to be very predictable, but I think it will be fun to see how we get there.  I'm hoping not only to show off some very iconic monsters in this fashion, but to perhaps introduce you to some good movie monsters you didn't even know existed.  

I think that about covers it.  Your roster is down below, along with their abilities, and descriptions.  Their status of whether or not they've been eliminated will be shown next to their name.  Thanks for visiting!


ROSTER: 

Alduin
"Arrogant mortals!  Your pride will be humbled!"
Appears in: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Abilities: Flight, Fire Breath, Frost Breath, Unrelenting Force, Brute Strength, Meteor Storm
Weaknesses: Dragonrend Shout

Bio: Alduin is the World-Eater, and a boastful creation of Akatosh.  Prophesied to be beaten by the Dragonborn of Legend, Alduin is immortal to most attack, able to transport himself between the living world and the afterlife, and feast on the souls of the dead to replenish his strength.  His armored hide is amongst the most durable of all Dragons.

Anguirus
"Murderers, original plundering murderers, who'd killed everything in their way.  These creatures uled the earth at one time, then disappeared suddenly!"
Appears in: Godzilla franchise
Height: 90 Meters
Weight: 60,000 Tons
Abilities: Durable Hide, spiked carapace, brute strength, spiked curl propulsion, burrower
Weaknesses: None Known

Bio: Anguirus is one of the most famous monsters from the Godzilla franchise.  Despite not having special abilities, he's one of the most brutal fighters of the series, never having retreated from battle, and having fought against the likes of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and MechaGodzilla.  Despite this reputation, he's never won a fight without Godzilla's aide.

Avion
"It casts a colossal shadow across a misty lake as it soars through the sky...to reach it is no easy task..."
Backacoon

Baragon
"It's the red Godzilla."
Appears in: Godzilla Franchise
Height: 30 Meters
Weight: 10,000 Meters
Abilities: Flame Breath, burrower, durability, Rage attack can cause earthquakes and lava eruptions
Weaknesses: None Revealed

Bio: Baragon is known as the "God of the Earth".  Though he's one of the underdogs of the Godzilla franchise, his combat abilities are not to be underestimated.  He is a natural burrower, capable of causing great destruction on the land.  

Barugon
"The missile corps could not cope with Barugon's rainbow."
Appears in: Gamera Franchise
Height: 70 Meters
Weight: 2100 Tons
Abilities: Freeze Spray, Rainbow Ray, Durability
Weaknesses: Freshwater

Bio: One of Gamera's first opponents, she fought Gamera as a newly hatched monster.  Her fatal weakness to freshwater was used before she could mature into an adult threat.

Battra
"What is all this? What's happening to our planet?"
Appears in: Godzilla Franchise
Length: 239 Feet 
Weight: 30,000 Tons
Abilities: Prism Beams, energy conduction, super strength, durability, telepathy, flight speeds of Mach 3
Weaknesses: None Revealed

Bio: Battra brought great destruction to Japan, becoming one of the few monsters to have actually defeated Mothra.  When Mothra and Battra allianced, they fought off Godzilla, though Battra was killed in the process.

Bemlar

Appears in: Ultraman Fanchise
Height: 50 Meters
Weight: 25,000 Tons
Abilities: Heat Ray, durability, travel sphere (speed of Mach 1.3)
Weaknesses: None revealed

Bio: An alien monster, he was the first monster that Ultraman defeated.  His shot arms and not too lethal a bite, may make him for a more insignificant fighter, but his energy blasts and heat rays make him a lethal force.

Bewilderbeast
"Every nest has its queen, but this is the king of all dragons!"
Appears in: How to Train Your Dragon 2
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Abilities: Frozen Water blasts, mind control of other dragons, armored hide, with spikes
Weaknesses: None revealed

Bio: The Bewilderbeast is known as the Alpha Dragon.  Though there are many, each has a domain and looks over many dragons in that domain.  A meeting of another Bewilderbeast would prove deadly, with them both fighting unto the death.  The victor would gain control of the other dragons under the previous alpha's control.

Big Man Japan
"Since the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan has been protected against invading monsters, by a legacy of giant warriors! Today, there remains only one!"
Appears in: Big Man Japan
Height: 30 Meters
Weight: 400 Tons
Abilities: Electricity Grows him to gigantic sizes, strength
Weaknesses: None revealed

Bio: Part of a legacy of giant warriors who defended Japan against invading Kaiju, he would grow to gigantic sizes when exposed to an electric current before heading into battle.  His combat was not looked upon as welcomed by the locals, but he didn't let the mutual hatred of him stop him from his work.

Biollante
"I think now, I might have made a mistake..."
Appears in: Godzilla Franchise
Height: 120 Meters
Weight: 200,000 Tons
Abilities: Radioactive Sap, durability, regeneration, spore travel, constricting vines
Weaknesses: Heat

Bio: Mutated from a plant, shre grew into a monstrous plant, covered with impaling tendrils, and vines that can bite and spite radioactive sap.  Her regenerative abilities rival that of Godzilla.  

Bizaamo

Black Scorpion
"Ordinarily, I've got nothing against moonlight nights, but I'll be glad to get by this one."
Appears in: The Black Scorpion
Length: 12 Meters
Weight: 14 Tons
Abilities: Venomous Sting, Super Strength, durability
Weaknesses: Throat Seam

Bio: After a nest of gigantic scorpions was discovered, this monster started a rampage, killing all other scorpions. Its strong hide was impenetrable, until a weak spot was found in its throat area.

The Blob
The thing on that man's hand killed him and then it killed Paul, and whatever it is, it's getting bigger!"
Appears in: The Blob
Height: Limitless
Weight: Limitless
Abilities: rapid ingestion-based growth, amorphous movement, resistance to fire and kinetic energy
Weaknesses: Cold

Bio: The blob could be one of two things. An alien life form that crashed to Earth in a meteor, or an Earth bacteria used in an experiment in a space habitat, which crashed to earth in a satellite. Whatever it is, its astonishing ingestion based growth quickly turned a baseball sized blob, into a fully grown monster, with an endless appetite. Any organic material it comes into contact with it dissolves and is absorbed into the mass.

Bogal

Bowser (Giga)
Appears in: 
Height: 
Weight:
Abilities:
Weaknesses:

Bio:

Buraki
Appears in: D-War
Length: 200 Meters 
Weight: 7000 Tons
Abilities: Durability, flight, venomous fangs, strength, fast land speed
Weaknesses: None Revealed

Bio: Buraki resembled a massive snake that rampaged in Los Angeles. Despite his ferocity, he was defeated by Imoogi, but not before causing much damage and destruction.  His speed on land is one of the fastest of any kaiju, and like other snakes, his constriction abilities likely would cause problems for other kaiju.

Cherno Alpha
"Let's get this bastard!"
Appears in: Pacific Rim
Height: 85 Meters
Weight: 2,412 Tons
Abilities: Spiked Boots, heavily armored, tesla fists
Weaknesses: Acid

Bio: One of the toughest Jaegers in the Jaeger Program, Cherno Alpha is a Mark-I Jaeger from Russia, making it the oldest active Jaeger in the program.  But age doesn't matter, as it's fists are easily some of the hardest hitting weapons the mech warrior has, which have resulted in it sucessfully defeating six kaiju.

Cloverfield Monster
""Do you know what that thing is?"
"There ain't nobody teling me.  Whatever it is, it's winning."
Appears in: Cloverfield
Height: 107 Meters
Length: 366 Meters
Weight: 5800 Tons
Abilities: Super Strength, Durability, Amphibious, Jumper, Parasitic Skin
Weaknesses: None Revealed

Bio: The Cloverfield Monster, which has no official name, was one of the toughest monsters to have ever attacked the States.  With mysterious origins, and scary attributes, it took the leveling of Manhattan to theoretically kill the monster.  As a rather younger creature, it is covered in parasites that fall from its skin and act on their own accord.  A single bite from these parasites was lethal to human victims.

Colossal Titan
"You're kidding me...that wall is 50 Meters high!"
Appears in: Attack on Titan
Height: 60 Meters
Weight: ?
Abilities: Super Strength, Regeneration, Steam Generation
Weaknesses: Unknown

Bio: The Colossal Titan is a form taken on by Bertolt Hoover.  (I am not an expert on this universe so please excuse the ver brief bio)  Able to shift into this form near instantaniously, he is the second largest Titan on record, taking on a skinless male form.  His steam generation proves a very powerful defense mechanism, able to generate large amounts of pressurized and heated steam from his body.  

Coyote Tango
The world is coming to an end. So where would you rather die?  Here, or in a Jaeger?!"
Appears in: Pacific Rim
Height: 82 Meters
Weight: 2,312 Tons
Abilities: Energy Casters, Mortar Canons, heavy armor, powerful fists
Weaknesses: Acid

Bio: A Mark-I Jaeger, it ties with the CHerno Alpha as being one of the tallest Mark-I Jaegers in the service.  Its mortar canons pack powerful firepower as do its energy weapons, but as of now, it's only known for killing two Kaiju in it's service record.  

Crackler
Appears in: Godzilla: the Animated Series
Height: 60 Metes
Weight: Unknown
Abilities: Electricity Manipulation, Lightning Bursts, Electric Balls of Energy
Weaknesses: Unknown

Bio: The Crackler was an electromagnetic energy monster that manifested from the passive and inner anger of a man named Sydney Walker, after a mental experiment went a bit out of control.  The Crackler responded to the anger of Walker, destroying and attacking things that had caused grief to Walker.  Eventually, Walker was coaxed into letting out all his frustration, which brought about the end of the Crackler.  

Crimson Typhoon
Appears in: Pacific Rim
Height: 76 Meters
Weight: 1,722 Tons
Abilities: Plasma Caster, Buzzsaws, Durability, Jets for limited Flight
Weaknesses: Acid

Bio: Crimson Typhoon was one of the most ferocious Jaegers in the Jaeger Program, with a staggering seven kaiju killed in combat.  This is partly due to the unique three arm design this Kaiju has, and the three pilots that control it, in the infamous   Thundercloud Formation.  It is able to quickly shield itself from attacks, while quickly responding to attacks.  All of it's arms have retractable buzzsaws, each able to pierce tough kaiju hides.  It's jetpacks give it some mobility in the air to deliver powerful melee attacks.Though not as heavily armored as Cherno Alpha, it's still durable, and is a Jaeger that only the most skilled kaiju could take on.

Crustaceous Rex
Appears in: Godzilla: The Animated Series
Height: 50 Meters
Length: 70 Meters
Weight: 300 Tons
Abilities: Tentacles, Ink Blast, Durability
Weaknesses: None Revealed

Bio: The Crustaceous Rex was a large mutated creature that dwelled in the deep oceans, feeding on giant squids, before radiation drove it to the surface.  Similar to a spider, it would release a digestive enzyme on it's prey before consuming it.  Able to withstand gunfire, and blind its enemies, the Crustaceous Rex was one of the first creatures Zilla Jr. ever fought. 

Cyber-Zilla
Appears in: Godzilla: The Animated Series
Height: 60 Meters
Weight: 20,000 Tons
Abilities: Atomic Heat Ray, energy missiles, chest disk reflector, jumper, amphibious, high land speed, durability
Weaknesses: None revealed

Bio: Cyber-Zilla is the cybernetic resurrection of the very first Zilla which was killed in New York City in 1998.  Now armed with Tachyon technology, and abilities it's previous life did not have, it proved to be a formidable fighter.  It had a historic fight with it's lone surviving offspring.  Along with some of the many attributes it had in it's previous life, it's cybernetic enhancements made it a terrifying opponent, able to reflect sound based waves and weapons back to their source, fire Tachyon missiles, and even produce atomic fire of it's own, it was the ultimate weapon of the Tachyon Aliens.

Cyclometra

D.R.A.G.M.A.
Appears in: Godzilla: The Animated Series
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Abilities: Durability, strength, high reproduction rates
Weaknesses: None revealed

Bio: In an alternate future of Earth, a scientist was in the process of creating something to try and help the Earth, but his creation quickly evolved into a kaiju nightmare, bringing humanity to near extinction.  Their durable hides were near impenetrable.  And their high reproductive rates easily outnumbered and killed all monsters at Sight Omega, and even Zilla Jr. himself.  A fearsome enemy that hunted humanity, the only way to fully defeat it was a return trip to the past.  

Dagahra
Appears in: Rebirth of Mothra II
Length: 73 M
Weight: 17,000 Tons
Abilities: Barem-bio Missiles, maelstrom, Irabushan beam, energy beam, energy ring, durability, triphibian, flight speeds of Mach 10, swimming speed of 150 knots
Weaknesses: None Revealed

Bio: One of the tougher enemies that Mothra ever faced, Dagahra is a formidable fighter, land, sea, and air, though she fights strongest in the water.  Her shoulder cannons fire energy, but she can also fire energy beams from her mouth, and dorsal fins.  

Daimajin

Death Kappa

Deathrem

Destroyah
Devil Monster


Dirge

Ebirah

Eborsisk
"Destroy the beast!  Find the baby!"

El Guasano Gigante

Europa Aliens

Female M.U.T.O.

Gabara

Gaira

Gaius

Gamera

Gan Q

Gezoras

Giant Anacondas

Giant Ants
"We may be witnesses to a biblical prophecy come true. 'And there shall be destruction and darkness come upon creation, and the beast shall reign over the earth.'"
Giant Bat
"Nobody move.  If that bat senses any motion, it may think we're prey!"

Giant Claw

Giant Gila Monster

Giant Tarantula

Gigan

Gipsy Danger

Godzilla

Golza

Gomora

Gorgo

Gorosaurus

Graboids

Gudon

Guiron

Gwoemul

Gyaos

Hedorah

Igneel

Indominus Rex

Iron Giant

Irys

Jet Jaguar

Jiger

Kamacuras

Kamoebas

King Caesar

King Cobra

King Ghidorah

King Kong

Kiryu

Knifehead

Kojira

Kraken

Kumasogami

Kumonga

Kuromori

Leatherback

Legion

M.O.G.U.E.R.A.

Magnia

Male M.U.T.O.

Malus

Manda

Mechani-Kong

Megalon

Megaguirus

Megashark

Megazord

Mephilas

Minilla

Mothra

Mr. Stay Puft

Mutavore

Mushra

Nanotech Creature

Nessie

Onibaba

Optimus Prime

Orachi

Orga

Otachi

Prometheon

Queen Bee

Quetzalcoatl the Winged Serpent

Raiju

Rancor

Red Death

Red King

Reptilicus

Rhedosaurus

Robo-Yeti

Rodan

Scunner

Slattern

Smaug

SpaceGodzilla

Spyler

Striker Eureka

Super Justice

Titanosaurus

Toothless

Toto

Trespasser

Tripods

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Ultraman

Ultraman Belial

Utsuno Ikusagami

Varan

Vastatosaurus Rex

Velociraptor Pack

Viras
Voltron

Wargilgar

Widow Spider 

XXXG-01W Wing Gundam

Zandolla

Zedus

Zetton

Zigra

Zilla

Zilla Jr.

Zone Fighter