Godzilla gegen Spacegodzilla

This one is probably considered by fans as one of the lesser 90s films. Knowing that Toho was essentially buying time for the American film, it's easy to see why they resorted to a Godzilla vs another Godzilla story. I personally enjoy SpaceGodzilla as a villain and have a soft spot for the music. It's not perfect as the plot goes on tangents and the action is at times overbearing but I find some enjoyment out of it.

While this has been the best looking Godzilla movie I have seen, it was also the most confusing.It seems like things get lost in translation because there is so much stuff that doesn't make any sense.Even though they explain how a Space Godzilla was created, their explanation raises more questions than it answers.Some people want to use telepathy to control Godzilla so they make a telepathy amplifier to attach to him.But there's some guy on an island who is planning to kill Godzilla when two other guys show up.They never explain who any of them are and lots of stupid things happen.At one point the two guys are on a dirt bike and catch a tiny whiff of tear gas which makes them dump the bike.It's too cheesy, even for a Godzilla movie.Plus there's some Mothra and Little Godzilla stuff that is even cheesier and it has nothing to do with the story.Even though nothing about this movie makes any sense, it's still better than most Godzilla flicks.One of the best of the series.

This is Gojira's 40th anniversary movie. What a strange concoction this one is.

While SpaceGodzilla, who admittedly looks evil and can do evil things, seems a little out of place. I'm not too sure about his powers of flight. He's at his most bastard self when he attacks the more or less defenceless LittleGodzilla.

Little Gojira is a bit odd too. It looks nothing like Baby from "Gojira vs Mekagojira II". But, to its credit, it acts like a young one would. It's playful, it can wander into dangerous situations and it can call out for its parent.

MOGERA is an oddity too. How it could be classed a "sucessor" to the all-powerful MechaG from the previous movie is beyond me (or possibly any G-fan). It's kinda more like the B-squad of mechas. However, I do like its ability to transform into two vehicles. Actually, I prefer it like that.

I'm got going to mention much about Godzilla, except why, for most of the film, his atomic breath is blue? As we all know it turned red thanks to Rodan's self-sacrifice, but why is it not red all the time?

As per usual, the human cast don't have much going for them. I'm starting to dislike Miki Saegusa now. She keeps blabbing on about "Godzilla's rights", but as per usual, she gets led into the plan anyway. I'm not too sure about the guy in charge of the T-project (the one with the long face who smirks to himself a lot). He's kinda like a Japanese Snidely Whiplash.

This is one of those movies that it infuriates me to see so many people get very analytical on. Most people find all so many things to harp on, they forget this movie (and most of the series) is made to entertain. Lots of people criticize the plot, but who really goes into a kaiju fighting movie looking for deep meaning (there are a FEW exceptions)?

Setting that aside, let's get to the review. The plot deals with a monster bred in space that comes to earth to battle Godzilla. It's origins are ambiguous: Biollante or Mothra are responsible in one way or another. After Godzilla is defeated in the first encounter, both monsters retreat and then both tear up Japan as they head towards the final battleground: Fukuoka.

Personally, I thought Space Godzilla was cool. He was quite a difficult opponent to fight. Godzilla's breath for the most part wasn't effective. I liked his design also. The final battle goes on for quite long as Godzilla and a robot ally, MOGUERA take Space Godzilla in a giant crystal fortress. There were some ambitious ideas involving telekinesis; both Space Godzilla and Megumi Odaka use it during the film. I liked the score, it's a lot better than it's given credit for. My favorite part is the destruction montage of Godzilla destroying various cities on his way to Fukuoka. Great special FX and great musical accompaniment.

Overall, an entertaining film.

With this film, I think Toho Studios focused more on the human characters and subplot. Major Yuki and Dr. Gondo's relationship take center stage, as do Miki Saegusa and Shinjo. Yuki wanted to avenge Godzilla for his friend Goro Gondo (from 1989's Godzilla vs. Biollante). Therefore, he has a personal vendetta against the monster, who battles SpaceGodzilla to save his son. Miki was instructed to use her powers to control Godzilla, hopefully, lessening his attacks on Japan.

This movie marked Godzilla's 40th anniversary and is the only Heisei film that introduced a creature from space-SpaceGodzilla, a creep of a monster when he attacked the innocent LittleGodzilla on Bass Island. BabyGodzilla (from 1993's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II) grew into Little Godzilla. Moguera was a new tin-can weapon made by G-Force to defeat Godzilla. It is said to be better improved than Mechagodzilla. But, he had no effect on Godzilla and lost two battles with SpaceGodzilla. The first battle sequence between Moguera and SpaceGodzilla shows them in space, which gave us a very bad special effect of big, white plastic chunks of rocks. Also, the battle sequences of Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla were mainly rays zapping against each other. The Japanese Mafia looks more like businessmen in suits and they were not emphasized enough in the movie. Akira Ifukube didn't even return to score this movie. Toho even had a new director and writer for this film, giving the story to a new crew. The final battle, consisting of Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla and Moguera was more focused on Moguera. However, the movie plot flowed fairly well, with some good and solid acting. I loved how Miki's psychic powers were enhanced in this film, i.e., she used telekinesis to levitate a bed she was strapped down to, open a trapped door and dislodge a transmitter from Godzilla's neck. She even used her powers to communicate with Shinjo. As Shinjo says "see you again one day" and Sato saying "Godzilla! I still have something to settle with you" to Godzilla made it seem that the monster is beginning to garner the audience's sympathy.

As you watch closely, this film features more monsters than any other film in the Heisei Series-Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla, LittleGodzilla, Moguera, Mothra, and Fairy Mothra.

Overall, not a bad film. There are better Godzilla movies than this one, but if you're a G- Fan, add this movie to your collection by all means.

Grade B-