Gojira vs. Supesugojira

Gojira vs. Supesugojira (Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla) is directed by Kenshô Yamashita and written by Kanji Kashiwa, Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Shinichirô Kobayashi. It stars Megumi Odaka, Jun Hashizume, Zenkichi Yoneyama and Akira Emoto. Music is by Takayuki Hattori and cinematography by Masahiro Kishimoto.

Godzilla faces two new foes, Mogera - a UN built giant robotic machine, and Space Godzilla - a beast spawned from Godzilla's particles in space...

Oh how nutty it is, here we have part of what is known as the Heisei period of "Zilla" movies, and it's utterly bonkers. Is it meant to be a comedy, serious, thrown together quickly to make some money? Who knows? Who cares? Very divisive in Godzilla fan circles (totally understandable), pic throws a number of action series staples at the piece, slots in Godzilla's kid (a goofy looking Godzuki monstrosity), and pitches the moody big lizard against two foes that creates ultimate fire and destruction mayhem.

Godzilla stomps the city of course, all while trying to keep out the telekinetic skills of the yummy Miki Saegusa (Odaka). There's some truly great matte shots in the mix, mad science, a nifty score that the likes of Williams and Barry wouldn't be ashamed of, and a traditional laser show of a finale smackdown. It's not great, in fact it's pretty dumb and maybe even lazy, but there is merit here for entertainment purpose. So strap yourself in, leave the brain at the door and enjoy the colourful carnage, it's trippy man! 6/10

Don't expect a star wars. With these films you never do and never should. Just like most of the godzilla films this one too is campy cheesy entertainment. Earlier i was very critical about the film. But watching it again i realized it was fun and not to be judged too harshly. In fact it is an underrated movie. Even among godzilla fan circles. This film is nonstop entertainment from beginning to end full of monster action and special effects which we Kaiju fans love to see. It has one of the best destruction scenes of all G films and Space godzilla is one hell of a monster. If you are a Godzilla fan, add it to your collection now.

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-

The 1994 "Gojira vs. Supesugojira" (aka "Godzilla vs Space Godzilla") was actually one of the more entertaining of movies in the massive Godzilla franchise.

Sure, the movie was campy, no doubt about it. But still, this is a Godzilla movie, so you know what you are getting yourself into here. And I will say that writers Kanji Kashiwa and Hiroshi Kashiwabara actually managed to turn out a script that really worked and felt very much like a Godzilla movie. And director Kenshô Yamashita brought the story to life nicely on the screen.

This is a very typical Godzilla movie in every sense. The Earth is threatened by a kaiju - this time from outer space - and Godzilla comes in to take on the threat and emerge victorious (of course). So yeah, a standard Godzilla movie in every aspect. You know what you are getting into, and you know the outcome of the movie even before it starts.

The storyline, despite it being generic, was actually entertaining. I was especially enjoying the Godzilla fight against Space Godzilla, whereas the Mogera was just a side dish with little to no flavor to add to the movie. I was particularly fond of the approach with the Space Godzilla creature.

For a movie from 1994 then the effects were particularly good, given the fact that this is, after all, a Godzilla movie.

"Godzilla vs Space Godzilla" is definitely a movie that is well worth taking the time to sit down and watch if you enjoy the kaiju movies. My rating for the movie is a solid six out of ten stars.