Godzilla: Tokio en Peligro

Direct sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. Surprise, surprise, Godzilla returns for revenge against his robotic counterpart. This time the end of the world may also follow suit, as humans have managed to annoy Mothra as well. I loved the way in which Godzilla's bones helped create Mechagodzilla, and save humanity, are now the cause of all the controversy may destroy humanity. There is less human conflict in this film, but the action more than makes up for it. Another wonderful Godzilla movie then. I'm sad I only have one left to watch. But I must stress, don't just tune into this and expect the effects to win you over. You have to make an effort.

The one thing that gets me is how some reviewers rate movies, but only tells the parts that they hated. What about the rest of the movie. This one is much better than the first (Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2002) by far. The story is very interesting this go around. The people of Japan are warned that if they do not dismantle Kiryu then Mothra will not fight for them rather against them.

This movie also has key elements from previous movies such as Mothra, and Godzilla vs Mothra, while still staying true to the 2002 flick. The special effects get better with each movie especially Godzilla's thermanuclear blast. The monster battles in this one were good as well, some reviewers think Godzilla has to be super evil to have good monster battles, shame on them. Mothra did her parts to hold off Godzilla until Hio and Mana (the larva) shows up.

I won't spoil the movie or the ending for you, but the doorway for Godzilla Final Wars has been busted open. Again don't trust reviews from critics whom couldn't tell you the difference between Godzilla and Zilla. This is a definite buy and an enjoyable movie. Who says you have to be a kid to appreciate the action of a Godzilla movie? Check this one out, you won't be disappointed.

First, a disappointment: Megumi Odaka, the young woman with the very large ears who communicates with Godzilla telepathically, is NOT in this one...My children and I have dubbed her "Mickey Mouse" and enjoy seeing her in the series...

This movie has the BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS of ANY Godzilla movie that I have seen. The planes look like planes; the tanks look like tanks; and, Godzilla looks so COOL! He has gone through another make-over and has been given a cobra-like neck to go with the newer, smaller head and the glowing spinal plates.

Who else has a new look? The women that Dennis Miller refers to as the Mothra Chicks. New outfits, bare midriffs, ugly shoes...more contemporary ideals of beauty. And, they sing just as well as the originals...

The effects are most spectacular with Mothra, although I hear that Mothra is not really a moth, but a stunt butterfly in a moth-suit. The look of the giant insect is most realistic and the effects of his near miss flybys can almost be felt by the viewer.

Mechagodzilla looks pretty neat as well.

I won't give much of the plot away. There is less screen time for the child actors, but the movie is perfectly fine for children. No discernible death, just a lot of good clean monster fun...

Get ready to crumble because there goes Tokyo! Finally, some continuation in the Millennium series. Previously, Godzilla once again faced off against his mechanical double in "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla." Both monsters return alongside Mothra in one hell of a battle between man, monster, and goddess. The result is Godzilla Tokyo SOS.

Plot: One year after the epic battle between monster and machine, Mechagodzilla is still undergoing repairs as is Tokyo. Meanwhile, Mothra, Earth's insect guardian, demands that the bones of the original Godzilla creature, currently inside Mechagodzilla, because apparently humans should never touch the souls of the dead. Soon enough, Godzilla returns, forcing the government to make rushed adjustments and send in their mech after the beast with Mothra's help. Can their combined might defeat the King of the Monsters?

Basically, it's Godzilla vs the world and I just love it. This is practically a fan's dream battle as Godzilla faces both Mothra and Mechagodzilla at the same time, the latter two being challenging opponents. The action scenes are totally crazy as these monsters beat the living (and metal) crap out of each other and buildings everywhere get smashed and blown up. The designs of the creatures are just excellent from Godzilla's awesome Hensei/Millenuim hybrid look to Mothra's insectoid features.

The story is pretty interesting, though most of the new human characters are not as charismatic as the ones from the previous film who also show up here. What's really cool, though, is veteran Godzilla actor Hiroshi Koizumi returning as his character Dr. Shinichi Chujo from the original Mothra movie! He has a prominent role here and it's so nice to see an old face from the original series. The music is also a real treat, especially the classic Mothra song sung by none other than the twin fairies, the Shobijin.

Nothing much to say other than this Godzilla film is a blast. With epic action scenes, an intriguing story, good cast, and a surprise creature cameo, this is sure to please any fan and beyond, so check it out. All hail the King of the Monsters!

So I took a break from the world of Godzilla after MECHAGODZILLA II and SPACE GODZILLA disappointed me and the 1954 original (which I appreciated for what it was) bored me. But I'm a glutton for punishment, and I decided to try again and find a Godzilla movie that's more my speed. My next excursion brought me to GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. While it has a lot in common with his run-in with Space Godzilla, I found that I enjoyed it a bit more. I don't know if I'm just getting used to the genre or it the movies just got better as the years went on. I guess TOKYO S.O.S. was the second-to-last of the Toho series films so I guess it's better late than never. Just because the movie's an improvement over the previous installments I've seen, that doesn't mean it's any less insane. The movie opens with the arrival of Mothra, heralded by his twin space fairies warning Dr. Shinichi Chujo that Mothra demands that Godzilla's remains (which had been used in the construction of Mechagodzilla) be returned to the sea where they belong. It never really explains why so I just assume Mothra's a stickler for proper burial procedures. Anyway Godzilla awakens (I thought he was dead and his bones were in Mechagodzilla?) and returns to Tokyo to exact revenge on Mechagodzilla for…having his bones? Mothra has offered to defend Tokyo in Mechagodzilla's place if the Japanese government comply with his request, and he is summoned to battle Godzilla when the beast arrives. Then, human characters step aside and we're treated to an hour of Godzilla, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla going to battle.

So, the first thing I noticed is that this movie trades in some elements of crazy (there are no psychics in this movie) for others (space fairies and a giant benevolent moth). Let's go ahead and just get this reminder out of the way. I am not a long-term Godzilla fan and only started watching the series when I realized that I was excited to see Gareth Edwards' 2014 reboot and wanted to get some history on the series. I did not watch them in order and I've only seen a handful of them. So I'm sure there are perfectly "logical" explanations for all of the weirdness I get such a kick out of but I'm more entertained by just assuming it was the writer's love for LSD. For example, why is Mothra's offspring born from an egg more resembling that of a bird than any insect? It doesn't matter. He's a space moth with hot twin space fairies that act as his voice to mankind. I'd always wondered why it appeared that Mothra had such a huge fan base and I think I get it. It's probably the most interesting of the monsters I've seen so far. It's not just some mindless beast rampaging through Japan. It's got personality and it's own agenda. It wants Godzilla's remains returned to the sea (again, for reasons unknown to me) and it's willing to become the nation's guardian in exchange for the disassembly of Mechagodzilla.

At the start of the movie, Mechagodzilla is in a state of disrepair and the government is weighing the option of shutting down the program. If Godzilla's thought to be gone, why continue shelling money out to repair their giant robot? While the government gives it consideration, Godzilla decides to pop in for some Tokyo- stomping and Mothra steps in, quickly proving that his offer to protect Japan was worthless. While I actually really liked the human story element here better than I have in any of the other movies, TOKYO S.O.S. suffers from the same issue that really bothered me about SPACE GODZILLA. The movie is 90 minutes long and 60 of those minutes is dedicated to the final battle. No joke. I'm sure all the loyal Godzilla fans out there are shrugging and mumbling to themselves, "Well, yeah, man. That's what these movies are all about." Well, I need more than just 60 solid minutes of monster vs. monster vs. giant robot. Admittedly, this battle was way more entertaining than those in both MECHAGODZILLA II and SPACE GODZILLA and the ending was a nice resolution, even if I didn't totally follow it. I was unaware that Mechagodzilla has a history of spirit possession, but there it went. Anyways, my final verdict on GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. is that it's a nice improvement over the other Godzilla movies I've seen. Mothra was way cooler than I thought a giant space moth had any right to be. The final battle, while still excessive, was pretty cool and the visual effects have gotten much better so if I were going to recommend any Godzilla movie to a newbie, it would probably be this one.