Les Monstres du continent perdu

Just as good as its predecessor, if not better. Last time we saw Godzilla teaming up to take down one monster. This time, he has to take down two, by himself. This is a great end to the original series, as it contains all the great elements. Awesome fights, which take us back to more inhabited areas. The country side had become a cheap alternative, but you can't beat city destruction. There is also a lot of heart, as we see a ridiculed scientist and his daughter struggle with their feelings. This film actually contains some human sacrifice. Making us and Godzilla equal again. Very impressed with something that could have been all a little much.

Toho realized something after their abysmal GODZILLA VS. MEGALON and hence were smart enough to put a bit more effort into their subsequent two films. GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA suffered from a lot of the same 70's goofiness of the previous films and some serious pacing issues, but overall was certainly a step in the right direction.

Wisely, Toho decided to go old-school with the sequel and brought back Inoshiro Honda to direct and Akira Ifukube to compose one of his best musical scores yet for the series. The result certainly brings this film a level of class lacking in most of the Godzilla films following VS. MOTHRA though unfortunately there's a lot of silliness yet to be had.

Plotwise we get the same tired old formula of aliens plotting to conquer earth with a monster (or two this time - Titanosaurus makes for an interesting newcomer) aided by a mad scientist hot for revenge against "those fools". Fortunately, Godzilla is out to stop them but isn't in full-blown hero mode. Instead, Godzilla seems to be fighting them more out of the fact that he's just plain pi**ed off, and he's got an impressive new suit to show it.

Effects-wise you have to understand that Teruyoshi Nakano was working at 1/3 to 1/2 the budget of what his mentor Tsuburaya had to work with, so in that respect his work is quite impressive. This film features a triumphant return of the city-stomp with a show-stopping sequence involving Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus laying waste to downtown Tokyo. Don't mind that they blow up the same row of buildings at least 4 times in a row - it's all great fun and showcases a lot of great pyrotechnics.

There's a lot of bizarre moments in the climactic monster-on-monster violence and a lot of iffy continuity. For instance, Godzilla knocks Titanosaurus out of the way and then tackles Mechagodzilla to the ground but in the very next shot, Godzilla is lying down alone and Titanosaurus is suddenly there kicking him in the head. (?) Most likely a case of bad editing more than anything.

Overall a worthy candidate for a way to spend a rainy afternoon. The 70's may have been a Godzilla nadir but this film is the highpoint of that lowpoint.

Terror of Mechagodzilla follows "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla". It would be the last film from the original "Showa" series of Godzilla Films.

A submarine goes looking for the remains of Mechagodzilla. It is attacked by a giant dinosaur monster known as Titanosaurus. Later the Simians make a return to Earth and align with a scientist called Dr. Mafune. They bring Mechagodzilla up and repair him and also control Titanosaurus as well. Mafune's daughter Tetsura is killed, so the Simians insert a control for Mechagodzilla into her. Soon the Simians unleash Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus on Tokyo. Godzilla appears and appears to be the only thing that can save the Earth.

Mechagodzilla returns in this film. Definitely one of Godzilla's greatest foes, so it was no surprise that he appeared in another film with Godzilla. Mechagodzilla is a little different acting in this film in that he must wait for Tetsura to give commands. Also his fingers are longer and has revolving missiles added to his arsenal. Also if Mechagodzilla loses his head he has a smaller head underneath that fires a powerful beam of energy. Mechagodzilla can still function without his head in this film. He just can not function once Tetsura is destroyed.

Mechagodzilla is not by himself in this film. Titanosaurus assists him in battle with Tokyo and Godzilla. Titanosaurus is a bright red and yellow color and has a long neck and tail that becomes like a fan to create wind storms. Also he can jump far and is quite a formidable fighter. However Titanosaurus is not really an evil monster, he is just taken control of by Mafune and the Simians and forced to be evil. A really good monster that only shows up in this film, but I like that he is in it. In fact, Titanosaurus is the main monster in this film and is on screen more than Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla is not in this movie as much as he probably should be, he is over shadowed by both Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla. This really is more of a Mechagodzilla film than a Godzilla film. But Godzilla does get his fair share of action towards the end. Godzilla has no help in this film, it is him against both Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus. That is pretty cool.

The monster action is pretty good in this film. Mechagodzilla gets to do some awesome destruction scenes on Japan. Godzillas fight with Mechagodzilla at the end of this film I think is a better overall fight because both monsters get to get in some action. It is not just one sided. There is no blood spilling all over the place in this one, I am not complaining just saying that I guess they thought that they went overboard in the last film.

FOr the most part I thought the acting was good in this film. The young man who is in love with Getsura really shows great emotion and the SImians and Dr. Mafune are good bad guys.

The story is great. It starts off with a search for Mechagodzilla's head. Then Titanosaurus appears and becomes the main focus for a while. Then Godzilla shows up and later Mechagodzilla comes back. Just a lot of good timing for monsters entering. A really well written and well acted film. This is one of the best and most under rated of the entire series.

The music is great. It is not the same score from Terror of Mechagodzilla, it is different and more darker sounding. I guess they made great music a priority in the films starring Mechagodzilla. THis is one of my favorite music scores from any Godzilla movie.

Complaint, well this will be tough. I guess one thing is that if you are watching this film to see Mechagodzilla you have to wait a long time to see him up and going. But that is really nitpicking.

One last thing, the Japanese Version has quite a few differences. FOr one when the Simians are turning Tetsura into a cyborg you can see her nude breasts, I think that is the only nudity in a Godzilla Film. Also the American Version completely botches the ending where Tetsura must make a vital decision in regards to saving herself or the planet. I do not want to give away too much.

A great film. If you liked Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla then you will love this one. Highly recommended.

Following on from the perky Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla is a very different movie in tone, possibly because series founder Ishiro Honda is directing. The story (about a beautiful female cyborg helping alien forces control the Earth by destroying it with monsters Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus) is perhaps more credible than you'd expect, given the superior level of acting on show from the cast. Naturally, the film really excels with the creatures and Akira Ifukube's doom-laden score. If more Godzilla movies were similar to this then perhaps the series would face less ridicule. Or maybe not. Still good though. 8/10

As a longtime fan of Godzilla movies, I'm at a loss to explain why this film in particular is so hated. I loved this film as a child (perhaps I was already moving towards my love of tragedy), partly due to the coolness of the original Mechagodzilla, partly due to the fact I thought Titanosaurus was cool. There was also the part where I dug the little story of the mad scientist bent on his revenge for being laughed out of academia, and the whole love story angle between the scientist and the mad scientist's daughter. As you can see, there's a lot going on in this film, probably too much, but I enjoyed the attempt to have a more serious subplot going on in a Godzilla flick. The line from the horribly cut American version "But I can't love you, I'm a cyborg", is highlarious. Anyways, I finally tracked down a subtitled, uncut copy, and I was amazed to discover that the american distributors cut the scenes that explain a major character's sacrifice of her life-in the american version it just seems a senseless act. Anyways, don't expect much except a goofy star crossed lovers plot combined with a mad scientist plot and kaiju beating on one another and enjoy.