Gojira tai Mekagojira

Godzilla's 14th film, his 20th Anniversary, is pretty good, better than the last two, that's for sure. Finally, we aren't bombarded with stock-footage, crappy monsters, and karate moves. The story was good, and so were most of the SFX. Plus, a reason of its own to give the film a star, it introduced MechaGodzilla, one of my favorite monsters! The story wasn't a rehash of the others and they actually brought back some of the best Toho actors, Akihiko Hirata and Hiroshi Koizumi! The music was all right for the most part, with its jazzy feel to it. The aliens are a bit of a disappointment, being monkeys, but they didn't ruin it like the cockroaches in "Godzilla vs. Gigan". This is the first film since "Godzilla vs. Hedorah", a whole three years (!!), for SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano to actually display something presentable and all of Mecha-G's rampage scenes are carried out nicely. But the doppelganger's chest ray looked too simple compared to his eye beams, which looked incredible. To the monsters....

Angiurus returns, now able to leap at his foes like Baragon in "Frankenstien Conquers the World", a bit odd but cool. His fight with Mecha-G is very physical, ripping Anguirus' jaws apart and all. Mecha-G was incredibly cool looking and all his weapons are brought to life fantastically. I'm glad he returns in "Terror of MechaGodzilla". King Seeser is actually a decent monster but I hate the fact that that braud had to sing for over a minute to awaken him! It was the Mothra song coming back to haunt us all. Godzilla is still the suit from "Godzilla vs. Megalon". The final battle was spectacular and fun goes to bloody levels never before seen in a G-film and the Monster King takes quite a beating. In this film Godzilla also doesn't do any goofy moves or that many human tactics. Of course, besides that scene where he missed his mechanical twin with his heat ray and seemed to snap his fingers in anger. The human characters all give good performances and a few espionage scenes, but the aliens' aluminum foil base wasn't that impressive.

I really enjoyed this movie and really think it's one of the better at a time when Godzilla films were really going downhill. The sequel surpasses this film, but the end of the original series I guess was inevitable at this point.

The original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is quite an enjoyable entry in the franchise and definitely an improvement then it's three predecessors, but it's not without it's flaws. The story is simply another alien invasion story, this time about aliens who are actually rip-offs of the apes from Planet of the Apes. There's a prophecy about a monster that will arise and destroy Japan while two monsters will save it. They think the destroyer is Godzilla when he appears and destroys some stuff, but it's revealed to be an imposter, while the humans and aliens fight over a statue to awaken King Caesar. The story is entertaining but at the same time the reusing of aliens over and over for these last few entries makes it feel stale, and so do the characters, as they are another cast of forgettable, shallow archetypes with nothing to them. None of the characters, except maybe the alien commander, really resonate and are one-dimensional. In fact, you can actually end up mixing them up. Also, the aliens in this film make no sense, with some of their decisions being rather questionable, and the reveal that they are actually space apes raises a lot of questions, such as why they suddenly lose their human-like intelligence when they revert back to their true forms, and why they need help from the human scientist to fix Mechagodzilla, which they created from their own technology. The ape makeup and the effect of them transforming also look atrocious. The monster side of things, however, makes up for these somewhat lacking areas. Mechagodzilla looks great, with a design resembling a menacing cartoon villain, Godzilla's design is a vast improvement over the previous one and is definitely one of the best Showa Godzilla designs, Anguirus looks just as good as ever, and King Caesar is another creative new monster that adds a mammalian touch to Godzilla's vast array of kaiju. The special effects are also an improvement over the last few entries and quite well done, with many satisfying and entertaining monster scenes and tons of awesome explosions. Masaru Sato delivers probably his best musical score here, as his music is fun and jazzy while also being foreboding. Overall, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is a decent, enjoyable Godzilla film. While it lacks in delivering compelling human characters, it delivers in satisfying kaiju action that will leave any Godzilla fan entertained.

Released in 1974, Gojira tai Mekagojira is a very nice break from the garbage that was 1973's Gojira tai Megaro (Godzilla Against Megalon). Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla was made to commemorate Godzilla's 20th anniversary. Toho hired veteran composer Masaru Sato for the music, Teruyoshi Nakano was brought back for special effects, and Jun Fukuda returned to direct. After Godzilla vs. Megalon, Fukuda does a 180 and gives us an exciting, original, well-paced film.

The special effects are among the best of the Showa series. While some of the Black Hole Aliens scenes leave some to be desired, the monster scenes are well done,and greatly improved over Godzilla vs. Megalon. The battles between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla are fast-paced and brutal. Mechagodzilla is a very original foe for Godzilla, and probably his deadliest. Godzilla himself is the Megarogoji from 1973, but Toho gave him a "mean" look. King Seesar is an interesting monster, and has a small cult following, but many look down upon him due to him getting pummeled by Mechagodzilla.

There are flaws though. Character development leaves some to be desired, but this can be forgiven by the film's fast pace. Also, some special effects shots, like Mechagodzilla's chest lightning, look ridiculous.

Here's an interesting fact for those who don't already know: During Godzilla's fight with Fake Godzilla, you may notice that Fake Godzilla seems rather goofy, with a chubbier jaw, and his hands resemble Mechagodzilla's missile finger. This is because Toho used a promotional Godzilla suit, instead of making a second Megarogoji suit, which they couldn't afford. The Fake Godzilla suit was also used for water scenes, because water causes a lot of wear and tear on Godzilla suits.

Overall, Gojira tai Mekagojira is a fast-paced, fun, exciting film to watch. Possibly the best of the seventy's, and it's leaps and bounds above Godzilla vs. Megalon. However, if you're expecting anything like the original Gojira, or the Golden Age, look elsewhere. But, if you're the kind who enjoys fast-paced action, this is your kind of film.

Score:7/10

In this little doozy, Godzilla goes up against Mechagodzilla, a monster with a long name and made of space titanium. Godzilla teams up with King Seesar, a furry guy who likes quiet evenings at home until he is woken up by singing. MechaG is the evil aliens' world conquering device. By the way, the aliens in their true form look like Japanese actors with green ape masks on. Big budget fun. King Seesar is called upon to protect his home Okinawa and make sure Mr.Miyagi's parents survive so he can grow up to teach Daniel-San. All I can say is if this is Okinawa's best defense, that island is screwed. Godzilla eventually beats MechaG by drawing him to his body magnetically (along with some electrical towers) and ripping his head off. Anguirus is in it too, but who cares? Note: this is one of the films where Godzilla squirts blood likes he's in a Peckinpah flick.

Aliens create a giant mechanical version of Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, in an effort to destroy Japan. The mechanical creature nearly defeats Godzilla until our rubber- suited hero enlists the help of a fellow Kaiju, the dog-like King Seesar, to defeat the new bionic beast. With the exception of the original films, none of the Godzilla movies are all that serious, but this one seems downright gonzo when the aliens are revealed to be gorilla-like creatures, particularly during one shootout when one of the aliens has half of his human mask removed. What makes or breaks most Godzilla films are the subplots involving the human characters, which if they are boring (as is in most Godzilla films), the movies drag between monster battles, but when the human stories are interesting it makes the film work as a whole. "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" also features a fun jazzy score by Masaru Sato, who scores many films for Akira Kurosawa, and the movie contains plenty of bright colorful Kaiju battles. Overall, this is probably the best of the Godzilla films of the 1970s and is well worth watching for fans of our favorite Japanese monster.