Godzilla X Mechagodzilla

This Godzilla movie has a better storyline than any of the other originals. The special effects used were excellent, however the Godzilla and MechaGodzilla (Kiryu) costumes were similar to the ones used in the early Godzilla movies.

The performance of Japanese Pop Idol Yumiko Shaku (Yuki from Shura Yukihime/The Princess Blade) was great, she really portrayed her character (Akane Yashino)'s emotions well.

The overall its a good movie to watch for fun!

Better than last year's GMK, in fact, (still, I give that one ****). After the original Godzilla is destroyed in 1954, Japan has become the stomping ground (pun intended!) for a host of other kaiju over the years(featured in brief flashbacks). A special branch of the Japanese Defense Force is created to counter this threat, resulting in the creation of MechaGodzilla, a biomechanical monster created from the dna recovered from the remains of the original Godzilla. After it's initial encounter with Godzilla, the thing goes berserk when it "hears" Godzilla's roar which triggers a genetic memory in the robot's control system, causing it to go on a rampage.

GODZILLA vs MECHAGODZILLA returns the Big G to his sci-fi roots. The beginning is very similar to that of GODZILLA vs MEGAGUIRIUS, which is no surprise since it's directed by Masaaki Tezuka, who also directed GxM. The acting is superb, and the special effects are top notch-light years ahead of any premillennial G-films, or even GODZILLA '98 for that matter. I won't give away the ending, but it does leave room for a sequel currently in production in Japan, so stay tuned.

Rating: ***** out of *****

This is the third Godzilla film of the Millennium Series. It is made as a direct sequel to the original 1954 Godzilla film, and, in my opinion, is the best film to do so in the Millennium Series. Godzilla's first appearance in this movie has him rising out of the ocean, scaring a couple of soldiers, and beginning his rampage in Japan. As a result, government officials talk about Godzilla's first attack in 1954 and how it was destroyed by the Oxygen Destroyer, alarmed that this monster has mysteriously returned. They even referenced the monsters Gaira from "War of the Gargantuas" (1966) and Mothra from "Mothra" (1961) as having invaded Tokyo in the years after Godzilla's first attack.

In this film, we have, again, a female soldier seeking revenge against Godzilla for killing colleagues of hers. After monsters having appeared in the past, the Japanese government salvaged the skeletal remains of the original Godzilla to make a robotic version of the monster called Mechagodzilla. Filled with missiles and state-of-the-art weaponry, Mechagodzilla is Japan's number one defense against Godzilla. Mechagodzilla was proved to be a tough opponent for Godzilla and, in a plot twist, it appeared that the original Godzilla's spirit lives in the robot. This added suspense to the story.

We get to see a movie with a brilliant score by Michiru Ôshima and great special effects by Yûichi Kikuchi. Masaaki Tezuka did OK in the directing; however, he focused too much on the human characters, leaving us limited monster action (Godzilla was also portrayed as a little weak). But, some of the heroism and sacrifice made by the human characters, especially by the antagonist of the film who ended up putting his own life on the line to rescue the female lead, were pretty entertaining. I also enjoyed the touching friendship between the little girl and the female soldier, adding a nice touch of heartfelt drama. As an added treat, Toho brought back veteran actress Kumi Mizuno, who played "Miss Namikawa" in "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" (1965) and "Daiyo" in "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster" (1966), and actor Akira Nakao, who played "Commander Takaki Aso" in the Godzilla "Heisei" films, to appear in this movie.

Overall, this is a well-paced story with some nice monster action, but mostly towards the end.

Grade B-

Version: Japanese with English Subtitles (Madman's R4 DVD)

'Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla' opens with a typhoon hitting southern Japan, and then a giant monster turns up to lay waste to a small town - everyone runs away - except for the one guy who thinks he can save his house from being stepped on - and the 'Anti-Megalosaurus Force' is called in, and eventually runs away, but not before their commander, Akane Yashiro (Yumiko Shaku) accidentally causes the deaths of several of her troops. Soon we learn the monster is Godzilla, and according to this movie's time-line, Godzilla attacked Japan only once, when he first appeared in 1954. Other monsters have attacked Japan since, but none have been as destructive as Godzilla.

With Godzilla's reappearance, those wacky Japanese scientists come up with their best plan yet - they're going to build a Mechagodzilla, with added firepower, and controlled by a 'DNA Computer' using DNA extracted from the original Godzilla's skeleton. Apparently by doing this, Mechagodzilla can think like Godzilla, and will have a reaction time markedly better than that of a normal computer. Obviously this a bad idea, but these Godzilla movies need bad-ideas for the movie to proceed.

On the human side of things, Akane Yashiro is assigned to the Kiryu Squadron (Mechagodzilla Squadron), and is met with hostility from her comrades their. Tokumitsu Yuhara, one of the Mechagodzilla scientists spends most of the movie chatting up Akane, while Akane tries to get Tokumitsu's daughter, Sara, to open up to her. Awww, how sweet.

Enough of the love-ins, lets get down to some city crushing! The plot is simple, and like several other Godzilla movies, makes some interesting points that it completely skips in favour of monster action (in this case, Japan's rearmament is mentioned, but only briefly), of which is there is plenty. In their respective adventures, Godzilla and his mechanical cousin destroy a few cities and make a mockery of Japan's defence forces (just another day on the job for Godzilla), and get down to one way-cool giant-monster fight scene at the end. Did I mention the fight-scene at is way-cool?

My only problem with the movie is the use of the Godzilla suit: there are times when it is plainly obvious that the Godzilla suit is empty, and not for any complicated reason - he just stands there motionless. Otherwise, there was a fair amount of CGI effects, but they were done well enough for me to say "this movie is awesome".

8/10 - This movie is awesome. Godzilla fans should check it out.

GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002) Like others in the Godzilla series, this new entry establishes itself as a direct sequel to the 1954 original, even using digitally altered footage from that film, as well as clips from MOTHRA and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS to once again illustrate Japan's troubled history with unruly giant creatures. When Godzilla once again threatens her shores, Japan's female prime minister (Kumi Mizuno) calls together her greatest scientific minds, including cyber-biologist Tokimitsu Yuhara (Shin Takuma), whose inclusion in this group gives his precocious daughter Sara (Kana Onodera) a backstage pass to witness the creation of a new bioweapon developed using the recently-uncovered original Godzilla bones.

The elite JSDF team assembled to pilot the machine is augmented by the lone survivor, Akane Yashiro (Yumiko Shaku), of an eight minute opening Maser-gun battle with Godzilla, her presence made all the more uncomfortable by the vindictive suspicions of a teammate whose brother perished in that disaster. Christened Mechagodzilla, this robo-beast amounts to the re-arming of Japan, something the rest of the world finds rather dismaying, and when the unit's memories of its demise in 1954 are stirred by Godzilla's roar, the battle's a draw, the combatants stand down, and the Prime Minister's out of a job. When Godzilla returns, there's no choice but to reprogram MechaGodzilla and send it back into battle, during which, not surprisingly, Akane herself must take the helm to not only save her country and discourage the naysayers, but to prove to herself - and, of course, to young, conveniently motherless Sara - that no life is worthless. Both of the 'final' shots in the movie - take your pick; there's a sequence after the closing credits - are fitting.

GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS director Nasaki Tezuka returns to the series with a highly worthy effort, finding a pitch-perfect blend of suits and CGI in his impressive battle sequences, while allowing for reflection (as always) on Japan's nuclear-tainted history, nodding to the ever- increasing empowerment of women in Japanese society (though neatly reminding us that they, too can fail on a large scale before earning redemption) and, as in GODZILLA 2000 and many others in the series, cleverly constructing a modern family dynamic between the pilot, the scientist and his daughter.

People groused that Shinsuke Kaneko's GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORA: ALL OUT GIANT MONSTERS ATTACK, while simultaneously jump starting a moribund franchise with still-vastly-improved visual flare, lacked the dynamism and realism of his 90's GAMERA trilogy, but they were missing the point. Save the first film, GODZILLA has always been for kids, maybe not as young as the original GAMERA series of the 60's, but kids nonetheless. And, I suppose, kids-at-heart. The stories can be pure formula, the character dynamics refried from earlier entries (in fact, many of the most subtle FX in this movie, simple dialogue scenes on catwalks around the Mechagodzilla hangar with the behemoth in the background, are simply more convincing updates of scenes we saw in the 70's), but as long as there's enough razzle-dazzle and a vicarious point-of-entry for the kids, the movie's probably a done deal in the eyes of Toho executives. Here, the Sara character is our vicarious tour guide to the inner workings of the JSDF and all its stoic patriotism (even her friends, walking home with her from school, are slack-jawed at her privileged access to headquarters).

Where the GAMERA updates were intended to make full use of the character's added features (mainly flight) and the advances in modern special effects and high-concept screenplay writing to draw in more savvy audiences, the Millennium Godzilla series, like those that came before, have always retained a comparatively simple modus operandi: appeal to the kids, and make the adults wish they were still kids. On this level, GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA probably surpasses the previous three entries and at a lean, nicely paced 96 minutes (88 in its American incarnation I'm told; WHY DO THEY BOTHER!), it's certainly the easiest on the behind and quietly sets up the sequel, GODZILLA, MOTHRA, MECHAGODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. (2003). I give it an 8.