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!

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-

After the giddy heights of "GMK," the Godzilla series returns to pleasant mediocrity with this strangely "Top Gun"-like entry. Godzilla himself has a very minimal role; most of the film deals with the construction of new version of Mechagodzilla, who looks rather like a glorified Transformer. The battle scenes are pretty cool (especially the missiles!), but as another reviewer observed, Godzilla is motionless in several shots and looks either like a big action figure or, during one especially embarrassing moment, a cardboard cutout (for the curious, it's when he blows up one of the jets). Still, I liked the heroine and the fun flashbacks to the old Godzilla, so on balance I'd have to say this is above-average for the series. I just don't understand fans who tout this as a "return" to the classic Godzilla after the controversial GMK - a return to cheesiness, you mean?

Now this is definitely cool. At this time, Toho is once again reviving some of their classic creatures to costar with the King of the Monsters, this time the mechanical doppleganger Mechagodzilla. Like the other films of the Millennium series, this one is a direct sequel to the 1954 classic, but it also makes references to other classic Toho films. Get ready to crumble because this is Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla!

Plot: Nearly fifty years after the attack on Tokyo back in 1954, a second Godzilla creature has risen from the depths to challenge mankind. Desperate, the government assembles the greatest minds of Japan to create a weapon to defeat the beast: the cyborg monster Mechagodzilla (also called Kiryu for some reason). Piloting the massive mech is Akane Yashiro, a fairly complicated woman struggling to find her place in the world. But when Mechagodzilla starts to have a few nasty glitches, can the government find a way to bring it under control? It all leads up to the thrilling building-smashing showdown between Godzilla and his mechanical double.

This is a fine entry to the giant-sized series. The Godzilla suit is fantastic, one of the best ever and Godzilla himself is an awesome force of destruction. Mechagodzilla has an impressive design, a cool set of weaponry, and is actually given something of a personality. Most of the effects and miniatures are excellent and the action scenes are a true delight to watch.

The human characters are actually pretty interesting, which is something one hardly gets in the Godzilla films. Akane is surprisingly complex and has lots of good emotional qualities. She's kind, sympathetic, tough, and level-headed, which makes her far more superior to the arrogant and vengeful female lead of "Godzilla vs Megaguirus." The other characters are good to like Dr. Yuhara and his daughter who befriend Akane. Dialog between the characters is fairly top-notch, hardly any exaggeration even in the English dubbing. I just wish that they'd stop calling Mechagodzilla "Kiryu."

While this movie may leave you wishing for a little more, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is a satisfying entry in the classic Toho film series. At least it has a sequel (Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.) unlike the other Millennium films. Overall, not bad so check it out. All hail the King of the Monsters.

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.