Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

Strange title but no more stranger than Vs. Mechagodzilla 2 that had nothing to do with the first one.




Another fine addition to the franchise from Mr. Tezuka, this is certainly one of the more interesting entries in the Millenium series. Once more all films except the 1954 original have been ignored, with the japanese military undertaking the creation of a bio-mechanoid codenamed Kiryu built around the bones of the original Godzilla to use as a deterrant for the modern Godzilla, why in the hell they couldn't have built a giant robot without a skeletal wireframe is beyond me, but somehow through biology or SCIENCE(!!) memory fragments of the original Godzilla override the protocols and failsafes of Mechagodzilla leading to two kaiju on a rampage as everyone scrambles to reassert control. It's an interesting concept for sure, still have no idea how bones retain memories but hey screw it, it's a giant monster movie not Interstellar. I feel the human plot has basic elements from Megaguirus, again with a female soldier named Akane who holds a grudge against Godzilla because of the deaths of her comrades and is kind of on a suicide quest to take him down with her but beyond that it's new stuff. We get acquainted with the specialist team who created Mechagodzilla in particular a single dad named Tokumitsu and his young daughter Sara, as both have grievances with the creation of such a machine and Tokumitsu shamelessly crushes on Akane. Cutie pie though she is, I say he's doing a good job being a single parent. I advocate for more single dads in fiction, it's a new lense to view stories through and it's just something you don't see much of. I know people may say this feels like a very average kind of Godzilla movie, nothing too much special happens and it ends fairly wrapped up but it has a direct sequel Tokyo S.O.S. so who knows what could happen next. The effects are still rock solid with admittedly less experimentation but the models and the new design for both Godzilla and Kiryu are really cool, and they still have a bag of tricks with all the weaponry utilized. I didn't entirely hate the human story but it didn't grab me as strongly as Megaguirus, but like I said the story continues and that could readily change for me so it'll be interesting. We never get a great deal of reoccuring characters until the Heisei series and that paid off in aces so I'm looking forward to it. It's a good Godzilla movie with a basic format and a little lemon twist of ideas, so let's find out tomorrow how it truly ends. 3 stars, 7/10!

Godzilla (1984)

Alright time to review Godzilla 1985, even though it was originally released in 1984, made it to America in 1985, and has not been allowed to be released on DVD until September of this year in America. Confused yet? Good, let's move on.

For this particular review, I watched the original Japanese version instead of the American version although either version is still great to watch. Godzilla has returned to Japan after 30 years of dormancy to raise terror and destruction yet again. Grade A entertainment. Time for backstory! Godzilla first appeared in 1954 and appeared in several sequels for 20 years evolving from a destructive allegory for a nuclear bomb to a savior of the Earth, ending the what is known as the Showa era in 1974. Ten years later...he was resurrected as a destructive force, ignoring all other movies except the original in 1984 beginning the Heisei era. And this film truly updates the look with excellent special effects, sophisticated and ambitous models, coupled with new military weapons. Of course since this was made in the mid 80s the Cold War was still heavy in the air, so Russian and American forces suggest to use nuclear weapons against Godzilla. Of course Japan is against nuclear weapons of any sort, Japan never forgets their history and Hiroshima is explicitly mentioned in this movie, Japan is a hero in my eyes for prohibiting any nuclear weapons in real life. The atmosphere has an almost apocalyptic feel to it, with a doomy and epic theme for the King Of The Monsters. Add in some nifty editing and framing, and a decent human story, and you have one of the best Godzilla movies ever made. Top 10 for me easily. Get your hands on it now if you are a fan of the Big G, or if you want a good monster mash.

Tomorrow we look at the beginning of the Millenium era.