Customer Reviews

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been a life-long Godzilla fan, and I've been dying to see this movie for a while. Now that its finally out on DVD, I must say I was entertained by it, but not overly impressed.

The best point is that its still a Godzilla movie...watching Godzilla rise out of Tokyo bay to unleash senseless destruction just never gets old. The Godzilla suit in this film is slightly modified from the Godzilla 2000/Megaguirus suit, and looks alot better. But the literal 'shining' star of this movie is MechaGodzilla. This is the best design yet for MechaGodzilla, out of all the 'Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla' movies (4 in all, counting this one, and not the sequel which is coming soon).

As others had pointed out, this movie was similar to Godzilla X Megaguirus...too similar, in fact. It had virtually the same pacing and story development, and a nearly identical ending. Other flaws included Godzilla's stationary reactions...he's getting rocked with missiles and 'Mazer' beams, and they just have a big dummy standing there, completely motionless. After the outstanding effects from the last movies, you'd think they could do better than that. And once again, this is an 'origin retelling', in that its another 'alternate universe' storyline that retells Godzilla's origins. I don't think there's been a Godzilla movie at all within the past 15 years that hasn't started the origin of Godzilla over from scratch.

Complaints aside, this movie has to be commended on a few things. As already stated, the MechaGodzilla design is probably the best design they've had yet for it. The battles, though somewhat short, were well done. Godzilla was more sinister than usual in this particular film, being much more liberal with his atomic breath and wreaking havoc. The one part that stood out the most in my mind, and is definitely my favorite part of the film, is when MechaGodzilla goes 'berserk'. Clearly inspired from Neon Genesis Evangelion, MechaG's residual DNA memories, being a result of constructing the machine from the corpse of the 1954 Godzilla, get triggered by this new Godzilla's infamous roar, sending MechaGodzilla into an absolute frenzy. Unfortunately that story angle was not pursued any further in the movie, and its something that I hope they go into in the sequel.

Overall, Godzilla X MechaG was good...but compared to some of the more recent films, particularly Giant Monsters All-Out Attack(one of my all-time favorites), GXMG just didn't stand out too much. I hope the sequel picks it up at a better pace, since I still enjoyed this film immensely. Nevertheless, if you're a G fan, get this film. You won't regret it...its definitely worth the purchase.

Scene for scene, this movie is almost a carbon copy of it's predecessor, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. It is obvious that the same writers and director were at work here again, but with a much better finished product. One of the major differences that sets this one apart are the special effects. Now, I have been a Godzilla fan for many years and I have nothing but love for the cheesy effects from past films. However, the effects in this installment are very impressive. I cannot recall at any point in the movie, saying to myself, "Ha, just like the old days". No sir, the effects were good, rivaling most Hollywood productions of today.

Also, the pacing of the film was very tight and moved at a very good speed. This film is about 20 minutes shorter than the prior film. I'm not sure if a new editor was at work or not, but whomever was in charge gets kudos from me.

Also, the music in the film is almost the same as Godzilla vs. Megaguirus but with enough subtle changes to keep it fresh. Michiru Ohshima has brought a new level of suspense and excitement to the franchise and I hope she stays on board for many more installments. My only negative regarding the score is that it would be nice to hear more of Akira Ifukube's original theme. Besides that, well done.

Now, being American, I can't accurately comment on the acting but I thought each performance was believable. Yumiko Shaku was a good leading lady and is very easy on the eyes. There are also cameos featuring other Godzilla alumni including Misato Tanaka, the heroine from the previous film, here as a hospital nurse. Being able to see these two gorgeous women is worth the price of admission for me alone.

The franchise seems to be in very capable hands. Having said that, I wouldn't mind seeing a more escapist approach in upcoming installments with aliens, space monsters, and maybe a cheesy effect or two...just like the old days.

after seeing this godzilla movie ,all i can say is that this movie is great. it is one of the best from toho . the movie is very fast paced, the special effects are fantastic , and the action never stops . i have one final word for godzilla fans everywhere {don't miss this movie }

WOW!!! Godzilla keeps getting better and better! This film rocked, but Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is still my favorite film, but barely! This movie was soooo close, just 1/4 of a mile, and it would be my favorite film, but this is my second favorite film! The Japanese military is constructing a new Mechagodzilla, or should I say Kiryu (Mechanical Dragon), to protect Japan from Godzilla. The battle was great and the special effects were so loud, my windows were shaking! Kiryu was great, with a new weapon, absolute zero cannon! It was a little closer to Godzilla vs. Megaguirus for my favorite film, but this was great! It will be on DVD in March with English dubs and Japanese track with, hopefully, real English subtitles and, possibly, more extras! Don't miss this film! Nice Job Godzilla!!!

Great special effects, set design, lots of action and fast moving. This is one one the better Godzilla movies. It has the best pre-title sequence out of the entire series. The action sequences are loaded with explosions and lots of fun.
Mecha-Godzilla is really cool looking and is loaded with options such as laser beams that shoot from his eyes and missles that launch from his fingers. This was the third model of Mecha-Godzilla. This one offers alot more options that are standard as opposed to the previous two base models.
Godzilla will outlive us all, let's bask in the glow of his majestic presence.

I grew up eating, drinking, and breathing Godzilla. I cheered him on in my youth, laughed hysterically at him during my adolescence (god, some of those old ones were cheesy!), and almost shed a tear when he melted down some years ago. Now things have come full circle and I am thrilled with the new millenium Godzilla series. No more crummy effects, laughable attacks, crappy dubbing, or kiddy music. Godzilla's back for real. While this movie's not as good as GMK, it's not too inferior either. The characters are good, Mechagodzilla (dubbed "Kiryu" in this version) has never been more awesome, and the effects are, at times, just beautiful. Kiryu's "Absolute-Zero" weapon is amazing. Godzilla himself gets a bit shafted in this film, though people have made too much of the couple of seconds where there appears to be nobody even in the suit. In, fact, Godzilla doesn't do much at all aside from the opening sequence and the final battle. However, Kiryu more than makes up for his organic double's lack of action by freaking out and trashing the city all day until his power runs out and his handlers go to collect him. The story is genuinely interesting rather than the typical waste-time-until-the-next-kaiju-battle plots of movies past. The big payoff at the end of it all is absolutely worth it. The final battle is possibly the most exciting kaiju battle I've ever seen. When Kiryu comes flying in to halt Godzilla's advance it's shot so brilliantly you'll have to see it again and again. The best part, however, is when the heroine climbs into the downed Kiryu and takes manual control of the giant robot monster. The tactics she uses agains Godzilla and the way the whole sequence plays out just makes you feel like a kid cheering your favorite kaiju all over again. Highly recommended.

This small review is for other reviewers. Hey people WAKE UP!
I can't believe how many reviewers are giving a bad rating to this movie without even seeing one frame of it.

Let's review other so-called "complaints" by so-called "die-hard G-fans". First of all the story: regardless of what others might say this is a really cool story. A great story worthy of an Oscar? maybe not, but a cool story anyway. Hey this is a sci-fi action movie after all and if you're looking for a deep story go rent a drama instead. Of course G movie have always had the same set-up but the real "joy" is how will he get out of this situation this time? Will he crunch civilians, destroy cities or completly annihilate his opponents? that's the joy of a G movie!
Knowing why MechaGodzilla is deffective or why SpaceGodzilla has crystals on his shoulders or why this monster is that is secondary! Most of us watch Godzilla for the destruction, not for an explanation on the meaning of life!

Second, people compaining about Godzilla' motionless moments: Again i'm sure many of you wrote your reviews without actually watching the movie as it's clearly stated (and also in the past 6-7 G movies) that MASER and Missiles have NO EFFECT on Godzilla. How can you complain about G not rocking back and forth from a missile when they have no effects on him!? He's indestructible, that's why MechaGodzilla was created in the first place, because that's the only weapon effective against him!

Third, bad CG/special effects: Whoa! hold on here a minute. This movie has great SFX, the quality of them in this movie has increased tremedously from previous G movies. The are many scenes using CG in such a cool way that you can't be anything else but impressed. Remember that most G movies have a budget at a fraction of many Hollywood-produced movies. We should applaud the creators for giving us great SFX that can rival anything that Hollywood can dish out.

Fourth, MechGodzilla and his own movie series?: ha i'm sure this one caught you off-guard. I wouldn't be surprised that MG finally gets his own movie series with monsters made specially for his firepower. Toho has been trying in the past 10 years to reinvent, or at least, update the Godzilla character without much success (well depending on who you talk to) and the upcoming "Godzilla: Final Wars" may be the last G movie, so why not go out with a bang and introduce new monsters/or updated monsters for a new line of kaiju movies? MechaGodzilla would be the perfect character to have his own franchise.

Fifth, BUY THIS MOVIE!!! It's one of the BEST GODZILLA MOVIE EVER!!!

Praise Sony/TriStar for their quick release of this recent (December 2002) Godzilla film! Although there are no extras, this DVD offers fans of Japanese giant monster movies exactly what they want: the film in Japanese with subtitles! (You can choose to watch it dubbed as well, a good option for younger viewers.) Not only that, but the film is in gorgeous widescreen and 5.1 sound. Keep it up, Sony/TriStar! This is the way Godzilla should be seen.

The film is a fine piece of monster-mashing, better than the metaphysical and out-of-step "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (2001) and the somewhat slow "Godzilla 2000" (1999), but not as wildly fun as "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" (2000). The director of "Megaguirus," Masaaki Tezuka, returns and displays his usual sense of fun and deep love for giant monster movies (there are many homages to other Japanese monster films throughout).

Godzilla faces an old foe here. Mechagodzilla first appeared in the 1974 film, "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla," as an alien-built robot. He came back the next year in what would be the final Godzilla film of the classic era, "Terror of Mechagodzilla." The robo-monster returned in the 1990s Godzilla series, this time constructed by the Earth organization G-Force, in "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II." This new science-fiction adventure brings the metal Godzilla look-alike back with a new origin story.

Like all the recent films, "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" revises the entire Godzilla timeline and starts from scratch. The first Godzilla died in 1954, but a new one suddenly appears in Japan in 1999. The government, accustomed to attacks from other monsters over the years, has a special military organization prepared to deal with Godzilla, but Godzilla is too much for them. As the years pass between attacks, Japanese scientists hatch a wild plan to stop Godzilla: use the first Godzilla's skeleton and DNA to create a bio-robot, a `mechagodzilla' that they name "Kiryu" (a Japanese guardian dragon). Unfortunately, the bio-robot has a rather destructive design flaw...

The monster fights are tremendous, with huge amount of city smashing and the beasts engaging each other in close, furious combat. Kiryu's rampage in Tokyo is a jaw-dropper for sure; the opening with military laser guns trying to stop Godzilla in a typhoon gets things off to a roaring start, and the lengthy final duel will please every monster movie fan. The visual effects are quite good, but not as creative as in "Giant Monsters All-Out Attack." The score from Ohshima Michiru is fabulous; she's the best composer on the Godzilla series outside of the original maestro Akira Ifukube.

What holds the film back are some slow patches in the first half-hour and many unexplained details about Kiryu. The redesigned Godzilla suit, adapted from the one used in "Godzilla 2000" and "Megaguirus" also presents problems. Godzilla moves far less here than he usually does, and it often seems that no one is in the costume. He exhibits much less personality and animation, and doesn't dominate the film the way he should. Kiryu instead steals the show: this is the best Mechagodzilla of them all, and it's astonishing to watch it in action.

The human story is surprisingly well done, with excellent actors who take their jobs seriously. The heroine is a pilot with a guilt complex about an earlier debacle against Godzilla who gets her second chance to prove herself against the monster. Her relationship with the lonely daughter of one of the designers of Kiryu is quite touching. (Strangely, the final scene about this relationship occurs AFTER the end credits. Weird place for it, so make sure you stick around until the very end of the film.)

Japan has already released a direct sequel to this movie (in which classic monster Mothra also gets involved!), so let's hope Sony/TriStar will release that one soon as well.

If you love giant monsters or good old-fashioned science-fiction film fun, get this DVD. ROAR ON GODZILLA!

Ive seen this on VCD and its great, so Im sure the DVD with rock!!.

Godzilla and Mecha-Godzilla battle it out and trash everything in their way. Great cgi effects blended with the classic 'big rubber suit' and minitures will provide action to please all.

If you liked Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, or the recent Gamera movies, then grab this DVD!

I just got through watching this and I have nothing but good things to say. The dubbing was great, the acting was great(suprisingly),the special effects were phenominal and the fight scenes were terrific.
WARNING SPOILER AHEAD
I really enjoyed the final battle, which can either be counted as a tie or, well I guess I'll just have to lay out the setting for you. I won't spoil the plot but at the conclusion of the final battle, Mechagodzilla and the BIG G collide into the ocean(won't tell how), and Mechagodzilla, oops my mistake "Kiryu", sets off his Absolute zero cannon(a super freeze gun for a quick summary), and it freezes the surrounding water in the bay, Godzilla rises to reveal a huge scar on his chest, and with a growl proceeds into the ocean. Kiryu rises shortly after, but has used all of it's power in it's final attack against the king of the monsters. It is left powerless in the bay, while Godzilla proceeds back to the ocean to recover from his awesome battle. This is declared a draw in the movie, but I guess that comes down to opinion. I personally think Godzilla was the victor of this bout because he could have destroyed Kiryu, but at seeing the lifeless robot in the bay, and being exhausted, I suppose he figured he should heal his wounds. While Kiryu had no power to do anything Godzilla could have delivered the final blow to the terribly damaged Kiryu. This comes down to opinion like I said, but to me Godzilla won this fight.
This is a must see for any Godzilla fan.