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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!
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Customer reviews
It's Godzilla against Mechagodzilla… what more do you need to know?It's awesome !!!
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Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla - Blu-ray (...)
Reviewed in Germany on August 8, 2015
Stefan Rinne
Bild & Ton 100%
Reviewed in Germany on October 29, 2014
Bild & Ton 100%
Reviewed in Germany on October 29, 2014
+ Gute Schauspieler, spielen alle ihren rollen gut.Reviewed in Germany on October 29, 2014
+ Eine Solide und unterhaltsame Story.
+ Einige Rückblenden zu anderen Monster Filmen.
+ Sehr Cooler Kampf zwischen Godzilla und Mechagodzilla der ruihg noch etwas länger hätte gehen können.
+ Die Effekte sind Größtenteils wieder Sehr Gut.
+ Eine Gute Deutsche Synchro.
Negativ:
- 1-2 Kampfscenen mehr wären schön gewesen.
- Das Skellet das sie für Mechagodzilla benutzt haben dürfte gar nicht Exisitieren, im Original haben sich die Knochen von Godzilla aufgelöst.
- Godzilla sollte lernen auszuweichen, nachdem er in GmK so Intelligent dargestellt wurde, schmerzt es zu sehen das er meistens nur herumsteht und nichts gegen angriffe macht.^^
Fazit: ein Sehr Guter Godzi Film, gehört nicht zu den allerbesten, aber ist aufjedenfall sehr unterhaltsam und hat einen guten Monster Fight.
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