I review a Kaiju film a day leading up to the new Godzilla film

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Intro: Here in America, there is a common stereotype about all Godzilla films having crappy special effects, bad dubbing, and not being quality films. To be honest, anyone who thinks that is just plain ignorant. This film is partially responsible for these negative comments. Let's try to endure Godzilla vs. Megalon.

Plot: Underground nuclear tests are being conducted in the Pacific. They're even effected the monsters on Monster Island. Godzilal is greatly annoyed and Anguirus fall into a large ravine caused by the ground splitting up. These tests anger the citizens of the underground kingdom Seatopia. Their king Antonio calls upon their god Megalon to deal with the humans. At the same time, an inventor named Goro, his nephew Rokuro, and Goro's brother/friend/gay lover (it's never really explained) Hiroshi return to Goro's house to find that it has been ransacked by burglars. They don't appear to have stolen anything. Luckily, Goro's special project is still intact, a robot named Jet Jaguar. The next day he completes the robot, much to the delight of Hiroshi and Rokuro.

The burglars, who are Seatopian citizens, left microphones in the house. When they hear that Jet Jaguar is finished, they return home and kidnap Rokuro and Goro and lock them in a container that they plan to deposit into a lake. Hiroshi is left tied up in the house. At the same time, Megalon arrives on the surface and begins mindlessly ravaging the countryside. Jet Jaguar is now controlled by the Seatopians and is used to lure Megalon towrads Tokyo where he can destroy it. However, Megalon's rampage cuts off the truck with Goro and his nephew. The container is knocked far away and they fall unconscious. Hiroshi also escapes and finds them. After they wake up, the inform the military that the only way to stop Megalon is with help from Godzilla. Using his special device, Goro resumes control of Jet Jaguar and has it fly out to Monster Island to fetch Godzilla.

Jet Jaguar summons Godzilla and the king of the monsters begins swimming towards the mainland. The Seatopians, learning that they lost control of Jet Jaguar, seek the help of the aliens from Godzilla vs. Gigan, who lend Gigan to them. Jet Jaguar returns and his now functioning under his own will. he approaches Megalon and then miraculously grows to kaiju size! Jet Jaguar barely holds his own and when Gigan shows up as well, the odds seem impossible. Fortunately, Godzilla arrives just in time and tag teams with Jet. After a long battle, Gigan and Megalon both retreat, Godzilla heads home, the Seatopians accept defeat, and Jet returns to human size to join back up with Goro.

Reflection: This one is bad. I mean really bad. Like, I almost fell asleep watching this one.

Characters? You can hardly call them that. These characters hardly have any personality. We don't even know the relationship between Goro and Hiroshi. They could be brothers, friends, gay lovers, anything really. They essentially live together, and that's about it. Also worth noting is that there are no female teachers in this film at all. Except for a couple scantly clad Seatopian dancers, there are no female characters to speak of.

The monsters aren't that much better. The Godzilla suit is pretty meh. The body is fine but the face is too cute looking for my taste. Anguirus is in the film for a few seconds but the suit still looks good. The Megalon suit is decent and he has a unique design. He does have a bit of personality, like the scene where he high fives Gigan. Gigan himself hasn't really changed from the last film. Though he isn't as threatening or powerful as before. Then there's Jet Jaguar, easily the strangest kaiju we've seen up to this point. He looks like a power ranger and has that creepy Jack Nicholson smile the entire time. He can also change size... somehow. Like the last film, there are a couple of accidental stock footage cameos like Gaira. The Godzilla suit also changes from scene to scene due to the stock footage.

The music is also pretty odd. It's goofy, so I guess it fits the tone of the film. but you can't talk about the music in this film without talking about the Jet Jaguar song. Look it up right now. It has to be seen to be believed. Also look up the Godzilla flying kick from this movie. It is the most hilarious thing you'll see all day.

This is easily one of the worst Godzilla films. Not even a great villain like Gigan can save it. To get maximum enjoyment, watch the MST3K version of this one.

Final Score: 1.5/5
 
As someone completely Kaiju-illeterate, I'm vaguely enjoying these.

What's the concensus on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon?
 
Glowsquid said:
As someone completely Kaiju-illeterate, I'm vaguely enjoying these.

What's the concensus on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon?
Click to expand...
Haven't seen that in years. If I had it on DVD, I'd give it a look.
 
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Intro: After a string of films that ranged from awful to mediocre, Toho brought it back with Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. This fun film has kaiju, aliens, and robots. What more could you want?

Plot: In Okinawa, a young priestess named Nami has a strange vision of a monster (King Ghidorah) destroying cities and killing millions. She consults her religious grandfather, who becomes very scared when he hears of this. Two brothers, Keisuke and Masahiko who witnessed her prediction, explore a nearby cave for any information about this prophecy. Masahiko finds a strange piece of metal that he takes to Professor Miyajima (Akihiko Hirata). Keisuke, who is joined by an archaeologist named Saeko, discover old hieroglyphics. Saeko translates them. The prophecy tells that when a black mountain appears above the clouds, a monster will destroy the world and when the sun rises in the west, two monsters will defend Japan. They also find the statue of a lion like creature. Saeko recognizes it as the deity King Caesar.

The two take the small statue to Dr. Wagura to investigate. while there, they are stalked by two men. One has a mustache while the other one wears shades and a trench coat. The mustached man tries to steal the statue, but he is fought off by Keisuke. He flees but the man in the shades continues to observe them. Keisuke decides to drive up to Mt. Fuji to see Miyajima. However, at this time, Godzilla erupts forth from the mountain. He destroys everything in his path. His roar is also noticeably different. During Godzilla's rampage, he is halted by Anguirus. Godzilla brutally beats Anguirus, even snapping his jaw, but Anguirus manages to tear off a piece of Godzilla's skin, revealing a metallic surface. Keisuke avoids the fight and meets up with Mashiko, Miyajima, and the professor's daughter Ikuko.

The four follow Godzilla in their car. The monster is attacking a refinery with his atomic ray, which is yellow for some odd reason. Suddenly, another Godzilla appears on the scene, much to confusion of our heroes. Far away, a man is watching the scene unfold in a high tech looking base. He grimaces about the real Godzilla appearing so soon. The two Godzilla battle it out. The first one continues to have bits of its hide blown away, revealing more metal underneath. Godzilla continues to blast him until the creature sheds his hide, revealing the mechanical titan Mechagodzilla, much to the horror of Miyajima and the others. the two fight again and it ends in stand still. Godzilla retreats, wounded and bloody while Mechagodzilla is flown back to base for repairs. Miyajima concludes that this, plus the strange metal must mean whoever is behind Mechagodzilla is alien.

Keisuke and Saeko take a ferry back to Okinawa where the King Caesar statue can be used to awaken the god to fight Mechagodzilla. On the ship, the mustached man again attempts to steal the statue. When he shot by Keisuke, his face vaporizes to reveal a hideous ape like creature underneath. The ape man, still alive, runs off with the statue. Keisuke tries to fight back, but he is too strong. He holds Keisuke at gunpoint, but the ape man is shot from an unknown source, causing him to fall off into the ocean with the statue. Keisuke and Saeko again get a glimpse of the strange man with the shades. At the same time, Miyajima, Ikuko, and Masahiko explore the cave, looking for signs of the spacemen. They are captured by the aliens, who reveal themselves to be the aliens from the third planet of the black hole. They force Miyajima to help rebuild Mechagodzilla and threaten to kill the other two if he refuses. He agrees.

Keisuke goes to investigate the cave when he notices that Miyajima has not returned for several days. In the cave, he is attacked by a black hole alien. However, the alien is knocked out by the man with the shades, who is revealed to be Nanbara, an agent of Interpol. The two storm the alien base and manage to break the other three out. They attempt to escape in the car, but Nanbara sees that it is rigged to blow if they turn the ignition. They blow it up without getting in, making the alien commander believe them to be dead. Masahiko, Miyajima, and Nanbara plan to go back in and destroy the base, while Keisuke, Saeko and Ikuko head back to the temple to place the statute to awaken King Caesar. However, Nami and her grandfather are being held by two aliens. However, the spacemen are shot by another Interpol agent working with Nanbara. They place the statue on the pedestal, causing the sunlight to reflect into it. This causes the light to shoot out as a laser and blow open a mountain, revealing the sleeping King Caesar. Seeing this, the alien launch Mechagodzilla, who approaches the sleeping giant. Nami's prayer allows the god to wake up and he challenges Mechagodzilla. The space beast gains the upper hand until Godzilla returns.

Mechagodzilla proves to be a nearly unbeatable foe. Godzilla however uses his new found ability to make his body magnetic and he pulls the robot towards him. With all his might, Godzilla rips off the robot's head, shutting it down. At the same time, the three inside the base manage to blow it up and barely escape. King Caesar goes back to sleep and Godzilla swims away.

Reflection: This film is quite better than the last two films. We have a lot of characters this time around. The leads aren't that interesting. Whoever is playing Keisuke constantly has this grimacing look on his face. Jesus dude, lighten up. Akhiko Hirata makes his return, playing a scientist in a Godzilla film. who would've thought. The aliens are also pretty cool. Their ape forms are very creepy looking. This film is also very violent on the human side of things. People get shot, stabbed, strangled, the list goes on.

The monsters are good also. The Godzilla suit is the same as last time, but there have beeen some subtle changes. The face has been made to look fiercer and the eyes aren't as puppy dog looking. Anguirus looks solid as always. Shame he gets beaten to a bloody pulp in this movie. King Caesar also has a unique design as well as some cool powers. He can absorb beam attacks and shoot them back through his eyes. Then there's Mechagodzilla. HOLY SHIT, this guy is badass. Easily one of my top five favorite kaiju. He's got finger missiles, knee missiles, toe missiles, nose missiles, eye beams, and a chest beam. Not to mention flight and a forcefield. Easily up there with Ghidorah and Hedorah as one of Godzilla's strongest enemies. The monsters are also pretty violent. Anguirus gets his jaw broken in a rerally bloody fashion and Godzilla gets turned into a blood sprinkler by Godzilla.

One great thing about this film is that there is nearly no stock footage, unlike the last two films.

There may be no Ifukube music in this film, but I'm not complaining because Sato's music in this film is excellent. In fact, one of the themes contains a few notes of Ifukube's classic Godzilla theme. The music in this film is very jazzy, upbeat, and catchy. My personal favorite theme is the one that plays when Anguirus fights the fake Godzilla. It's stuck in my head right now and likely will be for the rest of the night. One odd music choice is Kumonga's theme. It plays during one of the fight scenes. While there's nothing wrong with it, it feels odd to hear it without Kumonga present.

Toho really stepped it up this time around. This film is fun and memorable. Mechagodzilla would go on to become one of the most famous and popular kaiju in the Toho universe. In fact, someone at Toho must have really liked Mechagodzilla, because in the next film....

Final Score: 3.5/5
 
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Intro: Mechagodzilla is back and better than ever. While the last film was a step towards the more traditional Godzilla films, this one feels like the golden age of the 60s and by God is it good. Without further ado, here's Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Plot: A young woman sits on the beach, watching a submarine begin its expedition. It's mission, to locate the remains of Mechagodzilla after its titanic battle with Godzilla. They search, but are not able to find any scrap of the mecha, not even a tiny piece. Soon, the sub is ambushed by strange kaiju that resembles both a dinosaur and a fish. INTERPOL investigates the incident. Ichinose, a marine biologist, joins them. They learn of a scientist who may know something about the beast, which he named Titanosaurus. At the same time, two of the aliens from the third planet are meeting, one of which is the leader of the entire race. They discuss their plans for conquering Tokyo and the second in command suggest they get the help of Dr. Mafune (Akihiko Hirata), the scientist who allegedly has a connection to Titanosaurus.

Ichinose and his Interpol friend Murakoshi visit Dr. Mafune's house. The only one there is a young woman named Katsura (Tomoko Ai), the daughter of Mafune. She informs them that Mafune is dead and tells them to leave. The two men agree, but they still suspect her. They are right to do so, as Mafune and the aliens are sharing a drink in the underground lab below the house. In exchange for funding his animal control device, the aliens ask that he aid them in repairing Mechagodzilla, who's wreckage they have recovered from the ocean floor. Katsura secretly meets up with Ichinose again to give him some notes about Titanosaurus. She is beginning to fall in love with the marine biologist and begs him not to go looking for Titanosaurus. He ignores her warnings and goes anyway. Katsura tries to convince him otherwise over the phone, but the aliens stop her. They remind her that she is actually a cyborg. She nearly died years ago but the aliens saved her by turning her into a cyborg. They brainwash her into doing their bidding. While searching, Ichinose discovers that Titanosaurus has a weakness to supersonic waves. He tells this to Katsura, who reports it to her father. He scoffs, thinking Titanosaurus invincible. He decides to let Titanosaurus loose on the mainland.

Titanosaurus arrives on the mainland, and fights the military and easily disposes of them. The military tries to use the super sonic wave weapon, but they find that someone has sabotaged and cut the wires. Fortunately, Godzilla arrives on the scene and does battle with Titanosaurus. while this is happening, Murakoshi and other Interpol agents find Katsura in the city. She runs away and they pursue. She ends up being shot and falling into the ocean. Titanosaurus also retreats, much to the confusion of Godzilla. Katsura is repaired by the aliens, and Ichinose believes her dead. He stops by the Mafune house again to pay his respects, where he is kidnapped by the aliens. The aliens have also planted the Mechagodzilla control device in Katsura's body. Ichinose is tied up and watches as Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla are unleashed on Tokyo. The two monsters easily lay waste to it. Repairs finish on the supersonic wave weapon and the military prepares to do battle.

Godzilla returns to fight Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla. Godzilla has troubloe dealing with both monsters at the same time. Fortunately for him, the humans use the supersonic wave weapon to hurt Titanosaurus, allowing Godzilal to focus on Mechagodzilla alone. The two titans engage ina brutal battle to the death. Interpol storms the alien base and Ichinose escapes. The aliens (except the leader) are all killed but Katsura and Mafune are both shot. Katsura watches in horror as her father dies before her. Ichinose comforts Katsura. Godzilla manages to rip off Mechagodzilla's head, but the robot is still able to fight. Katsura begs Ichinose to kill her to break control of Mechagodzilla. Ichinose refuses and Katsura shoots herself. This causes Mechagodzilla to shut down and Godzilla destroys the robot once and for all. Godzilla turn shis attention to the weakened Titanosaurus, who retreats. Godzilla then destroys the escaping UFOs, containing the alien commander, ending their threat forever. Godzilla roars in victory and swims away as Ichinose grieves over the loss of his love.

Reflection: Damn. This film is dark, especially in comparison to the last few movies. The characters are all serious in this movie. No silly little kids, no goofy hippies. At the end of the film, no one is truly happy. Sure, the aliens are gone, but several characters are dead and Ichinose is left grieving over the loss of Katsura. The actors do a great job with these tragic characters. Katsura is one of the most interesting characters in the Godzilla series. She is torn between her loyalty and love for Ichinose. You can see just how tortured she is and Tomoko Ai does a great job bringing this to life. In the end, she kills herself in order to destroy Mechagodzilla. The scene of her dying in Ichinose's arms is one of the most saddening and somber moments in the series. Another excellent character is Dr. Mafune. At first, he seems to act like your typical mad scientist, with Hirata giving an over the top performance at the beginning. but as the film goes on, we learn more about this character and why he is so insane. He was despised for years, he lost his wife young, and his daughter is now a lifeless cyborg. Hirata does a great job, especially in the scene where he breaks down crying over Katsura when he learns that she has become the controller for Mechagodzilla. Hirata really has great range. His performances for Mafune and Serizawa from the original film both show a man who has been through hell. While Serizawa redeemed himself, Mafune is not supposed to be a good person. In the end, he dies along with all his years of research, which involved the inhumane control of animals like Titanosaurus. Kenji Sahara also has a small role, so yay!

The monsters are all great. Godzilla looks the same as he did last movie, so now complaints. Same goes for Mechagodzilla. He still looks badass as hell. His weaponry is just as impressive as ever. You know, watching these scenes makes me wonder how the suit actors survive. The kaiju are constantly surrounded by explosions and the Godzilla suit even catches fire at one point. The explosions in this film are certainly something to behold. Titanosaurus is also a really cool kaiju. He has a very unique design and roar. It's a shame he never came back in another film. I would've liked to have seen an updated version of him. In addition, there is no stock footage with two exceptions. The first is the opening credits, which is a montage recapping the events of the last film.

Ifukube is back and with a bang. The rendition of the Godzilla theme is awesome in this movie. Godzilla's first appearance is a prime example of it in use. The build up, lighting, and the music all culminate into one of the greatest scenes in the series. Ifukube's theme for Mechagodzilla is ominous and menacing and calls back to the music of the original film. I loved Sato's music in the last film, but Ifukube's work here is just plain awesome.

Easily one of my favorites. I think I like it a little more than the other Mechagodzilla movie. If you want to see these movies, but want the more serious films, this is definitely one to consider. Great action, great characters, great music, and great everything.

Final Score: 4/5
 
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Intro: Up until now, all the movies I've reviewed have all formed a loose continuity with each other, with Destroy all Monsters actually taking place at the end of that timeline. After 1975, Toho took a break from Godzilla. They rebooted him in 1984. In this new continuity, all the films except the 1954 original are ignored. That film was The Return of Godzilla. Sadly, I don't own that one, but I have the follow up, Godzilla vs. Biollante. The next few films will all be in this same continuity, known as the Heisei series.

Plot: The movie opens mere minutes after the events of The Return of Godzilla. Tokyo is in ruins and Godzilla has been locked away in a volcano. In the city, samples of Godzilla's cells can be found lying around. A group of Americans known as Bio-Major attempt to steal some, but they are shot by a bearded mercenary. Meanwhile in Saradia, a country in the Middle East, Dr. Shirigami is conducting research with his daughter Erika. However, his lab is bombed and Erika in killed in the explosion.

Five years later, Dr. Shirgami is now spending all hims time studying the psychic energy of roses with help from two women from the ESP organization Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka) and Asuka. It is claimed that Miki has ESP abilities and can understand plants when they "talk." While the three are talking, they are being observed by two Bio Major members who in turn are being spied on by the bearded mercenary, who is an agent from Saradia. Asuka later has dinner with her boyfriend Kirishima, who's father is working ANEB, or Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria. it's a chemical that is designed to eat through and devour radioactive material, including Godzilla should he ever appear again. Dr. Shirigami is also asked to help. He hesitantly agrees, but wishes to be allowed to keep some Godzilla cells for himself.

Lieutenant Gondo has the job of being the anti-Godzilla force. Kind of like the guys who set up research bases should aliens appear, but nothing ever comes up. That is until Gondo takes a helicopter with Miki over Mt. Mihara. Miki says she can sense Godzilla inside and that he is active. Gondo becomes interested. Meanwhile. Shirigami is combing the Godzilla cells with cells from a rose, which contains the spirit of the deceased Erika (just go with it). When Shirigami is away to discuss the ANEB, the two Bio-Major agents break into his lab. They try to steal his information, but the men are cut off by the Saradian agent. A gunfight ensues and one of the Bio-Major agents is brutally killed by some strange vines. The other Bio-Major agent and the Saradian barely escape. When the police and Shrigami investigate, they find that the Bio-Major agent is dead and that the rose Shirgami was experimenting on is gone. Soon, at nearby Lake Hashi, an enrourmous plant like monster surfaces which Shirigami names Biollante.

The Japanese government is given a warning by Bio-Major. They demand that the ANEB be handed over or else they will blow up Mt. Miraha, awakening Godzilla. They have no choice and Gondo and Kirishima prepare to hand the chemical over to Bio-Major. However, their deal is interrupted by the Saradian agent. The Bio-Major agent is killed and Gondo and Kirishima are not able to stop the countdown. They watch hopelessly as Godzilla is freed and rampages across Japan once again. Desperate, the government uses the Super X-II, an upgraded version of the flying battleship/tank/spaceship from The Return of Godzilla, piloted by Colonel Koruki. The ship is equipped with a the fire mirror. With it placed on the front of the ship, it can reflect Godzilla's atomic ray right back at him. Godzilla manages to easily destroy the Japanese navy and then battles the Super X-II. Godzilla ends up retreating from the battle and swims off in the direction of Biollante.

Godzilla meets his would be clone and attacks her. Biollante tries to put up a fight with her massive vines, but Godzilla deals with her easily. She is seemingly killed but turns into a golden dust and floats up into the sky. Godzilla, exhausted from his previous fights, tries to find nuclear energy to stock up on. Knowing this, the military sets up operations in Ise bay, where they expect Godzilla to arrive. However, Godzilla instead appears in Osaka Bay, much to the shock of the Japanese government. Miki tries to use her ESP to slow Godzilla down, but Godzilla's mental power is to great and Miki falls unconscious. Godzilla appears in Osaka and reduces the city to rubble. The Super X-II is brought in, but it ends up being destroyed by Godzilla. Gondo and his team manage to inject Godzilla with the ANEB, but Gondo is killed in the process. Unfortunately, the ANEB seems to have no effect on Godzilla.

Shirigami hypothesizes that the ANEB is not working due to Godzilla's body temperature. Being cold blooded, the ANEB is not working on Godzilla as it should. the military devises a plan to heat up Godziilla by using "a field of microwave-emitting plates during an artificial thunderstorm, where it will be heated by the microwaves". Godzilla is lured into the trap but still seems to be active. However, Biollante appears on the scene once again, now looking much more fiercer with a crocodile-like head. The two monsters battle it out again and Godzilla passes out into the ocean due to the ANEB. Biollante roars in triumph and once again turns into the golden dust and returns into the upper atmosphere. Shirigami marvels at his creation, but is shot and killed by the Saradian agent. Kirishima runs after him and the agent is finally killed by the microwave trap. As the main characters finally begin to relax, Godzilla springs awake with a mighty roar and heads back out to sea.

Reflection: Like Terror of Mechagodzilla, this film is very dark and doesn't exactly have a happy ending. Sure, Godzilla is defeated and the Saradian is killed, but at what cost? Godzilla survives and two of the main characters end up dying. As far as the characters go, they;re decent. We once again have a tortured scientist in a Godzilla movie. While he's sympathetic and we feel sorry for him, he doens't reach the same level of emotion that Akihiko Hirata brought to the roles of Serizawa and Mafune. Another noteworthy thing about the "Heisei" series of movies is that there are a lot or reoccurring characters. Miki Saegusa will have a role in several of the Godzilla movies following this one. Even minor characters return. That general who is in all the milir=tary meeting scenes, he's in a bunch of the later films playing the same character. This is sense of continuity is very cool and something that was explored a little bit in the original films, but not to this extent.

My favorite character in the movie is probably Gondo. He is such a funny wisecracker. Even when Godzilla is staring right at him and death is imminent. He laughs, tells a joke, and shoot a missile right in Godzilla's mouth. What a badass. Another thing about the actors to note are the American actors in the beginning who are part of Bio-Major. They are god awful and some of the bad dialogue is just plain hilarious. It's kind of odd considering the rest of the movie takes itself so seriously.

The monsters really sell this movie. This film features some pf the best suitmation I have ever seen put to film. Godzilla looks fucking amazing in this film. The 89 design has always been one of my favorites. He looks so damn intimating and the roar in this film is deep and powerful, something that I would not want to come across in real life. Biollante is a fantastic creation. She is one of the most uniquely designed kaiju as well as having a very interesting story behind her. Her first for is decent, but nothing stands out. The vines look great though. Her final from is one of the best suits in the entire series, even better than some of the suits from the 2000s films. The creature is massive, much larger than Godzilla. She has several cool powers like her vines with Venus fly traps at the end and her acid spray. I don;t know what it is, but giant monster plants are just cool. Biollante, Petey Piranha, Audrey II, the list goes on.

The music is pretty good. Ifukube himself did not do the music, but several of his themes are used including the Godzilla theme and the Japanese Army March. The new music is really good. Biollante's theme is very eerie and creepy. Something you would hear in a horror movie. The theme "Bio Wars" is very catchy. It combines the Godzilla theme with a melody that sounds like something out of James Bond. Something that should play during a car chase. And dat guitar doe.

This film is one of the most original in the series. It has a monster with a very unique design and origin. It also explores things we've never really seen in a Godzilla movie, like how people would try to get their hands on Godzilla's DNA. This is a good one that I highly recommend.

Final Score: 4/5
 
Are we gonna get Godzilla '98? I happen to have a bile fascination with awful movies...
 
Dr. Javelin said:
so if this thread is about kaiju movies, are you going to review pacific rim?
Click to expand...
I'm reviewing Toho kaiju movies. So no.

Vommack said:
Are we gonna get Godzilla '98? I happen to have a bile fascination with awful movies...
Click to expand...
Looking to review that on Friday.
 
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Intro: Aww yeah. It's motherfucking King Ghidorah. And what do you get when you a have a movie that involves Godzilla, Ghidorah, and time travel? One of the most confusing yet enjoyable movies in the series. This is Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Plot: In the distant year 2204, two people in a submarine explore the bottom of the ocean, where they find the body of King Ghidorah. one man is astonished, asking how it go there. The young woman responds that it fought Godzilla many years ago in the 20th century. Back in present day 1992, a UFO is spotted above Tokyo. Author Tersawa is asked to write a story about it, but he says he's not interested in silly things like that. He is however interested in one man who claims to have seen a real life dinosaur. Terasawa talks to the man. he says that during World War II, they came across a large dinosaur who actually saved them from the American troops. Terasawa, along with a paleontologist named Mazaki interview a man named Shindo, who was the leader of the garrison on Lagos Island. He was the one who met the dinosaur.

The UFO lands at Mt. Fuji. Two officials from the government meet up with the three people who are beamed down from the ship. They are two Caucasian men named Wilson and Grenchko and a Japanese woman named Emmy. They explain they are from the distant year 2204. They meet with the Prime minister and other officials. They inform the government that in the future, Japan no longer exists due to Godzilla. They also show Terasawa a book he will write in the future detailing the origins of Godzilla. The future people have a simple objective in mind. Go back to 1944 and remove the dinosaur that the Japanese garrison saw, who would later mutate into Godzilla. Thus, Godzilla will never be created and the tragedy in the future will be prevented. They request that Terasawa, Mazaki, and Miki Saegusa join them in their trip to the past. Wilson and Grenchko stay behind and Emmy takes the three along with the Terminator-esque android M-11. Emmy also brings three little adorable creatures called the Dorats along, but she doesn't explain why.

They arrive on Lagos Island in 1944. World War II is raging outside, so the superhuman M-11 steps out and sends a video feed of Shindo's garrison to the ship. As the two sides clash on Lagos Island, they are interrupted by a large dinosaur. He attacks the American soldiers while the Japanese hide. The machine guns do little and the troops retreat back to shore. The American battleships fire and greatly wound the dinosaur, but most of the ground troops are killed. The Americans retreat and the mortally injured dinosaur returns to the jungle. The Japanese come across the dinosaur dying in the forest. Shindo is deeply thankful and salutes the dinosaur who saved his life. When the garrison leaves, the group teleports Godzilla away to another island far from Lagos, where he can't mutate into Godzilla. As the crew boards the ship, ready to go back, Emmy lets the three Dorats loose on the island. when they return home, they find history has indeed changed, but not in the way they intended. Everyone still remembers Godzilla, which should be impossible. In addition, with the Dorats being on Lagos when the hydrogen bomb was dropped, a new monster was formed instead. King Ghidorah!

The people from the future are controlling King Ghidorah. They command him to lay waste to Japan. We soon find the reason as to why the future people did this. In the future, Japan becomes the most powerful nation in the world. They wished to go back in time and prevent Japan from becoming so powerful. However, Emmy did not sign on because she wanted Japan destroyed, she just didn't want one country to have too much power. To her horror, Wilson pl;ans to utterly annihilate the entire country. She tries to sneak out to inform Terasawa. Wilson quietly watches and orders M-11 to follow her. Emmy spills the beans to Terasawa and the government. They decide that the only way to stop Ghidorah is to recreate Godzilla. Shindo, who owns a secret nuclear submarine, says that if they blast the Godzillasaurus, who is still undre the ocean where M-11 transported him, with radiation, Godzilla can be reborn. At the same time, Miki claims that she can still sense Godzilla out there, despite the fact that he shouldn't exist anymore. The sub goes to where the Godzillasaur should be located, but the sub is stopped halfway by Godzilla?

A hole in the Futurian's plan is found. In history, there were two Godzillas. The first one was the Godzilla attacked Tokyo in 1954, and the second one attacked in 1984. When the futurians moved the Godzillasaur, they moved the second Godzilla. The first Godzilla was still created by nuclear energy and attacked but was killed by the oxygen destroyer. But that should eman the second Godzilla shouldn't have existed, right? On the contrary, a nuclear sub wrecked where the Godzillasaur was in the 70s, thus creating the second Godzilla who appears in The Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante. This same Godzilla attacks Shindo's sub that was en route to where the Godzillasaur would've been. Godzilla absorbs the radiation from this sub and becomes even larger. The futurians, unaware of their flawed plan, believe the day to be won as Ghidorah tears apart Japan. That is until they detect Godzilla coming to shore. The return of Godzilla was inevitable and Wilson orders King Ghidorah to battle Godzilla. Meanwhile, Emmy has taken control over M-11 and they, along with Terasawa sabotage the futurian ship while Godzilla and Ghidorah battle evenly to the death.

Mind control over Ghidorah is broken and Godzilla gains the upper hand. Ghidorah, now with a mind of his own, begins strangling Godzilla. Terasawa, Emmy, and M-11 fight with Wilson and Grenchko. However, they have the ship rigged to go back to the future. The two men are knocked out and the three escape the ship in one of its smaller pods. Using the teleportation beam, they transport the ship to where Godzilla and Ghidorah have been fighting. By thus point Ghidorah is grounded and has lost one of his heads. Godzilla destroys the ship and turns his attention to the fleeing Ghidorah. Godzilla blasts a hole in Ghidorah's wing and the creature falls into the ocean. Godzilla now rampages through Japan unopposed. Not even the military's masers harm the new, much more powerful Godzilla. Emmy devises a plan to go back to the future to rebuild King Ghidorah with future technology. She leaves to do so while Godzilla attacks Tokyo. Shindo shares a tender moment with Godzilla where he remembers when the dinosaur saved him. Godzilla ends up killing Shindo. Soon, a familiar monster appears in the sky.

King Ghidorah returns, now as the futuristic cyborg Mecha-King Ghidorah, piloted from the inside by Emmy. The two monsters battle to a stand still and both fall into the ocean, presumed dead. Emmy manages to escape and thanks Terasawa, who is actually her distant ancestor. She leaves for the future as they others wave good bye. Meanwhile, under the ocean, Godzilla is still alive and roars.

Reflection: Damn, that was a lot. This easily one of the most confusing plots to a Godzilla movie, what with all the time travel. For years, several theories about how all this worked into the timeline existed. Thankfully, someone managed to make sense of the plot and I used his article to help me understand it all.

Characters really aren't that special. Shindo is the one exception. His whole thing involving the Godzillasaur and even forming an attachment to him makes for some very emotional scenes. The villains are very over the top, like something you would see in a Saturday morning cartoon. M-11 is deliciously cheesy. You can easily tell all the homages/rip-offs of the Terminator. Miki Saegusa is back, but doesn't do much in this film. Also, Kenji Sahara is in this, so that's cool.

The monsters are really good in this one. Godzilla still retains his design from the previous movie with some minor tweaks to the face that make him look fiercer. The Godzillasaurus is very impressive suit. He looks different, but you can see the similarities to Godzilla. You can easily assume that it could be a pre-muatated Godzilla. Strangely enough, it has Gamera's roar. For those who don't know, Gamera was Godzilla's main box office competitor back in the day. It was a lot like Nintendo and Sega. Also like Sega, Gamera completely went under at one point. Unlike Sega, Gamera came back with some of the greatest kaiju films ever, but I won't be talking about them on the account that they're not Toho made. Back to the monsters, King Ghidorah is a mixed bag. In some shots, the looks awesome and intimidating. In others, he looks pretty bad and stiff. The there's Mecha-King Ghidorah. Easily one of the coolest ideas ever. It combines my two favorite Godzilla enemies to create a cool looking cyborg. sadly, he doesn't do much in the movie. It would nice to see more of him in the future.

Ifukube is back on music and it is good to have him back. The classic Godzilla and King Ghidorah themes sound down right amazing in this movie. His military marches are also bombastic and catchy. Hey, remember that song I mentioned way back in my Rodan review? Yeah, it's back and sounds great. What else can you say? More Ifukube is always a good thing.

This film is a fun one. The plot is pretty out there and confusing, which may turn some people off. But if you like time travel and giant flying dragons, then give this one a go.

Final Score: 3/5
 
Godzillamothra1992.jpg


Intro: After the success of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Toho decided to bring another classic foe into the new continuity. This time, it's Mothra in a film that can be summed up in one word. Meh.

Plot: A meteor slams into planet Earth, awakening Godzilla as well as causing several natural disasters to begin taking place. The next day, a young man, named Takuya, dressed like Indiana Jones is robbing an ancient shrine. He escapes with an old relic, but is arrested for illegally exploring. While in jail, he is visited by his ex-wife, Masako, as well as a government official (reprising his role from the last film). They ask if he wishes to join their research expedition to explore an island known as Infant Island. He reluctantly decides to go and the divorced couple is joined on their quest by a man named Kenji Ando, who is a representative of Marutomo company. After finding several dangers while exploring the island, they come across a massive egg. After examining some cave paintings, the trio hear two voices, which belong to the Shobijin.

The two fairies tell them of Mothra, and how she defended the planet long ago. But they also tell about Battra, the dark Mothra. Eons ago, the two fought and Battra was defeated. Mothra returned to Infant Island while Battra disappeared in the northern sea. However, because of the recent climate changes, Mothra's egg has been unearthed and Battra has also possibly awakened. They are right and the larva form of Battra begins attacking Nagoya. Meanwhile, the egg is being taken by raft back to Japan. Kenji says that it will be great for business, but he tells the group he intends on protecting it. However, the cruise is not a safe one and Godzilla appears. Takuya cuts the ropes connecting the boat to the raft, leaving the egg behind. However, the egg hatches and a Mothra larva bursts forth. The two briefly fight but a third kaiju makes its presence known, Battra! Godzilla and Battra battle it our and both are swallowed up by an underground volcanic eruption. Mothra retreats back to Infant Island, much to the dismay of Kenji.

The group stays the night at a hotel back on the mainland. When Takuya and Masako wake up, they find that the Shobijin are missing. Kenji is also gone so the figure he stole them. Indeed he did, and he presents them to his boss Takeshi. Masako and Takuya take a flight back to Tokyo where they meet up with their daughter Midori as well as Masako's sister Mayumi and professor Fukazawa. While everyone is talking, Takuya quietly slips away. Masako tries to buy back the Shobijin from Takeshi, but he refuses. Meanwhile, the Shobijin sing the Mothra song and call the larva to them. The next day, the Shobijin are nowhere to be found. Mothra is on her way to Tokyo and the Shobijin are the only ones who can prevent her from destroying the city. The military is ready to act and Masako enlists the help of Miki Saegusa to locate the Shobijin. Miki is able to find them, in the hands of Takuya who plans on selling them. Mothra continues her rampage through the city and Masako and Midori convince him not to sell the Shobijin. He agrees and the fairies tell Mothra to calm down. Mothra then cocoons herself around the capitol building. Suddenly, Miki senses Godzilla once again.

Godzilla bursts from Mt. Fuji in a fury. Professor Fukazawa, who is working near by, watches in horror. The military tries fighting back, but they are no match. Godzilla advances towards the city as the adult Mothra emerges from her cocoon. Battra, also alive, turns into his adult form and flies towards Mothra. The two moths meet up and g=begin violently slamming into each other. Their battle is interrupted when Godzilla appears. Battra focuses his attention on Godzilla but the kaiju dispatches him easily. Mothra steps in and the two decide to put aside their differences and team up to fight Godzilla. They win, but at a cost. Battra is mortally wounded and is killed. Both monsters disappear into the sea as Mothra flies away. the next morning, the Shobijin reveal that a large meteor is coming towards Earth that will hit in 1999. Mothra goes off into space to go deal with it before it hits.

Reflection: It's hard to talk about the actors in this movie. Why? Because I only own the horrible English version. seriously, this is some of the worst dubbing ever. The thing with these dubs is that they have a limited number of dub actors to use. As such, you hear the same guy's voice for three different characters in the same movie. Thank God the Japanese version is coming to Blu Ray soon. From what I can judge, the characters are pretty bland. They don;t do much. Akira Takrada is back, so that's pretty cool, though his role isn't very big.

The monsters aren't that good either. Godzilla looks decent, but it's a downgrade from the last two movies. He looks fatter and not as intimidating. The roar is also changed. It's closer to the 60s roar, but it just sounds weak compared to the 89/91 roar. The atomic ray also has a different sound effect. It sounds like a laser and lacks that powerful jet engine like sound it had before. But I must say, the scene where he comes out of the volcano is just plain awesome. Mothra looks horrible in this film. Seriously, the Mothra from the 1964 film looks much more convincing than she does here. Mothra in this film looks like a plushie on strings. they also felt the need to give her laser beams. That's a thing about the 90s films, they gave everyone a beam, and they spammed them like crazy. Monsters like Rodan and Mothra were appealing because they fought tooth and claw and didn't really on ranged attacks. This film just throws that out the window. Battra on the other hand looks awesome. He's badass and looks awesome. Strangely, his roar is just Rodan's roar recycled. It's kind of jarring.

Ifukube's music is the best aspect of this film. Godzilla's theme is welcomed as always. Mothra's songs are great to hear and the new version sound good. Also, the military march from War of the Gargantuas is back and sounds great remixed. Battra's theme is decent, but not really that memorable.

This film is pretty meh. Some people even consider it the worst in the series. Personally, I don't like it, but it's not the worst.

Final Score: 2/5
 
GVMGII.jpg


Intro: The last two films were such financial successes that Toho asked themselves, "What monster can we rehash next?" Mechagodzilla was the obvious choice, but a few other monsters were thrown in. The result is Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.

Plot: The United Nations establishes G-Force, an organization dedicated to fighting Godzilla. They recover the wreckage of Mecha-King Ghidorah from the ocean. From the technology, they construct a Super X like weapon called the Garuda. It is deemed a failure and G-Force constructs a new robot, Mechagodzilla. Several pilots are recruited, including Kazuma Aoki, a goofball who originally worked on the Garuda. He also has an unhealthy obsession with Pteranodons. He doesn't do so well in training.

A research team is exploring Adona Island. One members is named Azusa. They come across a large egg covered in a strange plant. They also find the remains of egg that has already hatched. The team plans to take the egg back to Japan. However, as they are loading the egg, a massive monster makes its presence known. Rodan! Rodan angrily attack the camp, looking for the egg. The team hides, watching the angry pterosaur. However, Godzilla comes ashore and the two kaiju battle it out. While they fight, the team loads the egg into the helicopter. Godzilla defeats Rodan and slowly follows the helicopter.

When Kazuma learns of the egg, he sneaks into the research building to get a look at it. He flirts a bit with Azusa, who kicks him out. Miki Saegusa examines a sample of the strange plant attached to the egg. When she and several ESP students observe its energy, they hear a strange song. The song is played on a tape and the egg hatches in front of Azusa. However, instead of a baby Rodan hatching, a human sized Baby Godzilla emerges instead! Azusa, Kazuma, and Miki interact with him, and find that the baby is gentle and harmless. However, Godzilla has arrived on the mainland, sensing baby. General Aso (Akira Nakao) orders Mechagodzilla to launch.

Godzilla and his robot doppelganger meet up in the countryside. Godzilla shrugs off most of Mechagodzilla's beam attacks and fires his own. However, Mechagodzilla's armor allows him to absorb all of Godzilla's heat rays and shoot them back in the form of the Plasma Grenade. Godzilla is knocked down by this attack and Mechagodzilla fires his shock anchor. The anchors dig into Godzilla's flesh and the robot sends powerful electrical shocks though them. This seems to be working until Godzilla reverses the shocks through his nuclear pulse. Mechagodzilla is shut down and Godzilla continues his rampage through Kyoto, easily destroying the military along the way. The three go underground with Baby Godzilla and Godzilla can no longer sense the baby. he returns back to the sea.

G-Force, after studying the baby, has discovered the location of a second brain. Godzilla must have the same weakness. They plan on aiming the shock anchor directly at this point and will use Baby Godzilla to lure Godzilla to an populated area, much to the dismay of Azusa. Meanwhile, Kazuma suggests that Garuda could be revamped to fight alongside Mechagodzilla. He also comes up with the idea to merge the two and allow them to become Super Mechagodzilla. The psychic children and Miki visit Baby. They sing the plant song for him, giving him a huge boost of energy. However, Baby is not the only one to get a power boost. Rodan is revived, now with a uranium heat beam and under the name Fire Rodan. The next day, Baby is transported in a container carried by a helicopter to the location. Azusa decides to join him. Unfortunately, Rodan destroys the helicopter and carries the container back to the city. Mechagodzilla and Garuda are deployed to fight the creature. Fire Rodan sends the Garuda crashing into Earth and Mechagodzilla easily defeats Rodan.

Godzilla arrives in the city. He and Mechagodzilla trade blows and Godzilla gains the upper hand until Garuda comes back and distracts Godzilla long enough for Mechagodzilla to right itself back up. Mechagodzilla uses its shock anchor and Godzilla is knocked down and paralyzed. Garuda attaches itself to Mechagodzilla's back, forming Super Mechagodzilla. Godzilla is presumed dead, but Baby sends out a loud screech, which awakens Rodan. The giant pterosaur lands on top of Godzilla gives all his life force to Godzilla. Rodan evaporates away and Godzilla's second brain is healed. Godzilla gets up, more powerful tha before. He now shoots a powerful red beam, known as the spiral ray. It is much stringer than the original ray. the ray is too hot and it burns through Mechagodzilla's armor with ease. Godzilla then easily destroys Mechagodzilla while the pilots barely get out in an escape pod.

As Godzilla leaves, Azusa tells the baby he must go with Godzilla, but the baby does not want to go. Miki uses her psychic abilities to convince the baby otherwise. The baby follows Godzilla as they swim out to sea.

Reflection: I complained in my last review that I only had the English version of that movie. Well now I have the Japanese version of this movie. So it's more enjoyable, right? Actually, there's a ton of English dialogue already in this film. And holy shit is it bad. Biollante had some horrible American actors, but it's downright terrible here. The characters here are nothing to right home about anyway. Kazuma has this weird quirk about Pteranodons and it's incredibly cheesy. Especially the small robot pteranodon he constructs and rides on. General Aso is introduced in this movie and he will also appear in the next two movies. He's your typical stern military general, but he's enjoyable at least. Kenji Sahara is also here, playing the same military general. Megumi Odaka does good as Miki Saegusa again. This film is very key for her character. She begins doubting the military and becomes more attached to Godzilla.

I like the idea of G-Force. We've never really seen an anti-kaiju organization until now. G-force will also appear in the next two movies.

The monsters are a mixed bag. Godzilla looks better than he did in the last movie and the breath sound effect has been restored. Unfortunately, this Godzilla is really fat, especially in the thigh area. Rodan looks pretty bad. The design itself is fine but the puppet is so stiff. It's strange that rodan is so much smaller than Godzilla in this movie. In the older movies, they were the same height. They also gave Rodan a beam weapon, but I already complained about that issue with Mothra in the last film. Mechagodzilla is also a mixed bag. He looks vastly different from his original design. The head is my least favorite part of the design. It just looks so dumb in this movie. In the 70s Mechagodzilla film, he looked scarier and actually like a robot. Though I suppose that since this Mechagodzilla is not evil, they toned down the menace. He has some really cool attacks though. Mouth beam, eye beams, plasma grenade, paralyzer missiles, and the shock anchor. Though his all-out weapon strike is not as impressive as the old one.

The final monster is the Baby. You can consider him an updated version of Minya. Now, Minya will always hold a special place in my heart, but I must say baby Godzilla looks much more convincing. Sadly, he looses a bit of his charm that he had in Son of Godzilla. So take your pick. Realism or personality. The Baby's cute and has a pretty good suit.

Ifukube knocks it out of the park again. This is some of his best work. Mechagodzilla's theme is bombastic and catchy. Garuda's theme is catchy as well. His music for the Baby is very tender and can even sound sad at times (which will be very key soon). The Godzilla theme is great as always. This film also marks the magnificent return of Rodan's theme in all its glory.

While this film isn't too bad, it still has some big flaws. It's definitely a step up after the last one.

Final Score: 2.5/5
 
Super Smash Misty said:
Why does the government hate Godzilla?
Click to expand...
Maybe it has to do with the fact that, even when he's helping, he has a tendency to blow up every city he steps foot in...
 
Vommack said:
Super Smash Misty said:
Why does the government hate Godzilla?
Click to expand...
Maybe it has to do with the fact that, even when he's helping, he has a tendency to blow up every city he steps foot in...
Click to expand...
It totally slipped my mind that he's "forty stories high".
 
Super Smash Misty said:
Vommack said:
Super Smash Misty said:
Why does the government hate Godzilla?
Click to expand...
Maybe it has to do with the fact that, even when he's helping, he has a tendency to blow up every city he steps foot in...
Click to expand...
It totally slipped my mind that he's "forty stories high".
Click to expand...
Or maybe it was that annoying pipsqueak child appeal character that won't be named.
I'd say it's an even bet.
 
Super Smash Misty said:
Vommack said:
Or maybe it was that annoying pipsqueak child appeal character that won't be named.
Click to expand...
Godzooky?
Click to expand...
...You named it. Why would you do that.
 
GXSG.jpg


Intro: After rehashing three major monsters in a row, Toho finally came up with something new. So that means this must be great just like Biollante? Right? Sadly no. Instead, we have Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla.

Plot: Deep in outer space, a strange monster is making its way to Earth and it looks strangely like Godzilla! G-Force has begun construction on a new giant robot, Moguera. Meanwhile, G-Force has another project to use against Godzilla, Project T. Ms. Gondo and Dr. Okubo enlist the help of psychic Miki Saegusa to help. The plan is to use mind control on Godzilla. When Miki goes outside to think about the proposition, she is visited by the Shobijin, who tell her that a space monster is coming to Earth to kill Godzilla. Miki finally agrees to join the project. At the same time, two G-Force members, Shinjo and Sato arrive on Birth Island to start preparations for Project T. While there, they meet Yuki, an ex soldier who has been living on the island for awhile. Also on the island is Little Godzilla, an older version of the baby from the last film. Little Godzilla is about one third of Godzilla's height now. Yuki also seems to have a grudge against Godzilla, who has shown up on the island before in the past. He has prepared a special bullet of blood coagulate to kill him.

As Miki, Gondo, and Okubo arrive on Birth Island, Moguera is deployed to intercept the space monster in the asteroid belt. The two clash and the space monster overwhelms the robot easily. Soon, Godzilla comes ashore on Birth Island. He is shot in the back of the head with the mind control device. Miki telepathically is able to control him, but Godzilla soon brakes free of the control. Project T is deemed a failure and Shinjo and Sato join Yuki in trying to kill Godzilla, much to the dismay of Miki. As expected, the bullet cannot pierce Godzilla's tough hide. However, bigger problems make themselves known. The space monster lands on Birth Island, scaring Little Godzilla. Godzilla and the space monster battle it out but the alien manages to win. He traps Little Godzilla inside a crystal prison and flies towards the mainland. Godzilla weakly pursues. Miki decides to stay on the island while the rest head back to Japan. Shinjo and Sato decide to stay back as well.

After analyzing skin samples, Gondo discovers that the space monster has the same DNA as Godzilla. As such, the creature is dubbed Spacegodzilla. She theorizes that Godzilla cells made their way into space either by the remains of Biollante, or the skin cells attached to Mothra when she went into space. Yuki is assigned by General Aso to Moguera. Back on the island, several thugs rip into their tent at night and kidnap Miki and beat up Shinjo and Sato, who call G-Force. Gondo comes back the next day to pick them up. We learn that she is the sister of Gondo from the Godzilla vs. Biollante and Yuki was good friends with him. Yuki now hates Godzilla due to him killing Gondo. She also tells them that she may know who kidnapped Miki. In a twist, it is revealed that Dr. Okubo kidnapped her, becoming power hungry with the idea of controlling Godzilla. Yuki, Shinjo, and Sato begin to infiltrate Okubo's base, planning to break Miki out. At the same time, Spacegodzilla lands in the city and begins creating his crystal fortress. They manage to break Miki out as Spacegodzilla destroys the building, killing Okubo. At the same time, Godzilla arrives in Japan, ready to battle his cosmic clone. Yuki, Shinjo, and Sato head back to base and board the Moguera. Godzilla, Moguera, and Spacegodzilla all arrive near Fukuoka tower and the heart of Spacegodzilla's fortress.

Neither monster is able to seriously damage Spacegodzilla. It is discovered that Fukuoka tower is acting as a capacitor for Spacegodzilla's energy. The Moguera splits into two smaller craft. the airborne star falcon aids Godzilla in the battle while the Land Moguera digs underground to destroy the tower. The combination of the three manage to destroy the tower and blow off Spacegodzilla's shoulder crystals. Weakened and enraged, Spacegodzilla brutally damages Moguera, leaving it unable to fight. However, the three manage to escape the wrecked Moguera and Godzilla begins winning. The dying Spacegodzilla tries to fight back, but Godzilla ends up obliterating the cosmic saurian with his spiral ray. With Spacegodzilla dead, Little Godzilla is freed and Godzilla swims back to his island home.

Reflection: The main trio of human characters aren't very developed, but they do share a chemistry among themselves. Miki is really a mixed bag in this one. One one hand, she gets much more screen time and a bigger part, but she is also reduced to a damsel in distress for a good portion of the movie. They go more into her attachment to Godzilla that was established last film. A love subplot between Shinjo and Miki is thrown in, but it goes nowhere. Shinjo is given very little development and the romance just feels really redundant. Also, yay Kenji Sahara.

Monsters are decent. Godzilla still looks good, but the suit i showing signs of wear and tear. It's especially noticeable in one scene where the tip of the tail actually falls off. I mean Jesus guys, would that be so hard to fix? Spacegodzilla is a pretty cool villain. The suit is really good, though is flying form looks pretty bad. He has some very unique powers. His snaking corona beam, the gravity tornadoes, crystal creation and manipulation, and an energy shield. Moguera however is a pretty big disappointment. He packs a lot of firepower, but his design is pretty lackluster. A big step down from Mechagodzilla in the last film. The original draft of the film had a second Mechagodzilla as opposed to Moguera, but it was changed. Moguera actually originated from a really old Toho film, The Mysterians where he was an alien mecha. I would've reviewed it if I had it. The other monster is Little Godzilla. Ugh. Minya I could except because while he was cutesy, he at least looked semi-realistic and fit in the film he was in. Little Godzilla however looks like he was ripped straight from an anime. It's odd because the baby Godzilla from the last film actually looked like an infant Godzilla. I have no idea why he turned into this!

A minor issue I have is some stock footage. i thought we were past these days. The scene where Godzilla battles the navy is just taken directly from Godzilla vs. Biollante. It's a only a short clip from that scene, but it's still noticeable. It really makes you think, "Huh, why aren't I watching that movie instead?" Then there's the asteroid belt scene. Good lord is it bad. I mean, really bad. Some of the worst stuff we've seen so far. I'm gonna quote Anthony Romero from Toho Kingdom on this one. "One of the more infamous sequences from the film would be the asteroid scene, which blatantly displays a black background, devoid of stars, amongst immobile clumps of meteors". There are some good effect scenes, but this really bad one takes me out of the movie.

Then there's the music. No Ifukube to save the movie this time! The new composer, Takayuki Hattori, does an average job. His theme for Godzilla is decent, but nothing special. The rest of the soundtrack is pretty bland and forgettable. Two of Ifukube's themes manage to sneak their way in. Godzilla's theme in one scene where he comes ashore on Birth Island, and "Sacred Springs" when the Shobijin visit Miki.

This movie is definitely one of the worst. The villain is a little cool, but he unfortunately would go on to become the main villain in two of the video games, which got really tiring. All in all, pretty bland and forgettable.

Final Score: 2/5
 
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