Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
AKA
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
(1993)
Page 2
I expected the same thing for the modern version of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and wondered just what title Toho might come up with for this one. What did I get? Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. How anticlimatic. As I grew older, I just stopped refering to it with the II at the end, which is why I don't do so above. Why? Because it's not a sequel to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and I can't refer to it as such. So that's what is up with that.
Yeah, I'm really that picky. I also drop the subtitle from X2: X-Men United when I normally talk about it. Why? Because it's not onscreen in the actual film. That and X-Men United is a completly stupid title. Deal with it.
But as for the film itself? This is probably the most love it or hate it film of the Heisei series, because I've seen both passionate embracing of it's non-stop action and passionate despising of it's silly nature and annoying characters. I'm of the former myself. This flick's an action packed thrill-ride.
Godzilla first appears 15 minutes in, and is a constant presence throughout. The redesigns for Mechagodzilla and Rodan are top notch, and the melee action is gripping. The downside? Both Mechagodzilla and Rodan are both very limited in movement. In the case of MechaG, the Heisei series has always opted for a heavier feel instead of kinetic tooth-and-claw brawling, making it feel more like a vehicle instead of a living creature. MechaG is primarily a beam weapon that walks. Rodan, on the other hand, is a very ambitious design that had to be portrayed by puppet. Unfortunatly, the puppet is very stiff and features little to no movement below the neck, other than a slow wing flap. The result is a very strange feel as Rodan kind of glides instead of flying. It really doesn't look that good, but I give them kudos for trying.
There's also the case of giving Rodan a heat beam. Why was that neccessary? Wasn't he already cool enough without it?
On the human side of things, the "adopted mother" story with Azusa and Baby is very sweet and decently enjoyable. However the majority of it is ruined by the primary male character of Kazuma, who is less of a hero and more a nuisance. Had the character been erased from the film entirly, I have no doubt the film would have been much more warmly recieved by those who detract from it.
Other than stiff monster work and our main anti-hero, the film has no glaring faults. Though, as of right now, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is the only film of the Heisei series to be released with a Japanese audiotrack in the United States. Unfortunatly, for those willing to watch it with subtitles, you're in for quite a strange experience. The subtitles used are actually just a closed captioning for the dubbing. Not that big of a deal, mind you, except a good portion of the military scenes are portrayed in English, leaving the subs unneccesary. The English speaking scenes also feature some dreadful acting, but considering that Asia has never had much luck with English speaking actors in the first place (see Dragon Wars for a prime example), it's forgivable.
Call me crazy, but I've always enjoyed this movie. It's one of my fave Heisei era G films. I wouldn't reccommend it outside to established Godzilla fans, though. This one is for the fanboys.
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