Godzilla X Mechagodzilla
AKA
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
(2002)
Page 2
Good.
I don't hate Kaneko or GMK, I just don't get what I want in a Godzilla flick out of him. He can fuck around with Gamera all he wants, but when you play with Godzilla, you're playing with something personal to me. GMK was a fun change of pace, but I'm not sure if I want any more of it.
Masaaki Tezuka, on the other hand, the man is more of a blockbuster action director and less of a craftsman than Kaneko, but that's more in tune with what I want from a G flick. You can claim Godzilla has the souls of the dead Japanese crammed inside him all you want, but in the end when I'm disecting your cryptic message in your giant monster movie, the most startling revealation I find is that I genuinly don't give a shit.
Tezuka delivers what I love about the Godzilla series and crams it into one entertaining package. Energetic monster action, property damage, and fantasticly absurd science blending together into a silly, escapist Science Fiction/Fantasy extravaganza.
In the case of Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, Tezuka takes a concept that was planted in the Monster Wars episodes of Godzilla: The Series and expands it into a feature film. In that American Saturday morning cartoon show, the remains of the original Godzilla that attacked New York in 1998 were recovered by aliens and turned into Cyber-Godzilla. Upon seeing another member of his species, the Godzilla of the series questioned his allegance to humanity and followed the cyborg blindly. Godzilla X Mechagodzilla is the same thing, except there are no aliens and roles are reversed. In this case, Mechagodzilla is the being that's awoken by attacking his own flesh and blood.
The new Mechagodzilla design, Kiryu, is badass. It manuvers and brawls far better than either the Showa or Heisei era designs could ever have dreamed of. I love the concept of this Mechagodzilla being built around the remains of the original Godzilla as well, breathing new life into the concept of the giant cyborg. His new arsenal of missles and lasers bring some hardcore firepower to the stage, and his newest weapon, a freezing weapon called Absolute Zero, is breathtaking.
The kaiju scenes are kinetic and fun. The final battle, in particular, seems anime inspired in some of it's stylistic choices. It's one of the most unique Godzilla fights I've ever seen. Godzilla's new design isn't bad, as it tries to cross the original Millennium design with that of the Heisei Godzilla. It looks akward at times with it's giant doll eyes, but overall it's a much more appealing suit than the one used in GMK.
And what review of GXMG would be complete without mentioning the fine and foxy Yomiko Shaku, who's womanly form is damn fine, but looks just as sexy (if not sexier) in military uniform. I'd watch this movie seven times a day just for her. Growl.
I think I can definatly say that Masaaki Tezuka is my second favorite director of the G series, behind the great Ishiro Honda, of course. He may deliver familiar material, but he delivers it in a way that outshines those that are trying something new with it. Sometimes something new isn't as much fun. Tezuka's trilogy of Millennium films may never wind up fan favorites, but they're definatly on my guilty pleasure shelf. And Godzilla X Mechagodzilla is the best of the three.
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