Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974) Reviews

• An Enjoyable G-Film!!

  gigan-922009-04-25

  Godzilla's 14th film, his 20th Anniversary, is pretty good, better than the last two, that's for sure. Finally, we aren't bombarded with stock-footage, crappy monsters, and karate moves. The story was good, and so were most of the SFX. Plus, a reason of its own to give the film a star, it introduced MechaGodzilla, one of my favorite monsters! The story wasn't a rehash of the others and they actually brought back some of the best Toho actors, Akihiko Hirata and Hiroshi Koizumi! The music was all right for the most part, with its jazzy feel to it. The aliens are a bit of a disappointment, being monkeys, but they didn't ruin it like the cockroaches in "Godzilla vs. Gigan". This is the first film since "Godzilla vs. Hedorah", a whole three years (!!), for SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano to actually display something presentable and all of Mecha-G's rampage scenes are carried out nicely. But the doppelganger's chest ray looked too simple compared to his eye beams, which looked incredible. To the monsters.... Angiurus returns, now able to leap at his foes like Baragon in "Frankenstien Conquers the World", a bit odd but cool. His fight with Mecha-G is very physical, ripping Anguirus' jaws apart and all. Mecha-G was incredibly cool looking and all his weapons are brought to life fantastically. I'm glad he returns in "Terror of MechaGodzilla". King Seeser is actually a decent monster but I hate the fact that that braud had to sing for over a minute to awaken him! It was the Mothra song coming back to haunt us all. Godzilla is still the suit from "Godzilla vs. Megalon". The final battle was spectacular and fun goes to bloody levels never before seen in a G-film and the Monster King takes quite a beating. In this film Godzilla also doesn't do any goofy moves or that many human tactics. Of course, besides that scene where he missed his mechanical twin with his heat ray and seemed to snap his fingers in anger. The human characters all give good performances and a few espionage scenes, but the aliens' aluminum foil base wasn't that impressive. I really enjoyed this movie and really think it's one of the better at a time when Godzilla films were really going downhill. The sequel surpasses this film, but the end of the original series I guess was inevitable at this point.

• Mechagodzilla is my favorite Godzilla opponent!

  Aaron13752003-02-28

  Of the Showa era Godzilla films, the best was the first film as it was done very well and had very disturbing scenes when one watched the uncut Japanese version. However, my favorite Godzilla film to watch in the Showa era is this particular film. It features my favorite Godzilla enemy in Mechagodzilla and has an awesome fight at the end. I also like the Mechagodzilla film done during the Hensei era and though I think this Mechagodzilla incarnation is cooler, that one was still the better film and my favorite of the Hensei era films. Mechagodzilla would return during the millennial Godzilla series in two movies, but I was not as happy with them. The first one was really good, but I think they missed the mark on the second. It was a two part thing and they clearly showed Mechagodzilla (call Kiryu in those films) as being superior and more than a match for Godzilla and for reasons unknown they add Mothra to the mix also fighting against Godzilla who was completely overwhelmed during the second film. Here, Mechagodzilla is a product of aliens while in all other incarnations it is a weapon designed by man to defeat Godzilla. This Mechagodzilla, though, to me had the best arsenal of weapons including really cool finger missiles! The story has some people at a ceremony when the young lady performing it suddenly has a vision of a monster destroying the world. Granted, her vision clearly shows Gidorah shots from previous movies. Well, turns out that there is something to this prophecy as soon Godzilla emerges and begins causing havoc! He decimates his old monster friend Anguiris and makes his way to a port where he comes face to face with another Godzilla! Are there two Godzillas? No, the one causing mayhem is a cyborg version of Godzilla called Mechagodzilla. Godzilla seems killed by this creation and the humans must try and figure out how to resurrect a monster known as King Ceasar to try and combat this metal monstrosity! Thankfully, for King Ceasar a certain monster may come back in a foul mood and ready to avenge his earlier loss! This Showa era Godzilla film seemed to move away a bit from the silliness of the previous couple of Godzilla films. There was no child present, there was blood spewing and a lot of other things that made this entry darker than the previous film, Godzilla vs Megalon. This film and the next would help the Showa era end on a strong note and these two films are favorites of mine as I do not like the overly kiddie movies like Megalon, but on the other hand I prefer Godzilla to be the hero as I like pulling for Godzilla to win and that does not happen all too often when he is bad Godzilla. So all in all a really good Godzilla film from the Showa era. It has things within in it that other films in the era do not and I like the characters in this one too. I was actually interested in what the humans were doing as they were done well enough I was not just waiting for the scenes with the monsters. The villains were good too, though I do find it incredibly lame that they could not fix their own creation, but instead had to use and Earthling to do the job. Still, a pretty fun Godzilla flick and the next to last movie of an era.

• Delightfully bonkers

  Meven_Stoffat2014-05-22

  The 1970s aren't particularly known for having the best Godzilla movies, but when Godzilla was good, he was very good, and this is one of those cases. In fact, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is highly regarded by fans if the franchise for this reason- it's pure cheese and completely bizarre, but it actually also has drama that works (bet you thought you'd never heard anyone describe any of the Godzilla films from the 70s in that fashion) and a good plot too. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that this was Godzilla's 20th anniversary, and so they decided to cut the bullshit and show him as a destructive force while still keeping him an anti-hero. Not that anyone in particular goes to see Godzilla for anything other than a man in a rubber suit whaling on nothing's, but while this film offers that, it has a good story and even some very interesting plot twists that keep the story all spiced up. It's also short and set at 84 minutes and it rarely fumbles. As the title itself gives away, Godzilla faces off against... Godzilla. That's two Godzillas for the price of one- but this is a gigantic cyborg Godzilla, and you wouldn't expect the thing to work so well- but the execution is so tight and well done. In fact, it's revealed over the course of the film that Mechagodzilla is controlled by aliens from an external source. The basis for Mechagodzilla is that he appears when a black mountain rises, and when a red moon sets, two more monsters appear to destroy him. When he first appears, you're immediately greeted with a surprise as you think he's Godzilla, then he begins brutally beating Angurius- who is usually his ally. When actual Godzilla shows up is when we see him turn into a cyborg. The fights are especially well done and the last fight is just absolutely brutal. It's great to see the brutality returned to Godzilla after years of him being reduced to a camp type Plot and character wise it succeeds too. You can actually care for the characters, even if you're not here for the characters. There's a subplot involving a statue which also succeeds due to the intrigue. A classic moment appears on a scene on a ferry where it's revealed one of the workers is an undercover alien, which is a very effective and shocking plot twist. It also results in a very impressive chase and action sequence, which cant be said for a lot of scenes set on a ferry But ultimately the most memorable moment of the movie happens when the Azumi priestess goes to the island where King Caesar, Godzilla's ally in this movie, rests, and sings an ultra catchy yet haunting hymn to wake him up. It's an actual full three minute song and her vocal range is on full display, making every minute of it believable. The fight that ensues afterward is awesome too. While a lot of the 1970s Godzillas are rather forgettable and at times bad, at least this film actually succeeds in being enjoyable primarily because it's well written, has enough of Godzilla to go around and even the non Godzilla scenes are effective- much like the new Godzilla. An absolute recommend in every sense.

• my introduction to the wonderful world of godzilla movies

  ciarandino2012-10-09

  This is the first godzilla movie I ever saw, when I was about five years old, so naturally, I have a lot of nostalgia for this flick. It introduced me to the wonderful world of godzilla movies. I personally think this was an awesome movie. It has four monsters, three awesome monster battles, an ancient prophecy, James Bond esc elements and a killer soundtrack. This is a real return to form for Godzilla after the dismal Godzilla vs Gigan and Godzilla vs Megalon (I actually liked Godzilla vs Hedorah, and I enjoyed the final battle in Gigan, but overall GvG was pretty awful). I love the designs of the monsters. The godzilla suit from Megalon was reused, but it was dramatically improved with an altered head, which had an angry frown and smaller, sharper teeth, which made the suit look a lot more viscous, not like the previous head which made big G look way too cutesy. The Anguirus suit from Destroy All Monsters was reused, which I have no problem with, because the suit looks damn awesome. King Caesar is an awesome monster, though considering he was so integral to the prophecy in the movie, he didn't really do much when he was actually awakened other than get his ass royally handed to him by Mechagodzilla. And now we move on to Godzilla's foe for this movie, his mechanical twin Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla just looks incredible. The thing looks damn evil, what with those glaring orange eyes. It sounds evil too, with that screeching roar it makes. The movie has brilliant build up. After their first confrontation ends in a tie (with godzilla seemingly dead), godzilla and mechagodzilla leave to recover. After that point, the movie builds up to an epic climax, and it does not disappoint. Godzilla and caesar fight mechagodzilla in one of the most action packed monster fights ever seen. I highly recommend this movie to any godzilla fan, anyone who's new to the series, or anyone who just likes old B movies.

• Godzilla meets his match, in himself....

  Griever_21122010-12-13

  Godzilla who is established in the Showa series of movies as a hero seems to turn on his homeland and begins attacking Japan. We the faithful Godzilla fans know something is up, as the Godzilla attacking has red/orange Atomic Breath... Godzilla's breath is blue... Me thinks something is amiss here. Low and behold this impostor is confronted by the real Godzilla in a spectacular fight on a refinery. But as Godzilla damages his doppelganger we see metallic underlaying... The fake is really a ROBOT!!! created bye space aliens, they built a giant robot version of Godzilla named... Mechagodzilla. The movie progresses like all Godzilla films do, and In the crescendo Godzilla is aided by the guardian deity monster King Ceasar (who looks like those Japanese dog statues) Overall I like this movie in the Showa series. defiantly in my top 5 of the Showa series, but not my overall.