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Film: Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (Gojira X Mekagojira)
Year: 2002
Director: Masaaki Tezuka
Writer: Wataru Mimura
Starring: Yumiko Shaku, Shin Takuma and Kana Onodera
Review:
This film begins telling us that after the original Godzilla attacked and was defeated, they have not had to deal with it again. We do learn that there has been other monsters attack Japan though. There was Mothra as well as a couple others. There is an elite fighting force that was created and weapons that stop the monster as well.
A new Godzilla attacks, but the weapons they have do not work against it. There is a female soldier, played by Yumiko Shaku, who survives the attack, but most of her unit is killed. She takes it very hard.
We then learn that there is a scientist, played by Shin Takuma, who is very good with making hybrid robots. He has taken the form of a trilobite, used horseshoe crab parts to make a hybrid robot that mimics how the trilobite, which is extinct, would act. He is then approached by the government, along with a bunch of other scientists in different fields. They have found the bones of the original Godzilla and they want to use them to create a weapon to defeat Godzilla.
At first, he declines. He has a daughter, played by Kana Onodera. His wife and her mother has passed away and he is very protective over her. He is convinced to work on the project though after they give him an offer he cannot refuse that involves his daughter.
A MechaGodzilla is created from the bones. It is codenamed Kiriyu and this cyborg has a weapon that is believed can stop Godzilla. It has a cannon in the middle of its chest that will fire an absolute zero blast and they think with this it will destroy Godzilla.
Shaku was disgraced after what happened during the original attack and she has been delegated to an office. She is not happy about this. She is given grief though by other soldiers who blame her for the death of so many. One who leads this charge against her is Yûsuke Tomoi. Tomoi is upset though when the lieutenant in charge of the Kiriyu, played by Kô Takasugi asks Shaku to be one of the pilots for it. He knows how skilled she is.
Godzilla does not attack for three years, but Kiriyu is completed, Godzilla attacks. The cyborg is called into action and holds its own. When it goes to fire the absolute zero cannon, Godzilla roars. The bones that are the base of Kiriyu awaken something inside of it. Kiriyu then goes berserk and can no longer be controlled by the pilots. They have to wait until the energy runs out.
Will they be able to fix Kiriyu to avoid it from losing control again? Can the cyborg defeat the real Godzilla?
I will lead off to say that for this film I do like the updated version as this is a remake of an earlier concept. I’m not a huge fan of CGI, but I do think that some of it works very well for this film. I like that they used the bones of the original Godzilla and I did like the subplot that Kiriyu remembers the memories that are held within the bones that are used to build it. It has an interesting twist and helps to limit the cyborg’s abilities, at least for a time. The acting for this film is a little bit cheesy. The battle scenes are pretty good between the giant monsters as well.
This film does come with issues. I am okay that this film is a sequel to the original film and that this one is a stand alone, ignoring all of the films in between. I am not a fan of doing this, as I feel that this film should be more part of the series and could still have done mostly what they did story wise for it. Since it is a stand alone, I will say that the story for this film is pretty good still. I wasn’t a big fan of the awkward love story they try to use between Shaku and Takuma.
I would recommend this film if you like giant monster films, especially Godzilla ones where he faces off against an opponent. MechaGodzilla in this film is the good monster, created from the bones of the original and Godzilla is of course the evil monster like in the original film. The acting is a little cheesy, so I wasn’t overly impressed. I do feel that the story is okay for a standalone, but I do think that it would have been better to tie in the previous films for this one. I will digress there and state that if you like the genre, this one isn’t the best, but still worth a viewing.
My Rating: 6 out of 10