Tags:
Film: Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (Gojira tai Mosura tai Mekagojira: Tôkyô S.O.S.)
Year: 2003
Director: Masaaki Tezuka
Writer: Masaaki Tezuka and Masahiro Yokotani
Starring: Noboru Kanebo, Miho Yoshioka and Mitsuki Koga
Review:
This film takes place after the last one as the Japanese government is trying to fix Mecha G after his battle with Godzilla. We do see that Godzilla is alive under the ocean. We then see fighter jets intercepting something that is quite large that turns out to be Mothra. They attack it, but it gets away.
This film brings back the professor from the original Mothra film, played by Hiroshi Koizumi. He lives with his nephew, played by Noboru Kaneko, as well as his grandson. Kaneko works for the air force as a mechanic. Their house shakes and Koizumi believes it to be an earthquake. They are then visited by the Fairies, played by Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Ohtsuka. They tell everyone that Godzilla’s bones that are inside of Mecha G need to be returned to the ocean. They also claim that Mothra will defeat Godzilla and protect the Earth.
We then meet the military force that is behind the Mecha G. The operator is played by Mitsuki Koga and he is arrogant. There is a pilot that Kaneko knew played by Miho Yoshioka. We also meet another pilot that is going to the United States, played by Kô Takasugi. She tells Kaneko that Mecha G doesn’t want to fight. Kaneko doesn’t agree with her.
A United States nuclear submarine is attacked and destroyed. Godzilla then surfaces. People are being evacuated, but Koizumi’s grandson turns up missing. The Fairies had left an artifact with them and it is missing as well. Koizumi ends up finding his grandson in the courtyard of his school. He mimicked the symbol using desks, trying to call Mothra to their aid.
Mecha G’s is rushed to be fixed in order to deal with Godzilla. That is when Mothra appears. The military believes that Mothra will join forces to attack Japan, but they are surprised when the two giant monsters do battle. Koizumi knows that Godzilla has the upper hand though when it uses its scale attack.
Mecha G is completed and is sent out into the battle. It goes right after it and Mothra has to flee, no longer having the strength to be much help.
On the island where the Fairies are, they sing and pray to a giant egg. It hatches to reveal two twin Mothra larvae. They head for Japan to join the fight.
Godzilla proves to be too much for Mecha G and Mothra. Mothra defends the two larvae, destroying itself in the process. This does anger the larvae though, as their eyes turn from blue to red. Mecha G has the side of its head destroyed and it is incapacitated. Kaneko shows up and decides that as a mechanic, he can fix Mecha G. The larvae attack Godzilla in hopes of stopping it. Can Mecha G be fixed in time? Are the larvae a match for Godzilla? Can Godzilla be defended?
This film is a direct sequel to the previous one. Mecha G is missing an arm and its main weapon is damaged at the beginning of this film. Something I also liked was that Godzilla is not 100% healthy either, as the chest is still healing from the attack by Mecha G. I do find it interesting they continue on with the concept that the Godzilla bones inside of Mecha G still contain essence of Godzilla and they need to be laid to rest. I also don’t mind pulling from the original Mothra film as well as bringing back the character Koizumi. The fight scenes are good as well and I don’t mind the ending. The surrounding acting is also decent.
My biggest issue with this film is that it is a direct sequel to the previous, which only pulled from the original Godzilla as well as some parts from other giant monster films for the background. They have made a lot of Godzilla films and this one wants to keep Godzilla as the bad guy, so they ignore the other films in between. I can’t fault the filmmakers, but I also do not like ignoring other films in series. I also feel this one falls in with the issue that it takes too long to get going into the battles. I wasn’t a big fan of the surrounding story either.
Now with that said, this is not the best Godzilla film, but it also is not the worst one. If you are going to watch them as a series, you can watch the original and then the one previous to this and will be caught up on this line. The acting is decent, the battle scenes were good and it has an interesting message as well as back-story. It does take a little bit to get going and the story itself is a little weak. This one can also be watched by itself as it fills you in on most of what you need to know.
My Rating: 6 out of 10