JLRVancouver In this militaristic revision of Japan's troubled history with kaiju, Godzilla attacked once before, in 1954, and was defeated by Serizawa's oxygen destroyer. Other monsters have since attacked (Mothra and Gaira ("War of the Gargantuas", 1966)) and Japan's response to each attack is to develop newer, more powerful weapons. Now Godzilla has returned and a new weapon is needed, so tissue from the original Godzilla's skeleton is incorporated into a giant mecha to create a cybernetic "Mechagodzilla" (that this is the third incarnation of a "Mechagodzilla" is not part of this film's alternative history). Similar to the previous films in the millennium-series, Godzilla is a simply rampaging monster that needs to be destroyed (the concept that he's just a misunderstood dad, or that he is our guardian, or that he is our friend was (fortunately) put aside for this series). "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" (number 27 in the canon) is a pretty typical Godzilla outing. There is some backstory about the cyborg expert Tokumitsu Yuhara (Shin Takuma ) who is brought in to help design Mechagodzilla and his daughter Sara (Kana Onodera, she's OK - kids in Godzilla movies just keep getting less annoying) as well as Akane Yashiro (Yumiko Shaku), a Mechagodzilla operator with a personal vendetta against the big guy, all of which exists simply as a scaffold to support the kaiju scenes. Both Godzilla and his cyborg doppelganger look pretty good, especially when trashing cities, as do the "White Heron" transport/command and control aircraft. I always thought the mechagodzillas looked silly when flying, so was pleased to see this one being towed into battle (later it turns out that it can fly, and, once again, looks silly doing so). The battle scenes are a mixed bag - despite having the ultimate Godzilla weapon installed in the mecha's chest, the crew seem obligated to fire numerous useless cannon, missiles, ray guns, etc. before activating the 'absolute zero' canon. The battling colossi look OK when grappling or blasting each other with death-rays, but the scenes where Mechagodzilla jumps over Godzilla or spins him around by his tail look 'fake' in comparison and detract from the overall quality of the brawls. The film's score is also a mixed bag, with some good (and familiar) themes mixed in with the grating 'fanfare' music that accompanies shots of Mechagodzilla. Acting (including English subtitling in my version) is on par with other film's in the series (although I got tired of Yumiko Shaku 's po-faced Akane and her heroic pose at the film's close was pretty trite). While neither as imaginative or well-executed as 2000's "G. vs Megaguirus") or as off-beat as 2001's "Giant Monsters All-Out Attack", this latest version of Godzilla fighting his robotic-self is an entertaining enough entry into the long running daikaiju franchise.

dee.reid I have to admit that I've been rather slow in getting to the Millennium-Era series of "Godzilla" films - meaning, the films that were made between 1999 and 2004 in Japan. I admit that I know very little about the Millennium Era, but the first movie I ever saw from this series was "Godzilla 2000" (1999) back in early 2000 at the now-closed Cineplex Odeon at my local shopping mall and was consequently the last movie I ever saw there before it closed.Over the years, I saw "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004) and I've only seen bits & pieces of "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" (2000), the latter film of which I was never really impressed with from the few clips I saw of it. Only today did I watch director Maasaki Tezuka's 2002 "kaiju-eiga" (Japanese giant monster movie) "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla," which marks the fourth on-screen pairing of Godzilla fighting his cyborg-monster doppelganger, Mechagodzilla (the first three films were 1974's "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla," 1975's "Terror of Mechagodzilla," and 1993's "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II").Since all the films in the Millennium series are stand-alone features with no previous connection to the previous entry, "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" therefore has no connection to its predecessor, and instead - like "Godzilla 2000" - goes straight back to "Gojira" (1954) and pretends that any film that came after it never happened; however, Mothra and the Gargantuas are still referenced (through stock footage). So, in 1999, a new Godzilla appears out of the Pacific Ocean to threaten humanity. No explanation is given for Godzilla's sudden reappearance in Japan, except to say that he's a threat and he must be destroyed. (I must also say that this is one of the most menacing portrayals of the mighty King of the Monsters that I've seen in years.)So, a plan is put into action: in order to beat Godzilla, humanity must pool their resources to create ANOTHER Godzilla, a Mechagodzilla. Like the Mechagodzilla of the Heisei Era, this cyborg creature is a creation of humans (rather than malevolent aliens like in the Showa Era). However, there's a new twist here: this new Mechagodzilla (given the codename "Kiryu," for "machine dragon") is a construction built around the skeleton of the original Godzilla that was killed in 1954. Four years later in 2003, Mechagodzilla/"Kiryu" is ready to go, and disgraced Japan Self-Defense Force maser tank technician Akane Yashiro (Yumiko Shaku) is selected to be the cyborg monster's chief pilot.You see, Akane was one of the JSDF troops who was first dispatched to counter Godzilla when he mysteriously re-appeared in 1999, and several of her comrades were killed in the fray and she was made a scapegoat and demoted by her superiors as a result. And so now, she's been given a second chance to redeem herself and prove to her superiors and fellow Kiryu pilots that she has what it takes to save humanity from Godzilla. And also, somewhere in there, too, she becomes connected to Mechagodzilla/Kiryu's widowed biological engineer Dr. Tokumitsu Yuhara (Shin Takuma) and his young daughter Sara (Kana Onodera).I've been saying for years that Mechagodzilla remains Godzilla's greatest opponent - in any incarnation of the character. This was confirmed upon viewing "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" finally. It's heavily armed with a bewildering array of weapons, heavily armored, and bad to the bone (quite literally, "bad to the bone") - just like its two predecessors were. But this version of Mechagodzilla also has a severe weakness. Because Kiryu was constructed around the skeletal remains of the original Godzilla killed in 1954, it has that monster's genetic memories imprinted onto it, so it has a "flashback" (if you will) moment in the middle of a battle with Godzilla and goes on a destructive rampage of its own. So for a while, the creature was out of the control of its human creators. Yet, this is something that is easily corrected by Dr. Yuhara."Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" also has a great human story. Its chief dramatic appeal, of course, is the beautiful young JSDF pilot Akane Yashiro, played quite well by Yumiko Shaku as someone struggling to overcome past traumatic failures and find some sort of meaning/direction for her life and try to find some sort of redemption (which she ultimately does - through her association with the Mechagodzilla program and Dr. Yuhara and his daughter).This was a good, worthy entry into the "Godzilla" series. I hope to watch its direct sequel "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." (2003) tomorrow and see where it goes from there.6/10

barrowfam0512 Of all the films that fall under the most recent string of Godzilla movies, this one ranks up there right next to Godzilla 2000. While the plot may seem a bit confusing at first, you'll find yourself not really caring once the action starts up.MechaGodzilla (named "Kiryu" in this movie) is a great hybrid cross between the MechaGodzilla's from the earlier Godzilla eras. The Big-G is great with his new attitude in the series, making the clash between the two monsters very impactive and dramatic. My only complaint is that the film comes off feeling rather short; as if there was to be more that somehow got cut from the film.Human actors are their usual up-to-snuff quality expected in a Godzilla movie. But, if you're anything like me, you could care less about the pesky humans and their melodrama; it's not called "Human Drama and a Monster" after all.On the grand scale of all Godzilla movies, I rank this one right up at the top. It was great to see MechaGodzilla's new look, and when the rumble starts it is definitely no holds barred. I whole-heartedly recommend this movie for any Godzilla fan, or a fan of kaiju films in general.

Masta_Ruthless Godzilla X Mechagodzilla is based on the recreation of mechagodzilla only this time by using the bones of the 1954 Godzilla. While the idea was great the action could have been a lot more intense. My imagination didn't run to wild on this one as compared to the others. The fact of Godzilla's roar malfunctioning Mecha G system was in fact a nice little extra. I feel that Godzilla didn't get to do much damage in this film as he did in the previous ones, and me being a true fan says a lot about this one.Here is one thing that bothered me. This is Kiryu (Mechagodzilla 3), well it should have been mechagodzilla 4. First Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla we all know that one. Next was Terror of Mechagodzilla in which he was rebuilt only this time equipped with ballistic missiles. Third was Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla in 1994 in which he got the chance to kick the crap out of Rodan, and now this one. While Mechagodzilla has cool weapons the thought of them not being that effective took me for a spin. The new adjustments to Godzilla's suit are OK but that doesn't get in the way of anything this is still a pretty good movie. Sci-fi fans and deep deep Godzilla fans, should all have a look at the one. It's not the best but it is still a good one for the records. I give it a 7.9/10.