Director: Takao Okawara
Year: 1993
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Gojira tai Mekagojira
Genre: Kaiju
Plot:
Following his invention of the Garuda flying machine, a pilot is assigned to G-Force, which is constructing a new Mechagodzilla. During a paleontological expedition to Adona Island in the Bering Sea, a scientist discovers a nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs and attempts to bring one back to Japan. When they are attacked, first by a giant Pterodactyl called Rodan and then by Godzilla, the two beasts' fight allows them to escape with an egg, which hatches into a Baby Godzilla. Tracking the Baby, Godzilla appears in Japan and begins looking for it, forcing Mechagodzilla to defend the country. Winning the fight and marching on, Godzilla disappears but then a mutated Rodan appears, drawn to the baby. Returning again, Godzilla, Rodan, and a revamped Mechagodzilla for the Baby and the fate of mankind.
Review:
This here is one of the greatest entries in the whole series. The strong script is the best feature, opting for a straightforward action film that focuses the human drama on advancing the monster story. This results in both avoiding pointless subplots that had plagued the series and allowing for a great pace, progressing smoothly with an upbeat vibe and without any dull spots. We're introduced to everybody by the twenty-minute mark and work out their relationships rather easily and efficiently, from his obsession with dinosaurs to the detriment of his military mission, the assistant becoming attached to Baby Godzilla, and the scientists working with the military to keep the populace safe. The film also brings up a rather impressive and enjoyable aspect with the concept of artificial versus naturalistic life. The military continually pressed to have the robot prepared to save mankind, combined with the desire to keep the Garuda weapon in operation, promoted the idea of artificial lives being of more importance. With the introduction of the Baby that Godzilla is trying to save, this is nicely counterbalanced with the military treating the robot with more priority and importance than the infant who is continually treated as an object and thrown into missions to stop Godzilla with no right to life offers up an intriguing and wholly enjoyable storyline.
When it comes to the monster, all four main creatures are quite impressively done. The redesigned Mechagodzilla is quite a change, resembling a more mechanized version of Godzilla, with his triangular body shape and rounded features making it seem like this was Godzilla covered in metal sheeting. With armament specifically designed to combat Godzilla, including Eye Lasers, a Mega Buster, and Tranquilizer Missiles, as well as the most impressive and creative one in the Plasma Grenade that works in conjunction with its armor plating and is taller than Godzilla anyway, this version is more than a match for Godzilla. The flying scenes look a bit silly but there’s enough to like when the Garuda is joined on late in the film to make for a spectacular-looking and imposing foe. Rodan is radically different from before, looking more Pterodactyl-like than ever before in its general appearance and dimensions due to the switch to a model portrayal instead of a traditional suit and the addition of a third horn on his head and a reddish-brown color on his skin. With a powerful beam weapon of his own, this is quite a satisfying creature. Godzilla here is practically the same as before with extra bulk in the chest and back and the face being slightly wider. It still looks massive and quite impressive. Even though the tail is attached to the legs a little higher than usual, it's not that much of a distraction and is really only visible in certain scenes. The Baby here fares the best, looking like a real dinosaur baby which might actually be Godzilla's baby is believable, but it's also not overly cute like most babies. Its reptilian origins are emphasized in its face, giving it a Godzilla-ish look but the huge eyes are a given to make it cuter.
There's also a ton of great monster action in the film that is quite exciting. The battle at Adona Island is brief but nice, featuring some nice scenes and a couple of inventive ideas depicting how Godzilla and Rodan can realistically fight each other as Godzilla uses his size and strength to batter Rodan while he uses his speed and intelligence to keep Godzilla off-balance. The battles with the Mechagodzilla are all exhilarating, clearly showing the beast to be overpowering and quite impressive. The Rodan battle is a great one, with damage surprisingly done on both sides with realistic intent. The rampage through Kyoto is brilliant, and Godzilla's landing at the Yokatchi Industrial Complex is a pyrotechnic masterpiece. The set used for the final battle at Makuhari City is spectacular, quite detailed, and filled with lots of structures to crash into and become destroyed. It's also quite expansive and really looks like a realistic city, rather than simply the part that was used for filming the scene, and that is quite impressive. On top of that, the film also manages to clearly give each of the monsters a defined and naturalistic focus. Godzilla and Rodan are both shown to have incredibly strong parental instincts, acting as if the egg is their own for completely natural reasons. Godzilla looks to the egg by its species, being drawn to the egg because a member of his species calls out to him putting it in a state of survival-ism that normally doesn't show up for him while Rodan believes the egg was the one it birthed. With nary a flaw in the special effects or its pacing, this is a great entry in the series.
There are still some problems with this one. The ending is the film's major sore point, as by introducing the Baby and insisting on the sort of ending this one goes for the film is left without a villain. Since both Godzilla and Rodan act to protect the Baby they have genuine reason to believe is theirs and Mechagodzilla acts to protect mankind, the result is a clearly defined lack of focus which is destined to disappoint. It's hard to determine which side is supposed to be triumphant with a positive outcome, as either no one wins or one side has to lose without accomplishing anything, and for a film to lose itself in that kind of ordeal is quite mystifying. This causes the film to also end in a manner reminiscent of another major genre effort with an almost exact same outcome so this doesn’t leave much in the way of likable factors for the way the ending comes off. It is also quite a stretch to believe that Godzilla would just leave humanity alone at the conclusion after all the torture and excruciating pain just inflicted on him as the overwhelming power of Mechagodzilla in the final fight is enough to put Godzilla down in excruciating agony so everything here ends up being rather problematic. These, though, are simply flaws that can be overlooked if in the right mood.
Overview: ****.5/5
Full of monster movie magic and a couple of exceedingly minor problems present here, this is one of the most entertaining and satisfying ones all together. Fans of the series or this current state of the series should see this one immediately and will not be disappointed with it, while there’s not much in the way of flaws featured here.
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