Director: Masaaki Tezuka
Year: 2000
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jî shômetsu sakusen; Godzilla X Megaguirus: The G Extermination Strategy
Genre: Kaiju
Plot:
Attempting to rid themselves of the creature, a team is gathered to test a device that will create a miniature black hole to fire on Godzilla. With the creature appearing in Japan after decades away from the country, the device is hurried into use and accidentally opens a gate to a new dimension as a gigantic dragonfly series of creatures are brought into this world. Swarming Godzilla and draining his energy, they eventually are found to be taking the energy to feed their queen, a massive creature known as Megaguirus which sets out into the area to stop Godzilla and steal his powers for itself forcing him to alter his search for energy to stop the creatures.
Review:
For the most part, this is an entertaining if problematic entry. One of the better features here is the slightly simplistic scenario which allows for some rather solid ideas even if they don’t always come together.. This doesn't feature too many side-plots or any extra bonuses to be found here, as it's simply the SDF attempting to utilize the programmer's skills to help them outfit their weapon properly to use it against Godzilla. When that gets interrupted once their tests release the Meganuron swarm into this dimension, the story focuses on a three-way battle where the military attempts to protect humanity while Godzilla faces off against the swarm eventually battling the queen Megaguirus specimen. That makes for an easily digestible storyline which allows you to get easily immersed into the different changes that crop up later on in the film. Once again, this presents a continuity completely apart from previous films. As per usual, the 1954 rampage is retained as a starting point, but instead is said to have disappeared into the ocean and was never taken out with the Oxygen Destroyer. Instead, that appearance is followed by a 1966 attack on a nuclear power plant which establishes that Godzilla is attracted to environmentally dangerous power sources which causes the government to outlaw them. With Godzilla reappearing thirty years later, that mindset is brought into play again and alerts us to the presence of something nefarious at hand. The balance of utilizing this against Godzilla's appearances with the search for energy developed by Japan effectively echoes the original tone of Godzilla being nature's answer to the long history of testing with such forces and then coming back to seeking revenge.
The best part of this, though, is the rest of the storyline elements are incredibly efficient and enjoyable. The human storylines, the altered timeline of Godzilla's history to the pilot's quest for revenge, the inventor's micro-technology capabilities, and even how the new society operates, are all given to us in incredibly rapid succession within minutes of the film starting. Recreating the opening of the original with the new costume interjected into the scenes as well as the montage of his new storyline and then getting the Osaka battle all within the first ten minutes of the film, everything is set up and ready to go at the start of the film which greatly enhances the ease of being dropped into this new storyline. That efficiency is kept up here where it drops a large amount of storylines in favor of action to play it up in the second half of the film as it basically just absorbs these elements into a one-track battle for Godzilla and Megaguirus. Hidden within that storyline change are a few small flaws. The most egregious is the concept of the Dimension Tide itself, as this preposterous device that supposedly fires a black hole from a machine the size of an army transport vehicle makes no sense. There's no mention of where the other end of the wormhole opens to, we're shown that the security around it is far more relaxed than it should be for something of that magnitude and the military lets the most obscene and illogical blunder occur when it's tested on Japanese soil itself where the damage is potentially catastrophic if even the most minor setback were to occur. While that's all storyline fodder for bringing the creature into the dimension to battle Godzilla, letting each of those go through is entirely ludicrous and goes against the common logic shown when utilizing such a device. Also, the entire miniaturization process once he is brought on board takes only three months is another nagging point to be had with the storyline, and sinks this a little further.
The special effects here are also a mixed bag but offer up much more good than bad points. Godzilla has one of the more impressive designs here, retaining the G2000 suit with a few minor and barely noticeable details around the head and neck to give it more definition in the shoulder area. Moreover, the robotic Godzilla puppet used for several scenes here intercuts flawlessly with the main suit and displays amazingly lifelike movements, especially while performing in the water during the initial scenes of him swimming in the ocean which features an effectively realistic horizontal stance instead of the usual pose of standing upright which are captured with some impressive camera angles. As Tsutomu Kitagawa rounds it out with an energetic performance in the costume as Godzilla is forced into a series of nimble movements and rapid-fire tactics to battle Megaguirus making Godzilla look really powerful and dynamic. The opponent, Megaguirus, is a troubling creation. Looking for all the world like a redesigned Battra in the gremlin face, the segmented body, and insect features are quite nice. The community built around it, from the human-sized Meganuron that's shown in an utterly out-of-place sequence attacking a random couple in the city, the dragonfly-like Meganula which are rather intriguing enemies for Godzilla in their big centerpiece sequence, and the monstrous queen Megaguirus, lead into a believable evolution that's so closely adapted from normal insect colonies so that not much is given on the creatures yet it all comes together into a realistic whole. The Meganuron prop looks suitably horrific in the flash-cuts used to show it during that attack, and the large flying model for the queen looks impressive except for a few small details. The large claws on its forelimbs enable it to grapple with Godzilla effectively, and the power-draining stinging tail is worked into the final battle effectively from a strategy and realism point with the model tail being utilized as well.
However, there are a few issues to be had with the creature. The major issue here is that, like so many flying creatures from the previous Heisei era, operates with intermittent wing-flapping that should be nearly continuous. Its very first appearance as it bursts from the water in Shibuya is worth noting for the fact that it floats in the air rather than flapping the wings, which it does once the creature takes flight and prepares to take flight into the sky takes a few seconds to actually start up flapping, highlighting the wires attached to the wings as they glisten off the lights because it just glides around the city. This whole scene is unbelievably sloppy and indicative of the Heisei's worst flaws all coming back into the forefront in what's supposed to be the dramatic reveal of the creature that comes into direct contrast with the scenes later on in the main battle with Godzilla showing the wings beating nicely and realistically. The Meganula version is basically worthwhile only for the realistic wing movement as otherwise the creatures are realized in flat, lifeless computer graphics; that's the most embarrassing aspect of the film. The computer graphics are best realized in the film's key sequence of the island attack on Godzilla. With a fantastic mixture of CG and lifesize props, the sequence is a highlight which is a credit to the effects used to bring it to life. Taking place on a stellar miniature island set which allows plenty of innovative camera angles in the action, there's a lot to like here alongside the work as well as the rest of the setwork done here. The opening shots of the new suit superimposed over the footage from the original are effective and rather well-utilized, while the Osaka attack captures an enjoyable sense of tension with the soldiers waiting in the alleyway for Godzilla to pass by complete with the toppled trash cans, flaming car flying by and then his foot coming into view. The battles in the ruins of Tokyo are incredibly effective and realistic, looking like a true-life miniature city which completes the overall stellar miniature work throughout here.
Overview: ***/5
An incredibly divisive and troubling yet still enjoyable enough effort, this one has enough to both recommend it and steer clear of for both sides of the situation. Give this a chance if you're willing to go in knowing that there are flaws within it or are a die-hard Godzilla/kaiju aficionado, while those looking to dive into the genre for the first time should keep this one locked away for more experience first.
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