Director: Ishiro Honda
Year: 1975
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Mekagojira no gyakushû; Mechagodzilla's Counterattack; The Terror of Godzilla; Monster from an Unknown Planet
Genre: Kaiju
Plot:
Having recovered from their previous defeat, the Black Hole aliens are preparing to launch another attack on humanity with a disgraced scientist helping them to repair and enhance the powers of the Mechagodzilla. Unconvinced it alone will work, he and his daughter work to bring under control the dinosaur Titanosaurus as an ally for the robot in their plans which are continually interrupted by an Interpol investigation into the incidents. Hoping to prove his dinosaur is more of a match than the robot, he sends it out to attack only for Godzilla to drive it away, and as everyone comes together to help realize the plans realizes that the only way it can work is to truly team the creatures together against Godzilla while humanity tries to assist him however they can.
Review:
This was a highly effective entry with a lot to like about it. One of the better aspects here is a fine setup that offers up some of the more compelling aspects of the series with how everything comes together. Again still trying to use an alien invasion concept as an initial starting point for what’s going on, the idea of them turning to the disgraced scientist to try using his input on their designs as a means of revenge against the treatment humanity inflicted upon him years earlier. Seeing his treatment years earlier from the scientific discoveries that he made involving the presence of the dinosaur Titanosaurus which earned his ostracized status to then allow him to be corrupted by the aliens and brought into their plans as a wholly rational motivation to bring them together. Adding even more fuel to the fire is the aliens’ treatment and history with his daughter as her revelations about their history together with how they changed everything around into something else entirely that’s slowly unveiled throughout the film that ties into the corresponding storyline about the Interpol investigations taking place into the Mechagodzilla attack but continually brings them into the crosshairs over time. It all makes for a solid enough time with some generally exciting sequences.
That makes the monsters quite fun and generally the high point of the film. Offering up no real drastic change to Mechagodzilla that was present in the previous entry, there’s still quite a lot to like with its appearance here as an unleashed war machine that has more than enough firepower to take Godzilla to the limit in its battles. The main change in how the robot operates with the remote control taken away and the new human brain inserted into it for control adds an intriguing depth to it that’s immensely fun to see play out given how it’s tied together with the storyline revelations that give it a lot to like. The returning Godzilla suit is also immensely impressive as the more serious look redesigning the head and face makes this one look far better than any previous usage of the suit. The wholly new monster here, the dinosaur Titanosaurus, is a great creation that looks incredible here as the fish-like traits, angular design with its graceful neck, and intriguing power being able to unwrap its tail to the point of creating hurricane-force winds when it swings that section of its body around. Displaying plenty of grappling abilities and some fun work with the weakness against supersonic weaves that comes about, it’s got some great monsters.
Also quite effective is the use of putting these monsters on-screen a lot in some great moments. The opening assault on the submarine looking for the missing Mechagodzilla head and comes upon Titanosaurus instead which is an imaginative sequence shot in a tank underwater for an intriguing start to things. A fun chase scene with the creature chasing after other submarines have some solid suspense with the chasing trying to get away while the first attack on land that includes military intervention before Godzilla arrives for a quick skirmish. The main gist of the film, though, is the stellar fights at the end where the tag team of Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus take on Godzilla in several extended battles, featuring a strong start coming on the heels of a full-scale city rampage that has some unique spots alluding to the powers of the creatures before Godzilla makes the heroic save, the battling itself is quite fun with the valiant hero overwhelmed by the numbers advantage they hold over him and losing the first fight but then uses humanity’s help with their technological assistance to overcome the odds in a thrilling finale. These are all immensely fun and likable enough to give the film a lot to like.
There are some minor drawbacks to this one that hold it back. Among the few flaws here is the generally formulaic approach to the story which relies yet again on the tired trope of the alien species using monsters to take over the planet. Not only was this the same general plot as the previous film but almost every other film in the decade had the same thing so it feels like every other entry in the series up to that point due to being a part of the backloaded half of the franchise that utilizes this type of storyline. While the mad scientist featuring so prominently in their plans does add a wrinkle to things when the revelations are made about what’s going on, there’s not much in the way of changing things around that goes on with this one to affect it as much as some of the better entries. The other big issue here is a weird narrative thread where a lot of the incidents happening to the intervening Interpol team is brought about mainly brought about by the moronic doctor who continuously spills the plans about the situation to someone he knows is working with the aliens and then acts surprised when they fail as if sabotage was a foreign concept. It’s a little hard to believe and makes him look incredibly foolish not to suspect things are happening when it becomes obvious simply to continue the film. Add it together with some occasionally shoddy effects work in some sloppy matte-effects, these all manage to bring the film down.
Overview: ***.5/5
A generally fun if somewhat flawed franchise entry, there’s enough to like here that it’s immensely likable as a whole while being let down occasionally by some drawbacks. Those who are fine with these factors, appreciate this type of heroic Godzilla style in the franchise, or are fans of the genre will have the most to like here while others should want to heed caution in favor of other entries in the series first.
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