After the series was brought back full swing the year prior, Toho wanted to reboot Godzilla again. So they did. Kind of. The third series, sometimes referred to as the Millenium series is kind of weird because with ONE exception, every movie in the series is a total reboot and only uses 1954's Godzilla as the base continuity marker. Weird choice, but okay. Godzilla vs. Megagurius is generally one of the weaker entries in the series, despite the fact I absolutely ADORED this one as a little kid and I can't explain why. There's nothing particularly memorable about this movie outside of a few sequences that can make new viewers forget they're watching a friggin' Godzilla movie. There's nothing super special going on here. Simple monster designs and a rather mundane plot that feels like a retread despite some originality, in general, this movie is just kind of okay. You're not going to walk out of this one jumping for joy and shouting to the rooftops of its brilliance like Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, you're not gonna find cheesy moments of classic monster movie gold that make it enjoyable like King Kong vs. Godzilla (outside of one REALLY funny moment), and you're not gonna end up bitter and disappointed like with TriStar's Godzilla. It just kind of is.In 1954, Godzilla attacked Tokyo but was never destroyed. Over the years, the JSDF has been adapting to Godzilla and doing their best to protect their nation from the terrible monster, but to no avail. That is until the Dimension Tide, a weapon of capable of firing miniature black holes is debuted and is heralded as a weapon that can and will kill Godzilla. But all goes awry when a giant dragonfly from the Carboniferous Era leaves its egg in modern times and soon brings the arrival of the Meganulon, a giant dragonfly species that once dominated the Earth. Now armed with Godzilla DNA, the dragonfly queen is born; Megagurius. Armed with a modified atomic breath, Godzilla's regeneration and tremendous speed the question must be asked: has the monster king met his match?
The answer is no. Like, duh, but no. The big bad bug of this movie of course is Megaguirus and her underling bug minions, the Meganulon. If that name sounds familiar, it should. The Meganulon actually first appeared in 1956 along with Rodan in, well, Rodan. What we saw of them in that movie was VERY juvenile. Because as it turns out, these little jerks can grow into so much more. Pictured right is a Meganula, the evolution of the Meganulon. The more they kill and eat, the grow and sprout wings and begin to grow stingers that drain DNA. Their purpose is a drone for their queen; Megagurius. So, what's the deal with Megagurius, huh? Well, not much. She's not anything special, which is a huge bummer. Megagurius is the last new monster for awhile and she's not exactly a bad design, she just is kind of boring. She gets a variation of Godzilla's atomic breath in a great big fireball, but that's it. She's super fast and has big claws, but that is almost literally it. She's just not a very special monster. I like her design and look, but she just does not actively do anything that's super cool. I love the look and I love the colors, but that's it.
The main human cast of the movie isn't anything special. The main performance is Kiriko Tsujimori, played by Misato Tanaka (pictured right). Her arc is really simple: in 1996 when this Godzilla popped up, Kirko's commander was killed by Godzilla and she blames her self for his death. So she wants to do nothing but kill Godzilla. That's her story. Boom. Movie summarized. Simple arc that has basically been covered in a few movies, especially Gamera 3, a kaiju movie classic. She does get some moments out of this though, climbing Godzilla's back, and I believe she's actually the first person to actively touch. Well, outside of being stomped that is. The humans do get a big power in the form of the Dimension Tide, a weapon that launches miniature black holes. And that's cool and all and a fun way to spice up the military scenes, but it's just not used enough. Because then instead of watching the Dimension Tide tear shit up, then we just see more standard military scenes. It's just standard.Standard is the word of Godzilla vs. Megagurius. It's nice knowing that it exists, but nothing about it sticks out aside from Megagurius really. Godzilla just kind of does his Godzilla thing and nothing is special. It's just super MEH. I say avoid it.
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Guys. Holy crap. We're so far gone, but I'm so excited. Tomorrow we're going to talk about one of my absolute FAVORITES. Outside of Godzilla and even Shin Godzilla, this one might ACTUALLY be my favorite movie in the series. The movie we're about to watch is just IN. CREDIBLE. Ladies and gentlemen and all in between, please be excited to join me in viewing Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!
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