Godzilla vs. Mothra - Not Quite

Despite being on a roll starting with Godzilla vs. Biollante, and producing some of the best movies of the series, Toho still was not seeing the financial returns out of the revival of Godzilla that they were expecting. So the only solution from here seemed to be to keep bringing back monsters from the first series that were well loved. Believing they weren't tapping into the female market enough, Toho brought back Mothra for a rematch against Godzilla in hopes of selling more tickets. A revival of Mothra had been thought about and planned actually since about 1990, so when it was discovered fans wanted a return of Mothra, it only seemed perfect to bring her back in a rematch against Godzilla. And so, Godzilla vs. Mothra was born! While not a direct remake of Mothra vs. Godzilla, they are similar movies, to be sure. So what do we get with this "reimagining" shall we say, of Mothra vs. Godzilla? Honestly, not much. We definitely do get a movie that's fun to watch once or twice, but it's not a movie you're going to come back to like Godzilla, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, or even the original Mothra vs. Godzilla. It's nothing too extraordinary and it's not a bad entry. It's one of those ones that just kind of sits in a really in between space that makes it a little hard to recommend to everyone.

After Godzilla went into hibernation after his battle with King Ghidorah, he was awoken from his nap after a meteor hits the Earth. While Godzilla is awakened, so reemerge two divine moths, guardians of an ancient world: Mothra and Battra. But reawakened and angry at the humans who he views as a threat, Battra begins causing too much harm to the people of the world. Now it is up to Mothra to defeat Godzilla, return Battra to a proper conscience, and begin her journey to stop another asteroid on its way to Earth that will surely bring utter devastation. With the stakes being higher than ever, it truly is a battle for the Earth in Godzilla vs. Mothra.

Starting with some positives, Mothra and Battra form a really interesting and fun sort of sibling dynamic that really holds the film together. I mentioned during my War of the Gargantuas review that sibling monster relationships are largely unexplored with one exception. This is the exception. Mothra and Battra form a really solid dynamic with Mothra being just as Mothra as ever: being focused on saving the Earth and all of its inhabitants and willing to sacrifice herself by any means to make sure everyone is saved. Meanwhile we get Battra on the exact opposite hand. Battra REALLY does not like humans. In ancient times, he believed them to be a poison and a danger to the Earth, and so he did his best to destroy them all, and as a result, Mothra sealed him away. She believed he was in the wrong as humans are alive and deserve every chance to live. Their dynamic really holds the film together, and it's nice seeing a dynamic like theirs. Essentially two similarly powered monsters ramming heads back and forth to determine who is more in the right. HOWEVER, this starts to cause an issue already in when you look at the title of the movie: Godzilla vs. Mothra. The movie is supposed to be about Mothra and Godzilla, and unfortunately Godzilla kind of gets put on the back burner in this movie. With Battra having to be fully established and Mothra being the good guy monster of the movie, Godzilla gets kind of lost in the movie. He still is important of course, proving so powerful that the yin and yang of Mothra and Battra have to work together in order to stop him, if temporarily. But in the movie that is a sequel to Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and the fourth installment of his second series, it is imperative that he gets the focus, but he doesn't and that really kind of blows.

There's not a lot to dig into with the Mothra and Battra dynamic out of the way. Except I guess tone and the humans. After a great human plot in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, this movie is definitely a significant step down. Like in the last movie, more American movies get ripped off. This time it's the opening sequence basically ripped straight from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Like in Mothra and Mothra vs. Godzilla, the movie brings back light comedy into the mix, and moves away from the tone and feeling of the second series being much more serious. This time it feels even more obvious and harmful to the series as a whole, because while the time travel plot of the last movie was pushing it, it was still with in the realm of science fiction. Mothra and the cosmos and Battra are a bit too fantasy for my liking, and it definitely doesn't help that there aren't really a ton of human performances that stick out. It just kind of exists.

However, this movie definitely does not fail its music department. With the return of Akira Ifukube starting in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, classic themes would continue to reappear and be used in this movie. Sacred Springs, the Mothra Song and of course the famous Godzilla theme song all make reappearances and really add to the sense of awe and inspiration of the monsters. This movie doesn't get a lot of compliments form me, but in the sound and music department, I can't praise it enough. On the sound, Godzilla's roar is practically perfected in this movie. I see some folks have mixed opinions about the roar change, but I don't mind. It still sounds really good, and it still sounds like Godzilla's a monster, just not as ferocious. Mothra reuses roars from the original series, but those are practically perfect, so there's no need to change them. And Battra sees a great roar, just being an edited version of Rodan's. And while I would have liked a completely new, never before heard roar before, it's whatever. It doesn't take away from the cool look of Battra and it fits him pretty well, I think.

Honestly, writing a review for this one is hard. Nothing about Godzilla vs. Mothra is particularly that memorable, and I do think it is by far the weakest link of the second series. It isn't bad or embarrassing or anything. But the second series really thrives off of how grounded it usually is, and especially how consistent it is. Godzilla vs. Mothra is largely consistent in how forgettable it is. I know since everyone has an opinion that there is someone who loves this one, and that's fine. It's just not my favorite and I do think that the rest of the series is a major improvement in quality from here. It's not insulting or anything, it's just not a movie I'd recommend.

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Wrapping up the Rematch Trilogy, we have a really good one coming right up. A movie that perfectly reintroduces not only Rodan, and not only Babygodzilla, but also one of the best enemies and concepts that the series ever introduced. That's right, tomorrow we'll be going over Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2! And before the great debate starts, I'll give my opinion right now: Mechagodzilla 2 looks great, but is my second least favorite version of the character. I'll let you know more and more how I feel going on. As of now, look forward to tomorrow as we watch a really great one.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - Back to the Terminator vs. Godzilla

After Godzilla vs. Biollante didn't do as well at the box office as Toho was hoping, the solution was quite simple: start bringing back fan favorite monsters. So, they did. King Ghidorah was one of the best monsters of the first series. With a lot of awesome appearances and making some bad movies in the series much better, Ghidorah was a stand out antagonist. He was one of the absolute best monsters of the first series and it only made sense he should make a comeback. And so, he did. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was a landmark movie of the second series, because not only do we get one of the best reinventions of one of Godzilla's best antagonists, but we also get an interesting development and history lesson on Godzilla's origin story. We also get some nice political commentary which is always quite welcome in a Godzilla movie, and this is also bolstered by some great special effects and a great human story helmed by the decisions made to take care of the Godzilla menace. What we see in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is one of the best entries of the entire series. It definitely is not wholly original, as I implied with my title in reusing elements of other successful science fiction works like Terminator, but this is to the film's benefit: telling a story we definitely would see nowhere else in the entire Godzilla series, making this one a unique standout entry that should be seen by all. Recognized G-Fans, and newcomers alike.

After two massive and crippling attacks to Japan from Godzilla, a group of people from the future come to current timeline Earth to wipe Godzilla from history and keep Japan safe from his crippling rage. As it turns out, they are full of it. Coming back in time, they reveal their own monster, King Ghidorah was hit by the Castle Bravo test and mutated into a monster built to destroy Japan. But as it turns out, the Futurians were quite dumb and actually created the Godzilla from 1984, and with him reemerging, stronger than ever after absorbing radiation from a nuclear sub, titans will collide as the monster from the past battles the monster of the future in this thrilling sci-fi ride.

Alright, I'm going to start by talking about a big negative that can detract viewers from this movie: the time travel plot. This is the only Godzilla movie to ever deal with time travel, and it doesn't perfectly make clear what exactly happens. So, let me break it down like this: the Futurians (yes, this is their name. Thank God originality points aren't really in this equation,) come to the past with one intention: "get rid" of Godzilla from history for all time. They don't even do that. I can see why one might think this is the case, because they just pick him and beam him into the future haphazardly. But what they unknowingly did was create the Godzilla we first met in the Return of Godzilla. By him being exposed to radiation where he went, he always existed and then would go on to grow bigger and would be the same Godzilla that came to challenge King Ghidorah later. I admit, it doesn't make perfect sense and it took me many many viewings of the movie throughout my life to understand, and even then, I still didn't really get it. If you want a really solid explanation, check out WikiZilla's video on the subject right here.

With that out of the way, let's get into the real meat and potatoes. This movie's got a really solid cast across the board. Picking out a favorite cast member is definitely difficult because everybody makes some solid contributions. So, let's praise them all! We got the android bodyguard of the Futurians, M11, played by Robert Scott Field (pictured right with Emmy Kano actor Anna Nakagawa). He is in some unintentionally hilarious moments and is basically a ripoff of the T-101 from Terminator, but he's a fun character to watch in that cheesy dorky way. It's not exactly a great performance or anything, but, he's an android, so we'll write that off as him not being a human being. For the Futurians, we got Emmy Kano, played by the late Anna Nakagawa (pictured right with M11 actor Robert Scott Field). She gets some really badass moments, especially in the end of the movie, getting to pilot one of the most awesome monsters in the entire series; Mecha King Ghidorah. She gets probably the single best human story in the movie, getting to connect and meet with one of her ancestors in Kenichiro Terasawa, played by Kosuke Toyohara. On top of getting to redeem herself and saving Japan by bringing back Godzilla, she gets a really solid story here. Everyone does a really fantastic job, but Emmy is probably my personal favorite character. Not performance. Character. There is a difference.

But of course, that's not what you're here for. You read the title, and so did I. And then you read that I said "Mecha King Ghidorah," and you just buckled right in. Alright. Fair. Very understandable. King Ghidorah sees just about his best appearance in the entire series in this movie. Well, almost. But King Ghidorah really shines in this one and gets one of the best treatments he's ever received in the entire series. Ghidorah first emerges after the Futurians and some of the humans from the current timeline return to the location of the Castle Bravo test and swap the Godzillasaurus for three little creatures called Dorats who eventually are mutated and become the King Ghidorah of this timeline. Sure, he isn't an alien and that's kind of a bummer. But it doesn't hurt the movie at all. He just doesn't get to be from outer space, big whoop. But this Ghidorah is probably the best in the series outside of that. It's kind of unfortunate he doesn't have his chirping roar like in the first series, but he does get a really cool and super intimidating roar that really shows how big of a threat he is. His gravity beams of course return and do some pretty big damage. He even is one of the few monsters of the second series who really gets to fight Godzilla up close, and almost killing him at one point. But of course Godzilla just blasts his head off and lives on to terrorize Japan. Bringing about the incredible Mecha King Ghidorah. Of course, the movie breaks its own time travel rules with the introduction and emergence of Mecha King Ghidorah, but it really doesn't matter. He's too damn awesome to let that distract you. With a cybernetic new head, buffed and upgraded wings and some fun upgrades like a hook to pick up Godzilla and drop him into the ocean, Mecha King Ghidorah is just way too awesome to be real. But here he is. It's a bummer he has only showed up in the video games from here, 'cause this guy needs to come back. Ghidorah is just fantastic in this movie and is in and of himself a reason to watch the movie.

But you better believe Ghidorah is not the only one to get such incredible treatment in this movie. Godzilla's design is basically exactly the same from Godzilla vs. Biollante, but after receiving a powerup, he is now 100 meters tall and more powerful than ever. Receiving an upgraded atomic breath and the new atomic pulse power that he can use, Godzilla's bigger and badder than ever in this movie. But as mentioned above, this also shows this Godzilla's origin story. We know the origin of the first Godzilla, being mutated and irradiated from nuclear tests of the 40's and 50's, most definitely receiving influence from the Castle Bravo test. What we see here is the Godzillasaurus on the right, the species that this and the first Godzilla come from. After fighting with the Japanese and Americans very briefly during a battle in the World War II, he then gets warped into the future where due to radiation, he grows in size to become the second Godzilla of this timeline. Seeing the origin of this Godzilla and tying it to arguably Godzilla's historically greatest opponent was a really nuanced and brilliant call that I think does a lot to elevate the already great story to an even higher plane. It also helps to make the origin of the original Godzilla that much more sympathetic. Seeing what it was like before the radiation and before we ever intervened in its life is stunning, and seeing how we hurt it so badly that it'd want revenge on the entire world makes a lot of sense. The monsters of this movie get sine if the best treatment they'll see in the entire series, and they are done a lot of justice.

This movie is also a landmark for the official return of Akira Ifukube to the series. Ifukube's music is one of the defining things of the series. Without the music, some of the movies feel bare. What would be a Godzilla movie without his classic theme written by Ifukube? Nothing. It'd be nothing. And he returns to the series from here on, composing all of the rest of the movies in the second series. Themes like Terror are easily remembered and are iconic and eternally tied to King Ghidorah. This is his theme. It always will be the definitive version of it. For the rest of the second series we'll be hearing Ifukube's music, and I could not be happier.

In other words, watch Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. For an amazing reintroduction to Godzilla's arch nemesis, for some of the best music of the whole series, an interesting origin story for both of our titular monsters and effects that won't be rivaled for a solid few entries in the series, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is definitely one of the best entries in the series and my second favorite of the second series Check it out, 'cause it's a really good one.

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Coming up next, Toho brings back another classic monster! After Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah seemed to be a success, Toho wanted to reintroduce another one of the classic monsters of their collection. And so, let's get reintroduced to the Queen of the Monsters tomorrow as we take a look at Godzilla vs. Mothra.

Godzilla vs. Biollante - Plant Gang

After officially bringing back Godzilla, Toho wanted to keep the graving train rolling, holding a contest for a fan to essentially write an early draft for the next Godzilla movie. And while the winner Shinichiro Kobayashi's original draft has a lot of differences with the finished product, it still resulted in the release of Godzilla vs. Biollante. Godzilla vs. Biollante tends to be one of the movies I've had a difficult time finding. I've never owned a copy of it and have only ever seen it on TV before, very briefly. So when I checked it out on Archive, I was really happy to rediscover and rewatch the movie. I will concede that I don't love it as much as others love it, and I don't love it as much as some of the later films in the series, but it, like the Return of Godzilla were two really solid entries in the series to usher in this second wave of Godzilla films. It has a lot going for it. Some really awesome effects work, some of the most awesome shots in the entire series and one of the most interesting opponents Godzilla has ever faced in Biollante. Godzilla vs. Biollante is an incredibly strong entry in the series, and while not every aspect of the movie is perfect, it definitely leaves a solid impression for any viewer.

After Godzilla's second attack seen in the Return of Godzilla, cells from Godzilla were chipped off and discovered to have amazing regenerative powers. A year after the cells are discovered, biologist Genshiro Shiragami's daughter is murdered, and he fuses her cells with a roses. After a tremor kills the roses, he then adds Godzilla's cells to the mix, unintentionally creating the tribrid, Biollante, in hopes of keeping his daughter alive. After Godzilla is freed from his volcanic prison, the two monsters are sure to fight each other, with Biollante surprisingly posing a bit more of a threat than Godzilla this time around.

Right out the gate, the movie makes an incredible first impression to any viewer with the introduction of one of the most fantastically designed monsters of the entire series; Biollante. For a monster that has so far only appeared in one movie, she makes a fantastic impression and is instantly memorable. Monsters that use Godzilla's genes or are a bad copy of Godzilla are common, and I promise that Biollante will absolute will absolutely not be the last. But as for a genetic clone, she is the first and gets bonus points for it. Biollante has two forms, the flower beast and the plant beast form. Both look simply stunning on screen and they look and sound absolutely incredible. I really like the flower beast a lot. The roars she makes and her hideous mangled form almost sound and feel like it's the ghost of Dr. Shiragami's daughter screaming for help from the father who doomed her. That's definitely a little dark, but it's gotta be what they were going for. And the plant beast form might be even better. With her many tentacles, acidic sap like Godzilla's atomic breath and her terrifying appearance and roar, she stands out among other Toho monsters. I'm glad she was created during the second era, one focused much more on a streamlined continuity and more realistic and terrifying monsters, because I don't think she would have worked or been executed properly in the first series. Biollante is not my favorite Godzilla monster or even my favorite opponent of Godzilla. But if someone told me she was theirs, I'd completely understand.

The movie also earns bonus points for absolutely nailing the look of Godzilla. Godzilla looked great in his 1984 reemergence, but this suit is just perfect. A menacing face and fantastic roar while getting up in Biollante's face just enough and still being able to use his iconic powers, it's no surprise that Godzilla's design for the rest of the second series was basically unchanged, looking exactly like this design, BioGoji, for the rest of the series' existence. This movie also really establishes one of Godzilla's stronger powers; his incredible regeneration and healing factor. It seems like any super powerful character gets to have a healing factor, and Godzilla's is so strong it motivates the entire plot of the movie. Honestly, Godzilla himself pilots the whole movie. Of course, the movie is truly helmed by the humans at the front of the story. But Godzilla really drives every decision made during the entire runtime. Not giving the G-Cells over to the eco terrorists? No problem. Except that if you don't, they're gonna set Godzilla free from Mount Mihara to reign fire and devastation on the country again. We found Godzilla's cells and discovered they have amazing self preservation and incredible healing capabilities! You know what'd be really genius?! That's right! If we added them to a rose hybrid to force them to stay alive! Godzilla drives every aspect of the movie that is only seen in the strongest entries in the series like in Godzilla. It's also interesting seeing him in this movie, because it's basically the only time Godzilla is not a straight up villain for most of the series. Of course, he takes more of an anti-hero role in the second series, but after seeing him become a villain again in the Return of Godzilla, seeing him almost be the main good guy monster of the movie is pretty interesting, as for a time he is almost the lesser of two evils over Biollante. That is until he wrecks downtown Osaka. That's right! Godzilla even gets in some more awesome city destruction in this movie and the effects look better than ever! Honestly, Godzilla is just fantastic in this movie. Definitely one of his best portrayals in the series, in my opinion.

This film also succeeds in one of the best human plots of the entire series, helmed by the character of Genshiro Shiragami played Koji Takahashi. Shiragami is tasked with creating a plant that can help the country of Saradia become less reliant on other nations buying their oil. And when his daughter is killed, he takes rose genes and mixes them with his daughter's to make a plant that can just keep on living. He's a tortured man, convinced that he led his daughter to her death and convinced even more that he has to keep her alive. He's kind of like Dr. Frankenstein, pushing science too far, and once his experiments begin to hurt the world, he simply hides himself away and refuses to see and acknowledge how much harm he caused the world. His story is very perfectly wrapped up within the movie, watching Godzilla and Biollante both cause damage to the country, which he unknowingly caused both to be released into the world because of his own poor decisions. Once he is killed at the end of the movie, it's the perfect conclusion to his arc. He caused so many others to get hurt from his actions, his daughter included that he basically must pay with his own.

HOWEVER, the movie is not perfect, not even close. My biggest issues are three: odd music choices, direction on the non-Japanese speaking actors, and some strange editing. Starting with the weird music choices, let me present to you the song Bio Wars. This song appears in the movie a few times, largely during some more intense action scenes, so I ask: why the hell is this song they went with? It's not a bad song or anything, not even close. It's one of my favorites of the amazing lineup of songs Toho has for these movies, but it's weird and detracts a little bit. It first plays over an intense gunfight for the first sample of G-Cells. Either silence or a more Ifukube inspired score would have worked much better. 'Cause I hear this song and I want to dance. It's not bad music. It just doesn't fit. Next up, you read that right. Non-Japanese speaking actors are prevalent in this movie, probably a lot more than any other movie in the entire series. And uh, yeah. Their direction isn't great. Of course, it must be difficult casting and working on a set that is primarily working in a language you don't speak, but if that's such an issue, it'd be better to just keep the story in Japan 100% and not make it an international spy thriller. A standard internal spy thriller would be no problem. In fact, that might look kind of cool. It's not the biggest deal in the world or anything, but it sticks out. As for the strange editing, I probably should have gotten on the Return of Godzilla over the same issue, but I didn't. Oops. A lot of scenes end SUPER abruptly and with them ends the music. Just a sudden cut. Not a fade out or a cleaner cut or fade out. Just a hard cut that is really jarring and not the best editing in the world at all. I just prefer some tighter editing, and that is absolutely not what I'd call tight editing.

Despite its flaws, Godzilla vs. Biollante is a really great entry. Some fantastic monster effects and designs that are some of the strongest in the entire series, a really tight human story with some strong performances to boot, it's one of the better entries in the series. I'm kind of bummed I don't like it as much as some other G-Fans, but it's not bad in the slightest. It has some flaws I would have worked out, but it's a strong strong entry. I definitely would recommend this movie to others and if you can find it, pick it up immediately.

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Coming up next, we got what I call "the Rematch Trilogy." Godzilla vs. Biollante didn't quite perform at the box office how Toho was hoping it would, so they believed the only solution was to bring back  more classic monsters from the first series. And let me tell you, it was a brilliant decision that will change the rest of the franchise. Coming up next, we have one of my favorite entries of the entire series. I'll see you tomorrow when we get reintroduced to a fiend as we watch Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah!

The Return of Godzilla - Making Up for Lost Time

9 years had gone by since the release of Terror of Mechagodzilla and since then it was time for another anniversary. 30 years since the character's debut, Toho decided it was time to bring back Godzilla in a major way. A sequel to the original movie ignoring all previous movies excluding Godzilla, the new series would begin in 1984. With a fresh coat of paint and social commentary, the Big G was ready to make a comeback. The Return of Godzilla is a pretty solid entry in the series. Returning to the roots of Godzilla, the Return of Godzilla, aims to make Godzilla a bad guy again. After a solid 20 year run as the world's greatest dinosaur superhero, it was time to get back down to the core of what made Godzilla so terrifying: being a giant manifestation of the devastation that can arise if nuclear weapons are left unchecked. Set in 1984 of course, the Cold War impacts the movie a lot, with both the United States and the USSR managing their way into the crosshairs of the new Godzilla conflict. With intricate care put into the new Godzilla suit, effects and a refined story to essentially attempt a remake of Godzilla to fit the 80's, the Return of Godzilla is definitely not an entry to overlook.

An island erupts at sea and is witnessed by the crew of the missing boat Yahata Maru. Only one crew member survives and is soon discovered by reporter Goro Maki. After returning to the mainland with survivor Hiroshi Okumura, he soon comes to the horrifying realization his ships attacker was indeed Godzilla. Caught between the international pressure of both the USSR and the US, it is either nuke Godzilla or find another means to kill him before it is too late and Godzilla makes his way towards the rest of the world.

The movie does a really solid job of keeping a tone of realism and grit throughout. With Godzilla returning as a destroyer and not the ally he was for the last 20 years or so, it was important to get the feel of this movie right. And it keeps a really consistent tone throughout. This new Godzilla is bigger and more powerful than the first one, and unlike in 1954, there is no surefire way to kill him, as the Oxygen Destroyer went with Serizawa. And and the grim feeling is really tight throughout the movie. It's not pure horror like Godzilla was, and it's definitely not an action movie like the first series from Mothra vs. Godzilla and on. It's much more alike to a standard thriller, as the stakes keep getting raised and new solutions have to keep being found to the Godzilla menace. HOWEVER, I find this more realistic tone is not perfectly consistent mainly for one big reason: the Super X. The Super X is the main weapon used by the military to fight Godzilla. It's cool and all, and definitely livens up the monotonous "Godzilla fights the army" scenes, but what is sacrificed is overall consistency. This thing is loaded with bullets, bombs, missiles and cadmium shells that almost basically kill Godzilla and it floats. It loses a lot of honest to goodness realism that is usually really solid in the movie when a floating little ship A, just starts blasting the crap out of Godzilla and starts winning, but B, is floating using technology that doesn't exist. It's definitely a cool ship and a good weapon, but what was the cost? Perfect consistency. That is what was lost.

This film is one of the first movies in awhile with a really solid human cast that fully keeps audience members invested and watching. Solid performances are across the board, with some of my favorites being Keiju Kobayashi as Prime Minister Miyami Mitamura, series veteran Yosuke Natsuki as Dr. Makoto Hayashida, and my personal favorite, Goro Maki, played by Ken Tanaka (pictured left). Goro Maki is a name that should sound familiar. That's right. This is indeed the same name of my favorite performance from Son of Godzilla. This new Goro Maki is a reporter like the original, but instead of chasing after a story on an island experimenting with weather, he's trying to shed the truth on the reemergence of the once thought dead Godzilla. He's a solid character, and we spend a lot of time with him. From finding Hiroshi and on, he is indeed our central protagonist, and he does enough to not get lost amongst the other solid performances of the cast and stand out as a leading man. He doesn't necessarily do anything game changing, but he gets some real solid moments, consoling in the face of sure destruction, searching for the truth and doing the best he can to help out Dr. Hayashida with his anti-Godzilla technology.

Speaking of Godzilla, you might be wondering how he fares in this movie, well, for a solid 80% of his screentime, he's really good. As of this point in the series, this is the best he has ever looked. And while he definitely only gets better from here, this is a solid design. Godzilla as a monster is pretty strong in this movie, and although he does get put down by cadmium missiles from the Super X, he eventually gets right back up, revitalized from the fallout of the USSR's nuke. He does a lot of damage too, blasting all parts of Toyko with his signature atomic breath and laying his vengeance on trains, cars, even terrorizing some people like he's focused on them specifically. The only issues with Godzilla however are in his animatronic head, and the film's ending. Godzilla most of the time is pretty scary. He looks really menacing most of the time, but his animatronic face does stick out. Some of his shots show his eyes looking in two opposite directions, and while most of the time his snarling lips look really good, some up close shots of the top look really stiff and not as free moving as most other shots of him in the whole movie. As for the ending, well, this one is mainly me. 'Cause I like the way the movie ends and all, but it looks hilarious. Watching Godzilla basically just throw himself into a volcano, like, I'm sorry. There's no world in which that wouldn't look hilarious. Fortunately this series is gonna go on for years, so thank goodness that wasn't the last we saw of this new monster king.

All in all, the Return of Godzilla isn't bad. I don't think it's as memorable or as stellar as some say, but I do think it is pretty solid. It does have a few notable quirks due to its age, and sometimes the Cold War aesthetic can be a little much, but it's not a bad watch. If you got a solid two hours to kill, why not give it a watch?

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Up to bat tomorrow we have a solid entry in Godzilla vs. Biollante. Honestly, this is the movie I've watched the least in my life, only having seen it once. But rewatching it, I'll give it the best review I can, and I look forward to rewatching, reviewing, and sharing how I feel with you all. See you tomorrow!

Terror of Mechagodzilla - A Grand Finale

After 21 years and 15 movies all starring one giant monster, Toho decided it was time to wrap up the original series of Godzilla movies. And they thought the best way to do that was with a direct followup to their previous movie, raising the stakes, introducing another giant monster and giving Godzilla a solid farewell after an incredibly long and successful first run. And so here we arrive at Terror of Mechagodzilla. Following up Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla was never going to be easy. With everything about it just being ridiculously high octane compared to some of the more subpar predecessors of recent years, it was going to be a mammoth task to try and top it. And while I definitely don't think Terror of Mechagodzilla surpasses it or actually comes close, they did try really hard. For a followup to one of the best movies of the series, it isn't the Empire Strikes Back or anything. It's a solid sequel, and if it wasn't a followup to vs. Mechagodzilla, it possibly would have been better. In and of itself however, it isn't exactly anything special. It's got some monster scenes and a fun gimmick that do set it apart, but it isn't exactly incredible or anything. But, all in all, it isn't a bad send off for the first series.

No longer than a year after Mechagodzilla's first battles with Godzilla, Anguirus and King Caesar, the Black Hole Aliens are back. Since the last year, the Aliens have rebuilt Mechagodzilla stronger than ever, and have even done some recruiting. Joining them is Dr. Shinzo Mafune, a shunned marine biologist who discovered and has control over a giant dinosaur monster named Titanosaurus. With Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus ready to strike, Godzilla is all that stands in their way again. With no allies and Mechagodzilla armed to the teeth, it's now or never as the Black Hole Aliens must be stopped once and for all.

So, starting with the human cast, we have the final performance in the series from Akihiko Hirata as the aforementioned Dr. Mafune. It's kind of funny how he started in this series as a scientist, and then ended the series as a scientist. Just a little funny. It's also funny seeing him play a doctor with all this makeup and fake white hair. He definitely does not do a bad job and is my favorite human character of the movie, but it's just kinda funny is all. Mafune is an interesting character in my opinion, kind of a Serizawa if he went mad type situation. After discovering Titanosaurus, he was shunned from the world of science and called insane. From there he grows to hate humanity and curse them for kicking him to the wayside. And so when the Aliens offer for him to join them and that they'd like to use Titanosaurus to destroy the world, he can do nothing but say of course. He doesn't exactly get all the screentime in the world. But what Mafune does get, Hirata does really well. We get to see a lot of his expression in the movie. We never exactly get to see him happy, more so just satisfied after knowing the people who shunned him are about to get destroyed. Which that's just pretty chilling to me. He's just so satisfied that the people who cursed him will be gone that he'll do anything to help their cause. Not exactly winning an Oscar or anything, but definitely a great farewell performance for Hirata in this series.

As mentioned above, there is indeed a new monster in the fray: Titanosaurus. For all the lazy or overly zany monsters that Toho came up with in this era, seeing a monster like Titanosaurus is relaxing. Nothing particularly special to write about him, honestly. He doesn't have any super exciting powers or anything, no super cool hidden abilities. Just a nice simple design, looking like the standard perception of a theropod dinosaur from the 30's or so with some fins. He's actually one of my favorite monsters in the series, however. For his only film appearance, he's quite a welcome face. Some folks find his roar to be annoying, but given the guy's back story, it kind of makes sense. Titanosaurus has a weakness to radio waves. In fact, they really hurt him when they're being use against him. And these radio waves are exactly what Dr. Mafune is using to control him. The guy's in pain and fighting a battle he's really got no part in! He's a tortured soul and he really doesn't get any fair treatment. Thank God he doesn't end up dying in the end, because that would just be like throwing somebody on Death Row for a crime they didn't commit. When he does fight though, he has some great moments. He has this one really hilarious moment where he bites Godzilla by the face and is able to lift him into the air. It looks goofy to the extreme, but also shows how strong he actually is. At least, in part. I don't think the intention was it to be so funny, but, what you see is what we get. And I saw a hilarious moment on screen.

The main reason to watch this movie is to watch Godzilla getting double teamed. Godzilla's had plenty of allies in the past and has either fought an opponent solo, or had some back up. But in this one, he finds out what it's like when he gets the tables turned against him. Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla fight him pretty efficiently, with Titanosaurus usually fighting him up close and doing his best to just wail on him, while Mechagodzilla prefers to sit back and just blast Godzilla. Mechagodzilla gets a significant upgrade in this one and is more powerful than ever, with missiles so powerful they shake the Earth and he can't be defeated the same way as in vs. Mechagodzilla. So the G-Man really has his hands full in this one. He actually gets it handed to him pretty soundly for a while, being lit on fire for the second time in his career by Mechagodzilla. But like in vs. Hedorah, the humans are actually essential for this final battle, destroying the connection between Titanosaurus and Mafune's control, meaning Godzilla can fight Mechagodzilla one on one. And the rematch between the two monsters alone is solo, especially because Mechagodzilla doesn't have his protective head spinning move anymore, so it's just the two going at it back to back with nothing but pure offense. It's an exciting final battle.

Godzilla's farewell is kinda sad, but it's a solid goodbye. After 21 years, it only makes sense he gets to retire. And thank God they didn't kill him. That'd just be a massive bummer note to end a series with even stronger continuity on, am I right? Wouldn't that just be a bummer and really upsetting? Yeah, it sure would. But as for this movie, it's a solid goodbye. Some sad music plays and Mechagodzilla is taken care of and as are the Black Hole Aliens. It's possible that maybe this Godzilla had more journeys we never saw, but we'll never know. Godzilla swimming off is a nice farewell.

As for the entire movie itself? Well, it's definitely not perfect. Despite Hirata standing out and some spectacular monsters and effects, it's not perfect. It has its flaws, but compared to some of the other movies building up to this, it's Citizen Kane. Godzilla gets some solid action and once of his best entrances and exits in the entire series and he gets to get some good action in. It's some nice closure, and a really solid way to end the first era of monsters.

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The first series is officially wrapped up and we are moving on to the most universally praised era of the entire franchise: the second series, sometimes called the Heisei Era. We'll be seeing some new and old faces pop up, but the only way to get ready for it is to start at the beginning. So, let's start the second series right with a solid reintroduction of the character. Come back tomorrow for my thoughts on the Return of Godzilla!

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Pure. Cheese.

This one is just classic. With Godzilla now being 20 years old and nearing the end of his original run, Toho began making an effort to end the series right, and it started right here with Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. After vs. Gigan and vs. Megalon failed to really bring some magic back into the franchise, Toho had a stroke of genius: give the world two Godzillas for the price of one. Throw in Anguirus and another new monster to boot and what you have on your hands is bound to be legendary. While this movie does unfortunately yet again reuse the alien invader trope that was commonly used in the original series, it manages to do enough to escape its unoriginal plot and actually deliver some of the most awesome action, music and some of my favorite human performances of the entire series. I mean it. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla not only introduces us to another one of the best Godzilla monsters and not just one of his main adversaries, it is just exciting in every scene and though cheesy to its absolute core, this is a movie I recommend to anyone, especially people trying to get into the series.

After continuous attacks from new monsters like Gigan, Hedorah and Megalon, the Earth is a little thin defensively, as Godzilla remains as Earth's protector, and the only thing standing between the Earth and total domination. And it seems that shall remain until Godzilla reemerges and begins terrorizing the Earth again. Soon discovered to be a robot double of Godzilla named Mechagodzilla, humanity must now do all it can to help Godzilla, and defeat the aliens behind the invasion. Be it foil their plans from within or awaken another monster, everything must be done in order to stop Mechagodzilla from its invasion. It's monster vs. machine in this colossal clash!

Let's build with this review and get to the best part last. So, of this films many strengths, we have one of the best human casts of the franchise. We get a nice mix of new and old blood of cast members in this movie, especially with Akihiko Hirata returning for one of his last performances in the series. But where this movie really shines for me is in some of the faces we haven't seen before, in particular with the alien leader named Kuronuma, played my Goro Mutsumi (pictured left). This dude is just sadistic. He clearly came to Earth for the sole interest of domination. Not a peaceful discussion or wanting to make life easy for humanity or with slowly building stakes, nope. Right off the bat, he's just ready to annihilate. And annihilate he does. He uses Mechagodzilla efficiently, using Mechagodzilla to almost kill Godzilla plenty of times and go on to do tons of irreparable damage to Tokyo. It's great.

On the protagonists side we have INTERPOL Agent Nanbara, played by the late Shin Kishida (pictured above right). This dude is just too awesome. For one, he's always wearing sunglasses, 'cause when you take names, you deserve that right. For two, he actually puts up some solid action for a human. Sneaking around like a fake alien in the end of the movie, getting into fights, this dude is just James Bond, practically. Only main difference being he never gets stumped or put in an odd spot because he's not in the entire movie. But he is just rad.

You'll find yourself surprised at how awesome the soundtrack to this movie is. With a score composed by veteran of the series, Masaru Sato, vs. Mechagodzilla's score makes an incredibly odd choice that sets the movie apart from just about any other kaiju movie, AND surprisingly works really well. You ready for this? No joke, vs. Mechagodzilla largely uses a score of big band and swing music. Yeah. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Well, don't get me wrong for even a second: it is weird. But lie to me and tell me this isn't energetic, iconic, and at the very least exciting. Oh what's that? You're realizing I said lie to me so you're 100% agreeing that this is the shiznit? Well, I for one agree. It's largely good because the movie commits to it 100%. If the theme of the Mechagodzilla/Anguirus fight was the only song in the soundtrack with this swing or tempo, it'd be weird and it wouldn't work. But the movie dedicates itself and commits to this choice for the entire runtime, so it works LEAGUES better than anyone would expect. And I'm glad they went with such an odd call. While of course we'll see Mechagodzilla without this swing music later on, it's impossible to imagine THIS Mechagodzilla without this music. They're just tied with each other hand in hand. And yeah, normally I don't mention the music or soundtrack very much in these reviews. But this one is so fundamentally perfect and essential to the movie, that I just had to mention it.

I found a review that called vs. Mechagodzilla "the cinematic-equivalent of smashing action figures together" (Quentin Hoffman). And when you look at a lineup of monsters like this, it's no surprise. Of course we have Godzilla, fresh with his silly redesign and new suit introduced in vs. Megalon, and of course we have Mechagodzilla. But believe it or not we also have King Caesar! Yeah, that's right. So on top of two classic Godzilla monsters, we also get introduced to one of his best villains, and one of the lesser supporting monsters. And they all fair very well and have some pretty fantastic suits and effects to back up this appearance. The only monster who doesn't fully get the best treatment is definitely Anguirus. Anguirus only serves a small role very early in the movie: fight Mechagodzilla in disguise, get his butt kicked and call for Godzilla. But it's still a solid moment. I like the Anguirus we got from Destroy All Monsters and on, largely because he's not a good match to fight Godzilla, and also because him and Godzilla work better as friends. Definitely a bummer he gets it handed to him so hard by Mechagodzilla, but it's always nice having him in the movie. Anguirus really benefits from some of the awesome sound work in this movie, and all the monsters really do, but especially Anguirus because it gets a rise out of the audience. After he gets it handed to him so badly, his roars get altered and stutter, and it hurts to watch him run off because you can tell he got hurt really badly and NEEDS Godzilla to step in not only for him, but for the whole world in turn.

As for the other three monsters, let's start with King Caesar. For a monster that only first appears just before the movie ends, he makes a solid impression. He's definitely an odd monster, a lion god that looks like a demonic rabbit that can reflect Mechagodzilla's fire power with his eyes who also just happens to know martial arts and is awoken through the singing of a song KIND OF like Mothra. It's kind of strange saying he is an odd monster given this movie stars MECHAGODZILLA and he's come right after Gigan and Hedorah, but he's just kind of odd. Not bad at all, just a little odd. My favorite thing about him is the King Caesar song. Don't get me wrong, it's not great and one of the few stinkers on the soundtrack. But it's what happens afterwards. Mechagodzilla marches on and the song is finished, and NO exaggeration, BOOM! A GIANT EXPLOSION AND OUT OF THE ASHES RISES KING CAESAR! It's kind of funny because of how over the top of a first appearance it is, but it gets you excited. If Godzilla can't stop Mechagodzilla, then a monster who causes explosions from waking up must! And while he doesn't really do that much damage at first, he still makes a fantastic first impression. And his tenacity cannot be overstated. Because he just keeps fighting. Even with Mechagodzilla just beating the living crap out of him, he just keeps fighting until eventually Godzilla shows up.


Speaking of the Big G, despite using a suit that I'm not exactly a huge fan of, he is still awesome in this movie. From his first defeat against Mechagodzilla at night to being struck by lightning, Godzilla refuses to give up in this movie. This is the first movie since in the entire series that he actually receives a pretty substantial beating. Sure, Gigan made him bleed, but in this movie he gets blasted constantly, and in the final fight with Mechagodzilla, he basically gets turned into a 160 ft. blood fountain, covered in missiles and signs that he definitely fought and got it handed to him for a bit from the space titanium titan. Of course Godzilla is known for going against the odds and facing any challenge anyway, but in this one it's doubly impressive because he has every right in the world to say "Nah, I'm good." But he just keeps on fighting till he snaps Mechagodzilla's head off. It's just really fun to watch.

Now you might be wondering: why's it taken so long to talk about the other titular monster, Mechagodzilla? Well, that's an easy question to answer: BECAUSE MECHAGODZILLA IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE ENTIRE MOVIE! That's definitely high praise because of how much I love this one, but I mean it. Everything about and relating to Mechagodzilla just elevates this movie in a fantastic way. Of course we have the fantastic costume and design. Debates are usually started within the community over Mechagodzilla, the coming editions and which one is the best. And despite JUST being shy of my favorite Mechagodzilla design, I can definitely say this one still might just be the best. The only live action Mechagodzilla to be made by aliens, he is just loaded. He's got all the weapons you never thought you needed to give a mega death robot and more. Missiles for fingers, missiles for toes, missiles for knees, laser eyes and a big laser in his chest, an unused flamethrower weapon imitating Godzilla's atomic breath, and a spinning head that forms a protective shield, Mechagodzilla's got it all. It's got a menacing look permanently frozen on its face, and it just looks like it is ready to kill you in the most over the top and ridiculous fashion as soon as possible. And even before it shows its metallic skin, it still makes itself known positively, disguising itself as Godzilla and causing havoc like we haven't seen Godzilla cause in YEARS. In this movie, we get to see two Godzillas. We get the savior bent on returning the world to its natural order and making sure that it is safe for not only Godzilla, but for all the creatues on the planet. And then we get the cold metal monster focus on death, destruction and devastation and ready to hurt anyone or anything in its way. Mechagodzilla is one of the mainstays of the franchise, and it only makes sense. Because he somehow gets even better as time goes on.

In summary, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is just about all you can ask for. Great effects, a soundtrack to keep you excited, a human cast you like to follow and action to keep your eyes glued to the screen, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is easily one of the most outlandishly awesome movies in the entire franchise, and thank goodness this killing robot will be seen later.

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Tomorrow we're wrapping up the first series with the return of the star of today's show. So buckle up and prepare to enter in the second era of Godzilla as we look at the finale of the original Godzilla series with the direct sequel to this film: Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla vs. Megalon - The Actually Worst One

March 17th, 1973. A day which will live in Godzilla infamy. For that is the day that onto the world was wrought Godzilla vs. Megalon. This is the movie that if it isn't Godzilla, I find tends to be the one movie of this series people have seen. It only makes sense. It was shown on so many TV channels for years and for a lot of people was easy to find and collect. Which I find hilarious because I still don't own a copy of the movie and I've been building my collection of the movies over the last 15 years or so with my dad. Regardless, what makes this movie so infamous? Well, in just about every capacity a Godzilla movie can be at very least bad and at very least campy, Godzilla vs. Megalon finds a way to be that and set the new standard while it's at it. From silly music, outlandishly hilarious monsters, flawed effects and laziness and use of stock footage that screams the budget of a college kid, this movie essentially set the series back and is usually the movie people think of when they think Godzilla is stupid or dumb and not worth any more than being something to laugh at. And honestly, because of that, it HAS to be seen to be believed.

In the year 197X (real creative by the way), the people of the surface level of Earth are testing nuclear weapons too much, causing subterranean earthquakes for the people of Seatopia. As revenge, the Seatopians release their monster named Megalon onto the world. With the world in trouble and the robot Jet Jaguar needing allies, it seeks out Godzilla in hopes of defeating the combined powers of Megalon and Gigan, recently borrowed from the Nebulans. It's a battle against the Earth that really has to be seen by all.

Alright, let's get this party started: this happened. Nothing to add. Just confirming that this movie is real and this happened. No this does not contribute to the review, but it is so famous and hilarious that I had to at very least mention it. So, I mentioned it. Someone thought this was a good idea and should be contributed to film for the rest of time. And it is. It's hilarious, it really is. But it's just so embarrassing. I will yet again ask you to please look to the first review and remember where this character represents and where this series started, and then think about the fact that YES INDEED WE SOMEHOW GOT HERE!

Alright, that out of the way, there are two brand new monsters in this movie; the titular Megalon and Jer Jaguar. Let's talk about Megalon first because quite frankly that's much easier. Like Gigan before him, Megalon is one of my favorite Godzilla antagonists and for a nice chunk of time was my favorite monster in the series not named Godzilla. He's a weird thing, and maybe just shy of Gigan weirdness, but he's a weird monster. He's got a horn on his head that shoots lightning, he can shoot giant bombs out of his mouth, has drills for hands which he can use to burrow underground and he can fly. From Gabara to Megalon, Toho went from what seemed like no new monster ideas to just getting too out there. I think Megalon juuuuuust tippy toes on the line of being too outlandish and fitting into the series. Maybe it's bias, because it honestly could be. A lot of my childhood was spent playing video games, and you bet Godzilla games were a part of that. And Megalon was always super cool in the games, so maybe I think he's alright because of those. It is a possibility.

ON THE OTHER HAND, we have Jet. Jaguar. Jet Jaguar is just hilarious. You look at him and you can't help but laugh. For those who don't know, Jet Jaguar was born of a contest for kids to draw a kaiju that would inspire a new monster to then star in the next Godzilla movie. That movie just so happened to be this one, and Jet Jaguar was born. Makes sense, doesn't it? Jet Jaguar is just hilarious. Everything about him is just comedy. From clearly being a rip off of Ultraman to his hilariously creepy smile and shrinking powers like he's trying to be the Atom, it's just hilariously clear that we mortals don't deserve to live on the same plane as him. And for those wondering, yes. He does indeed have a theme song. I have a playlist of music I listen to when I write these and whenever it comes on, I just have to stop, look at the picture of Jet Jaguar and remember that yes, I am alive, and that yes, Jet Jaguar was seen by multiple people and they all agreed "Yes. This is a character we all want in our movie series."

Oh yeah, Godzilla and Gigan are here by the way. Yeah, that's right, we got four monsters in this shindig. So how do Gigan and Godzilla fair? Well, Gigan's fine as always. Having Gigan is ALWAYS a plus. He's always fun to watch, always. He even gets some great moments in here, like when Jet just launches him into the air and Godzilla just blasts the crap out of him with his atomic breath. It's great. And he runs away, yet again. Yet again, Gigan is Starscream. But what about Godzilla? Well, he's quite the middle ground in this movie. On one hand, it's Godzilla. On the other hand, MegaroGoji might be one of the worst designs of Godzilla ever, for the simple fact Godzilla actually looks kinda cute. He just kinda looks like an ugly pug to me or something like that. Of course he's Godzilla and thank God he makes more appearances with this suit later to redeem it, but he just looks goofy. This is also coming after a design and suit for the character that was practically being perfect, looking intimidating enough while also just walking on the line that a kid could look at him and not be scared. It just looks odd with this one looking like they were aiming for cute when the previous one still looked pretty mean.

Alright, what's next on the chopping block? Eh, what the hell, let's talk about the Seatopians. In terms of human antagonists, these guys are the worst for the absolute best reasons. The Muans of Atragon are the worst human antagonists we've encountered so far. By a LONG mile. They aren't intimidating, they don't keep their promises and they desaturate the entire movie. The Seatopians on the other hand are everything about the Muans but in reverse and it actually doesn't work properly, but it's STILL hilarious. First of all, their costume design is just absolute comedy. They've been called everything, and considering how they look, I KNOW you're making jokes in your head. I just know you are. Because they look like clowns. Unlike the Muans however, they hold up to their promise of unleashing their monster. They're so hell bent on destruction that they go to the Nebluans for Gigan just to cause more damage. And you have to wonder if it's overkill at all. I think if they went to the surface together they might be listened to. But nope. Their solution is fire and blood. Okay, sure guys. The best part is that they're honestly the best of the human cast. The main human protagonists are so not helpful that you have to wonder if they actually care what's going on.

This movie's just the worst. I said it set the series back, and I do mean that. From this point on, the first series would have two movies left and would end on a high note, but being preceded by Godzilla vs. Megalon, it's easy to make improvements. And yet, I will still recommend you watch it. It is not only the Room of Godzilla movies, it's the Room of all kaiju and special effects heavy movies. Watch it and learn. Because even though it's not good, you can still learn so much from it.

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This was a fun one to revisit and watch, but I just wanted to get it out of the way, because tomorrow's feature is one of my favorites of the entire series as we meet Godzilla's metal doppelgänger as we watch one of the best movies of the first series: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla!