Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Year: 1974
Director: Jun Fukuda
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese

When I was a child I distinctly remember that a Gojira (Godzilla) marathon was playing on television. The films included Godzilla vs. Destroyah, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, King Kong vs. Godzilla and so forth. Even though they weren't exactly Oscar Winning material, they left quite an impression on me and were the first Japanese pictures I had seen. I remember Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla being my favourite of the films, so I re-watched it and plan to review it today.

Alien monkeys intend to take over the planet and just in case Godzilla tries to interfere they have built a mechanical version of him to put an end to his interference. The Earth humans summon the legendary King Ceasar to assist Godzilla in the battle. 

If you are looking for a masterful drama with a sweeping score and brilliant cinematography, then this is not the film for you. Though the tone is a bit more serious than the previous and future films of the Godzilla franchise, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla is a "B" movie at heart and doesn't try to rise above that. The battles between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla are fast-paced and brutal, many thanks can be given to the decent, at least for early 70's, special effects which are among the best in the series. The score adds to both the cheesiness of the film and the importance of each battle.

Unfortunately many aspects of this Godzilla flick are awful even for "B" movie standards. The acting, with exception of a supporting role by Akihiko Hirata as Professor Miyajimi,  is horrendous. There is no real "plot" and all the non-monster scenes seem to drag and have no real significance. We don't care about espionage, we want to see a giant dinosaur fight! It's especially odd that Godzilla is now the savior of mankind, since in the original 1954 Japanese flick it was a metaphor for the end of humanity and the horror of the A-Bomb, but "logic" isn't supposed to be a strong point in this fantasy.

In conclusion, though Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla can't be categorized as "good" by any sane person's standards, it's just bad enough to be enjoyable without boring its viewers. This is a fun film to watch on a sad,sick or rainy day and can definitely get you thinking about making your own low budget monster film. This is also a lot more entertaining than that Rolan Emmerich disaster in 98'. 2.5/5