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So, the other day, I was wandering through my local Media Play and I notcied some new stuff in the DVD section. When I went over, I found a stack of the Shinsei Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. 'Cool' I thought, and bought a copy then and there. So, here's my review.

PLOT: Like all the Shinsei movies, GAMG only acknowledges continuity with itself and the original 1954 Godzilla (although there is a nod to the original Mothra in a flashback sequence). Anyway, Godzilla begins menacing Japan, who promptly build Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) to stop him. With a DNA computer constructed from the skeleton of the original Godzilla, Kiryu is quickly completed. Without warning, Godzilla shows up again and Kiryu is rushed out to face him. Just as the battle heats up, something unexpected and very, very, bad happens to Kiryu...

CHARACTERS: The humans in this movie are pretty well fleshed out, especially the female pilot who handles Kiryu, Akane. She definately gets the most depth out of anyone. Just second to her are the doctor who designed Kiryu's computer and his daughter Sarah. The dialogue hurts the development somewhat (keep reading for details) but doesn't kill them completely.

GOOD GUY: This is Mechagodzilla in his toughest and best-looking incarnation yet. Unlike previous MGs, Kiryu doesn't shy away from duking in out in close combat. And at long range, he hammers Godzy with a staggering array of really nasty-looking weapons. He's also by far the best flyer out of any MG.

BAD GUY: After his horrific All Out Attack incarnation, Godzilla returns to a form closer to that of the Shinsei movies G2K and Megaguiras. The spikes are toned down somewhat, so they don't look like Godzy sat on a pin cushion. The eyes are more detailed than previous Shinseis, making Godzilla look more intelligent than certain other costumes. There's not much that's really special about his attitude, though. This is mostly a generic bad Godzilla.

SFX: Great. Kiryu is brought to life with amazing detail. His missiles look real. His arm guns look real. And his chest cannon looks pretty damn deadly! However, the true crowning moment of the movie is watching Kiryu drop out of the sky, Vernier thrusters burning (you heard me Gundam fans, MG's got Verniers. ) Godzilla's fire looks wonderful; a cross between the blazing fire of G2K and the hard-hitting beam of AOA.

DUB: The dub isn't perfect, but it's partly the fault of the somewhat flat dialogue. If there is one flaw to be found in GAMG, it's the uninspired dialogue. It's flat enough that it nearly (but not quite) kills the feeling of the characters. The rest of the movie, however, more than makes up for this weakness. Just bear with it, trust me.

FIGHTS: There are two major battles in GAMG: an initial duel between Kirya and Big G, then the knock-down, drag-out fight at the end. Although pretty much all the battle footage is is worth watching, the crowning moment of the film is Kiryu's shoulder slam. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.

MUSIC: The music is pretty good. It's not as perfectly suited to the movie as AOA's score, but it comes very close. The primary choice of music has a definate military feel to it, which fits the tone of the movie, and it's actually pretty catchy.

OVERALL: A definate must-see for any Godzilla fan, in my opinion. For Mechagodzilla fans, YOU MUST SEE THIS. NOW. It's quite simply the best Mechagodzilla movie yet. The fights are solid, the characters are solid, the SFX are realistic and the somewhat flat dialogue is a forgivable shortcoming.

SCORE: 4 out of 5.

I don't plan on bearing with the dub. Not when I can watch it in Japanese with subtitles, bitch.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:I don't plan on bearing with the dub. Not when I can watch it in Japanese with subtitles, bitch.

The dialogue is still flat in Japanese.

Oh come on, you don't get the true Godzilla experience without the bad dubbing!

PS. I really liked Megaguirus, and I liked All-out Monsters Attack except for the look of Godzilla, which I think was far better in Megaguirus. Godzilla 2000 was OK in spots, but it really drags in the middle. My boys are really getting into Godzilla; little David's favourite movie character now is Godzilla. Buh-bye, Disney characters!

Darth Wong wrote:Oh come on, you don't get the true Godzilla experience without the bad dubbing!

PS. I really liked Megaguirus, and I liked All-out Monsters Attack except for the look of Godzilla, which I think was far better in Megaguirus. Godzilla 2000 was OK in spots, but it really drags in the middle. My boys are really getting into Godzilla; little David's favourite movie character now is Godzilla. Buh-bye, Disney characters!

Hmmm...Megaguiras struck me as just an average Godzilla movie, although I think I'm somewhat biased by the fact that they used stutter shot so damn much in the final battle...it really cheesed me off.

Although as far as I'm concenred, Megaguiras takes the take as the Godzilla movie with the biggest single 'yeouch!' moment in it. You remember when Megaguiras took a swipe at Godzilla with his stinger and got him right in the crotch? Well...yeouch! And then he did it again.

I've watched the last couple DVD Godzilla releases in Japanese with the English subtitles and found that I enjoy them more this way for some reason. Things just seem to sound better that way.

Besides, the dubbed version sounds like they're still using the same voice actors for everyone that they've been using since the late 1980's.



This moive also makes a nod to War of the Gargantuas although it only mentions the evil Gargantua, and that's really only to provide some history for the Maser tanks (yes they do have treds this time ).

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is pretty good.

It's a nice compromise between GMK and the other recent G-Flicks.

I liked the new G design. It's kind of a cross between the Hesei (sp?) and the Millenium versions.

The return of G's blue radiation blast was nice, plus the way it activates is much more in the classic fashion (with some nice thunderclap sound effects). I liked how G2k's blast worked but missed the classic blue with flashy dorsal spin effect.

It was kind of nice that they referenced the 1954 Godzilla but left him with the original style fins while the new G had the slightly toned down version of the G2k fins.

The movie has some nice nostalgia moments (the monster flashbacks and the return of the masers) plus a decent story with good action.

I liked that Mechgodzilla could use it's missiles off axis and while up close. Being able to graple with Godzilla while also being able to pound him with range weapons was pretty cool.

I'm not real big on Mechagodzilla being able to fly on it's own but it was tolerable.

Why? Pretty much every incarnation of Mechagodzilla has been able to fly.

And I love the new Kiryu MG.. especially since it's got a proper tail on it instead of cutting it off short like they do on the others.

SylasGaunt wrote:Why? Pretty much every incarnation of Mechagodzilla has been able to fly.

And I love the new Kiryu MG.. especially since it's got a proper tail on it instead of cutting it off short like they do on the others.

I just think making something as huge as Mechagodzilla fly is pushing the tech and/or power levels of Japan (or Earth for that mater) a little far.

It bothered me least with the 70's Mecha G because he was designed by aliens so it might as well be magic that makes it go.

Mecha G II - incorporated tech from Mecha King Ghidorah which used technology from the future. So it was a little easier to go with it.

Kiryu, is very cool but having it zip around like a rocketman was a bit much. Flying, or enhanced jumping would be okay flying just seemed to be pushing it. Besides, I kept thinking they were wasting a lot of power flying around instead of using it against Godzilla.

I still really enjoy the movie even with Mecha G flying.


As for the tail, I like it too. Since this version is built around the skeleton of the original G it makes more sense to have the full tail. I'm not sure it would have made sense if it had been bult from scratch. I'm a little suprised that the original Mechagodzilla didn't have more of a tail since its first appearnce it was impersonating Godzilla.

Damn. I've gotta get that.

I heard the size of the head was also decreased from the 2000/Megaguiras model. Didn't bother you at all?

Godzilla has actually gone through several different redesigns in the Millennium series.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Godzilla has actually gone through several different redesigns in the Millennium series.

"Several"? There were only two movies! There couldn't have been more than one, unless different suits were used in the same movie...

Andrew J. wrote:

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Godzilla has actually gone through several different redesigns in the Millennium series.

"Several"? There were only two movies! There couldn't have been more than one, unless different suits were used in the same movie...

How do I put this gently...WRONG!

There's G2K, Megaguiras, All Out Attack, MAMG, and several others. And the Godzilla design changes each time.

Megaguiras: basically G2K with a reddish tint on the spines.

AOA: More like the old 1954 Godzy, plus solid white eyes. He also looks a bit like he has a beer gut.

MAMG: A cross between G2K and Heisei, as Tsyroc put it.

I heard the size of the head was also decreased from the 2000/Megaguiras model. Didn't bother you at all?

Not a whit.

Kuja wrote: Megaguiras: basically G2K with a reddish tint on the spines.

I thought he had the redish tint on his spines in G2K as well?



Anyway, some times the number of different Godzilla looks depends on how picky you are. In a couple of the Pre-Millenium movies minor things changed, like eye color or the placement of teeth while the basic suit sculpt stayed the same.

What I want to see is some of Go Nagai's super robots take on Godzilla

I really liked the design in Giant Monster All-out Attack. Godzilla being black and with white eyes made him look pure evil.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:I really liked the design in Giant Monster All-out Attack. Godzilla being black and with white eyes made him look pure evil.

He was creepy evil in that movie. He just unloaded on anyone or thing that set him off.

OK, I rented it tonight and watched it with my boys. They liked it, but I'm sorry to report that I didn't. I think the problem for me was the difficulty of suspending disbelief.

Godzilla himself is, of course, scientifically impossible, but that normally doesn't bother me because the whole concept of Godzilla requires that one simply accept the kind of magic which permits such creatures to exist. By extension, all of his opponent monsters fall under the same umbrella.

I didn't much like the original Mechagodzilla (how many fucking times can he fire the same fingertip missiles off without ending up fingerless?), and I really dislike this one. While he has a great deal of firepower, and it does look cool when he starts to unload, I just can't get over the fact that he was built with modern-day technology. I can't get over the question: why don't they just mount that fucking absolute-zero gun on a plane and be done with it, if they have the kind of unreal thrust-to-weight ratio required to airlift Mechagodzilla with just two planes? Why don't they make tougher tanks and buildings, if they can build a Mechagodzilla that can withstand direct hits from Godzilla?

And why make him able to move so fucking fast? It was bad enough when Megaguirus zipped around like a blur, but at least you could chalk that up to some kind of magical superpower. When it's a gigantic object made with modern technology that flies like a fucking fighter plane, it's pretty hard to deal with.

I know some of you will consider me a party-pooper for saying this; so be it. But I really do try extra-hard to suspend disbelief for Godzilla movies because I know it's camp, and I love the Godzilla character. I just couldn't do it for this one.

PS. Godzilla looked better in Godzilla vs Megaguirus.

Sharp-kun wrote:What I want to see is some of Go Nagai's super robots take on Godzilla

I think its best to keep those fandoms separate. Even though we know that the Getter Robo could destroy Godzillia as easily as any Mechasaurus. =D

Anyone know the name of the music that plays whenever the Japanese military is mobilizing?

Darth Wong wrote:OK, I rented it tonight and watched it with my boys. They liked it, but I'm sorry to report that I didn't. I think the problem for me was the difficulty of suspending disbelief.

Godzilla himself is, of course, scientifically impossible, but that normally doesn't bother me because the whole concept of Godzilla requires that one simply accept the kind of magic which permits such creatures to exist. By extension, all of his opponent monsters fall under the same umbrella.

I didn't much like the original Mechagodzilla (how many fucking times can he fire the same fingertip missiles off without ending up fingerless?), and I really dislike this one. While he has a great deal of firepower, and it does look cool when he starts to unload, I just can't get over the fact that he was built with modern-day technology. I can't get over the question: why don't they just mount that fucking absolute-zero gun on a plane and be done with it, if they have the kind of unreal thrust-to-weight ratio required to airlift Mechagodzilla with just two planes? Why don't they make tougher tanks and buildings, if they can build a Mechagodzilla that can withstand direct hits from Godzilla?

And why make him able to move so fucking fast? It was bad enough when Megaguirus zipped around like a blur, but at least you could chalk that up to some kind of magical superpower. When it's a gigantic object made with modern technology that flies like a fucking fighter plane, it's pretty hard to deal with.

I know some of you will consider me a party-pooper for saying this; so be it. But I really do try extra-hard to suspend disbelief for Godzilla movies because I know it's camp, and I love the Godzilla character. I just couldn't do it for this one.

PS. Godzilla looked better in Godzilla vs Megaguirus.

A lot of your problems with Mechagodzilla are the same ones I had excpet to a lesser extent (ie. I'm not an engineer ). Plus I've been a big Godzilla fan since I was 4 so long ago I've mostly watched these movies with "did it look cool" in mind. Sometimes that's still not enough even for me. Godzilla doing his backwards flying thing in Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster is still a little too much for me.

I'm not sure if I like this Godzilla's look better than the G2K one or not. I do like him being charcoal or black colored better than being green and I didn't care for the snaggletoothed look of the G2k version's head. I guess what I really want is the Hesei style face/mouth back mixed with something along the lines of G2k but with dark coloring.


By the way Mike, if your boys have been enjoying Godzilla movies they might also like some of the recent Gamera movies, starting with Gamera Guardian of the Universe. It's better than the name sounds.

Jadeite wrote:Anyone know the name of the music that plays whenever the Japanese military is mobilizing?

In this movie inparticular or just in general?


There are several pieces of music that have been used when the military is mobilizing.

This is the first one: Japanese Army March from Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954)

I think most of the ones to come later take their que from this one.

Tsyroc wrote:

Jadeite wrote: There are several pieces of music that have been used when the military is mobilizing.

This is the first one: Japanese Army March from Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954)

I think most of the ones to come later take their que from this one.

Yeah, that's it. Thanks.

IIRC, wasn't that later used for King Ghidora's theme?

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:IIRC, wasn't that later used for King Ghidora's theme?

I'm not sure. I certainly remember it or something like it playing while King Ghidora was trashing a bunch of airplanes.


There is some different but similar musice called "Get King Ghidora" from Godzilla vs. King Ghidora that reminds me a lot of the tune from the 1954 Godzilla but it is different.