Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy
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Movie Reviews of Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy
Movie Review: Finally! Godzilla as it should be seen! And it's a good one!
Summary: 4 Stars
REJOICE! TriStar is finally releasing Godzilla films in JAPANESE with ENGLISH SUBTITLES-the way they should be seen. (There's a dubbed version on this disc as well if you still want that childhood feeling of watching a monster movie on Saturday morning). Not only do we get the original Japanese, we also get 5.1 stereo and enhanced widescreen (which is VERY important with a subtitled film when you watch it on a widescreen TV).As for the film itself: well, chances are you haven't seen this entry in the series. This is the first time it's been available in the U.S. It immediately follows up "Godzilla 2000," although it isn't really a direct sequel (the history of Godzilla is played around with a bit.) It improves immensely on "Godzilla 2000," offering more Godzilla, more science-fiction gadgets and super-weapons, more wacky science, more monster fights, and pretty much all the rubber-suited butt-kicking you could ever want in a Godzilla film. This one has it all, and the effects are clever and fun. The music is also some of the best to thunder through a G-movie since the sixties.
New Godzilla director Masaaki Tezuka is a huge fan of the series, and it shows. This is a fast, fun, fan-pleasing film. And Godzilla is at his best here; a force of lethal destruction, an accidental hero, and someone you do not want to mess with! Godzilla shows more personality here than he has in the last couple of films. You'll root for him and cheer him on during his knock-down drag-out fantastic battle with the baddie monster: a giant insectoid creature called Megaguirus (a spawn from a black hole!).
There are some problems: a few effects just don't work, Godzilla engages in a moment of incredibly silly behavior, and the logic behind much of the science is pretty darn ludicrous. But the action sequences make up for it, and there's so much enjoy here: The "James Bond" style action opening with foot-soldiers trying to take on Godzilla from city block to city block. The heroine actually hanging off of Godzilla's spines. The massive meganuron swarm attack. The flying super-weapon facing-off with Godzilla. And-It bears repeating-that final fight brings down the house! (And about twenty city blocks on the waterfront as well.)
Godzilla fans: grab it now. Casual fans: you don't know what you've been missing, and I envy your first viewing of this exciting, big-lizard-city-smashing-laser-gun-toting-monster-insect-bazookas-blazing-smack-down! ROAR ON, GODZILLA!
(And make sure you also buy the now-available: "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack," the next film in the series.)
Movie Review: one of my favorites!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great Godzilla movie! And it's one of my favorites because it's got plenty of Godzilla, it's fun, and it never bores me! That's right, there's plenty of Godzilla...well, enough to keep me from wondering what happened to him. Aside from the Big G, there's also Meganulla and Megaguirus - and they also get plenty of screentime.
And let me just say that Godzilla is hilarious in this movie! Sure, he's destructive, and still looks mean, but he does indeed do some bizarre things when he's fighting Megaguirus.
All in all, the Monster Scenes in the movie deliver. And it's all spread out in good doses, unlike other Godzilla movies where there are noticable lapses in Monster Action.
And when there's no Monster Action, the Human Scenes keep us entertained. They're fun and they're campy - just the way they should be in a Godzilla movie.
As for the characters, there doesn't appear to be any memorable characters, but that doesn't stop this movie from delivering memorable lines!
MEMORABLE DIALOGUE #1
KUDO - Bodybuilding, huh? What a waste of time!
MAJOR FUJIMORI - What's that?
KUDO - Why do you want to be fit when we're gonna make Godzilla disappear up his own butthole?
MEMORABLE DIALOGUE #2
Fujimori is crouching down to talk to the little kid, and he recognizes her uniform:
LITTLE KID - Say, are you a G-GRASPER?
FUJIMORI - Yes, I am.
LITTLE KID - But you're a woman. So how come you're fighting Godzilla?
(Fujimori doesn't even answer)
MEMORABLE DIALOGUE #3
After Kudo tries desperately to contact Fujimori on the radio, she finally replies:
FUJIMORI - "Why do you want to talk to me so badly? You gotta crush on me or something?"
Make no mistake: this movie's great! Both the Human Scenes and the Monster Scenes are great fun. And you see plenty of Godzilla in this movie. One of my favorites!
Movie Review: An entertaining entry in the Big G's filmography
Summary: 4 Stars
Since several other reviewers have pointed out numerous pluses (and a few minuses) relating to monster vs. monster action, effects, and so forth, I thought I'd offer a slightly different perspective as a lifelong dinosaur fan and nearly-as-long Godzilla fan.
When I was a kid, I thirsted to see 'lifelike' movie monster action - whether it was Willis O'Brien's brilliant stop-motion animation in the original King Kong or the slow but utterly relentless Godzilla in the serie's first entry. However, the Godzilla films of the later 60s and 70s sort of morphed the big guy into a fearsome yet silly entity - boxing moves, dancing jigs, and other ridiculously un-dinosaurish actions. While the films were entertaining at one level, the franchise became a total joke to non-Godzilla fans and that degree of 'absence of realism' in the films tended to frustrate me.
Now we have the 2000's movies, which have a wonderfully updated Godzilla appearance and even more lifelike movement. Visually, these are really enjoyable and the attention to detail by the effects team is outstanding. One can really imagine the action taking place exactly as it's shown - as if it was a breaking news story being filmed by CNN. But there are a couple moments in Godzilla's big battle vs. the Megaguirus that incorporate preposterous elements...although these are admittedly entertaining, again they seem to take away from the realistic spell that had been cast previously.
Perhaps I'm just too much of a 'purist'; yet, even with that caveat, there's so much to like in this movie that no G-fan should pass it up.
Movie Review: Godzilla vs. a Big Bug
Summary: 4 Stars
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus presents a true "alternate universe" Godzilla, in which Japan's social, economic, and technological development has been shaped by the threat of the monster. The capital of Japan is not Tokyo but Osaka, nuclear power has been outlawed, and the perfection of plasma energy is the new frontier of science. In hopes of destroying Godzilla, scientists create a weapon that produces a miniature black hole, but its use brings unforeseen consequences--an extra-dimensional horror called Megaguirus. Now humanity must hope that Godzilla can destroy the new threat before it spreads across the globe.
With a suit design similar to the one used in Godzilla 2000, Godzilla has never looked more reptilian and outright dangerous. Director Masaaki Tezuka has produced a well-paced, energetic monster flick that is reminiscent of the most enjoyable Showa-era Godzilla movies, its unlikely premise presented intriguingly enough to make it palatable. Composer Michiru Oshima, with the first of her three Godzilla scores, proves herself a worthy successor to maestro Akira Ifukube, whose distinctive musical scores have become synonymous with Godzilla. Adding to the fun is the appearance of actress Yuriko Hoshi, who appeared in Mothra vs. Godzilla and Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster in the 60s. All in all, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus comes across as the best, most entertaining entry in the Millennium Godzilla series.
Movie Review: All new menace 'bugs' Godzilla and Japan.
Summary: 4 Stars
Godzilla returns! For the very first time, yet again! In what is now a standard trend, Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus plays as a direct sequel to the first Godzilla movie and ignores the 20+ movies that were made in between. Perhaps it is for the best, yet it is a bit strange seeing the Godzilla 2000 suit spliced into footage of the first Godzilla movie so the look of the monster can be consistent. As was the case with Godzilla 2000, the King of the Monsters shows up to trash Japan's nuclear power plants and anything else that is not an ecology friendly power source. When a power crisis looms, a new method of creating energy is made and...guess who comes to crash the party? The military team in charge of fighting the Big G and a group of scientists come up with an interesting weapon...a black hole gun that will capture Godzilla for all eternity. Too bad that the first test of the weapon unleashes an insectile threat every bit as dangerous as the mutant dinosaur itself! The monsters are nice to look at and the effects range from good to the kind that are always used to mock the genre by its detractors (i.e. you can clearly see the wires holding up one of Megaguirus's early forms as it flies over head). Nonetheless, this entry is fun to see and has the kind of city smashing fans adore. Highly recommended.