Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jî shômetsu sakusen

An action heroine in this one surprisingly gets as much screen time as the big G, and her character surprisingly has as much depth as the G's wrinkles when he smiles. Of course, he never smiles. But the plot of the humans has received more attention than the big G's carnage for this one. It's basically the plot of the heroine of Gamera 3, but with more development. And, unlike the Gamera teenager, the heroine of Gojira vs Megagirasu does not wait for a monster egg to fall on her laps to go after the big G. She kicks ass big time! Don't worry Gojira fans, the movie's title is not Tom Boy kicks Gojira's ass, so you know who's the boss. And this one's got a trick up its sleeve too! I'm sure you'll all fall for it. This movie has nothing to do with Gojira 2000, if you couldn't stand that little brat and the journalist, or worse, the guy who's last wishes were GOJIRAAAAAAA. I won't say action girl in here does better than Jean Reno in the infamous Godzilla, but the monster she's fighting is more lovingly menacing. No raptor look-alikes running around here. Just the big G and her. The music also changed. Each movie in the new Gojira trilogy must have been made for different audiences. This one is for the wide movie-going female audience between the kids for whom they made Gojira 2000, and the otakus and die-hard fans for whom they've made Daikaiju Soukougeki.

Megaguirus often gets the short end of the Millienium Films as it is typically seen as a porotype for the story seen Masaaki Tezuka's later film, Godzilla against Mechagodzilla. The latter film certainly proves superior as the story in this film feels aimless at times. Perhaps a symptom of franchise fatigue that this entry comes of as rather dull and unremarkable though there are things to appreciate. Megaguirus is an interesting opponent for Godzilla and the original soundtrack is fantastic.

I avoided this movie for months; most online reviews I read were negative, and it just had a bad stench about it. But then my ever-wise brother recommended it, and I'm glad he did.

It's fun - damn fun. Where else can you see Godzilla besieged by giant dragonflies, or cool visuals like a half-submerged city and a woman riding on Godzilla's purple-tinged spines? Many of the special effects shots are a touch sloppy in execution (obvious CGI is rampant), but they're tremendously imaginative in concept. So, improbably enough, they work.

Megaguirus is a cool opponent for Godzilla, and their climatic battle is practically high comedy. Both monsters get great reaction shots and some particularly nasty moves. In one infamous - but quite amusing - shot, Godzilla wallops Megaguirus with a leaping tackle that evokes the wrestling maneuvers of his 1960s-70s movies. Fans who complain that too many of the Big G's more recent battles have been decided by "beam contests" should delight in the wacky grappling on display here.

The human characters have interesting motivations, and are even allowed to be selfish, which is a nice change of pace from the preachy and saintly types you usually get in these movies. There's even a cute kid who manages not to be annoying. In short, it's all good - I like the silly monsters AND the incredibly earnest humans AND the totally insane visual effects. All these ingredients add up to a rare Godzilla feast.

Now I'm more jazzed than ever to see "Final Wars"!

I rate this a 7 for fans of the very earliest Godzilla movies. For everyone else, it's going to rank 1 or 2 points lower depending on you're comfort level with tacky special effects and dubbing.

If you're a fan, forget timelines and developments from previous movies. This movie is basically Godzilla vs. both Japan and another monster. Sound familiar? It's basically a throwback to a 1970s look and feel (even though it takes place modern day). Toy buildings, dubbing and obvious "man in a monster suit" special effects all give it a special nostalgia charm.

But that's not all that's good. The fast paced plot keeps the viewer well engaged at all times. Something is always happening. The basic plot is simple: during a failed attempt to destroy Godzilla using exotic means (creating a mini black hole), another creature enters this realm. It is eventually learned that it is a winged creature. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before there's a showdown between the two.

If you liked early 70's Godzilla movies, you'll like this one. If not, you're probably better off looking for a different movie.

Masaaki Tezuka clearly understands the secret to making rubber monster movies - make 'em big, and make 'em fun! GXM returns the element of spectacle to the series that had been missing in the later 90s entries. The battles are epic, the monsters believably gigantic and menacing, and the destruction sweeping. When crowds of extras run away in GXM, they look genuinely terrified. The wonderful musical score and "old school" directorial style come as close to rivalling the best of Honda-Tsuburaya-Ifukube as anything Toho has done since their heyday. Perhaps most important, the monsters have personalities, without sacrificing menace. No more stiff, slow-moving suits lumbering in a straight line toward one another for a battle consisting primarily of optical effects. Both Godzilla and Megaguiras are intelligent, cunning combatants, and their climactic war is among the best of its kind ever filmed. On a whole, GXM is not as flashy or technically seamless as its followup, 2001's GMK(also an outstanding film), but I found it to be more fun. It reminded me of nothing so much as curling up on the floor on Saturday as a kid, watching an AIP rubber monster epic on Shock Theatre or Son of Svengoolie. GODZILLA VS MEGAGUIRUS is a genuine classic!