On 15th May 2014, Toho’s greatest monster will return to the big screen in an American reboot. With just 5 weeks to go, we here at THN are counting down the GODZILLA back catalogue.
Director: Masaaki Tezuka
Starring: Misato Tanaka, Shosuke Tanihara, Masato Ibu, Yuriko Hoshi, Toshiyuki Nagashima
Plot: Godzilla returns and a special weapon that creates a miniature black hole is designed to get rid of him once and for all. Unfortunately a test opens a wormhole through which a prehistoric dragonfly enters, and an egg is quickly laid and could spell trouble for Earth and Godzilla.
Despite being the second film in the Millennium Series of Godzilla films, GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS is actually the true reboot of the series. GODZILLA 2000 thrust us into the action without any explanation as to how that Godzilla related to previous incarnations, if at all. GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS makes it very clear, though, that this is the original 1954 Godzilla, who in this timeline did not die, although the exact details aren’t elaborated on. This makes it a true reboot and even ignores events of the last film, making that a standalone entry. Some new talent was also on display in the form of director Masaaki Tezuka, who made his directorial debut with this feature and impressed enough to be allowed to return for two later efforts.
Not so lucky was special effects director Kenji Suzuki. GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS turned out to be a poor show at the Japanese box-office and would go on to become the weakest performing film in the whole Millennium Series. Suzuki had worked as Assistant Director on many of the Heisei Era Godzilla movies, and had been the Special Effects Director on the previous film, yet it was he who shouldered the blame for the film’s poor performance. Granted, there are a number of times where strings are visible, and Megaguirus’ super speed isn’t very well represented, but other than that Suzuki seems to have done a fairly solid job. Thankfully, although he never worked on Godzilla again, he was welcomed into the Ultra family with directorial gigs on Ultraman Mebius and Ultraseven X. Despite such a negative sounding history, the film is a very entertaining entry with a lot going for it.
We begin with a newsreel in which the most recent design of Godzilla has been inserted into frames of the 1954 classic for a more cohesive connection. There’s no talk of this Godzilla ever having been killed though, and we have other exposition aimed at us. The capital is now Osaka, and Godzilla returned to attack in 1966. This forced Japan to give up entirely on nuclear energy, which attracted the monster. This whole back story seems like a huge push to create a brand new mythos for this series of films and focus it more on alternative energy sources rather than alternative weaponry, a reflection of the times. Godzilla does attack again though, and a team of soldiers look set to take him down. Godzilla looks much smaller this time around, which allows for a believable ground assault. It ends with a superior saving his subordinate which paves the way for some human-based revenge antics from Kiriko Tsujimori (Tanaka).
Years later, Tsujimori is now one of the elite G-Graspers, a division dedicated to wiping out Godzilla. She ends up hiring technician/engineer supreme Hajime Kudo (Yanihara), whose latest invention involves miniature robots and a mini-microwave hidden inside a bowl. Like all cinematic geniuses, he is simply using his talent to impress small children rather than trying to change the world. Having been headhunted by the G-Graspers he joins to help perfect their latest weapon, which has been designed by his old physics teacher. Although Godzilla has not been seen since his last attack, a recent spike in water temperature suggests he may be on his way. Unlike many Godzilla films, none of the human characters feel too superfluous. Of course all humans are superfluous to some degree in a monster film, but each one seems to have their own motive and relationship with fellow characters. There’s also lack of a clear villain, although Tsujimori’s desire for revenge can be frustrating, but also understandable.
After skipping forward three months, the G-Graspers are ready to test their new machine. However, a young boy is venturing in the woods nearby, despite it being a sealed off area. This boy again seems as though he is in response to the popularity of Gamera and friends. He plays a fairly important role, but is absent from the majority of the film. Perhaps his character is almost a cynical comment on the usage of children in monster movies, as this one rightly decides he wants no part of the events. The test works well, and the very idea of a blackhole weapon is certainly a convincing tool against Godzilla. But that night the young boy from earlier, who is dubbed Mr. Insect for his love of insects, just happens to see a giant shadow fly past his window. After investigating the movement, he finds himself back at the test site where a large dragonfly enters a wormhole that has reappeared. Mr. Insect then discovers an egg it has left behind. The boy soon finds the egg leaking and decides to get rid of it in what is a rare smart move in such situations; he puts it into the sewer and believes that’ll be the end of it.
Water starts to bubble up from the sewer and we’re treated to a bizarrely horrific scene that is shot entirely as a horror. A couple of workmen are unaware of a large dragonfly-like creature perched just above them. In classic horror movie style, a young man separates from his date to smoke alone. He’s soon picked off by the mysterious monster, but in a very gruesome shot where his head is crushed. This tonal shift, along with the child-friendly aspects conflict with one another but also seem to state that Godzilla is serious whether kids are involved or not. Like some kind of twisted Pokemon, the dragonfly evolves into its next stage. Meanwhile Godzilla is found by the G-Graspers and there’s a scene in which the humans fire a tracer onto Godzilla’s back. It’s another scene in which the humans go one-to-one with Godzilla, which may be why the special effects got so much stick for this entry. It’s brave enough to combine the effects rather than just relying on a giant robot to do the fighting. It also gives weight to the personal vendetta of Tsujimori. Not to mention the fact that a human riding on Godzilla’s back brings images of Shadow Of The Colossus, which would make for a great Godzilla crossover.
Shibuya, the district where the egg was dumped, is soon flooded with water, which is the first time such an event has happened in a Godzilla film and adds some cool little moments. One being the peaceful looking models underwater and the dramatic irony of only the audience let in on the secret that that one egg was actually many eggs. The eggs soon hatch and a great shot reveals hundreds of the bugs on a building. They soon fly off to battle Godzilla on an island away from civilization where they attempt to suck energy from Godzilla. Seeing a huge beast overrun by much smaller creatures is quite disturbing and eerie. The blackhole weapon, now attached to a satellite, fires but fails to remove Godzilla or the bugs from existence. Instead, it just makes Godzilla more pissy and his atomic breath soon deters the dragonflies. The swarm then returns to its nesting ground where all the energy sapped from Godzilla is pumped into a much bigger queen dragonfly, the titular Megaguirus.
Megaguirus is a huge and unsettlingly sinister looking creation, however you can’t help but think he’s an unnecessary substitute for Mothra or even Battra. During the climactic battle between Godzilla and Megaguirus the strings are clearly visible, and it isn’t helped that the scene is shot in daylight. The fight is still pretty awesome. There’s a rather tense stand-off between the two and some western music wouldn’t go amiss in this version of The Ugly, The Ugly and The Ugly. Godzilla is even knocked down twice, showing that Megaguirus is no easy defeat. For once though, it’s the human tale that needs more focus and is far more interesting. It’s revealed that nuclear power has survived secretly and corrupt government officials have betrayed the scientists looking for a more peaceful world. GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS isn’t so much a misfire as it is just underwhelming. And as we all know with Godzilla films, when things fail to reach expectations, you call in some serious back-up which is exactly what we got in the next installment.
Dub-Misstep: Another fairly successful dub. Cheese is mostly left off the dish, although there are still a few cringe-worthy moments.
Monsters: The Meganulons may be small in comparison, but when they cover Godzilla you realise how terrifying they are. Megaguirus, their queen, is much larger and mean-looking with astonishing speed that leaves Godzilla perplexed. This Godzilla is hinted at being the original 1954 Godzilla, and the only one there has ever been, contradicting the ending to the original film.
Notes For GODZILLA (2014): It looks as though the team are putting Godzilla up against some insectoids. But the Meganulons show that size doesn’t always matter. It could be quite interesting in a sequel to show the damage done by smaller monsters.
G-RATING:
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GODZILLA will be released 15th May 2014. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Akira Takarada, and David Strathairn.
