Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

[JAGzilla]

Orga will probably never be one of my favorite kaiju, but he had the DNA absortion, concussion beam, and telepathic ship-control going for him. A fair amount of personality, too.

Megaguirus was more interesting and dangerous in some ways, but suffered from bad execution. I love the swarm, though.

[Kaiser]

The swarm is another nice idea that just wasn't executed well at all. They reek of early 2000s CGI and look like they crawled out of the video game dimension that Dimension Tide opened. I've never been a fan of Megaguirus either, the stinger is basically the only thing that's unique about her; otherwise, she's just a Battra reskin, only not as cool looking.

[Camdigidy]

I just noticed the run times according to tohokingdom. The Japanese version is 105 minutes. The US cut (I assume that's the North American DVD and Blu-ray I own) is 88 minutes. Usually the NA releases will cut the end credits, but this is 17 minutes. Does anyone know what was cut from the Japanese version?

[Kaiju no Kami]

The biggest problem I have with this movie is that it is just so damn boring and Tsujimori is just as bad. She is so emotionless and her acting is quite awful.

I do like the scene when she is riding on Godzilla though.

The fight between Godzilla and Megaguirus at the end is also quite bad because it too is boring. They should have had a fight out in the flooded city.

[szmigiel]

The fight between Godzilla and Megaguirus at the end is also quite bad because it too is boring. They should have had a fight out in the flooded city.

To me that fight is what saved the film for me.

In the last two films they were trying to mix the Godzilla scenes with actual outdoor shots to varying levels of success. I think with GXM they finally got it right. The fight in the city was a great mix of actual outdoor footage and suits and miniatures.
Through out the Heisei series (except for GVM) Godzilla was always facing a larger or more powerful foe. Even in G2000 was the same thing. But this time the two were pretty evenly matched, Godzilla had size and power, Megaguirus had speed and able to leech Godzilla energy. Sure the fight had its problems; the Godzilla suit wasn't the best suited for this type of fight, Megaguirus changes size between the CGI version and the suit, the body slam was a bit on the corny side, but the whole fight was a bit slapstick.

[Kaiju no Kami]

I will agree on some parts, but it might be the slapstick that also bothers me.

[edgaguirus]

The slap stick added some fun to this fight. It was an enjoyable battle, and had the perfect music score for it.

[Kaiju no Kami]

The slap stick added some fun to this fight. It was an enjoyable battle, and had the perfect music score for it.

The thing is, I do not want slapstick fun in my Kaiju battles. That is what I have Sentai and Kamen Rider for. If I am watching giant monsters fight, I want giant monsters fighting. It is one of the reasons why the movies from the 70s are some of the worst in the franchise.

[szmigiel]

The thing is, I do not want slapstick fun in my Kaiju battles. That is what I have Sentai and Kamen Rider for. If I am watching giant monsters fight, I want giant monsters fighting. It is one of the reasons why the movies from the 70s are some of the worst in the franchise.

I liked the pro wrestling style fights from the Champion Matsuri era, probably why I enjoyed Godzilla Final Wars as well.

[Mr. Xeno]

I've always greatly enjoyed this movie, and feel that it gets way too much unnecessary flack.

The only real problem the movie has, IMO, is the effects. Most of the model work is pretty bad (although they look good when they explode), and the CGI sticks out like a sore thumb (although it is a big improvement over G2K's CGI; just compare the shots of Godzilla swimming to prove that).

Other than that, I really have to issues with the film. Michiru Oshima's score, while a bit amateurish in comparison to her later Kiryu scores, is still excellent and memorable. The film is well paced, speeding along fast enough to never leave a dull moment, but not so fast as to never let scenes play out effectively or truncating the plot. Megaguirus is an excellent monster, and it's incredibly refreshing to see Godzilla go against a smaller-yet-faster monster than him rather than an oversized/overpowered behemoth.

Tezuka is obviously inspired by the Showa films in his style, and that gives this movie a sillier, more light-hearted feeling (despite some poorly implemented albeit brief horror elements), and the plot is filled with lots of great ideas, bits, and scenes. (The scene where Kiriko investigates the Meganula only for Godzilla to rise out of the ocean directly beneath her is edited perfectly).

Most of the characters are on the meh side, but I still really like the main character, Kiriko, and her would be not-boyfriend. She's the kind of strong female character that's been missing in Hollywood pictures; she has an excellent backstory, but doesn't play it too far to either side, i.e. she's not a gritty Rorschach wannabe, but not a whiny little pussy, either. She's someone who's obviously suffered trauma, but uses that trauma to improve herself and make legitimate change in the world rather than let it define her. Her would be not-boyfriend is her foil, as he supports her via EPIC COMPUTER MONTAGE at the base, while she's out in the action. This is actually a MUCH welcomed reversal in gender roles from your typical Hollywood film, and the icing on the cake is that it never feels forced (unlike some characters). He's the happy-go-lucky computer genius while she's the fearless badass, and I like how the movie only hints at a romance (and not in the Pacific Rim way where they obviously like each other but never act on it).

I still don't understand all the hate this movie gets. It's a ton of fun, filled with some great ideas and sequences, has a fantastic enemy monster, and has two great main characters.

[Goji]

The slap stick added some fun to this fight. It was an enjoyable battle, and had the perfect music score for it.

The thing is, I do not want slapstick fun in my Kaiju battles. That is what I have Sentai and Kamen Rider for. If I am watching giant monsters fight, I want giant monsters fighting. It is one of the reasons why the movies from the 70s are some of the worst in the franchise.

Except that they aren't. They're your worst. You need to recognize the difference. Toho's mid '90s-'04 output is borderline abysmal. Final Wars is straight up insufferable.

This entire movie is basically a slog. Extremely uneven FX work, a story that's somehow almost too outlandish, even for a Godzilla film, and forgettable actors with no screen presence whatsoever playing lame archetypes. Any of the "cool" scenes are undermined by how badly paced the movie is. Easily one of my least favorite G films, and easily in the bottom 10 (bottom 3 for me) of the entire series.

With that said, the music is good, I like Godzilla's "belly flop" scene, and Megagurirus is pretty well designed..she's just not executed well most of the time.

[szmigiel]

Except that they aren't. They're your worst. You need to recognize the difference. Toho's mid '90s-'04 output is borderline abysmal. Final Wars is straight up insufferable.

While I will agree that many of the Heisei and Millennium films are sub par, you do you to remember that it is your opinion that they are borderline abysmal as well. We all have our favorites and least favorites.

[Goji]

Yeah, the door swings both ways, obviously, but you're acting as if people dumping on Final Wars (especially) doesn't happen all the time.

[three]

if we're only judging these films by the fights, then the 80s and first 90s films are some of the best in the franchise. SOS stands supreme as one of the best ever, but something like Mothra vs. Godzilla and KK vs. Godzilla are still top of the line.

but thankfully, we judge the films on more than cool fights. unfortunately, the final battle is really all this movie has going for it.

[Godzilla Lover101]

I would have loved to see Megaguirus in the Showa era taking on late 70's Godzilla. She would've probably fit in better there.

[three]

I would have loved to see Megaguirus in the Showa era taking on late 70's Godzilla. She would've probably fit in better there.

actually, you're probably right. that would be awesome.

[szmigiel]

Yeah, the door swings both ways, obviously, but you're acting as if people dumping on Final Wars (especially) doesn't happen all the time.

Every film has their detractors and their champions.

[Goji]

Yeah, things like that, and "we all have our favorites and least favorites" really go without saying. These things are obvious to everyone, and really don't propel the conversation forward.

[tymon]

Well hey Goji, we all like different kinds of Godzilla movies and have different preferences, because we are autonomous individuals who watch these movies and then discuss them here on Toho Kingdom. It's just my opinion brah.

[szmigiel]

Yeah, things like that, and "we all have our favorites and least favorites" really go without saying. These things are obvious to everyone, and really don't propel the conversation forward.

I agree that it doesn't propel the conversation forward. But neither does blanket statements without backing them up with examples and allowing a back and forth.

Except that they aren't. They're your worst. You need to recognize the difference. Toho's mid '90s-'04 output is borderline abysmal. Final Wars is straight up insufferable.

Kaiju no Kami stated he didn't like the campy aspects of the 70's films, that is his opinion on them. Yours differs. But it is still your opinion on the later Heisei and the Millennium series, there are plenty of people here that do not find them borderline abysmal. I am willing to argue my points of what I liked and didn't on each film sighting examples, I know not everyone agrees with me and thats okay. Some films I enjoy are on peoples worst list, and some of my worst list are on others top 10.