I'll admit, if you asked me recently
what my least favorite Godzilla movie was, I would
have likely given this film as a definite answer.
Though Terror of Mechagodzilla was never
a huge favorite of mine, I'll admit now that with
each viewing, I've warmed up to it a little more.
This movie can be fun, as it is comprised of one
grand climactic monster brawl and complimented
with an excellent soundtrack. Unfortunately, in
areas such as character development, this film
does lack. The acting is mildly melodramatic,
and is only marginally above average for this
time period. Since this is a review of the Americanized
version of the film, the sloppy editing is also
worth mention (or scorn). Nevertheless, I'll admit
it isn't the worst Godzilla movie, and it does
boast more than a modest fan base.
One year after the disaster that
was Mechagodzilla's arrival on Earth, a deep-sea
submersible was deployed to search for the mech’s
remains. What the crew of the Akatsuki didn't
expect was the appearance of an enormous dinosaur.
The vessel was decimated, and Interpol was left
baffled at the unprecedented event. It was discovered
that a man by the name of Dr. Shinji Mafune, shunned
by his fellow scientists 15 years earlier for
his supposedly outlandish theories, actually spoke
of a creature similar to that which was reported…
a dinosaur by the name of Titanosaurus, whom he
claimed to control. Biologist Akira Ichinose’s
journeyed with Jiro Murakoshi to Mazanura Island,
Mafune's last known residence, to investigate.
His daughter, Katsura, led them to believe that
her father had died some years earlier, but she
was obviously hiding something. In fact, Dr. Mafune
was alive and well. Aiding the maniacal schemes
of the aliens from the black hole system, the
twisted old man desired revenge against the scientific
community, which dared to ridicule his studies.
Mafune's daughter, having suffered unintentional
mortal injury from her father’s experiments
some years earlier, was revived as a cyborg by
the aliens some years ago. Indebted to the extra-terrestrial
beings, Mafune’s services were placed on
the table. With Titanosaurus' mind control almost
perfected and Mechagodzilla close to full repair,
it was apparent that all-out war was in the not-to-distant
future...
Ichinose, now confident in the
potential of Mafune's theories, began to head
an expedition to search for Titanosaurus yet again.
Katsura, whose feelings were betraying the vengeance
her father and his alien allies craved, begged
him not to go. Alas, Katsura was brainwashed into
sending Titanosaurus after the submarine, the
dinosaur’s mind control device implanted
in the girl's half-mechanical body. Fortunately,
no one was harmed, as super sonic emissions from
the vessel greatly weakened the semi-aquatic reptile.
This was not the end for the monster however,
for Mafune's mad vengeance led him to unleash
his weapon once more, in direct disobedience to
the orders of the spacemen. Titanosaurus leveled
Tokyo, and though a counteroffensive built around
the principle of amplified super sonic waves was
readied, the machine completely failed. The city
would have met its doom, had Godzilla failed to
arrive just in time. In the midst of the titanic
war, Mafune's home on Mazanura Island was raided,
and Katsura was badly injured, having plummeted
from a tall cliff. Titanosaurus, confused, retreated
into the sea.
The advanced technology of the
black hole people once again revived Katsura,
and this time, the Mechagodzilla control mechanism
was placed inside Katsura in order to effectively
create a mobile base. Mafune began to feel hesitant
about his dealings in the extermination of his
people, and these nerves were only amlified by
Ichinose’s pleas following his capture.
Nevertheless, the alien leader Mugal ordered the
release of Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus on the
world once again. The two terrors were unleashed
on Tokyo, but Godzilla appeared once more to defeat
his enemies. The savage brawl continued into the
countryside, where the feral force of the dinosaur
and the brutal onslaught of the sadistic machine
buried Godzilla under tons of rock and soil. Fortunately,
a now completed super sonic wave amplifier was
fired from a nearby helicopter, and Titanosaurus
began writhing in a fit of spasms. Godzilla rose
from the dust, defeated his reptillian foe, and
charged head on into a barrage of missiles and
beam weaponry. Grasping Mechagodzilla around its
cold, metallic neck, Godzilla decapitated his
old foe, only to reveal a searing laser turret
located between its shoulders. Godzilla would
not surrender, and finally, Mechagodzilla was
blasted into oblivion!
Meanwhile, Interpol finally raided Mafune's home,
and though Katsura was fatally wounded, Ichinose
revealed his love for her. Mugal and a handful
of his fellow aliens managed to escape via their
flying saucers, although one was blasted out of
the sky by Godzilla's thermonuclear ray. The remaining
craft fled into the cold void of space, as celebration
broke out among the humans. The threat from space
was finally thwarted, and the hero of the day,
Godzilla, could return to his home in peace.
The plot does sound a little weird,
but it in actuality, the makeup of the story seems
to be a return-to-form for Ishiro
Honda. Luckily, Honda’s own artistic
vision doesn’t detract too much from the
tale Jun
Fukuda started with his own excellent movie
one year earlier. Mechagodzilla has the same origins,
and the black hole people are still responsible
for the invasion (however, it would have been
nice to see one of them revert back into their
Planet of the Apes form again). In a
slight twist this time, Godzilla doesn’t
have an ally. While the “good-guy”
King Caesar was the third fighter in the final
fight last time, the “bad-guy” Titanosaurus
takes the role of the third monster in the climactic
battle of this movie. Possibly, it is an effort
to pit Godzilla against overwhelming odds so that
he alone is forced to conquer the enemies (well,
with help from the humans). This may have backfired
however, as Titanosaurus clearly steals the show
from the title antagonist. As far as the actual
human plot goes, it is rather dark in comparison
with the previous Showa entries. It becomes the
story of Katsura, a tragic girl-turned-cyborg;
Ichinose, the open-minded biologist who fell for
the cybernetic girl; Mafune, the vengeful shell
of a man trying to protect his daughter; and a
dying breed of aliens bent on the forced colonization
of Planet Earth. To add to the solemn nature of
this movie, Katsura, despite Ichinose and Mafune’s
efforts, dies in the end. While the plot may pan
out a little clumsily, it is still a mild downer;
and in this regard, the film lacks a little enjoyment
and rewatchability.
Concerning the real people who
play these mildly tragic roles, everyone does
an average job portraying their characters (slightly
above-average for the time). There really aren’t
any breakaway performances here, and each actor
is given the duty (whether pleasant or unpleasant)
of perpetuating common cliché’s in
their roles. Katsuhiko Sasaki becomes yet another
deadpan lead. He does show more emotion than the
stereotype for this role however, especially in
his growing affection for Tomoko Ai’s character.
Tomoko Ai’s zombie-like performance, while
her character is brainwashed, is also rather cliché;
however, her handling of the hesitant girl, torn
between love and her filial respects, is actually
pretty successful, and in these moments, she is
the best among her fellow actors. Akihiko Hirata,
as the mad scientist, is also given a role that
just screams “stereotype!”.
The I’ll-get-them-back-for-what-they’ve-done-to-me
character is just so overdone in cinema
that it is basically a mindnumbing component to
film now. Hirata does do well with what he’s
given though, and adds a level of eccentricity
that enhances the enjoyment of his performance
(although perhaps they could have done better
with the wardrobe, as I wonder how many others
think, as I do, that he looks just like Colonel
Sanders). Then, of course, there is Goro Mutsumi
and Toru Ibuki, both who play the lead black hole
aliens. Saturday-morning cartoon villain;
need I say more? They appear to have fun with
their roles, but they are cliché in this
respect. I sincerely doubt it is entirely the
fault of any of the actors though, as it appears
to be partly a matter of how their motives are
directed. Unfortunately, besides the above cast,
no one else is given a great deal of screen time,
nor a great deal of development for that matter.
The motives of Tomoe Mari’s character are
completely unclear (although that may be just
a flaw with the American editing) and while Katsumasa
Uchida manages to gain one of the top roles, he
really isn’t utilized to the right extent
for the audience to even care. The acting may
be average, but it is clear that the development
is also pretty lacking here.
To review the effects of Terror
of Mechagodzilla, I really have to admit
that it isn’t anything that we as the audience
haven’t seen before. The rotoscoping is
just about the same as the previous entry, and
the pyrotechnics are basically the norm (although
Mechagodzilla’s final explosion is pretty
spectacular). Godzilla’s suit, though a
little raggedy, is still holding up rather well…
and the heroic facial expression the monster has
donned since Godzilla
vs. Megalon (1973) is still extant (however,
there is a short sequence with what appears to
be the “Fake Godzilla” suit from the
previous movie near the end, the reasoning behind
which I’m completely ignorant). Mechagodzilla’s
suit is the same as the previous year, as well.
Titanosaurus’s design is fairly interesting,
a Gorgo-esque monster that looks fantastic at
night. Unfortunately, the sound department may
have created a blunder with the creature’s
unnervingly aggitating cackle. If you’ve
yet to see the movie for the first time, you likely
won’t be used to the cry, and you may immediately
have a less-than-flattering view of the monster.
The soundtrack, while mostly a
repetition of the few same themes throughout,
brings some great nostalgia to this final movie
of the Showa series. Though Masaru
Sato’s scores for the previous 70’s
entries were upbeat, bouncy, and very enjoyable,
it is always nice to hear the return of Akira
Ifukube’s style as well. For example,
the main theme of the movie is a grand return-to-form
for the composer, as the rhythm and tone perfectly
fits the strange plot and more importantly, the
character of Mechagodzilla. The return of Godzilla’s
famous theme is also a treat for the kaiju eiga
aficionado, as this music has drawn such an indelible
connection to the character and the franchise
over the years. A few shorter organ pieces are
also utilized throughout to great success, as
the creepy and eerie nature of these tracks matches
the twisted human drama of Mafune and Katsura’s
past brilliantly. Overall, the music here is another
slam-dunk for the maestro of the franchise.
Having yet to view the Japanese
verision of this film, I can’t really contrast
and compare versions at all. However, I can tell
that this movie is, as many claim, very butchered.
There are certain things that tend to go nowhere,
others that end too abruptly, and scene transitions
that are too quick and jarring. Nevertheless,
the Americanization of this film isn’t all
that bad, as the dubbing is actually
of acceptable quality for this particular time
period. Of course, there are problems. Some voices
appear out of place, and some dialogue, including
Mafune cheering on Titanosaurus, is pretty grin-worthy.
As always, subtitles would be prefered (one more
reason it would be worthwhile to track the original
down).
When it comes right down to it,
Terror of Mechagodzilla is probably average
as far as Godzilla movies go. It's not great,
but it's not poor either. It is still sad to think
that, adjusted for inflation, this movie netted
the worst profits of any Godzilla film. The television
revolution and economic troubles of the times
are often blamed as the culprit, but at any rate,
it is obvious that the profits (or lack thereof)
were likely the main reason that this was the
final Godzilla entry for almost a decade. The
days of the wacky Showa Timeline had come to a
close, but Terror of Mechagodzilla was
not a bad way to bring an end to an era. It can
be a fun afternoon getaway for any kaiju fan. |
(2.5/5)