Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

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LSD Jellyfish
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

eabaker wrote:
LSD Jellyfish wrote:
Major sssspielberg! wrote:Megaguiris is mad underrated!
Yeah, barring Mothra, easily the coolest insect Kaiju.
I also liked how they brought back the Meganulon. I wish they did something similar with Matango.

One thing that always bothered me though is how Megaguirus only has one big scene on screen, and then the final fight. I get that the Meganulon turn into Megaguirus, but I wish the creature had more screentime independent of Godzilla in order to develop more. Also it sortve bothers me how Megaguirus just leaves, only to randomly come back when Godzilla shows up. I guess the easy implication is that Megaguirus sensed the energy in Godzilla?
Essentially, Megaguirus is the b-plot of the movie. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is one of the few Godzilla movies that's really driven by the actions/choices of its human protagonists (Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Biollante also leap to mind). When the humans are really the ones instigating the plot, sometimes the enemy monsters get reduced to plot complications is more of a Godzilla vs. people story. Megaguirus just didn't make its monster central enough to the action, so she got short-changed.
Yeah. I would say that the dimension Tide is actually the bigger threat of the movie to Godzilla.

The first “fight” with the Meganula is actually interrupted by the dimension tide.

Also, the Japanese title makes more sense because it includes the dimension tide. It makes the film seem more about then Godzilla fighting Megaguirus.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Grievous »

Major sssspielberg! wrote:Megaguiris is mad underrated!
Anguirus is mad underrated...

Megaguirus is just kind of awkward...and annoying.

The Meganulon are great though.
LSD Jellyfish wrote:Yeah, barring Mothra, easily the coolest insect Kaiju.
Yeah...No.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

Fellas, I was talking about the movie actually but...
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

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Major sssspielberg! wrote:Fellas, I was talking about the movie actually but...
Oh...
Major sssspielberg! wrote:Big facts Grievous, big facts.
Thanks?
Major sssspielberg! wrote:Also about Legion too but I'm too lazy to skreeonk with the quote any more....
Oh...don't be like that.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Jeff-Goldblum2 »

At least we can all agree that the Godzilla score from the Megaguirus and Kiryu films is one of the best ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4ZVvlKmqsg

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by eabaker »

Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:At least we can all agree that the Godzilla score from the Megaguirus and Kiryu films is one of the best ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4ZVvlKmqsg
I mean, they're really good scores, but the Godzilla series has a long history of really good scores. :)
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Jeff-Goldblum2 »

I just think it's cool that they managed to come up with different music that sounds like a definitive Godzilla theme even though Godzilla already has definitive theme music.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by MechaGoji Bro7503 »

Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:I just think it's cool that they managed to come up with different music that sounds like a definitive Godzilla theme even though Godzilla already has definitive theme music.
Yeah I agree. Miss Oshima really knocked it outa the park.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Titanoterror98 »

It's harmless fun, but I feel it has a lot concepts that ended up underdeveloped, the subpar effects betray an otherwise unique monster and story, and in a way it just feels unfinished. It does make me want to se Megaguirus make a comeback as a more lifelike speedster monster, as well as a return for the Dimension Tide, and more kaiju movies set during natural disasters like flooding. There are some ideas in here, in regards story and character, that I feel Tezuka refined in Against Mechagodzilla such as the vengeful military women struggling to overcome grief and take revenge against Godzilla while climbing back up the ranks in an anti-kaiju organization, as well as being a Godzilla with it's own unique timeline. That said, among the things that still bug me (pun honestly not intended) about this movie, there's the kid who just disappears up until the twist ending without really learning anything, the whole energy reactor scandal (interesting in concept, but it felt like all they were saying was Godzilla hates clean energy no matter how responsibly you use it), Megaguirus being practically ignored by the cast and plot for most of the movie, and Hajime's character who is uninteresting at best and a bit of a weirdo at worst. (Nothing wrong with being attracted to cool girls, but you might not want to use their likenesses for your stuff without their permission. Just sayin'.)
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Terasawa »

In an interview in G-Fan issue 40 or 50 something or other, Wataru Mimura said he and Hiroshi Kashiwabara each wrote one half of their Godzilla scripts (this and G2K). I assume he meant one of them wrote the first half of the story and the other finished it, but since it was translated from Japanese who knows. If that's the case though, I think that would explain the strange plotting in this movie. It definitely seems like an inefficient way to break a story to me.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Gojirawars 03 »

Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:At least we can all agree that the Godzilla score from the Megaguirus and Kiryu films is one of the best ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4ZVvlKmqsg
While obviously, nothing beats good old Akira Ifukube, Michiru Oshima is probably my second favorite composer in the franchise. Her music in the Millenium films was tremendous. Her Godzilla theme is nearly as iconic for me as Ifukube's, and her shrill violin music for Megaguirus' theme? Actually gave me chills in what would otherwise be a pretty funny looking scene (the scene in which the Meganula are all clung to that one building and are all rendered masterfully in stunning early 2000's CGI). Kiryu's theme from GxMG and G:TSOS is pretty good, though I still prefer Ifukube's Mechagodzilla themes from ToMG and GvsMG2. But Mothra's theme in Tokyo SOS? It's probably my favorite theme for Mothra (that's not the fairy song, obviously). One of my favorite parts of Tokyo SOS's score is when Mothra appears and has her first fight with Godzilla.


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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by GodzillaRangerPrime »

This film was a well needed breath of fresh air from the bland Okawara reign on the Godzilla films.

It also kinda felt like a prototype version of the Kiryu-Verse.

I wish it had attempted to be in-continuity with G2000
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Gothicserpent »

Just watched it. Honestly its a good entry to the series.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by GojiDog »

I have plenty of issues with this entry, but I kind of like its overall take of being a little sillier and being a little nuttier as almost a callback to the 70s.

I mean once a film introduces a Black Hole gun, all bets are off and you're either on board with the insanity, or you're not.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by UltramanGoji »

I used to think this was one of the worst in the series but after watching it, it wasn’t too bad.

I liken it to Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla in that it’s not something mind-blowing but it’s an enjoyable romp for an hour or so. There’s a lot of zaniness as GojiDog said, especially in the final battle. Godzilla and Megaguirus have some great personalities in this one and I like seeing Godzilla fighting a faster enemy. There’s an assortment of great individual scenes in this one too such as the opening newsreel montage and subsequent 1996 fight with Godzilla, the Godzilla vs Meganula scene, and my personal favorite: Kiriko planting the transmitter on Godzilla.

If I had any gripes, it would probably be the characters as it always seems to be with the later entries in the franchise. They’re serviceable but nobody really stands out, including Kiriko. I know she came first but she just kind of feels like a more brash Akane from GXMG. I’ll be watching that next so I’ll compare the two in greater detail then. Also Sugiura’s reveal of the plasma energy project at the end didn’t really have much impact and felt more like the writers forgot to have a solid conclusion to the earlier scene with him and the chess board.

Not perfect but still enjoyable.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by cloverfan98 »

I definitely prefer G2000 and GMK to this but I'd say this is better than the Kiryu films. Especially since GxMG is essentially a remake of this film. It's a very fun movie with a terrific score but I do have some issues mainly with Dimension Tide. In their attempts to destroy Godzilla they recreate Godzilla a second time with Megaguirus being revived thanks to DT but no character ever realizes that. Its a powerful idea that never goes anywhere in the film.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

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Anyone who's read my previous posts in this topic could tell you I'm a huge critic of this film, but after watching it earlier this month (along with a few of the other Millennium entries I've "neglected" in recent years) I thought it was a bit better than I'd remembered. I still think the movie could and should function better without Megaguirus or the Meganulon, and while watching it I actually made some mental notes on what I'd cut or change if I were to do a fan edit along those lines. I was worried that doing so would render the first Dimension Tide against Godzilla sequence on Kiganjima totally incomprehensible, but I think at worst that scene would just play out very, very quickly. I think the dearth of footage would mean the final edited version would play at the tempo of a Champion Festival Godzilla edit, which is unfortunately faster than I envision it. Ah well, I may do it in my free time just for the hell of it.

I do like Megaguirus but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. I appreciate more now what Kenji Suzuki tried to do with her by using digital techniques to make her appear much faster than previous monsters, but it's not a very convincing technique. I think Suzuki in his three kaiju films as SFX director relied too much on digital effects that his crew hadn't yet mastered and as a result his films have a very dated look to them, even more so than the Kawakita films or the later Millennium movies. But I will say that the title match in this film is at least entertaining and a huge improvement over the bore that was Godzilla vs. Orga.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by MaxRebo320 »

So yeah, I guess you can add me to the club of people who rewatched this recently and didn't hate it. But is a fundamentally flawed film, no doubt.

It is true that Megaguirus has little barring on the main plot of making Godzilla disappear up his own buttholeBlack Hole, but instead of removing her/them, I'd just opt to increase their role. The whole element of Tokyo being flooded leaves barely any impact. Why not showcase the amount of damage/casualties such an incident could/would cause? The movie doesn't even really touch up on that. And as tacky as the sequence with one killing the drunk couple is (It feels like a parody of kill scenes in bad horror movies), maybe show more victims of the Meganulon. They're not bad adversaries, just lack severely in threat-level. And when it comes time for Tsujimori to use the Dimension Tide, make her have to chose between the lesser of two evils - Godzilla or Megaguirus. It doesn't wind up containing Godzilla in the actual movie, anyways.

And yeah, I am still kind of annoyed at it being another reboot and not just following Godzilla 2000. The whole aspect of Japan investing in alternative energy sources IS interesting, but also doesn't really have a whole lot of barring on the main plot (And the "twist" at the end with the plasma energy feels very tacked-on), and I feel with just a bit of re-writing, could be done following G2K's events. The character of Kudo is also pretty bad, and is completely unbelievable as a computer genius (Or whatever), though he isn't in it quite enough to ruin the movie.

It's still one of the weakest films in the series, but I don't know, I guess I went in with really low expectations, and was somewhat pleasantly surprised, even if is in dire need of work. But I did enjoy Megaguirus quite a bit more than I did GMK, so there's that.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Post by Terasawa »

MaxRebo320 wrote:It is true that Megaguirus has little barring on the main plot of making Godzilla disappear up his own buttholeBlack Hole, but instead of removing her/them, I'd just opt to increase their role. The whole element of Tokyo being flooded leaves barely any impact. Why not showcase the amount of damage/casualties such an incident could/would cause? The movie doesn't even really touch up on that.
That's one thing I really don't get about the movie. A flooded Shibuya is a neat concept that has never been explored in any fiction I'm aware of. With Godzilla being amphibious, it makes sense to have him entered a flooded city, either for more chaos or in battle with another monster.

This was one of the first Godzilla movies whose production I followed from its announcement, and I remember the flooding of Shibuya was emphasized in pre-release promotion. I was very surprised the first time I saw the movie that Godzilla never once enters the flooded portion of the city. It just seems like a huge missed opportunity. It would have allowed Godzilla to fight Megaguirus on his own terms and could have been an exciting conclusion to their battle. Had I written the thing I probably would have had Megaguirus widely outmatch Godzilla in the first "round" in Odaiba, only for Megaguirus to head towards Shibuya. Godzilla would win round 2 when Megaguirus wasn't able to use its speed against Godzilla underwater. Maybe even put the clean energy facility in Shibuya to give both monsters a reason to be there? In the finished film it just seems like logical plotting was thrown out and a bunch of set pieces were very loosely strung together with little thought.
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