Godzilla X Mechagodzilla
Reviewed by James Delli-Bovi

Opening with Godzilla savagely attacking the Chiba coastline during a thunderous typhoon storm, we are first introduced to Akane Yashiro, a plucky young member of the Maritime SDF operating one of the very impressive Maser Tanks in order to keep Godzilla at bay. All seems to be going well enough when dealing with rampaging giants but after witnessing the brutal results of an Atomic Ray up close, Yashiro reverses her tank in a fearful panic stricken retreat, accidentally knocking a second jeep over a cliff and leaving the wounded occupants at the hands, or feet to be more exact, of an unmerciful Godzilla. The screen fades black and titles appear marking this as one of the most impressive kaiju introductions seen so far.

Not going into too much detail to avoid spoilers, the rest of the film centers around the military using DNA extracted from the bones of the dead 1954 Godzilla to create the ultimate badass anti-Godzilla weapon so far, the new and improved MechaGodzilla nicknamed Kiryu. However during their first showdown at Kawasaki something goes dangerously wrong and the metallic beast momentarily goes berserk, unleashing his full arsenal of missiles and lasers against the surrounding civilians before running out of power after most of the city is destroyed, Godzilla is quick to make his retreat into the waters while his mechanical counterpart stands lifeless against a magnificent sunset. Both military and scientists work hard to resolve this tragic flaw.

At this point in the film more of the human elements have a chance to evolve, Dr. Yahara, one of the main scientists behind the creation of MechaGodzilla works hard to remove any chance of the machine running amok ever again while at the same time trying to reassure his young daughter that not all hope is lost. Yashiro is still struggling to earn her teammates respect and to find some self worth to her own life while the newly elected Prime Minister is determined not to fail in the eyes of the Japanese public and other nations. There is much more detail to this of course but as a general plot outline you should get the idea of what is going on.

The third and final battle sees a now fixed MechaGodzilla unleashing hell upon our beloved Godzilla, salvos of missiles shoot and the magnificent Absolute Zero Cannon fires, the beasts literally tear the city apart as they bite, tear, push and throw each other all over the place! After a tense power failure due to a misfired absolute zero blast, Yashiro lands to personally pilot a refueled MechaGodzilla in a battle determined to succeed, pushing Godzilla out into the sea for a brutal showdown amidst the waves. The Absolute Zero Cannon fires, water turns to ice, only one monster walks away. Credits roll as the sun rises over a devastated land.

That was the plot but how were the kaiju? The new Godzilla looks impressive enough, he now loses those perfect soulless GMK eyes and his head does look slightly odd but the worst thing is his lack of any mobility. For example at one point MechaGodzilla must have fired at least 20 missiles at him, all of them perfect hits but Godzilla does not even flinch, sure he is supposed to be the king of monsters but some sort of reaction would have been nice. He looks more lost than aggravated. On the other hand MechaGodzilla also looks great but often wobbles about far too much, it seems like the beasts have mixed up each others movements, the living one is mechanical and the mechanical one is living! His weapons and abilities more than make up for it though, this version of our old friend can now glide over the skies, jump high into the air, crouch to avoid attack and dash at amazingly ferocious speeds. You will never fail to be impressed with his abilities, trust me on this, you never know what to expect next.

The special effects are very polished, maybe even better than GMK and we get a nice variety of weather effects unleashed upon the cast such as rainstorms, sunsets and even snow, the small details go a long way in making big impressions in this case. However it has to be said there are times when MechaGodzilla looks very Bandai figure like but seconds later will have you gasping after witnessing some spectacular move or another, the same goes for many of the planes and vehicles too, they can look cheap at times but impress quite often. As for the score, the new sound track is perfect in my book, lots of booming military style themes for MechaGodzilla and eerie threatening beats for Godzilla himself. Godzilla also sounds more reptilian type this time, letting out guttural groans and snorts as he surveys his damage.

Overall this is a great installment in the Godzilla series, fans will no doubt argue between this and GMK for the top spot but Godzilla x MechaGodzilla is an exciting action packed fun filled movie that deserves all the good credit it gets. The ending also paves a way for a sequel too!