Gojira tai Mekagojira (2002)AKA: Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla, Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 3
Toho Company Ltd.
Directed By: Masaaki Tezuka
Written By: Wataru Mimura
Cast:
Yumiko Shaku as Akane Yashiro
Shin Takuma as Tokumitsu Yuhara
Kana Onodera as Sara Yuhara
Koh Takasugi as JSDF Lieutenant Togashi
Yûsuke Tomoi as JSDF 2nd Lieutenant Hayama
Jun'ichi Mizuno as JSDF 1st Lieutenant Sekine
Akira Nakao as Prime Minister Hayato Igarashi
Kumi Mizuno as Prime Minister Machiko Tsuge
Takeo Nakahara as JSDF Chief Hitoyanagi
Yoshikazu Kanou as Hishinuma
Kôichi Ueda as Dobashi
Akira Shirai as Shinji Akamatsu
Midori Hagio as Kaori Yamada
Naomasa Rokudaira as Gorou Kanno
Shinji Morisue as JSDF 1st Lieutenant Hayama
Hideki Matsui as Himself
Tsutomu Kitagawa as Gojira
Hirofumi Ishigaki as Mekagojira
Makoto Kamiya - Cameo
Takehiro Murata - Cameo
Masaaki Tezuka - Cameo
Runtime: 88 Minutes
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Color: Color
Sound: Dolby Digital Surround
Released: December 14, 2002
Written By: Ken Hulsey
Early on in the decade Toho would come to Masaaki Tezuka with a proposal to direct a three movie story line in which Godzilla would fight a robot version of himself made from the remains of the original monster that terrorized Japan in 1954. These films would come to a close in an 50th anniversary film in which Godzilla would fight a clone of himself. Ultimately this final film would be scrapped for Kitamura's new vision for the monster in "Godzilla: Final Wars."
Toho had produced three other films that had featured a mechanical replica of "The King of Monsters". The first was "Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla" (Cosmic Monster / Bionic Monster) and then it's sequel "The Terror of MechaGodzilla." In both those films the cyborg was the creation of an evil race of Gorillas who intended to take over the Earth. The third would feature a MechaGodzilla that was the creation of mankind in an attempt to fend off constant attacks from Godzilla. Tezuka's creation would follow a similar storyline in that it is the Japanese Defense Force that commissions the construction of the cyborg to defend against not only a new Godzilla threat, but constant attacks from other monsters as well.
The human side of the story would revolve around a young female officer named Akane (Yumiko Shaku) who is given a second chance to prove herself after a tragic accident caused the deaths of three of her fellow officers during one of Godzilla's raids. Ultimately she would earn the respect of her fellow comrads and hours of hard work would lead to her being chosen as the pilot for the new MechaGodzilla.
Another interesting human story involves the scientist Tokumitsu , the creator of the cyborg, who falls in love with Akane and his young daughter Sara who still mourns the death of her mother and isn't quite ready for her father to start courting the lovely pilot.
Before too long Godzilla would appear and the MechaGodzilla would face it's first test. The first confrontation would end with Godzilla retreating back to the see. It would seem the monster could sense the presence of the original Godzilla inside workings of the cyborg. Godzilla would spend most of this battle looking at the MechaGodzilla with a confused look before retreating to ponder what it had seen.
Indeed this new mechanical weapon would indeed be alive in a true sense. Godzill'a roar would trigger the inner soul of the original monster to take over the machine and overide all human commands. MechaGodzilla would then turn on its human masters and blaze a trail of destruction through the city until its energy cells ran out.
The cyborg was imeadiatly overhauled to fix the problem, but would the weapon work or would it become another threat itself?
The Japanese government would have no choice, but to force their creation back into action. Godzilla would return with a vengence fueled by the desecration of his own species. The two titans would engage in mortal combat. The new MechaGodzilla would prove to be an equal match for Godzilla although the monster would destroy most of the cyborgs weapons and render it temporarily out of commission.
Akane would come to the rescue of MechaGodzilla. She would find a way into the robot and begin to communicate with the soul of the monster inside. Yes, indeed the cyborg was alive. Together they would be able to overpower Godzilla and take him far out to sea where the robot's ultimate weapon, the Absolute Zero (can freeze any object solid) is deployed. The ocean around Godzilla freezes into a giant iceberg, but the monster survives and heads out to sea. The MechaGodzilla may not have been able to destroy the menace, but Japan could now rest easy that they now possessed a weapon strong enough to repel him.
The film is by far the most superior of all the Godzilla films in the aspects of story, acting and special effects. A true triumph by the films directer Masaaki Tezuka who would turn in an equally great film in the sequel "Godzilla X Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." Fans may prefer the film "GMK", but "Godzilla X MechaGodzilla" is a better film.
Written By: Ken Hulsey
