GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA II
Director: Tokao Okawara
Genre: Kaiju eiga
The Heisei series marches on with Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II, which is in no way a sequel to Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla. As part of their then-plan to reinvent their classic kaiju, Toho brings back the popular Mechagodzilla, who was introduced at the end of the Showa movies. Also returning is Rodan, a popular monster both from his own movie and numerous appearances in Godzilla's 1960's movies. Toho even sort of brings back Minya in the form of Baby Godzilla.
One of the cool things about the Heisei series is that it features a rather tight continuity and events from previous movies have an impact on later films. In GVMII, scientists salvage the remains of Mecha King Ghidorah (who was created by the Futurians as a Godzilla deterrent but defeated at the end of Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah) and use his remains to construct a new mechanical Godzilla-like mecha as the ultimate weapon to defeat the King of the Monsters.
Meanwhile, explorers on a remote island discover what appears to be a giant dinosaur egg. They attempt to remove the egg but are attacked by Rodan and then Godzilla. Both monsters battle until Rodan is defeated. During the fight, the egg is removed and taken to Tokyo for study. The egg hatches revealing an infant Godzillasaurus (the remnant dinosaur species that became Godzilla when exposed to nuclear testing in the 1940's).
Mechagodzilla then engages Godzilla for the first time and is able to give Godzilla a run for his money for a while, but Goji ultimately prevails against his metal doppleganger. In preparing for their next attack on Godzilla, scientist discover that Baby Godzilla has a second brain near his tail that handles lower body functions. The scientists plan to use this weakness to disable Godzilla so that their new mecha can finish him off once and for all.
The Defense Force decides to use Baby Godzilla as bait to lure the adult, but instead they attract Rodan, who had developed a protective bond with the egg. Rodan engages the giant robot but is defeated. Godzilla finally arrives and the plan works when Mechagodzilla manages to injure Goji''s second brain, paralyzing him. Rodan comes to Godzilla's rescue and with his last strength manages to transfer his energy to Godzilla, repairing his damage and allowing him to defeat Mechagodzilla, rescue BabyGodzilla and swim off to safety.
Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II is a decent entry to the series but actually poses more questions than it answers. What's up with there being a second Godzillasaurus? If Godzilla has a such an accessible weak spot why is it never mentioned again? The presence of Rodan is never really explained, he's just sort of found hanging around the Godzillasaurus egg. While it's great to see him, the movie could have done a better job introducing him and offering some sort of explanation for his presence.
THE MONSTERS/EFFECTSWhile Godzilla is little changed from he previous 1990's outings, the film does offer three re-invented kaiju to marvel at. The best of the three is the redesigned Mechagodzilla, who trades his primitive bolts-and-plates look for a sleek and curvy redesign. This Mechagodzilla looks like more of a sports car than a tank. But don't let his make-over deceive you, like his predecessor, Mechagodzilla is one of the most powerful kaiju of his time, with some very impressive weaponry, including a pair of shock cables, numerous missiles and laser cannons, a shock beam in his mouth, and a chest-mounted plasma grenade launcher. On top of all that, he is able to combine with the battle ship Garuda, which connects to his back and gives him additional firepower and booster rockets.
Rodan also gets a bit of a makeover in GVMII, for the first time being portrayed wholly by a puppet as opposed to a suitmation actor. Without the actor inside, Rodan is able to be portrayed a little more pterodactyl-like than previous version. Also, his head has been redesigned to accommodate a longer beak and he is given a third horn. Overall, the puppet has been given a more realistic color scheme and detailing, such as the appearance of veins in Rodan's wings.
This version has been dubbed Fire Rodan because of his uranium beam, and he is one of the more powerful versions of the character. Sadly, Fire Rodan still suffers from the limits of the technology used at the time and the flying sequences are less than convincing. Kaiju moves wouldn't get the flying effect right for another six years in Gamera III. Rodan's presence in the movie seems like a bit of an after thought and I have a feeling that his role might have been written for Mothra.
The other creature is Baby Godzilla who manages to be slightly more appealing than his hated Showa predecessor. It's actually kind of interesting that this movie was released the same year as Jurassic Park, in which the way dinosaurs were portrayed on screen would be forever changed. Baby Godzilla is realized with a man in a pretty awful dinosaur suit. Designwise, Baby G is meant to look "cute" and, like Minya, he is barely recognizable as being from the same species as Godzilla. Luckily, by the time we get to the end of the Heisei movies, he starts to look more like his adopted father. It may be heresy to say, but the American Godzilla did actually surpass the Japanese movies in the way it handled the baby Godzillas. They were mean little bastards as soon as they came out of those eggs.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
Both battles with Mechagodzilla are quite good. This version of the character really gives Godzilla a good fight.
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY
Available in a bare-bones DVD.
TRAILER
Patrick Garone
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Author of City of the Gods: The Return of Quetzalcoatl
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