Leadup to Minus Zero Rewatch – Entry 14 – Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
It’s clear from the last few films that the Godzilla series was in a rough spot during the 70s. Budgets were low, productions were rushed, and what was produced, though fun, is undeniably of a lower quality than those kaiju classics of the 60s. But the 20^(th) Anniversary of the series was coming up, and I am so glad that they made the right move and gave this movie the care and resources it needed to be worthy of the occasion. I was nervous at first, as I didn’t remember much of this movie going into it, and I thought that it would perhaps be cut from the same cloth as the past few films, and that it’s well remembered status was merely due to a particular fondness by fans. Well, my fears were misplaced, because Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla absolutely deserves to be counted among the best of the 60s Godzilla films. But first, as always, a plot review.
On Okinawa, descendant of the royal Azumi family receives a frightening vision of a monster attacking and destroying humanity. Two brothers, Keisuke and Masahiko, witness this unsettling occurrence, and afterwards both discover puzzling things; Masahiko finds an odd piece of metal in Gyokusendo Cave, and after taking it to Professor Hideto Miyajima near a recently earthquake afflicted Mount Fuji, determines it to be a kind of “space-titanium”, while Masahiko discovers a hidden cave, and joined by archaeologist Saeko, find a mural describing a prophecy of signs in the sky pointing to a clash of monsters, and a statue of the Azumi guardian monster. To learn more about the mural, Saeko and Keisuke travel to Tokyo to visit Professor Wakura, but on the way they see the first of the signs and encounter a suspicious man that claims to be a freelance reporter with an interest in the statue. In Tokyo, another man breaks into Wakura’s house, and attempts to steal the statue, but is fought off by Keisuke. The next day, Mount Fuji explodes and expels a giant rock that burst to reveal an uncharacteristically malicious Godzilla. After “Godzilla” deliberately destroying several buildings, an earthquake causing Anguirus bursts from the ground to intercept it, but it violently dispatches poor Anguirus, who retreats underground. Keisuke races to the scene to join his brother, but in the debris, he finds a piece of metal, which he takes to Miyajima and Masahiko, and they determine it to be the same “space-titanium” as before. Miyajima is suspicious of this Godzilla, so he, the two brothers and Ikuko, his daughter, got to Tokyo as it destroys an oil refinery port. To their surprise, the real Godzilla arrives and does battle with the imposter, which reveals itself to be Mechagodzilla, an alien weapon designed to mimic Earth’s greatest monster. Their evenly matched strength comes to a head when they beam lock, wounding a now bloodied Godzilla and damaging Mechagodzilla’s controls, and is summoned back to the alien’s base. Miyajima deduces that they will find clues on this new monster in Gyokusendo Cave. Instead of clues, he, Masahiko and Ikuko find the aliens themselves, spacemen of the Black Hole Planet 3, who enlist Miyajima’s help in repairing Mechagodzilla by holding Masahiko and Ikuko hostage, and orders their agent to retrieve the statue of King Caesar before anyone can use it to awaken the guardian monster.
Meanwhile, to throw off the alien agent, Keisuke and Saeko take the cruise ship Queen Coral to Okinawa. The agent, however, is on their trail, and steals the statue. Keisuke anticipated this, and attacks and pursues the agent. In the scuffle, the agent is shot and reveals it’s ape-like form, and turns the tables on Keisuke. But before Keisuke would meet his demise, the agent is mysteriously shot and tumbles overboard into the sea. Saeko joins Keisuke, who tells her that the stolen statue shared the same fate as it’s thief. They’re also joined by the “freelance reporter”, who makes a vague comment and leaves. On arriving at Okinawa, Keisuke surprises Saeko with the revelation that the stolen statue was a fake, and the real one was safe. Keisuke learns that the others haven’t been seen in a few days, and after asking Saeko to wait in the hotel room for him, leaves for the caves to find them. He finds an abandoned pipe belonging to Miyajima, which can destroy electronics. But he’s discovered by an alien, who is then shot by the mysterious reporter, who reveals himself to be an INTERPOL agent, named Nanbara. They infiltrate the base and rescue the others from their execution, fooling the aliens by faking their deaths, and join Saeko. Here, they split off again, with Keisuke, Saeko and Ikuko going to Azumi castle to awaken King Caesar, while Miyajima, Masahiko and Nanbara return to the alien base to destroy it. The aliens have not been idle however, and launch Mechagodzilla with the goal of destroying King Caesar before he’s awakened. They also capture the three heroes and restrain them, forced to witness Mechagodzilla’s rampage. Nami, a member of the Azumi royal family, prays and sings to awaken King Caesar, who bursts from a headland and races to intercept Mechagodzilla. He reflects Mechagodzilla’s laser beams but is overwhelmed by it’s missles. A healed and charged up Godzilla arrives to save the day, and the two Earth monsters fight the mechanical adversary. Godzilla shows off his new ability, gained from repeated lightning strikes earlier in the story, an electromagnetic force-field which he uses to pull in Mechagodzilla and rip it’s head off. The aliens are stunned at the weapon’s defeat, and even more stunned when, after picking his locks, Nanbara takes Miyajima’s pipe and throws the two ends at the control panel, destroying it an setting off the base’s self-destruct sequence. Our heroes escape and reunite, King Caesar returns to his cliff-side home and reseals himself, while Godzilla, as always swims off back into the ocean.
Whew! The fact that I had to split up the plot review into two sections should evidence how much of a greater product this movie is than the past few films. The best way I can describe it is that it takes the more complex plots of the 60s movies and the faster, more consistent pace of the 70s and puts to together to make one of the best films since the early Showa era.
So, why? What did this movie do that previous films didn’t? Well for one, apparently the budget was increased, and it shows (although, sources vary, and it’s difficult to get a consistent number). The effects are stronger, particularly the explosions and sparks, which are used well to illustrate Mechagodzilla’s power. Speaking of Mechagodzilla, there’s a reason why this monster is apart of Toho’s “Big five” (Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla). This is the best Mechagodzilla design, even till today, and it’s packed with weapons and other cool gadgets. Godzilla himself has a slightly improved suit, forgoing the “cookie monster” friendliness of the past movie in favour of a more neutral and animalistic appearance. And as for King Caesar, while he’s well designed and has characterful movements, there’s a reason why he’s far less popular than the titular monster (in the negatives section). Even aside from the monsters, there are far more varied locations, the sets feel larger than they actually are and don’t wobble when touched (looking at you, ‘vs. Gigan). As always, Jun Fukuda brings is energetic directing style in full force, enhanced by an extremely memorable score by Masaru Sato. This will be the last Godzilla film they worked on, and it’s good looking back knowing that they delivered a movie worthy of their send off.
But that’s not the only good aspect of the film. Obviously, there’s the story, which as I’ve said earlier, is much more complex than previous films. There is mystery, intrigue, and fun characters to follow. The thing that really gives the film a sense of validation more so than other 70’s Godzilla films is returning cast members Akihiko Hirata, of Dr. Serizawa fame and Hiroshi Koizumi, most notable from Mothra vs Godzilla, who’s presence makes the film feel like another of the early Showa era films. And like those earlier films, there is a somewhat large cast of main characters to follow the story with, but most notable is Nanbara, who just oozes 70s dark and cool, while also reminding me of Anton Chigurh from the film adaptation of No Country for Old Men, especially before he’s revealed to be a good guy. And regarding the plot, the twists and turns are, while expected, give the film a fun flavour. I especially love the contrast between the alien and futuristic bad guys with the historical, archaeological aims of the good guys, not to mention the fact that the MacGuffin of the film is a giant Shisa dog, which is awesome.
But it’s not perfect. Unlike the very best of the series, it has no real themes, or at least, one that I picked up on other than the previously mentioned futuristic/industrial vs tradition/cultural idea. I can firmly say the original is about the fears of nuclear destruction, that ‘vs King Kong was a criticism of the advertising industry, among others, but with ‘vs Mechagodzilla, it’s about Godzilla (plus a big shisa dog) fighting Mechagodzilla. The movie moves at a generally good pace, except for right before the final fight, when the movie suddenly takes a long break for a 70s pop song, which is supposed to be the traditional chant to awaken King Caesar, but it’s not convincing in the slightest. Fine song on it’s own though, but it drastically slows the pace only for it to pick up immediately after. And the whole plot with King Caesar is arbitrarily linked with the Mechagodzilla plot, without giving a reason why. And ultimately, while the build up to King Caesar’s appearance was strong, he doesn’t really do much other than reflect a few lasers, throw some punches and cower behind a rock. That that these are bad in of themselves, but these beats aren’t paced in a way that makes King Caesar very impressive, as he should. Ah well.
So in conclusion, I can comfortably say that this is a pretty great Godzilla movie. It’s fast and fun, with plenty of action and intrigue, and redeems the 70’s Godzilla movie run. It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t aim to do much else besides show what’s in the title, but it’s still counted among some of the best of the series.
Next week is Terror of Mechagodzilla, the last Showa era film and the last film to be directed by Ishiro Honda, the original director and creative visionary for the series. So will it live up to his previous entries, or is there a good reason why the series went on ice for nearly a decade? We’ll have to wait and see.