Kaiju Friday: Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)


Plot Summary

 Aliens intend to take over the planet and, just in case Godzilla tries to interfere, have built a mechanical version of him to put an end to his interference. The Earth humans summon the legendary King Caesar to assist Godzilla in the battle.

The summary here skimps on many of the details but that's okay because I don't really want to spoil too much of this movie as Toho actually spent a good deal of money, went back to a more serious tone AND told a good story for Godzilla's 20th anniversary film. So rather than going through this like I normally would I'll just note some of elements and cool things that make this movie so good.

1. The story: This was a well crafted movie from beginning to end though the way Godzilla beats Mechagodzilla is a bit of a deus ex machina that I didn't quite like but otherwise the story has a ton going for it. This movie features action, adventure dealing with an ancient prophecy and James Bond/spy type elements with the Interpol agent keeping tabs on our heroes throughout the film. There is literally no fat to this script as Mechagodzilla shows up 20 minutes into a 1 hr 24 minute film. 
2.  The Villains: Unlike the last couple Godzilla movies the villains here are a lot better than what we've gotten lately. Mechagodzilla is controlled by a commander of ape men ready to conquer the earth. Of course, for much of the movie they take on human shape. I have to give credit to Goro Matsumi who played the commander as he had great presence. He walked around like he owned the place and was villainous without going over the top. Having a more or less serious, rational kind of villain heightens the tension much better than a concept that's goofy or an outright goofy villain. 
3. The monsters: As you can see with that DVD cover Mechagodzilla is one cool looking monster! King Caesar was a lion type monster but he really didn't do too much other than getting his ass handed to him by MG. He didn't look nearly as cool but still it was a far better sight than some of the monsters i've seen lately. They used the same Godzilla suit as the one from the previous film but they altered the head and gave him a more serious look what with his frown/scowl and sharper teeth. The movie has some really great fight scenes such as Godzilla's first scrap with MG in an industrial area where they pummel each other while the place is going down in flames. There's also a fight scene earlier where MG disguised as Godzilla beats Anguirus within an inch of his life even pulling his jaws and drawing some serious blood. As I said earlier, the big finale was pretty good but the ending was a bit of a cop out but otherwise this was monster mayhem at its best! 

This would be Jun Fukuda's last Godzilla film. He had a wildly up and down tenure as a Godzilla director but I can honestly say he went out with a bang. This was the quintessential Godzilla film and I have to say probably the best of the '70s flicks.

This gets a solid **** stars from me.