Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)


What sets the Millennium Era of Godzilla films apart from the preceding ones is that there was no set story.  Godzilla 2000: Millennium had one major goal and that was for Toho to redeem their property after the disastrous Godzilla that American audiences were given courtesy of Roland Emmerich.  It served its purpose, although it ended with Godzilla, having defeated the alien Orga, proceeding to lay waste to Japan as the credits rolled.  Despite having a fair bit of humor throughout it was a downer of an ending.

Instead of following on from that Godzilla vs. Megaguiras takes us to an alternate universe.  In this one Godzilla attacked and destroyed Tokyo in 1954.  Despite a massive rebuilding effort the decision was made to relocate the capital to Osaka.  However, the big guy attacked again in 1966, destroying the country's first nuclear plant.  Looking for some other source of clean energy, by 1996 the country developed plasma energy, but that again caught Godzilla's attention.  That is where the story for this one starts.

During Godzilla's attack in 1996 a young soldier named Kiriko Tsujimori (Misato Tanaka) barely survives the encounter.  Unfortunately, her commanding officer dies.  She makes it her life's work to find a way to rid the world of Godzilla (Tsutomo Kitagawa).  In 2001 she is Major Tsujimori, the top officer of G-Graspers, an organization run by Motohiko Sugiura (Masatô Ibu) to find a permanent solution to Godzilla.  At the behest of her lead scientist Yoshino Yoshizawa (Yuriko Hoshi) she taps a young man named Kudo (Shôsike Tanihara) who has a knack for miniaturizing existing technology and making it more efficient.

What they need miniaturized is a black hole.  The plan is to create a small one that can be shot at Godzilla, forever trapping him outside our dimension.  Initial tests are promising but they also cause a time/space rift that lets through giant dragonflies, called Meganula, from the carboniferous era.  When a young boy (Toshiyuki Nagashima) brings one of the eggs to Tokyo and dumps it in the sewer it proves the ideal breeding ground for the creatures, who soon emerge in great numbers to munch on citizens and annoy Godzilla, who has popped up again.  With the big guy once again on the rampage it's time to see if the weapon worked as advertised.

This is a unique entry as its lead characters are quite memorable.  They aren't just around to spout lines in between monster action but are involved throughout.  There is some of the usual government drama with corrupt officials hiding things that can get all of Japan trampled, but that's par for the course.  This is heavy on the human element so it's important we have characters that stand out.

Godzilla himself is mainly seen in flashbacks for a good portion of the film, but when he arrives in 2001 it is well done.  There is more model and miniature usage in this movie than there was in Godzilla 2000: Millennium, but somehow the miniature cityscapes of the 1950s and 1960s still looked much better than this.  Too much of it looks like toys.  The Godzilla suit, however, is one of the best, and there is a great scene where Tsujimoro briefly hops on to the big reptile.  

Unfortunately too many of the effects don't work.  The CGI for the black hole gun is pretty good, but for the satellite it's launched form (which is partially a practical model) it's not.  The Meganula, in dragonfly form, are also a combination.  Unfortunately, what is supposed to be a frightening shot of them swarming a building in Tokyo has about the same impact as the grasshoppers scaling the Chrysler Building in Beginning of the End.  It's laughable rather than frightening, and the majority of digital effects in this are the same way.

Besides a good framing story this does have a great final battle between the title characters, the latter being a sort of dragonfly queen that can create ultrasonic sound frequencies with her wings, destroying property and knocking out communications.  It's a decent design even if the aerodynamics are just as wrong as they are with Mothra.  

The idea of making standalone Godzilla films was a good one.  Although there are several issues, and the very end seems a bit muddled, it's still quite fun and proves that there is room for more than just guys in rubber suits clobbering one another in these films. 

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Time: 105 minutes
Starring: Misato Tanaka, Shôsuke Tanihara, Masatô Ibu, Tsutomu Kitagawa, Minoru Watanabe
Director: Masaaki Tezuka

 

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