Godzilla X Mechagodzilla (2002)

This is one of the Millennium films and it's not bad. The film did start off on the wrong foot with me by declaring Mothra a bad guy. If they got on the bad side of Mothra they had to have either been messing with her tiny twin besties or trampling the environment, but I digress.

I was impressed with the FL, Yashiro Akane. Women are often prominently featured in Godzilla movies, this time they got it right. Even though the failure of not defeating a new Godzilla with her weapon and being unable to control her vehicle leading to another vehicle getting crushed under Big G's feet were laid squarely at hers she was able to redeem herself. She was strong, smart and no damsel in distress or screamer as is usually required of women in monster movies. A welcome relief. Ultimately, she was put in charge of controlling Mechagodzilla in the fight when Godzilla returned.

Kiryu, the mechanized Godzilla, built on the 1954 Godzilla's skeleton unfortunately had some DNA memory of the destroyer unknowingly coded within it. I wasn't sure or not if this was a deliberate message that building bigger weapons of mass destruction can be as dangerous as the foe before you.

The humans in this movie were the best of any I've watched. However, the training sessions went on too long for me. I watch Godzilla movies for the monsters, not the people. The star of the show was missing for huge chunks of time as if they'd forgotten about him. Long, loving shots of the mechanized Godzilla and the soldiers' training sessions could not replace him. When he finally showed up the fights were good, but lacking in energy and urgency. It's a perfectly fine way to spend 90 minutes on a lazy Saturday afternoon, but it could have been so much better.

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At its core, this is a film about people, the relationships between people, and how they grow through those relationships... it just so happens to set to the backdrop of two giant monsters fighting.

The second and in my opinion best Godzilla film by director Masaaki Tezuka, GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA tells a story of a pilot (played by Yumiko Shaku) who seeks redemption and eventually self worth after a tragedy caused by Godzilla. The tool of her redemption: a mechanical biorobot named Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) whom is built from the bones of the original Godzilla. On this journey, Akane finds reason to have self worth and redeem her life in her eyes due to the interactions she has with her teammates, friends, and a mysterious child named Sara (played by Kana Onodera, in the best child performance in a Godzilla film) with a tragic past of her own. All the while, her superiors and the Prime Minister must deal with the fallout and struggles of maintaining Kiryu in the face of potential failure and the ever-present danger of Godzilla.

With great effects and action by Yuichi Kikuchi, a cast of lovable and developed characters, a well paced and interesting story by Wataru Mimura, and a fantastic and beautiful score by Michiru Oshima, GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA is a well made, optimistic, and at times poignant entry in the franchise that is about how precious and important every life is and how the people around us can often shape us to be better people.

In my opinion the very best entry in the Godzilla franchise.

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