Griever_2112 Ichinose of the Oceanic Institute is brought into a deadly accident. A submarine searching for the head of Mechagodzilla is destroyed by a "giant dinosaur" aided by his friend Murakoshi from Interpol to find a scientist, Dr. Mafune, who specializes in dinosaurs, only to find his daughter and that he is dead.Or so they think. Dr Mafune is working with the Alien Race who built Mechagodzilla, and is in control of a giant dinosaur, the Titanosaurus. When Titanosaurus is released into a populated area, it is met by the defender of Japan, Godzilla, who is able to hold off Titanosaurus until it is called back. Now the Aliens reveal that MEchagodzilla is rebuilt and ready for action. Godzilla mus face not only the new threat of Titanosaurus, but the destructive Mechagodzilla once more...and this time he is on his own.

Michael A. Martinez Toho realized something after their abysmal GODZILLA VS. MEGALON and hence were smart enough to put a bit more effort into their subsequent two films. GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA suffered from a lot of the same 70's goofiness of the previous films and some serious pacing issues, but overall was certainly a step in the right direction.Wisely, Toho decided to go old-school with the sequel and brought back Inoshiro Honda to direct and Akira Ifukube to compose one of his best musical scores yet for the series. The result certainly brings this film a level of class lacking in most of the Godzilla films following VS. MOTHRA though unfortunately there's a lot of silliness yet to be had.Plotwise we get the same tired old formula of aliens plotting to conquer earth with a monster (or two this time - Titanosaurus makes for an interesting newcomer) aided by a mad scientist hot for revenge against "those fools". Fortunately, Godzilla is out to stop them but isn't in full-blown hero mode. Instead, Godzilla seems to be fighting them more out of the fact that he's just plain pi**ed off, and he's got an impressive new suit to show it.Effects-wise you have to understand that Teruyoshi Nakano was working at 1/3 to 1/2 the budget of what his mentor Tsuburaya had to work with, so in that respect his work is quite impressive. This film features a triumphant return of the city-stomp with a show-stopping sequence involving Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus laying waste to downtown Tokyo. Don't mind that they blow up the same row of buildings at least 4 times in a row - it's all great fun and showcases a lot of great pyrotechnics.There's a lot of bizarre moments in the climactic monster-on-monster violence and a lot of iffy continuity. For instance, Godzilla knocks Titanosaurus out of the way and then tackles Mechagodzilla to the ground but in the very next shot, Godzilla is lying down alone and Titanosaurus is suddenly there kicking him in the head. (?) Most likely a case of bad editing more than anything.Overall a worthy candidate for a way to spend a rainy afternoon. The 70's may have been a Godzilla nadir but this film is the highpoint of that lowpoint.

gigan-92 Once again, Classic Media releases a G-film I would have never seen without them, the finale of the Showa series, "Terror of MechaGodzilla"!And this film really is one of the best Godzilla movies ever made, seriously. This is obviously due to the returning Honda, his final G-film. Also returning was Akira Ifukbe, thank God. Enough of Masuro Sato's often childish scores. Ifukbe's score was dark and menacing and we finally hear the "Godzilla March theme", which sounded bad-ass. It sounds even better than it did in the original "Gojira" in fact. There were also sad and touching themes, adding to the beauty of score. Honda just has an aura of seriousness that he puts into his work that makes them stand out against the rest of the showa films.I love the human characters and the aliens are better brought to life in this film. No more aluminum foil bases. Kastsuhiko Sasaki (Ichinose) and Tomoko Ai (Katsura) have a beautiful and tragic love story, and the fact she's a cyborg was fresh twist that I LOVED!! Her struggle to maintain loyalty to her father is a well done aspect of the film. However, a weak point is Akihiko Hirata's portrayal of Dr. Mafune (Katsura's dad). Although at times over dramatic and a little too 'mad scientist', the acting is good. Usually Hirata is top rate, but he kinda slacked here. Whatev. The screenplay by Yukiko Tkayama is excellent and I love this movie already.Next, as you should know by now our the monsters. Godzilla looks great, although technically the same suit, but it looks meaner. Therefore, better in my opinion. Not to mention he isn't a campy do-gooder, but more of an anti-hero. He also has some bad-ass moments , such as his first entrance: JUST BAD-ASS, with the appearing out of nowhere and all, just great. MechaGodzilla goes through minimal changes but looks, what else, bad-ass. Katsura being his controller internally was a great idea that added to the drama. Titanosaurus was great, a revelation compared to the onslaught of horribly bad monsters such as Megalon, Jet Jaguar, Gabera and the rest.I think it's messed up he died while being controlled but Godzilla is still the hero here, so he has to win. The end battle was spectacular and one of my favorites of all time. The Tokyo smashing scenes were done quite nicely.Teruyoshi Nakano handled the effects nicely and I'm glad we have comparison shots again, but the monsters are often a little over sized compared to hills and buildings. I also enjoyed all the areal and overhead shots. The U.S. version was all right, but as usual I prefer the Japansese version. Dubbing, was okay but the prelude was unnecessary. Nonetheless, I'm glad it was included on the fantastic DVD. Some might complain about the alien ship scene, not enough back ground and all. On the plus side the stock-footage is limited to an all time low. The story is a little rushed, but what do you expect for a film on such a rushed schedule? The Japansese version is only 83 minutes, but if Honda had had the time and budget I'm pretty sure the film would've been around at least 92 minutes. Still, compared to the films Jun Fukuda was releasing at the time fans shouldn't complain.A revelation after I don't know how many incredibly bad G-films!!!

I_John_Barrymore_I Things did not bode well at the start, with a seven-minute greatest hits sequence that never seemed to end, but by the time it was over I found myself grateful for so much action so early on. When the story proper started it was with some very impressive underwater model work (I couldn't see the seams at any rate).But what really marked this out as a superior entry is the plot. A reclusive discredited scientist is employed by aliens to use his thought-controlled pet Titanosaurus to destroy Tokyo along with the newly-rebuilt Mechagodzilla, their combined might certain to overcome that pesky Godzilla. Meanwhile an Interpol agent and a marine scientist investigate the disappearance of an exploratory submarine, the trail leading them to the scientist's beautiful but non-too-helpful daughter.It might sound like the usual gubbins on paper but there's genuine tension in many of the scenes, it's logical and exciting, and rather than feeling like drawn-out filler while we wait for the real action to begin it's successful on its own terms, even managing to pull off genuine pathos bordering on tragedy at the end.When it does begin it's hands down the best destruction I've seen so far in the series. They're right in the centre of Tokyo surrounded by skyscrapers ready to be demolished and incinerated. The camera pans across the cityscape as whole swathes of it are destroyed, and it truly is spectacular. What makes it even more powerful is that it's not a fight sequence for the most part - it's just two big boys laying waste to the city.Godzilla himself is given a wonderful entrance, and in those moments it's a thrill to see this (of all films) so overtly referencing The Third Man (of all films).They do escape to the country for the final showdown, but there's still the odd power station to be sat on and let's face it, we've already had our money's worth with the destruction of Tokyo. The fight is lengthy too, with Godzilla on the back foot for most of it, and while we're never unsure of the outcome it does get pretty hairy for the big guy.For the budget the special effects are often superb and always imaginative (like the alien technician walking inside Mechagodzilla's head or the shot that takes us from his massive, dormant frame as he's being worked on, through a window, and finishes with the aliens and doctor watching the progress from a lab).The music throughout is excellent, and the female lead is impossibly gorgeous.What's not to love?