Review of Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) by William S — 24 Nov 2010

Terror of MechaGodzilla, the final installment in the original Godzilla series, is a fairly standard entry in the giant monsters genre. This time around, the aliens from the last movie are at it again. They've salvaged the remains of MechaGodzilla and rebuilt it stronger than ever. They're aided in their quest by Dr. Mafune, your standard mad-scientist-who-was-ostracized-for-his-weird-theories-and-now-wants-revenge-on-the-human-race. It just so happens that his strange experiments have given him control over the aquatic dinosaur Titanosaurus.

Between these two, even Godzilla might be in trouble. But fortunately for Earth, Interpol agents and marine scientists investigating the destruction of a research submarine begin to unravel their plans. And I don't think I giving away much by saying that Godzilla faces off against the bad guys and ultimately prevails.

So much for the story. As for the movie itself, it's something of a mixed bag. The acting is alright, if somewhat overly broad most of the time, but in some scenes, like the flashback to a lab accident, it's strangely bad, as if they didn't have time to do a re-take. There are also plot points that are poorly explained, and the dialogue seems a bit off, although that may just be because I was watching it in Japanese with subtitles.

On the other hand, it's a great improvement over some of its predecessors, like Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster and vs. Megalon. The model work is well done, and the other effects are pretty good for the time. And the final showdown of Godzilla and the military against MechaGodzilla and Titanosaurus is one of the best in the series. The suit actors get really physical, and at one point Godzilla is almost buried under debris, only to burst forth dramatically.

The average viewer probably won't get a lot out of this one, but kids will like it, and it's worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre, or Japanese movies in general.