Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

In 1966 the Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF) was established to defend Japan from Monsters. Who knew? Not just a bunch of flummoxed army guys wearing white gloves, but an elite force — 4072 members strong. Talk about a thankless job. The only profession taking more of a beating than the AMF when Godzilla makes landfall, is the home insurance industry, which has been busy selling policies between monster rampages.

While the AMF is more than equal to the challenge of a Mothra (yup, they can take on a giant … well, moth) or a Gargantuan (sure, they’re big, but it’s hard to take seriously a monster who eats people — and then spits out their clothes), the AMF and their flatbed-transported Maser Guns are still not quite up to the challenge of a Godzilla. During their first battle with The Big G, things take a turn for the worse and the order, “PULL BACK!” is given. I’m thinking, this is probably the first maneuver learned by any new AMF recruit.

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Gojira tai Mekagojira) presents a sort of home front take on giant monster movies. Early on, while others are running for their lives, a man screams, “My house! My house!” as Godzilla stomps by. Not long after Godzilla’s first rampage, the prime minster meets with her science advisor and admits that, “after forty years, the people are weary of always rebuilding .” If there’s a growth industry in Japan, it’s definitely in construction. Even more than a strong union, in terms of job security, Godzilla’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Japanese carpenters.

If you think about it, Japan’s national psyche has also taken its share of hits over the years. Generation after generation has grown up running from Godzilla. It’s very possible that first your grandparents, then your parents, and now you, along with your children, have run from this monstrous creature. It’s all you know to do. Run.

But not anymore. The decision is made to build Mechagodzilla. Using the skeleton of the first Godzilla, destroyed in 1954 (yes, there’s more than one Godzilla. Don’t ask, ok?), a giant bio-robot is constructed, and like any new technology, there are always a few bugs that need to be worked out. When Godzilla roars in battle, it triggers the DNA in Mechagodzilla’s skeleton, overriding it’s new programming and sending the giant bio-robot on a building-smashing spree of its own.

Even though Mechagodzilla is armed with an Absolute Zero Gun that can destroy an object at the molecular level, there’s some crazy protocol that dictates giant monsters must first be fired at by tanks, and when that doesn’t work, a barage of missiles is lauched against them, which invariably is followed by the crackling energy botls from a Maser Gun. Then and only then, if a new super weapon exists, can it be tried out. Mechagodzilla is armed with its own version of tank shells, missiles and Maser Rays. If it had used the Absolute Zero Gun right off the bat, at a minimum, the robotic creature might have saved six or eight city blocks — maybe the whole east side.

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla has pretty good Spielberg-like direction, a decent script (basically GI Jane meets huge marauding monster), and the special effects are a snappy combination of the traditional guy-in-a-rubber-monster-suit and CGI. Miniture sets are detailed and creepy, and the film focuses more on the monster aftermath and human side of the story than most Godzilla movies.

There are two stand-out Godzilla fight scenes. In the first, Godzilla punts a tank like it’s a football. In the other (something of a call back to 1962′s King Kong vs Godzilla),Mechagodzilla grabs Godzilla by the tail and swings him around and around before letting go and sending him flying halfway across town.

I’m in!