Saturday, December 26, 2015

THE SAGA OF THE KING OF THE MONSTERS ~ PART 15: TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975)


This is a momentous occasion as we have finally made it to the SHOWA ERA of the Godzilla franchise. Showa refers to the era of Japan under the reign of Emperor Hirohito covering the years 1926 through 1989. This term has been used to reference the Godzilla films produced from 1954 to 1975 otherwise referred to as the first series of the franchise. The second series of films are known as the HEISEI ERA covering the Godzilla films from 1984 to 1995, again in reference to Japan's next Emperor. And the third series of Godzilla films is referred to as the Millennium series which began in 1999 with GODZILLA MILLENNIUM a.k.a. GODZILLA 2000 and ran through 2004.

We've covered both the Millennium and Heisei era Godzilla films. Next in our countdown is the last film in the Showa era and the last film directed by the original Godzilla director himself, ISHIRO HONDA. TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA came out in 1975 and is a direct followup to the previous year's GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA. The last time Godzilla battled this mechanized monstrosity he had help, that of the kaiju KING SEESAR, ancient deity protector of the Azumi Clan. Now Godzilla is on his own against an upgraded Mechagodzilla and a new threat named TITANOSAURUS. Can the king of the monsters save the Earth from these twin terrors?

THE PLOT

The universe conquering spacemen from the third planet of the black hole have returned to renew their campaign to conquer Earth. They've recovered the remains of Mechagodzilla and are in the process of repairing it. While Mechagodzilla is in repair the spacemen enlist the help of zoologist Dr. Shinzo Mafune and his daughter Katsura. The zoologist shows the spacemen a living dinosaur named Titanosaurus and reveals to them a way in which to control the beast to do their bidding. Earth's Interpol Agents are onto the spacemen's plans. With the help of a young biologist named Akira Ichinose, Interpol begins to unravel the evil alien plot. But if they are going to defeat the spacemen and save the planet they're going to need the help of the king of the monsters.

THE GOOD

The direction. With the return of Ishiro Honda we see a return to a more serious, violent Godzilla film. Honda invests time in developing a group of characters and the relationships between them. There is a sort of James Bond element to it as well with the Interpol Agents adding another degree of excitement and espionage action. The Godzilla franchise had undergone a change over the last ten years becoming more of a superhero children series as opposed to the dark horror series it originally was. Director Honda attempts once more to bring Godzilla back to the way he was originally portrayed.

Titanosaurus. The early Godzilla films and kaiju films of Ishiro Honda were filled with kaiju designs that were inspired from nature i.e. dinosaurs, sea life, insects and arachnids and so forth. The 1970's Godzilla films introduced a host of kaiju completely unique and alien to any creatures on Earth. Titanosaurus is the last new kaiju from the Showa era and a throwback to the classic kaiju designs. As far as personal preferences go I really enjoy the more natural designs as opposed to the crazier creature designs of the 70's. Titanosaurus is a cool and seldom seen classic kaiju.

THE BAD

Identity Crisis. Godzilla is barely in the movie. This film along with GODZILLA VS MEGALON mark two of the least featured Godzilla appearances out of the whole franchise. The total screen time Godzilla has in this film is less than either of his enemies. Seems strange that Godzilla has the least amount of screen time and it's his name on the title. Then once Godzilla does finally appear there is this strange clashing of styles. The film itself strikes a very ominous serious tone, but Godzilla himself is still the superhero version from the previous, more child friendly films. I'm guessing Ishiro Honda was forced by the studio to keep Godzilla in his kid friendly incarnation. As a result the film doesn't quite gel.

THE VERDICT

Terror of Mechagodzilla was one last attempt to keep the franchise alive, the studio even bringing back the director that built the franchise. But the film is in conflict with itself. Godzilla is still a superhero defender of Earth but the story is one of a serious nature with many adult themes. Godzilla is actually the problem here as he is the one element that doesn't jive. It's a sad state of affairs given that this is a Godzilla movie and it just might function better without him. I'd say this film functions better as a kids movie but that isn't true either. This movie really can't decide what it wants to be. There are plenty of good aspects to the film but it is probably one of my least favorites in the Showa era (but not my least favorite).

Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10
Good. Average.
Category: ???? 
(I honestly don't know if it's a kids movie or not and neither does the movie itself)

Keep a look out for the following chapters in the saga as we count down to number 1! Catch up on the whole saga of the king of the monsters by checking out the posts below!

Part 16: The Return of Godzilla (1984)
Part 18: Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah (1991) 
Part 19: Godzilla Vs Mothra (1992)  
 
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)