by Giganfan » Tue Jun 03, 2014 2:37 pm
The thing I like the most about Godzilla X Mechagodzilla is that it gets right to the business of being a Godzilla movie. Sure, the characters are thinly-drawn, and the story is somewhat under-developed, but when considered within the proper context (that is to say, almost 80% of the movies in the series are plagued with similar problems, and a good deal of them follow a pre-set "corporate Toho-approved" formula), I was thoroughly impressed with how director, Tezuka handles the material. The whole thing is kept fast-paced and light, and unlike his predecessor, Takao Okawara, the minute you begin to feel bogged down by a boring plot element or an annoying character, he's real good at getting you in-and-out, without breaking the flow of the action. Tezuka is, by no means, as competent a filmmaker as, say, Shusuke Kaneko or Jun Fukuda or even Kazuki Omori. And he sure-as-sh*t is no Ishiro Honda. However, his passion for Godzilla movies is undeniable, and I think that is what gives his three contributions to the Godzilla legacy a special kind of luster.
Make no mistake, if I were to be totally objective on the matter, I'd say that Godzilla X Mechagodzilla is no better, or no worse than anything else that Toho has been churning out over the past few decades. But I think the blame for that has much more to do with the company's stinginess with time, budgetary constraints and an unwillingness to go out and find some really talented filmmakers, or at least give the ones they have the freedom to develop their projects as they see fit. In a vacuum, I'd say that at the very least, Tezuka's three Godzilla films are the best of the "meh" films in the series, which when you really think about it, isn't so bad. I certainly rank this one among my personal favorites (though my most recent listings in the "Godzilla In General" forum have yet to reflect that, damn it!).
"EVERYONE FORGET YOUR TROUBLES! ENJOY YOURSELVES!THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" - Gigantis The Fire Monster
"It was HUGE...It was...IT WAS LIKE A MONSTER!!! Suddenly the rocks rose...ALIVE!" - Godzilla 1985