Mecha Godzilla and Titanosaurus vs. Godzilla — The Monster King Fifteenth Godzilla movie. The final in the Shova era, the last for the great director Ishiro Honda, again, for the last time, returned to the atomic lizard. The last Godzilla movie for the great actor Akihiko Hirata. For the last time, the Tanaka-Honda-Ifukube tandem come together to give something great and grandiose!
The picture is a direct continuation of the film “Godzilla vs. Mehagodzilla”, released a year earlier, and even repeats all its events in the opening credits, but even here the actors who played in the last picture are, as it always happens, completely different roles.
The aged Hirata, who played Serizawa in the first Godzilla, who participated in a huge number of Kaiju films, here again portrays a scientist, and this brilliantly played villainous party is again one of the brightest characters in Godzilla films of all time. His cyborg daughter debuted in a big movie, too, immaculately played Tomoko Ai (Ultraman Reo). These two characters are presented here so firmly and emotionally that the film itself falls into the soul not only due to the battle of monsters, but also due to its bright characters.
The main role of the research biologist was played by Katsuhiko Sasaki, the inventor of Godzilla vs. Megalon. Curiously, the alien leader, the main antagonist, was again played by Goro Mitsumi, as if we could forget him. However, in those years it was quite possible to blame everything on the twin brother, well, let’s not forget that the Japanese faces of aliens are just masks covering the true appearance.
The plot continues in part the line of Interpol from the previous picture. The wreckage of Mechanical Godzilla has disappeared from the seabed, an amphibious dinosaur is attacking the submarine, and something bad is going on somewhere in the mountains at a secret base. Enraged at the whole world paleontologist helps the returned aliens to arrange a real terror.
The sea creature turns out to be a Titanosaurus – a marvelously executed finned kaiju monster that, despite its peaceful nature, wreaks havoc and destruction. Originally planned in the plot two dinosaurs "Titan", which in the final to unite in such a Titanosaurus, but in the script there was no good place and logic for such a symbiosis, and in the budget - funds for two good costumes. But the monster that eventually appeared here for the first time (so far only once) is simply beyond praise!
It does not shoot anything, does not have atomic respiration, rays, spikes and other spectacular arsenal, but it is created so reliably and impressively in terms of its appearance, texture of the costume, appearance of fins and in general its appearance, which is almost the most important plus of this picture.
Mecha Godzilla has changed a little, but little has changed. It looks more metal than in the last picture. Either maestro Honda himself tried to shoot it and present it in the frame, or the creators of special effects gave the appearance the proper shade of metal and monitored the adequacy of the movements and movements of the giant robot on the screen.
Godzilla is shown very little here. In fact, only twice, not counting the titles. The first time the monster comes to fight the Titanosaurus, and he immediately retreats into the water, and the second time - already at the end, for a Sunday fight ... three (!) yakozuns. Two mutant dinosaurs and one mechanical replicant armed to the teeth.
By the way, although in the opening credits we are reminded of the abundance of cruelty and bloodshed of the past picture, showing all the best moments, in the very battle of monsters no such damage is no longer observed, although not to say that the film has become less cruel, perhaps even vice versa!
It’s just that now all the drama and tragedy is about human characters. Shootings, deaths, murders, the main villain still whips his henchmen with a whip and gives them to execution for failures, and how sad and emotional the finale for the love line came out here is a separate conversation. Heroes are prescribed amazingly, to become the very first film about Godzilla.
Honda at the same time brings to the picture what long ago lacked Kaiju films of the time: scenes with the military, scenes of evacuation, brilliant and impressive mashups with people fleeing in panic against the background of monsters, destroying the city! The scale and sense of disaster! Honda again managed to turn the genre drowned in family and childhood into a real horror film!
The film is even harsher than Godzilla vs. Mehagozilla. Screenwriter Yukiko Takayama won a history contest in Toho for a Godzilla film, and although the original script has undergone a number of changes due to the budget, the emphasis on bright characters, which at the same time embodied on the screen by beautiful actors, remained, and even with the action here also tried to fame.
Even though the final battle quickly shifted from the center of Tokyo to the suburbs, where much less scenery was required, the spectacle turned out to be right. Honda perfectly removes monsters, choosing successful angles, presents an abundance of military equipment in the frame, not forgetting about aviation, and this time the urban destruction, not as an example of a hack of the last part, looks impressive and naturalistic!
Godzilla’s costume was even slightly adjusted – making it more angry and ferocious, although these are only minor changes in the face, he looks here, probably in one of his best appearances in the entire Shova era. It was cooler, but still can not be compared with the very stupid costumes of the Monster King.
Aliens in the plot fit very organically, in contrast to the previous two paintings and “Monster Zero”. So this story is no longer scolded by nagging about all sorts of nonsense. Here is quite a decent fantastic action movie, bordering on horror in its best scenes. Everything is under a serious wrapper, and even with the heat of drama and passion!
Unfortunately, due to previous films, this masterpiece without five minutes was received very unsuccessfully. Some resented the serious tone and cruelty, getting used to the latest films, others on the contrary seemed to ignore the project, tired of the idiotic family of past films and the image of Godzilla as “defender of the planet.”
As a result, Toho, who had a lot of plans-continuations, not only closed the Godzilla franchise, but also stopped making kaiju films until the anniversary of the atomic lizard in 1984. However, it is impossible not to admit that thanks to the last two films, Shova-era still ended on a grandiose note, almost as it began in the fifties “Godzilla” and “Radon”.
Finally, the wonderful music of Akira Ifukube was returned - and even the prologue titles with scenes of the previous picture played to the masterpiece tracks with new colors, transformed into magnificent scenes with the participation of Godzilla. It was literally all right here!
To the finale of the Shova-era, Godzilla classically goes into the sunset, into the sea. But he'll definitely come back. Always comes back. Time and time again, from era to era. Ishiro Honda made a stunning film - spectacular, sensual, harsh and reminding humanity of what modern industry is doing with the world.
It turned out to be one of the best Kaiju films in the cycle and a very worthy end to the career of many filmmakers involved in its creation. Goodbye, Shova-era. Goodbye, Ishiro Honda. Goodbye, Akihiko Hiirata. Goodbye, and Godzilla of the '50s and '70s. "Sayonara till we meet again"
8 out of 10
Original