Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Since Godzilla's first attack in 1954, humanity has been trying to prepare a way to fight back, while also trying to stay on top in the hunt for renewable resources. When Godzilla is attracted by nuclear energy, then plasma, they're in a race to solve the crisis. To this end the government recruits robotic scientist Kudo to create a black hole machine to permanently destroy the monster. The tests are successful, but unbeknownst to the team, a giant prehistoric dragonfly comes through the wormhole and deposits an egg cluster, which soon hatches into a swarm of monsters that may be a bigger threat than even Godzilla...

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is special in that (in Japan at least) it's the first Godzilla film of the new millennium! Appropriately the second entry in the Millennium series, it has a fun spin on classic material, with some new ideas and a new monster to enjoy. It's not the best in the series, and if I had to rank them this'd still end up pretty low, but not because it's bad. It's just your basic kaiju film. It doesn't do anything particularly new or exciting, but as a film, it delivers a good time.

The plot here is pretty standard stuff, with a few re-used elements here and there, but it's all told in a decent enough way

The government's plan here to fight Godzilla is to create a black hole gun! Certainly a novel idea! Can't say it's a smart one though! What if the slightest thing goes wrong and a giant black hole eats the earth? That may not happen, but sure enough something does go wrong, when a prehistoric monster briefly pops into our time to lay its eggs. Blame is an interesting (if unexplored) theme of the movie. Megaguirus is only wreaking havoc because of the heroes, and the kid who found and nurtured the egg. And the very monster they fear, who only shows up because of them, has to clean up their messes.

The Dimension Tide project also has good sequel potential. Although one upside to this never happening is it'd be hard overlooking just how much it's the heroes' fault. Then again, isn't that the very concept of Godzilla? Buuut it might run the risk of overtaking Godzilla in his own movie.

While longer than it probably needed to be, the film has a pretty good pace, and never slows down too much. There's a decent amount of monster action later on, though not enough in the first half. The humans keep our attention reasonably. What's weird though is the major flood that happens entirely offscreen. One of the more unique scenes is the Meganula introduction, which feels straight out of a horror movie!

As for tone, this is a fairly serious film, but occasional lightness from the humans stops things from getting too maudlin, and there are a few fun monster scenes. These are amusing, but without going overboard into farce territory. There are many awesome moments on display too, like when Kiriko engages in some Godzilla rock climbing!

The dialogue is a hoot sometimes!

"Don't forget what I told you! It may be big, but it's still just a lizard!"

"Emergency, we're being attacked by giant dragonflies!"

"What if Godzilla somehow managed to escape from the black hole we sent him into?"

While the climax is satisfying, the film has a bizarre ending. Kiriko is back to see Kudo, enlisting his help for if Godzilla resurfaces. After she playfully bumps his injured arm, Kudo = and she looks concerned, and then it just stops. No joke, just 'Ow, my arm! Oh no! The End'. We do get a post-credits scene though, bringing Jun back for a last scene, which would be good. Although this coda is odd too! I like it in theory, teasing Godzilla's return, but it's all so abrupt, it gives off the impression Jun's about to be smooshed! Obviously that's not gonna happen, but that's how it comes off! And since this would never get a direct sequel, none of it is followed up on.

The human characters are pretty good. Kiriko is a fine heroine. Like other leads in the Millennium series, she's a gorgeous young girl who's far too much of a supermodel to be believably in the military. Unlike others though, she's not brooding, but more outgoing and chipper. She still has her burden to bear, but she's not gloomy over them the whole movie. Not that that's bad, but it is a breath of fresh air to see the same archetype done differently. She's vengeful towards Godzilla, but not in a way that clouds her judgement, which is refreshing to see.

Robot scientist Kudo is alright, and gets an amusing intro, where Kiriko ruins his magic trick. That bunch of kids are shockingly unimpressed by mini robots! 'Wow, is he magical? Oh no, he's just using amazing robots. Borringgg.'

The older female scientist is ok, though underused. I was also side-eying her for the whole movie, thinking "Bitch, you act so high and mighty against Godzilla, yet you're the one using the energy that's bringing him back!", before it turned out that was another character alone. That would be head of the anti-Godzilla squad, who isn't one-dimenional, but still an ass, and gets a well-deserved punch at the end!

And last is Jun, a schoolchild with a fascination with bugs. It's he who finds the egg, ditching it in the sewers the moment it gets too gunky. Geez, kid! A point in his favour though is that he immediately goes to the authorities and tells everything once he realises what's going on. And then he disappears for the rest of the movie!

Godzilla is portrayed pretty well, though I have minor quibbles. Since this is another reboot it is a little hard to really get attached to how much of a threat he he is, when he's only attacked like twice, decades apart. Interestingly, the Godzilla here is the original! Since the Oxygen Destroyer was never created in this timeline, he was never killed at the end of that movie, so rather than being another Godzilla in his place, this is the OG kaiju.

Regarding his personality, the characters treat Godzilla like he's bad, but really he's only attracted by the nuclear power they'd use, then plasma energy. I know it's unappealing when a neighbour burns down your house because he doesn't like you having baked beans, but there's a simple solution! Godzilla gets no respect! He's forced to deal with a prehistoric insect problem of man's making, and they try and fire a black hole at him!

On that note, Godzilla survives a black hole being fired at him, for no other reason that he's awesome. Which I believe, make no mistake. It's just not a very compelling reason narratively.

While it's understandable at times given his numerous and fast airborne enemies, Godzilla's aim is in poor form! This is until the spectacular final blows however, which are glorious! He gets in some clever moves throughout the movie, which is fun to see. These make for a pretty satisfying monster rumble overall.

The mystery egg hatches into a swarm of mutant bugs, who pick off a few people before taking on bigger prey. Aside from their big introduction, they're an afterthought until their battle with Godzilla. It's a great encounter, after which the surviving Meganula retreat with the energy they gathered and give life to their queen. The rest of the swarm is written out in a believable way, leaving us with only one threat-Megaguirus. She's a good threat, and it's not only neat getting a female kaiju, but it's also great how un-female she looks, being an insectoid horror from prehistoric times. She's a sneaky customer, and uses her powers to turn invisible, and get the drop on Godzilla. But he's smart too, and gets the drop on her in some great ways.

The cast here does a good job. Misato Tanaka is a fine lead as Kiriko, and Shosuke Tanihara is fun as Kudo. Series favourite Yuriko Hoshi is a nice presence, while Suzuki Hiroyuki gives a pretty good child performance. And of course the suit actors do splendidly.

The effects in GvM are pretty standout. There are many great practical elements, from the destruction, to Godzilla himself. He is well designed, with some snazzy new features, while Megaguirus is neat, moving in a reasonably convincing way, some scenes more than others. The miniatures all look great, especially the sunken city, which is also lit gorgeously! The CGI here is more refined and less obvious than in Godzilla 2000, but there are still a few ropey moments. Mostly though it looks fine, and is also used to add some flourishes to the monster action, with mixed results.

And last up, the direction here by Masaaki Tezuka is very good, with many dynamic zoom-ins, character shots, and moments that not only highlight the size of the monsters, but a sense of claustrophobia. Locations are swept through grandly. There are a few odd touches, like frame-by-frame slow motion, but these aren't big deals.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is a flawed but fun entry in the series, and an improvement over the last entry. Things would see a further upswing with the next film, so until then...