No, not a sequel or a straight remake for that matter. The inappropriately named Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2 is actually a reimagining of Godzilla's foe and his duel with him.

Here Mechagodzilla is not created by aliens but is actually a machine created by a division of the UN to counter Godzilla. So instead of wasting all that money on scandals and child prostitutes like the United Nations usually does, they also created a counter-Godzilla operations department as well as selected several aces to pilot their anti-Godzilla weapons.

Okay, so this film is a real piece of work. On the good side you have some pretty cool monster fights between Godzilla and his mechanical doppelganger. Rodan actually makes an appearance as well and he holds up quite well although giving him a breath weapon in my view wasn't quite the best thing. Mechagodzilla looks quite nice here and his modernized look here I prefer over the version made in 2003, although the retro version is the best.

What's not to like is the fact that the film does drag for long periods. I ate this stuff up as a teenager and yet today it just doesn't seem as fun as the originals. Toho also tried to make this film more "internationally friendly" it seems with more CGI and a more international cast. What I mean by that is that they seem to have hired any white tourist off the street who looked the part. Their lack of acting ability was somewhat masked in the English dub but since that is not available here, their wooden deliveries are here for all to see.

That said, if you are a completionist, the disc only cost $5 from Hong Kong and it does have English subtitles. The video quality isnt reference material but it's not bad either. So go ahead, you don't have much to lose.

Labels: Godzilla, Japanese, sci-fi