Don't Believe the Hype

best movie i've ever seen.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

While this has been the best looking Godzilla movie I have seen, it was also the most confusing.It seems like things get lost in translation because there is so much stuff that doesn't make any sense.Even though they explain how a Space Godzilla was created, their explanation raises more questions than it answers.Some people want to use telepathy to control Godzilla so they make a telepathy amplifier to attach to him.But there's some guy on an island who is planning to kill Godzilla when two other guys show up.They never explain who any of them are and lots of stupid things happen.At one point the two guys are on a dirt bike and catch a tiny whiff of tear gas which makes them dump the bike.It's too cheesy, even for a Godzilla movie.Plus there's some Mothra and Little Godzilla stuff that is even cheesier and it has nothing to do with the story.Even though nothing about this movie makes any sense, it's still better than most Godzilla flicks.One of the best of the series.

GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA is the follow up to GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA II, retaining actress Megumi Odaka who returns in her role as a psychic who has a special connection to the Big G. This is also a sequel insofar as Little Godzilla from the previous film returns, looking remarkably different but just as cute. The storyline also boasts Mothra in a cameo appearance, but for the most part this is about the two titular titans slugging it out.What I liked about this film was the storyline, which has direct links back to GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE so that it almost makes sense. Otherwise it's business as usual, another colourful sci-fi romp from Toho, packed with monster action and human incident. The monster stuff is particularly fun this time around, with Space Godzilla an impressive-looking opponent. There's also something new in the crystal structures he forms, making himself a nest in a devastated city, which I liked.The human story is slightly less intriguing, with a lack of clear-cut villains and far too much emphasis on Moguera, which is a pared-down version of MechaGodzilla which lacks the same impact. Still these films are undemanding fun as ever and it's difficult not to have fun with it.

Kensho Yamashita's "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" is one of those movies that sets both parts of my analytical mind at odds with each other. The side of me that legs logic go out the window and absorbs the visceral escapism that only the movies can provide goes to war with the critical acumen that dissects and analyzes the movie, even if it is a B-production like this one. This is a much-maligned movie; furthermore, I see where the detractors are coming from. Yet, I always find "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" to be so relentlessly enjoyable that my acumen, if you could call it that, just gives up and lets the child-within take over. I re-watched the movie a short time ago and found the sames joys that I adored as a kid. That there might be the reason why this still holds up for me, but I do feel this is a better picture that the rest of the world gives it credit for.It is unquestionably the most bizarre entry in the second series. In two previous entries, cells from Godzilla were transmitted into outer space. Nobody in the movie knows for sure, but they speculate the cells were eventually swallowed up by a black hole and mutated from celestial explosions, thus forming a strange mutation that eerily resembles its Earth incarnation. The new monster, dubbed SpaceGodzilla, arrives on Earth with no apparent intention other than to--what else?--wreck havoc. The military sets loose M.O.G.E.R.A. - a giant robot they recently constructed - to battle the extra-terrestrial menace while Godzilla arrives to duke it out with his outer-space clone.I freely admit it. Even for a Japanese monster movie, a genre we seldom give serious critical consideration, this is absurd. There are other absurd things in it as well. At the same time, director Yamashita and screenwriters Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Kanji Kashiwa do not kid around with their material. They treat it seriously. I believe that is the primary reason why so many have come to despise this picture. Why do I enjoy it so? The answer, I think, is simply that I always buy into it. I accept the movie on its own terms, and absorb it in a somewhat serious manner. Can I pull out any buried themes or subtexts from it? Did I learn anything about life from seeing two reptilian monsters and a giant robot fighting amongst towers, apartment buildings, and a fortress of stalagmite-like crystals? No, but I always get involved.What also works, I think, are some of the human elements. Though underwritten by Mr. Kashiwabara and Mr. Kashiwa, the characters are, in a small way, worth caring for. Megumi Odaka reprises her role as the psychic with a bond with Godzilla, but the three principle characters are a trio of soldiers whose beforehand hatred for Godzilla changes into an alliance to save the world from SpaceGodzilla. The three actors (Jun Hashizume, Akira Emoto, and Zenkichi Yoneyama) have some good chemistry with each other and just enough personality to play off their traits. At the same time, they do not distract from the main focus of the movie: monsters fighting in a city.The special effects are often criticized, even by other Godzilla fans. Admittedly, some of them are dreadful. A scene with SpaceGodzilla and M.O.G.E.R.A. in the Asteroid Belt is deservedly-blasted. Godzilla's adopted son, now dubbed Little Godzilla, has grown bigger but less-convincing since "Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2." The reptilian features have diminished in favor of a more toddler-like figure. Little Godzilla is cute, but maybe he's too cute. However, let's admit it, the scene with him first learning to breathe fire is absolutely touching, more than anything Minya ever did. SpaceGodzilla, however, is a despicable enemy. His design is effective and creative, especially with the two crystals that emerge from his shoulders almost like decorative armor plating. And he does have a creepy personality, deepened and enriched by Takayuki Hattori's utterly brilliant musical score. Godzilla is also in good form in this picture. As frequently noted, most of the battles are "beam wars" where the monsters exchange fire with their various forms of computer-generated energy projectiles: heat-rays, electrical discharges, corona beams, plasma lasers. I like my monsters going tooth-and-claw, but the pyrotechnics and colors used work in their own way.But the bottom line is that when I see Godzilla and M.O.G.E.R.A. blasting, and being blasted back, by SpaceGodzilla admit that fortress of crystals in the city of Fukuoka (it's nice to see a change of scenery from Tokyo or Osaka) that I root for them not because they are the default, but because I want to see them win. As a result, when they gain the upper hand against this creepy and yet somewhat spectacular foe from outer space, my heart leaps with joy. Monster movies can be involving too.Godzilla movies draw out my inner-child. That may be the movie-going pleasure that I cherish and embrace the most. And there may be the ultimate reason why this movie still works for me. Even though it has been machine-gunned with flaws (such as that utterly ridiculous subplot involving the Japanese mafia) and has some iffy special effects, "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" insistently entertains and has a charming quality of its own. And maybe because it is unlike other entries, I do find it rather entertaining.

Godzilla DNA makes it into space and creates Big G's next adversary, Space Godzilla. Space G is very cool looking if you can accept the big crystals sticking out of his shoulders. The music score was rather strange and seemed lacking at times. It's 'The Love Boat' crossed with up-tempo canned 80's synthesizer driven cable local access music. The fleeing mob scenes are poorly done(American dubbed version only?), as it sounds like two people recorded multiple times. The male voice being Star Trek's George Takei(aka Sulu). The lighting appears brighter giving the suits an unflattering shiny appearance. One of my favorite Godzilla suits was used in this film, although his lower half is bloated and he appears a bit stiff. Some great camera shots of Big G deliberately smashing buildings with his hands, and lots of explosions as he stomps on things. A bonus for Toho fans of The Mysterians, is the return of Moguera! Even though the robot cannot compete with Mech-G, it was a nostalgic pleasant surprise to see him. Probably the low point for Heisei era kaiju, but if you can get over the cheesy music, you can still enjoy this monster mash. Just for fun see if you can spot who I call the Japanese Shemp.*review edited after further review*