Review of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) by Adam F — 26 May 2014

"Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." brings a revolutionary idea to the Godzilla films of the new millennium: an actual sequel instead of a reboot! The twenty-seventh film is a particularly good entry in the series and one that all giant monster movie fans can enjoy. The film begins with Kiryu (a.k.a. Mechagodzilla III) under repairs. Its damaged Absolute Zero Cannon is replaced with a powerful Tri-Mazer, but until all the system checks are ready, Japan is vulnerable. The Japanese Government is warned by the Shobijin (Mothra's twin fairies) that not only will Godzilla continue to attack the country once it has recovered from its wounds, but that Mothra may also join in the attack. The reason is that the bones used to build Kiryu contain the first Godzilla's spirit. Not only is the spirit drawing Godzilla, but it is upsetting the spiritual balance of the world (or something like that, I'm not doing it justice by explaining it quickly). With the Japanese government reluctant to give up its ultimate weapon, it will take significant pressure from Yoshito (Noboro Kaneko), a mechanic working on Kiryu and the nephew of Dr. Shin'ichi Chujo (Hiroshi Koizumi, who you will remember from the original "Mothra") to prevent an all-out brawl between the monsters.

Because this film is a direct sequel to "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla", it's hard not to compare the two. Thankfully, on most parts the films rank fairly equally, except for the human plot. The biggest problem is that the characters we have been introduced to in the first movie make little more than a cameo here and instead we are introduced to a totally different cast. With Hiroshi Koizumi, it's fun to see some classic Godzilla actors back in a role that's in continuity with the films they appeared in, but Yoshito isn't a particularly memorable protagonist. The mechanic has a fun rivalry with one of the pilots of Kiryu, Lt. Azusa Kisaragi (Miho Yoshioka). One's a mechanic that has mixed feelings about bringing Kiryu back to fight Godzilla, particularly because of the words of the Shobijin fairies. The other, is a man that has dreamed of piloting giant mecha ever since he was a little boy so you know he doesn't have patience for that kind of nonsense. It would have been the obvious choice to make Azusa the main character, but the more of an everyman protagonist actually makes for a more interesting movie. During the end of the film, when he has to rush to the fallen Kiryu and make some emergency repairs is when it gets particularly exciting. It actually does manage to make you forgive the absence of the characters you came to love in the previous film. You might want to check out the original Japanese dub for though because when the humans are talking there are some really obvious sequences where the filler dialogue used to ensure people aren't moving their lips without any noise coming out isn't very good.

Where the movie shines is in its sequences of special effects and monster action. Godzilla is back and this time he has a big scar on his chest from the previous encounter with Kiryu. After being mentioned in the previous film, we see Mothra return and this version is sort of an amalgamation of the design from "GMK" and the classic look. It looks more like a real insect, but still has that friendly, fuzzy look that says "Hey, if you need a protector, maybe Mothra will do just fine!" Along with Mothra we get several homages to one of the very best of the films in the series "Godzilla vs. the Thing". Yes, that means we get Godzilla vs. Kiryu (who also comes back with some battle scars), Godzilla vs. Adult Mothra, Godzilla vs. larvae Mothra and tag-team battle between the two heroic monsters and Godzilla. The fights are very exciting, with a lot of fast-paced action and some good upsets characters get injured and must then muster up their strength to get back into the fray again. On a technical level, this is one of the better Godzilla movies as well. Unfortunately there is a quick shot were we see the strings on Mothra (they're just never going to go away completely it seems) but otherwise the monsters look better than they ever have. The composite shots and miniatures are convincing and some difficult shots, like Mothra flying and dodging Godzilla's attacks are pretty good. Many of the films in the series' past (particularly during the eighties and nineties) basically devolved into brawls where the monsters were just standing around shooting beams at each other. Not here. Everyone is dodging attacks and circling around each other and it feels like a real battle, not just a light show between a bunch of guys in rubber suits. It's a very satisfying sequel to the previous film and if you stick around to the end of the credits, there's even a little thing at the end for you too.

Aside from a couple of minor problems here and there, this is a pretty solid movie, particularly if you're a fan of kaiju films. It harkens back to some of the very best moments in the franchise while bringing in an update on the special effects and adds that to a story that we're already invested in. If you want to take the franchise for a spin, this one and the previous one are a good place to start (though I guess you should also probably watch the original "Godzilla" too). I found it surprisingly entertaining and it shows that the thumb rule for Godzilla appears to be "If Mothra and Godzilla are going to fight, it's going to be a satisfying film". (English dub on Dvd, May 21, 2014).