Review of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) by Allan C — 26 Nov 2017

Aliens create a giant mechanical version of Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, in an effort to destroy Japan. The mechanical creature nearly defeats Godzilla until our rubber-suited hero enlists the help of a fellow Kaiju, the dog-like King Seesar, to defeat the new bionic beast.

With the exception of the original films, none of the Godzilla movies are all that serious, but this one seems downright gonzo when the aliens are revealed to be gorilla-like creatures, particularly during one shootout when one of the aliens has half of his human mask removed.

What makes or breaks most Godzilla films are the subplots involving the human characters, which if they are boring (as is in most Godzilla films), the movies drag between monster battles, but when the human stories are interesting it makes the film work as a whole.

"Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" also features a fun jazzy score by Masaru Sato, who scores many films for Akira Kurosawa, and the movie contains plenty of bright colorful Kaiju battles. Overall, this is probably the best of the Godzilla films of the 1970s and is well worth watching for fans of our favorite Japanese monster.