(Some Spoilers Ahead) - Why Toho and Tezuka felt it necessary to revisit and redo `Godzilla vs. Mecha Godzilla' is anyone's guess, considering that it has only been nine years since the 1994 movie which was in itself a remake of the 1974 movie. The Mecha Godzilla (or Ki Ryu [Mechanical Dragon]) is quite a different beast from both the 1994 and 1974 versions. In 1974, Mecha G was an alien cyborg creation built to masquerade as Godzilla and be his every equal. In 1994, Mecha G was built by the Japanese Defense Force (G-Force) using the salvaged remains of one of Mecha King Ghidorah's heads and 23rd Century Technology. In this version, the Japanese Government once again builds Mecha Godzilla but this time using the skeletal remains and DNA information extracted from the 1954 Godzilla (1st Godzilla) and then building a mechanical framework over it. Continuity is thrown out the window as Tezuka's G x MG refuses to acknowledge any of the previous Godzilla movies except the aforementioned original 1954 Godzilla movie (although surprisingly G x MG does mention in passing events which took place in `Godzilla vs. Mothra' and `Sanda Tai Gaira' [AKA War of the Gargantuas]).
Taking a page from Kaneko Shusuke's 2002 `All Out Monster Attack', Tezuka infuses G x MG will an abundance of impressive CGI and other digital effects. Not all the effects are great mind you and some are just embarrassingly bad (MG jumps around like `Kangaroo Jack' in some points) but there are a few cool action scenes. The model and costume works are good and there are some noticeable improvements, especially to Godzilla's look and the various military hardware including the new and improved MASERS.
Tezuka also apes Kaneko's use of one-shot and extended cameos for various recognizable TV and Movie stars (blink and you could miss cameos from the likes of Suzuki Kenji, Tanaka Misato, Mizuno Kumi, Kamiya Makoto, and Yanagisawa Shingo). And finally Japanese Baseball Superstar and current NY Yankees star Matsui Hideki (whose nickname is `Gojira') finally gets to appear in a Godzilla Movie as himself.
While Tezuka unfortunately does not have Kaneko's fair of drama and visually style, he still crafts an enjoyable story similar to his previous work on `Godzilla vs. Megaguirus'. As with G x M, Tezuka has another female heroine front and center, this time played fairly well by plucky `Princess Blade' star Shaku Yuriko. Shaku basically plays a variation of Sigourney Weaver's `Aliens' character Ripley or Linda Hamilton's Sara Conner character in `Terminator 2' complete with the muscles.
G x MG seems more suited to Anime than film as Mecha Godzilla bears more than some passing resemblance to Bandai/Sunrise's `Gundam' (Mecha G's armaments and backpack look like direct rip offs of some of the stuff you'd see in the Gundam Animation Series). Even the story seems like a variant on Head Gear/Sunrise's fan favorite series `Patlabor' with Shaku's character of Yashiro Akane basically playing a live action version of Patlabor's lead female pilot Noa Izumi. Coincidence? Perhaps but it's worth noting.
While thankfully Baby G doesn't appear in this version, M x MG is none-the-less not much of an improvement over its predecessors, albeit the digital effects are quite impressive. Godzilla x Mecha Godzilla is fun entertainment but doesn't really improve upon the franchise at all, just follows the standards that were set before it.
Taking a page from Kaneko Shusuke's 2002 `All Out Monster Attack', Tezuka infuses G x MG will an abundance of impressive CGI and other digital effects. Not all the effects are great mind you and some are just embarrassingly bad (MG jumps around like `Kangaroo Jack' in some points) but there are a few cool action scenes. The model and costume works are good and there are some noticeable improvements, especially to Godzilla's look and the various military hardware including the new and improved MASERS.
Tezuka also apes Kaneko's use of one-shot and extended cameos for various recognizable TV and Movie stars (blink and you could miss cameos from the likes of Suzuki Kenji, Tanaka Misato, Mizuno Kumi, Kamiya Makoto, and Yanagisawa Shingo). And finally Japanese Baseball Superstar and current NY Yankees star Matsui Hideki (whose nickname is `Gojira') finally gets to appear in a Godzilla Movie as himself.
While Tezuka unfortunately does not have Kaneko's fair of drama and visually style, he still crafts an enjoyable story similar to his previous work on `Godzilla vs. Megaguirus'. As with G x M, Tezuka has another female heroine front and center, this time played fairly well by plucky `Princess Blade' star Shaku Yuriko. Shaku basically plays a variation of Sigourney Weaver's `Aliens' character Ripley or Linda Hamilton's Sara Conner character in `Terminator 2' complete with the muscles.
G x MG seems more suited to Anime than film as Mecha Godzilla bears more than some passing resemblance to Bandai/Sunrise's `Gundam' (Mecha G's armaments and backpack look like direct rip offs of some of the stuff you'd see in the Gundam Animation Series). Even the story seems like a variant on Head Gear/Sunrise's fan favorite series `Patlabor' with Shaku's character of Yashiro Akane basically playing a live action version of Patlabor's lead female pilot Noa Izumi. Coincidence? Perhaps but it's worth noting.
While thankfully Baby G doesn't appear in this version, M x MG is none-the-less not much of an improvement over its predecessors, albeit the digital effects are quite impressive. Godzilla x Mecha Godzilla is fun entertainment but doesn't really improve upon the franchise at all, just follows the standards that were set before it.