Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) "Review 21"

[abraxas]

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla is a 1994 kaiju film directed by Kensho Yamashita and written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara. It was the twenty-first film released in the Godzilla series and sixth in the Heisei series of films. It is the second film to feature the Moguera and Little Godzilla and also the seventh film to feature Mothra. It is the only film to feature SpaceGodzilla.





I really like this installment, I think its one of the best. SpaceGodzilla is a really cool monster, its unique and quite menacing looking. I also thin that he has some of the most unique powers, before he lands somewhere he generates these huge crystals which rise from the ground. These crystals serve as a kind of power station, SpaceGodzilla stands in the center of them and draws power from the crystals. I thought the plot was very interesting and different, there are very minor problems with the film, the one scene with two guys trying to win a stuffed animal, was obviously put in for a little humor.

The battle scenes are very good and intense, you actually fear for Godzilla's safety at several points in the film. With the exception of that one scene the rest of the characters are pretty well developed, there is even a bit of romance thrown in at the end.

This film introduces several new aspects in this particular Godzilla film. For instance there is a nude scene.....No unfortunately its not of the Japanese physic girl (who is looking really really cute in this one), its one of the male characters

.......Id much rather see her butt then his.

For the fist time in a Godzilla film we hear someone say a curse word.....one of them says "shit"

The 4 inch twin characters are for the first time played by the same two actresses as in the last film, in the earlier films they were always played by different people in each movie.

The Godzilla suit was in poor repair due to being in the water for so many scenes. At one point when Godzilla submerges into the water, the tip of his tail falls off.

One reviewer said, "The monster SpaceGodzilla is excellently designed, and is certainly far more menacing than anything Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich ever dreamed up."



5 out of 5 roars for this one

[GL]

I've never been a huge fan of this one, too many problems.

For one thing, Little Godzilla has got to go, the bug-eyed monstrosity having no real place in here other than to appeal to the kiddies and having very little biologically in common with either of the other three designs in his geneology (going from Baby Godzilla in the last one to Godzilla Junior in the next one to Godzilla would've made a lot more sense than featuring this thing), the pacing to this is pretty bad with a lot of padding or scenes going on far longer than they need to be, the mafia subplot has no need to be included, is clumsily handled and is not mentioned before nor once again after it's dropped.

Then we come to Space Godzilla. Once again, we have a creature in desperate need for a stairmaster, the shoulder crystals are an odd touch, and frankly, I've always thought it was a mistake to show the face while it's flying through space in that hedgehog/demented chandelier look it has in flying form, since it lands on Birth Island and the grand reveal makes it seem like the face is supposed to be a big surprise when it's already been seen. And then there's that fight with Mogera at the Asteroid belt...

Perhaps the biggest issue I have with it, though is that there's nothing mentioned about why it came to Earth. If it was looking to settle a score with Godzilla because of the Biollante influences in it's make-up, why emprison the son and then leave without making sure Godzilla's done for? Then, it just stands there at Fukuoka Tower doing nothing but channeling cosmic energy. Is that really the only place in the Universe where it could've done that? Wouldn't just flying around in space accomplish the same feat? And what's the point of gathering all this cosmic energy, since it clearly arrives in the middle of the day, yet it stays there for Godzilla to appear in the evening for the final battle, so there must be something for it to be doing, but again, nothing.

As for the rest of the film, though, I do enjoy it. The rebirth of Mogera is a nice touch, despite feeling inferior to Mechagodzilla from the previous film (frankly, it's defeated too easily in the Asteroid belt, and once in Fukuoka, it's powers are far less effective than Mechagodzilla's), the final battle is a blast, and the Birth Island scenes are quite decent. Despite my hatred for it's look, Little Godzilla's humor is appropriate, the battle is effective, and despite removing the impetus for Godzilla's quest, hammers home his determination to fight it nicely. The new suit (and it is a new one, not the one from the previous film: that was actually used in the scenes of him swimming to Japan, where you thought his tail was falling off. Truthfully, the tail was actually removed from the costume altogether and floating in the tank as a separate prop) is a major improvement over last one, with the tail being reattached better and a redesigned head that looks far more menacing. The inclusion of the Biollante influences on Space Godzilla are nice, and despite being a bit too bulky and oddly proportioned with those shoulder crystals, is a good design and a lot more active than you would expect, coming equipped with some nice powers along the way.

So overall, there's stuff I like, and there's stuff I don't.

[abraxas]

Oh sorry nice catch, I didn't mean to indicated that it happened in the film, but rather in the filming of one of the water scenes, not in the actual finished film.

[GL]

Yeah, but that's the reason why it looks so ungangly in the film, it was detached before filming the scene.