Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
The Theatrical Poster for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Directed by	Masaki Tezuka
Written by	Wataru Mimura Hiroshi Kashiwabara
Produced by	Shogo Tomiyama
Starring	Misato Tanaka Shosuke Tanihara
Cinematography	Masahiro Kishimoto
Edited by	Yoshiyuki Okuhara
Music by	Michiru Oshima
Distributed by	Toho TriStar (USA)
Release dates	November 3, 2000
Running time	105 min.
Language	Japanese
Budget	$11,000,000 (est.)

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, released in Japan as Godzilla × Megaguirus: G Shōmetsu Sakusen (ゴジラ×メガギラス G消滅作戦, Gojira tai Megagirasu Jī Shōmetsu Sakusen, lit. "Godzilla × Megaguirus: G Extermination Strategy"), is the twenty-fourth of Toho Studios' Godzilla film series, and the second of the Shinsei Series to feature an original daikaiju, Megaguirus. It was the first of three Godzilla films directed by Masaaki Tezuka and the last of two with special effects by Kenji Suzuki. It debuted at the Tokyo International Film Festival on December 3. Like other Millennium Series entries, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus ignores previous film continuity: in its universe, Godzilla has previously appeared in Tokyo in 1954, the Tokaimura Power Plant in 1966 and Osaka in 1996. Additionally, it features minor kaiju seen previously only in Rodan (1956).

Plot

In 2001, an experimental satellite-based weapon that fires miniature black holes, called the Dimension Tide, opens a wormhole through which a giant prehistoric dragonfly enters the present and deposits a single egg before exiting through the wormhole. A boy finds the egg and takes it with him when he moves to Tokyo. The egg starts oozing a strange liquid, so the boy throws the egg in the sewer. The egg, actually a mass of hundreds of eggs, splits up and starts growing when exposed to water, hatching into giant dragonfly larva called Meganulon that come out of the sewer to feed on energy. They flood a portion of the city and moult on the sides of buildings, becoming adult Meganula.

Meanwhile Godzilla appears, apparently in search of a source of nuclear energy, despite the edict shutting down all such attractants after his three previous appearances. While he is fighting the G-Graspers (the anti-Godzilla section of the JSDF) who are assisted by rebellious young scientific genius Hajime Kudo, the swarm of Meganula are attracted in turn to his energy, and attack him. Most Meganula are killed, but a few drain some of Godzilla's blood and return to the sewer. With the last of their strength, the Meganula inject Godzilla's blood into a huge, sleeping larva that is in a giant, pulsating cocoon. It molts and appears from the water as Megaguirus, the queen of the Meganula.

After destroying part of the city with shock waves generated by her beating wings, Megaguirus heads to the waterfront and faces Godzilla. Being territorial, Megaguirus considers the city to be her hunting ground. As they engage in a lengthy battle, she uses her speed to avoid Godzilla's attacks, but Godzilla eventually uses her speed against her. As she flies toward Godzilla, he lunges forward with his dorsal fins in her path. She flies into the spines, and one of her arms is severed.

During the battle, a special ability of Megaguirus is revealed: Having grown on blood from Godzilla, she can generate a blast similar to his atomic breath. She fires a huge ball of radiation, knocking Godzilla down. He gets back up, and Megaguirus goes in for the kill. She speeds forward with the stinger on her long tail lowered, trying to stab Godzilla between the eyes. In a climactic moment, Godzilla catches the stinger in his mouth. He bites down, crushing the stinger. Megaguirus rears up in pain, and Godzilla takes the chance to finally blast her with his atomic breath. She bursts into flame, and after being hit a second time falls to the ground and explodes, ending her savage life.

It is revealed that Godzilla was attracted to the energy of a secret nuclear project housed at the Science Institute, in violation of the ban, by the respected Professor Yoshizawa. The G-Graspers are now wanting to kill godzilla to(despite the fact that he just saved them) however with the Dimension Tide falling out of orbit they are unable to get a lock on Godzilla, until the beautiful and heroic young Major Tsujimori dives their new futuristic aircraft, the Gryphon, at incredible speed straight towards the mighty brute, ejecting only at the last second (to land safely in a swimming pool, with no sign of a parachute). The Dimension Tide is able to lock on to the craft and fires just before burning up on reentry; Godzilla vanishes and everyone celebrates. In a postlude, however, Major Tsujimori once more enlists Kudo to investigate suspicious seismic activity; then in an after-credits scene, Godzilla's roar is heard again as an "earthquake" strikes Tokyo.

Cast

The cast of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus are predominantly new faces to kaiju eiga, but the film began a tradition in the Shinsei Series of casting veteran genre cast members, especially from the Shōwa era, in older, authoritarian roles: Yuriko Hoshi, who played photographer Junko in Mothra vs. Godzilla and reporter Naoko in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, cameos as Professor Yoshizawa, director of the Dimension Tide project.

• Misato Tanaka - Kiriko Tsujimori
• Shosuke Tanihara - Hajime Kudo
• Masatō Ibu - Motohiko Sugiura
• Yuriko Hoshi - Prof. Yoshino Yoshizawa
• Toshiyuki Nagashima - Takuji Miyagawa
• Tsutomu Kitagawa - Godzilla
• Minoru Watanabe - Megaguirus

Title

• Godzilla X Megaguirus: G Extermination Strategy
• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
• Godzilla X Megaguirus
• GXM

Box office

The budget of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is estimated at $8,300,000. It opened in Japan on December 16, 2000, and during its box office run, it grossed approximately $10,000,000, making it the second lowest-grossing entry in the "Millennium" Godzilla series. Total admissions in Japan were approximately 1,350,000.

Reception

Critical reaction to Godzilla vs. Megaguirus has been mixed. Ed Godziszewski of Monster Zero said, "While not the best example of filmmaking, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus nonetheless succeeds as an entertaining film." Miles Imhoff of Toho Kingdom said, "Run-of-the-mill, mediocre, and sterile are the three words that best describe Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. It is a movie that attempts to be creative and edgy, but somehow fails, leaving one wanting with futility to really try to enjoy the film."

Stomp Tokyo said "the music is pretty good" but "this movie isn't a step forward in the ways that it really should be." Mike Bogue of American Kaiju said, "Though not the best of the post-Showa Godzilla movies, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is one of the most entertaining." Ian Jane of DVD Talk said, "While not the best entry in the Godzilla series, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus ... [is] still a really solid entry with some great special effects and a very memorable monster mash finale."

Matt Paprocki of Blog Critics called the film "a true classic in the series," adding: "It's impossible not to be entertained somewhat, whether you're looking for camp value or serious giant monster action. This one has everything that is required of the [kaiju] genre." Andrew Pragasam of The Spinning Image called the film a "flawed, but entertaining comic book extravaganza" that "only partially delivers as a slam-bang monster epic" and suffers from "a lack of likeable characters." Popcorn Pictures said, "Toho doesn't show the same faith in Godzilla as it once had and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is proof of this. It's basically a rehash of other films with some better special effects."

DVD Releases

Sony Pictures

• Released: January 27, 2004
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Japanese (5.1), English (5.1)
• Supplements: Trailers for the American Godzilla, The Medallion, Alien Hunter, Returner, and So Close

Trivia

• In the Sony-released Region 1 DVD, halfway through the movie, the main monster Megaguirus is flying around the flooded city, and when she pauses on top of a building, the wires used to make her fly are clearly visible. While this is a result of a brightness change for the Sony DVD release, the rest of the film had the wires edited out.
• Megaguirus is adapted from a monster that first appeared in the 1956 film Rodan, namely Meganulon, a giant caterpillar-like insect. Hundreds of Meganulon appear in this film, acting as the larval stage before becoming giant dragonflies called Meganula.
• The opening footage of the film which flashes back to Godzilla's first attack on Tokyo is actually footage from the original Godzilla with the new Godzilla suit digitally edited in.
• This film features the first score by composer Michiru Oshima. Oshima is the first female composer in the Godzilla series, and she would go on to score two more Millenium era films, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S..
• All reference to the Oxygen Destroyer used to vanquish Godzilla in 1954 is omitted. Godzilla simply swims away for a nap in the Pacific Basin only to return in 1966. Therefore this Godzilla is the first Godzilla, seeing as how it did not get affected by the Oxygen Destroyer.
• Despite the fact that Godzilla in Godzilla 2000: Millennium appears exactly like the one in this movie, the movie's continuity is different from the previous film.

External links

• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus at IMDb
• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus at AllMovie
• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus at Rotten Tomatoes
• "ゴジラ×メガギラス G消滅作戦 (Gojira tai Megagirasu Jī Shōmetsu Sakusen)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-19.