This movie is one of my personal favorites for a good reason. Some of showa era movies are infamous for their bland uninteresting character while this one have well made characters including Akihito Hirata's scientist character and the main villain. the main human plot has a kind of thriller type vibe to it but terror i think has more of that. Mechagodzilla's design in this is truly iconic because of how threatening he looks and with his arsenal of weapons. the screen time of Godzilla is about the right amount a Godzilla movie needs. Over all a brilliant film with brilliant action.

There was just no end to the Japanese GODZILLA series. Year after year the films were churned out, alien adversaries appearing, wreaking havoc, and then being killed time after time. Strangely enough, the films were never boring either, as all contained an immaculate sense of spectacle and fun which made them hugely enjoyable to watch. GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA is no different.Like the Hammer horror series, Toho decided to introduce more adult material as the '70s dawned on their GODZILLA films. Therefore, gore and nudity was added into the blend, and the opening scene where Anguilis has his jaw half ripped off is proof of this. When the monsters fight now, blood sprays everywhere in huge arterial fountains, something to see I'm sure you'll agree. Apart from the gore content, the rest of the material is much the same, with the heroes fighting off the alien adversaries, lots of shooting, and laser beams flying everywhere. This time around the aliens are monkeys in human form, and the scenes of them getting injured and reverting back to their original forms are done quite cleverly in the special effects department and looks very nice indeed.The actors are all typical of the series, and this time around my print had hilarious subtitles instead of hilarious dubbing (a man looks out of a plane window and shouts "A big black cloud!"). Strangely enough Godzilla is hardly in the film, with much of the plot being involved in the human intrigue. The invention of Mechagodzilla is very clever though and he looks impressive, complete with laser beam eyes and guns for his fingers. The other main monster in the film (apart from Anguilis, the whipping boy's guest appearance) is a shabby old guy called King Seeser, who strangely has reflectors for his eyes and huge, bat like ears. It's pretty funny to watch him run around and get knocked over repeatedly. GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA is typical of this series, not one of the best but not one of the worst either. In any case, it's solid entertainment for the initiated.

I'll be fair and say that after the dismal "Godzilla vs. Megalon" (1973), long-time series director Jun Fukuda's "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" (1974) was a welcome return-to-form for the then-fledgling "Godzilla" series of films of the Showa Era. For the longest time, "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla," in my opinion, I believed was one of the best films of the Showa series, and I still believe that.In this film, the Simians, ape-like aliens from a distant galaxy similar to ours, have their eyes set on Earth's destruction. To accomplish this task, they've built the cyborg monster Mechagodzilla. Of course, much like the Terminator cyborg, Mechagodzilla appears wearing a rubber disguise of the real Godzilla. Soon enough, the real Godzilla does appear and unmasks his robotic doppelganger, revealing the creature in all its shiny, space titanium glory.Mechagodzilla is unique amongst Toho kaiju (monsters) because it is the only monster, in any incarnation of the character, to ever actually come close to actually killing the great King of the Monsters. Yes, that's right. Godzilla actually comes pretty close to biting the big one in no due part to his heavily armed, heavily armored mechanical twin nemesis; Lord knows, Godzilla does bleed enough during his final confrontation with Mechagodzilla to warrant a young one to cover their eyes in horror at Our Monster Hero bleeding profusely during battle with an enemy that may just send him to his maker. (I don't believe any other monster has ever come close to accomplishing this task, not even the monster Destoroyah from 1995's "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.") But Godzilla does have some help here, mostly in the form of long-time ally Anguirus (who throws the humans onto the evil aliens' plot) and series newcomer King Caesar, a monster-god of Okinawan origin that is an awkward combination of a dog and a lion.A lot of people will comment about the special effects here, which are flawed indeed due to Toho's well-documented financial troubles in the early 1970s. But that doesn't stop the fact that "Godzilla vs. Mechagodziila" does have some of the best pyrotechnic effects of any film from the Showa series. I'm talking about when Godzilla and Mechagodzilla first fight at the oil refinery, to Godzilla's "shocking" return to Monster Island where he recharges after said fight, and the final three-way showdown between Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and King Caesar in Okinawa."Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" is still one of my favorites, though, despite its flaws. It features a key supporting role from the late, great, long-time "Godzilla" actor Akihiko Hirata as Professor Miyajimi (he first appeared as the tortured Dr. Serizawa in the original 1954 "Godzilla"), who is kidnapped and forced by the aliens to help repair Mechagodzilla after the monster's head controls are damaged during its initial confrontation with Godzilla. There's also a lot of James Bond-like intrigue thrown into the plot, amongst various other elements from American spy movies, which were incredibly popular at the time and allow the film to flow at an incredibly rapid pace. This movie also has one of the most beautiful and exotic scores (by Masaru Satoh) of any film from the Showa series, largely because it makes good use of the alternating mainland Japan/Okinawan locations in the story."Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" was followed by a direct sequel titled "Terror of Mechagodzilla" one year later in 1975, which would mark the end of the first generation of "Godzilla" pictures before "Godzilla 1985" (1984) marked the rebirth of the King of the Monsters for the Heisei series of films, and he was once again returned to his roots as a fearsome, rampaging menace.6/10

Godzilla rises from the watery depths ticked off at a mechanical prototype resembling itself, created by alien spacemen bent on conquering the earth. The aliens also wish to retrieve a statuette representing a monstrous guardian of a dying family, King Shisa, a creature sleeping within a mountain who can only be awakened by an ancestor's soulful tune. A Nobel Prize winning professor, his daughter, two brothers(..one uncovers the mountainous lair containing the aliens' hidden fortress where their control room is located for the mechanical Godzilla creation, the other's crew helped discover the King Shisa statuette), and an archaeologist attempt to stop the aliens and help Godzilla fight the Mecha-Godzilla which is equipped with a variety of hi-tech weaponry at it's disposal. Joining forces with Godzilla, an awakened King Shisa prime for combat, the two monsters will duke it out with the giant robot which has superior firepower, but is still a machine..the professor will get much needed assistance in a pair of Interpol agents with the goal of overthrowing the aliens and ending their plans of world domination.The plot is preposterous and corny...there's no denying that. If you just read what I wrote, then you should not be surprised entering a movie with a title of Godzilla vs Mecha-Godzilla that it isn't entertaining for some deep, penetrating message that has you evaluating life. This is a massive plot surrounding what the audience pay to see..rubber monsters fighting each other with lots of models being destroyed. Godzilla, for instance, battles a creature called Anguirus and actually pumps his fists at the monster(..putting up his dukes and challenging the creature as if preparing it for a barroom brawl)before pummeling it into submission..we later discover that it wasn't Godzilla at all but the Mecha-Godzilla. The aliens are basically Japanese actors in silver jumpsuits(..the leader even smokes a cigar, often smirking at his human adversaries when he isn't teasing them, propelling himself to victory before the combat had started)and when they are shot or killed, their faces change into gorilla masks! You can't help but break out in laughter..it's just too much. But, the whole movie is pure campy fun and I was in the right mood for this junk. The film really has a little too much plot for it's own good, using the kitchen sink formula to the maximum. I think fans of kaiju eiga will find this laboring because there are limited numbers of battles, mainly in the opening and the big showdown at the end with a lot of story in the center. And, only one minor(..well, for these movies anyway)attack on a city with an apartment complex and village homes toppled and crushed. Most of the film's major battle occurs in the countryside of Okinawa(..Tokyo got a break for a change)where our heroes look on as two monsters attempt to destroy their difficult enemy.Poor Anguirus(..resembling a four-legged dinosaur with it's back top heavy with spikes)just gets pulverized in it's battle with who was thought to be Godzilla..body slammed and hip-tossed like a minuscule pro wrestler, Anguirus crawls away helpless and bleeding from the mouth. Shisa, a hideous "lion-dog", should tickle your funny-bone..it's quite a creation, this monster. The Mecha-Godzilla looks like a giant tin robot replica of Godzilla, it's head can turn all the way around, it has a forcefield/shield as a temporary protection, has flying capabilities(..as Godzilla discovers all too well), can fire rockets, lasers, and rays at it's opponents. For a moment, Godzilla looked vanquished until it "hulked up", building a magnetic field, soon, with help by Shisa, gaining the upper hand. I could go through the cast, but they aren't as consequential towards your enjoyment of this film as the monsters themselves, although it's clear that everyone involved desired more than just what the audience expected..that has to admired, I think.