Terror of Mechagodzilla

Watch: Terror of Mechagodzilla

3/1/19781h 23m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ It has become even more enraged! It has even more powerful weapons! Mechagodzilla has been resurrected! ~

Overview:

A submarine expedition to salvage the remains of Mechagodzilla is thwarted by a massive dinosaur named Titanosaurus. An Interpol investigation leads biologist Ichinose to uncover the work of Dr. Mafune and his mysterious daughter Katsura. Aligned with the Black Hole Aliens, Katsura's life becomes entwined with the resurrected machine.

Director:

Ishirō Honda

Status:

Released

Language:

Japanese

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$970,000.00

Key words:

mind control
submarine
self sacrifice
mad scientist
mechagodzilla
alien
dinosaur
alien invasion
kaiju
invasion of earth
female cyborg
complex
godzilla
suicide by gun
understated
tokusatsu

Cast

Katsuhiko Sasaki

~ as ~

Biologist Akira Ichinose

Tomoko Ai

~ as ~

Katsura Mafune

Akihiko Hirata

~ as ~

Dr. Shinzô Mafune

Tadao Nakamaru

~ as ~

INTERPOL Chief Tagawa

Gorō Mutsumi

~ as ~

Commander Mugal

Masaaki Daimon

~ as ~

Captain Kusakari

Katsumasa Uchida

~ as ~

Jiro Murakoshi

Shin Roppongi

~ as ~

Yûuchi Wakayama

Tōru Ibuki

~ as ~

Deputy Commander Tsuda

Kenji Sahara

~ as ~

Defense Force Commander

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 10 year(s) ago
8
The last of the original wave of Zilla movies.

It has a mixed reputation among the fans, but Terror of Mechagodzilla is a romp of a sequel, one that's not without deep emotional heart.

Plot is bonkers of course, aliens are plotting to rule the world and have recreated Mechagodzilla after Godzilla shredded it to pieces in the previous meeting of the two beasts (Godzilla V Mechagodzilla). There's Interpol agents running around not exactly in control of anything, a vengeful scientist with an agenda who aids the aliens, while his daughter has become a cyborg designed to control Titanosaurus, a gigantic amphibious dinosaur that teams up with Mechagodzilla to stomp on Tokyo. All is lost for mankind, until Godzilla climbs out of the ocean to hopefully protect his domain.

The return of Ishirō Honda to the director's chair is a reassuring presence, and it helps the film retain a classy production level. The monster smack-downs are neatly choreographed, the model work is wonderfully 1970s, and Akira Ifukube's thunderous score gladdens the spirit as it simultaneously rocks your bones. Yukiko Takayama's screenplay contains intelligence, where the sci-fi boffin speak is spliced with deep observations on humanity and what it means to be part of such a race etc.

Fan division usually comes down to who likes super-hero Godzilla or who likes Godzilla in destroy everything mode. This is the former, and it's cheer worthy, the atomic lizard in a bad mood would not surface again for 10 years, and by then the direction of Zilla's fortunes got increasingly silly. This marks "Terror" as something of a franchise closure to be cherished, and rightly so because it has all the good parts that made the first Toho wave so enjoyable. So turn up the volume, open your screens out and indulge. Wonderful. 8/10