Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

[ゴジラvsメカゴジラ]

Director: Takao Okawara
Starring: Masahiro Takashima, Ryoko Sano, Megumi Odaka

Synopsis:
A UN task force develops a new superweapon to counter Godzilla.

Impressions:
Contrary to what the English title would suggest, this is not a sequel to the original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla but rather to the previous year's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. In this story, Mechagodzilla isn't created by aliens but rather by humans reverse-engineering Mecha-King Ghidorah. More of the film is spent fighting Rodan than Godzilla himself. I'm not a huge fan of introducing Baby Godzilla here (and apparently neither was the director), but I did like the bond that formed between him and Azusa. I had doubts about the inclusion of psychics into the story, but this is partially due to the fact that I haven't watched the Heisei films in order and didn't realize that this element gets established earlier and is continued throughout much of the series (to the point where Miki Saegusa is the most commonly recurring human character in the entire franchise). I was reminded how much I like the Heisei design of Godzilla, which stands out in this round of viewing where I saw this sandwiched by a pair of Showa and Millennium films. Admittedly, the inclusion of Baby and Aoki's comic relief moments undercut the otherwise darker feel of the film. Overall, though, this is a pretty solid entry in the franchise and worth a watch.

Rating:
Watch It