The Godzilla "Millennium" series is infamous for its lack of continuity. A majority of the six films in this series were each made as a direct sequel to the original "Godzilla" film, like this one, and almost none of the films connect, except for Godzilla X Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo SOS.
This film is about a female Japanese soldier who is out to avenge the death of her colleague, who was killed by Godzilla. She is part of the project team that created the Gryphon, a high-tech ship, and the Dimension Tide, a device that creates artificial black holes. Once activated, this "black hole" will suck in everything in its path, and they hope they can vanquish Godzilla in this way. Unfortunately, their testing mutates insect eggs that hatch into dragonfly-like bugs called Meganurons. These creatures need water to grow and they feed on the energy of humans. After gathering enough energy, they transform in to giant dragonfly monsters called Meganuras, and eventually, they bring enough energy to awaken their queen, Megaguirus. When Megaguirus and Godzilla meet, it is the usual monster battle in the heart of the city.
The special effects were quite good. But, the storyline is serviceable at best because this movie mainly focuses on the female lead and her quest for revenge, rather than the monsters. Being a film that is supposed to be made as a direct sequel to the original 1954 Godzilla film, more emphasis should have been placed on Godzilla, his origins and his reason for returning to Japan after being killed off in the original Godzilla movie. Godzilla basically appears on cue in this film, with only slight references of his passed attacks on Tokyo in 1954 and in the 1960s and 1990s. As a direct sequel to the original Godzilla, the monster should have been given a more intriguing entrance, which would generate more suspense, like his entrance in the 1984 film "The Return of Godzilla" (Godzilla 1985). With this and other films in the Millennium series, too much attention was focused on the military and a character's personal vendetta against Godzilla.
One notable mention for this film is the return of actress Yuriko Hoshi, who played the photographer in "Mothra vs. Godzilla" (1964) and the reporter in "Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964).
One of the things I like about this film is that, unlike most of the other movies in the Millennium series, this one introduced a new monster. Megaguirus is one of the few monsters that were originally created for the Millennium series and I thought it was well-executed. The Meganurons attacking citizens, with Michiru Ohshima's moving and catchy music score in the background, is pretty intriguing.
Overall, there are plenty of monster and human action, but overshadowed by a pretty dull plot and climax, capping off what is a lackluster Godzilla film.
Grade D+
This film is about a female Japanese soldier who is out to avenge the death of her colleague, who was killed by Godzilla. She is part of the project team that created the Gryphon, a high-tech ship, and the Dimension Tide, a device that creates artificial black holes. Once activated, this "black hole" will suck in everything in its path, and they hope they can vanquish Godzilla in this way. Unfortunately, their testing mutates insect eggs that hatch into dragonfly-like bugs called Meganurons. These creatures need water to grow and they feed on the energy of humans. After gathering enough energy, they transform in to giant dragonfly monsters called Meganuras, and eventually, they bring enough energy to awaken their queen, Megaguirus. When Megaguirus and Godzilla meet, it is the usual monster battle in the heart of the city.
The special effects were quite good. But, the storyline is serviceable at best because this movie mainly focuses on the female lead and her quest for revenge, rather than the monsters. Being a film that is supposed to be made as a direct sequel to the original 1954 Godzilla film, more emphasis should have been placed on Godzilla, his origins and his reason for returning to Japan after being killed off in the original Godzilla movie. Godzilla basically appears on cue in this film, with only slight references of his passed attacks on Tokyo in 1954 and in the 1960s and 1990s. As a direct sequel to the original Godzilla, the monster should have been given a more intriguing entrance, which would generate more suspense, like his entrance in the 1984 film "The Return of Godzilla" (Godzilla 1985). With this and other films in the Millennium series, too much attention was focused on the military and a character's personal vendetta against Godzilla.
One notable mention for this film is the return of actress Yuriko Hoshi, who played the photographer in "Mothra vs. Godzilla" (1964) and the reporter in "Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964).
One of the things I like about this film is that, unlike most of the other movies in the Millennium series, this one introduced a new monster. Megaguirus is one of the few monsters that were originally created for the Millennium series and I thought it was well-executed. The Meganurons attacking citizens, with Michiru Ohshima's moving and catchy music score in the background, is pretty intriguing.
Overall, there are plenty of monster and human action, but overshadowed by a pretty dull plot and climax, capping off what is a lackluster Godzilla film.
Grade D+