Rating: **
Review Date: 10/2/01
After the technical embarrassment of "Godzilla 2000" (1999), what else is in store for the big G? In this film, continuity is thrown out the window once again and another alternate history is presented that completely disregards the fact the Godzilla died in "Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah" (1995) and was replaced by Godzilla Jr. G-Force may be gone, but a new organization called G-Grasper has taken its place to study Godzilla and deal with him as necessary. Conveniently, they're just as ineffective and silly as their predecessors. G-Grasper is headed up by a feisty young woman named Tsujimori who has a personal vendetta against Godzilla for the death of her supervising officer back in 1996 when the big G attacked a plasma energy lab. She and her team have developed a nasty black hole weapon called "Dimension Tide" which they intend to use on Godzilla, oblivious to the fact that a black hole was responsible for the creation and mutation of Space Godzilla in "Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla" (1994). The initial test firing of DT is successful, but a fluctuation in the space-time continuum allowed a nasty critter to visit the test site and lay some eggs. A young boy finds one of the eggs and promptly dumps it in the Tokyo sewer where a whole brood of Meganula creatures starts to grow. For whatever inexplicable reasons, the appearance of these giant dragonfly creatures causes Shibuya to submerge underwater, where the queen Megaguirus is waiting to emerge. Naturally all hell breaks loose as Godzilla and Megaguirus take to the streets, and G-Grasper desperately tries to destroy them both with their doomsday device.
Fortunately, most of the effects are much better than "Godzilla 2000," but they're still full of problems. The film tries to combine miniature work with computer animation, with mixed results that are still nowhere close to the proficiency achieved by "Gamera 2" (1996) and "Gamera 3" (1999). The biggest flaw, however, is in the poor cinematography which utilizes drop-frame slow motion and bizarre strobe photography which seriously cheapens the look of the film and draws attention to the scale of the models and monsters. The results are visually inexcusable.
On the amusing side, G-Grasper has a totally ridiculous "super-ship" much like the one in "Godzilla 1985" (1985) that is completely useless. Godzilla also seems to always surprise people when he shows up, as he is apparently impossible to track. (huh?) So finally, after forty-five years, someone decides to attach a tracking device to him so they know where he is at all times. Wow, there are a lot of sharp people working at G-Grasper, let me tell you. They can make a black hole gun, but they never thought about putting a bell around Godzilla's neck? Hmmm... One of the brilliant scientists at G-Grasper with a little too much time on his hands also creates a new super operating system which is the silliest thing I've seen since since the computers in "Jurassic Park" (1993). And then there's the film's most stupifying scene, a shot of Godzilla leaping onto Megaguirus in full pro wrestling style. What the hell?!? This is so ridiculous and so hilarious that it must be seen to be appreciated. Overall, it's a fun and campy giant monster slug fest that should keep kaiju fans marginally pleased.