DaikaijuSokogeki! wrote:You know, I'm not really fond of this film. It's just more proof that Honda didn't care about the genre anymore and didn't want to put much effort in. Yeah, there is some effort, namely in the camerawork and attempts to bring out emotion from our leads, but it's nothing compared to when he had Tsuburaya's cooperation. The human drama is dry and unconvincing, which isn't helped by some of the really forgettable acting. Honestly, our lead falls for Katsura way too quickly and adamantly for me to even have time for emotional investment. Godzilla's role in this film is extremely weak, appearing simply for convenience's sake. He's simply a plot device in this film.
Still, there is some good to this film. I enjoyed Ifukube's synth-heavy score, although it is EXTREMELY repetitive. Nakano's still on his A-game here, providing some spectacular effects in Tokyo's destruction. The final fight is entertaining, although Mechagodzilla doesn't exactly do much here. It helps that Titanosaurus is a very distinctive kaiju, and definitely the main highlight of the film.
So yeah, I'm not a fan of Terror of Mechagodzilla. Its human drama is contrived, and two of the three kaiju have pretty weak roles. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is vastly more entertaining.
Man, I fall exactly the opposite of you. To me, Terror of Mechagodzilla is Honda proving that he is indeed the master and allowing the franchise to go out on an up note. Mechagodzilla '74, though an improvement from the last few, is a pretty terrible and formula-driven movie outside of the kaiju scenes. Here Honda makes the best of what the series had become and delivered a great film. Katsura's storyline, though very B-movie sci-fi, was one that captivated me most, harkening back to the darkness of the original. To me, the end of the Japanese version is what defines the movie: Godzilla is victorious and disappearing from our sight into the ocean's depths like the mythical creature he is, but on the human side? We don't get the usual smiling, happy, relieved Japanese waving goodbye at the end of the movie. Instead, roughly all the main characters are dead and Interpol are gloomily standing over Katsura's body.
I wouldn't say Godzilla is a plot device either. In the 70s, he was firmly the hero. He showed up to save the day. He had already been developed in the previous dozen movies. The pre-title credits recapping Mechagodzilla '74 were enough exposition for him. Here the creature's grandeur has been restored somewhat and I was actually moved to root for him more than usual since he was up against such great odds.
I also dig how Honda revamped the apes (creepy face rippings > monkey transformations) and the whole groovy ethical question regarding Titanosaurus (a peaceful dinosaur forced by humans to do evil). Sure, the lead falls for Katsura far too fast, but in a Japanese monster film, that's one of the easiest things to let go. The lead was sympathetic and I felt for his plight.
IMO, Terror of Mechagodzilla has the best human stuff going on since Mothra vs Godzilla (not that the entries in between really tried all that hard). The american cut is a butchering, but the original Japanese cut, imo, is golden and was certainly the end of an era.
even though his attacks with his tail fin was weak. 
I saw this on tv not on VHS way back sadly but now I own both movies! 
