Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
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| Godzilla vs. Megaguirus | |
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 The Theatrical Poster for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus |
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| Directed by | Masaki Tezuka |
| Produced by | Shogo Tomiyama |
| Written by | Wataru Mimura Hiroshi Kashiwabara |
| Starring | Misato Tanaka Shosuke Tanihara |
| Music by | Michiru Oshima |
| Cinematography | Masahiro Kishimoto |
| Editing by | Yoshiyuki Okuhara |
| Distributed by | Toho TriStar (USA) |
| Release date(s) | November 3, 2000 |
| Running time | 105 min. |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | $11,000,000 (est.) |
| Preceded by | Godzilla |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, released in Japan as Godzilla×Megaguirus: G Shōmetsu Sakusen (ゴジラ×メガギラス G消滅作戦 Gojira tai Megagirasu Jī Shōmetsu Sakusen?, lit. "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus: G Extermination Command"), is the twenty-fourth of Toho Studios' Godzilla film series, and the second of the Shinsei Series to feature an original daikaiju, Megaguirus. It was the first of three Godzilla films directed by Masaaki Tezuka and the last of two with special effects by Kenji Suzuki. It debuted at the Tokyo International Film Festival on December 3, the 46th anniversary of the release of the original Godzilla. Like other Shinsei Series entries, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus ignores previous film continuity: in its universe, Godzilla has previously appeared in Tokyo in 1954, the Tokaimura Power Plant in 1966 and Osaka in 1996. Additionally, it features minor kaiju seen previously only in Rodan (1956).
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[edit] Plot
An experimental weapon that fires miniature black holes, called the Dimension Tide, opens a wormhole and through which a giant prehistoric dragonfly enters the present. It deposits a single egg before exiting through the wormhole. A boy finds the egg and takes it with him when he moves to Tokyo. The egg starts oozing a strange liquid, so the boy throws the egg in the sewer. The egg, actually a mass of hundreds of eggs, splits up and starts growing. The eggs hatch into giant dragonfly nymphs called Meganurons that come out of the sewer to feed. They flood a portion of the city and moult on the sides of buildings, becoming adult Meganuera.
The swarm of Meganuera attack Godzilla, who is in battle with the G-Graspers, the anti-Godzilla section of the JSDF. Most Meganuera are killed, but a few drain some of Godzilla's blood and return to the sewer. With the last of their strength, the Meganuera inject Godzilla's blood into a huge, sleeping nymph. It molts and appears from the water as Megaguirus, the huge Meganuera queen.
After destroying part of the city with shock waves generated by her beating wings, Megaguirus heads to the waterfront and faces Godzilla. Being territorial, Megaguirus considers the city to be her hunting ground. She uses her speed to avoid Godzilla's attacks, but Godzilla eventually uses his speed against her. As she flies toward Godzilla, he lunges forward with his dorsal spines in her path. She flies into the spines, and one of her arms is severed.
During the battle, a special ability of Megaguirus is revealed: Having grown on blood from Godzilla, she can generate a blast similar to his atomic ray. She fires a huge ball of radiation, knocking Godzilla down. He gets back up, and Megaguirus goes in for the kill. She speeds forward with the stinger on her long tail lowered, trying to stab Godzilla between the eyes. But Godzilla catches the stinger in his mouth! He bites down, crushing the stinger. Megaguirus rears up in pain, and Godzilla takes the chance to finally blast her with his atomic ray. She bursts into flame, and after being hit a second time falls to the ground and explodes, ending her savage life.
The Dimension Tide is used against Godzilla and is seemingly successful, but in an aftercredits scene, Godzilla's roar is heard as an apparent earthquake strikes Tokyo.
[edit] Cast
The cast of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus are predominantly new faces to kaiju eiga, but the film began a tradition in the Shinsei Series of casting veteran genre cast members, especially from the Shōwa era, in older, authoritarian roles: Yuriko Hoshi, who played photographer Junko in Mothra vs. Godzilla and reporter Naoko in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, cameos as Professor Yoshizawa, director of the Dimension Tide project.
- Misato Tanaka - Kiriko Tsujimori
- Shosuke Tanihara - Hajime Kudo
- Masatō Ibu - Motohiko Sugiura
- Yuriko Hoshi - Prof. Yoshino Yoshizawa
- Toshiyuki Nagashima - Takuji Miyagawa
- Tsutomu Kitagawa - Godzilla
- Minoru Watanabe - Megaguirus
[edit] Title
- Godzilla X Megaguirus: G Extermination Strategy
- Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
- Godzilla X Megaguirus
- GXM
[edit] Box Office
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus was a box office failure during its Japanese theatrical run, with its $10 million gross making it the least popular of the millennium series.
[edit] DVD Releases
Sony Pictures
- Released: January 27, 2004
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Japanese (5.1), English (5.1)
- Supplements: Trailers for the American Godzilla, The Medallion, Alien Hunter, Returner, and So Close
[edit] Trivia
- Half-way through the movie, the main monster Megaguirus is flying around the flooded city, and when he pauses ontop of a building, you can clearly see the wires used to make him fly. This is quite odd as in the rest of the film, they are edited out. (Region 1 DVD)
- Megaguirus is adapted from a monster that first appeared in the 1956 film Rodan, namely Meganulon, a giant caterpillar-like insect. Millions of Meganulon appear in this film, acting as the larval stage before becoming Meganula, basically the same form but with wings and stingers.
- The opening footage of the film which flashes back to Godzilla's first attack on Tokyo is actually footage from the original Gojira (1954 film) with the new Godzilla suit digitally edited in.
- This film features the first score by composer Michiru Oshima. Oshima is the first female composer in the Godzilla series, and she would go on to score two more Shinsei films, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S..
