The Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

The Terror of Mechagodzilla (Mekagojira no gyakushu)
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Written by Yukiku Takayama
1975/Japan
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel

Tsuda: Your heart is frozen and dry. Who’d love a cyborg, a person who is not a person? So remember, forget about Earthlings. They’re no concern of yours. There’s only one emotion that controls your mind. What emotion is that? What controls you?
Katsura Mafune: [listlessly] Vengeance and hate. Revenge.
Tsuda: Quite right. That’s good.

Ishiro Honda returns to the Godzilla franchise.  It certainly has changed over the years.

Some space aliens have decided to destroy our planet using space age metallic monsters Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus. Interpol is onto the plot.  There is an ancient prophesy drawn on cave walls that says that when the red moon rises and the sun sets in the West, two monsters will arise to save the planet.  Island people know that only King Caesar (a giant furry Chinese lion type thing) can save the planet.  They would like to see the mainland destroyed first.  But some journalists steal King Caesar’s statue.  Also the space aliens kidnap a professor to repair Mechagodzilla. A whole bunch of stuff happens.  Every time an alien is killed his face turns into a gorilla’s.   I never did figure out why or much else about the story.  Unintentionally funny monster battles bracket the film and there is one scene of the mass destruction of a city by the alien monsters.

In just twenty years, Honda’s original monster has morphed from a terrifying metaphor for nuclear destruction to humanity’s savior.

Pros: No annoying little kid; lots of lame but spectacular effects; hilarious monster battle action. Cons: sitcom music; too much story, too little action; too many loose ends.  Firsts: Furry monster. Verdict: OK for when your inner 12 year old needs a workout.