Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S takes place shortly after Godzilla against Mechagodzilla, with MechaG still being repaired from the last battle. As they do, the twin fairy goddesses of Mothra appear to, in a nice touch, the person who helped them in the original Mothra movie in the sixties. "People made a weapon out of the bones of Godzilla. That was a mistake." They say, and then warn them that unless MechaG, who uses the skeleton and DNA of the first Godzilla, is dumped into the sea Mothra will declare war on the human race.
It's a nice start, but the middle is somewhat dull, as we follow the man's relative,who is one of the mechanics of MechaG. Millennium-series Godzilla films tend to have a very formulaic plot: person in military has issues, Godzilla appears, military tries to fight him off with the help of other monsters, they win. Person resolves their issues. This doesn't break the trend, and honestly you'll wish they just dropped the mechanic altogether at times.
What saves it is some very nice direction. Tokyo S.O.S. has some striking shots for a Godzilla movie. Mothra, outside on a mountain as the snow falls, MechaG ducking behind a building to fire its missiles at Godzilla, who retaliates by firing his breath through it. Mu favorite is just a simple long shot of mechaG with all three white heron craft hovering overhead, staring down Godzilla.
The designs are also nice. The White Heron craft and MechaG are nicely made, and this version of Mothra seems much better than in other movies, like Mothra and Godzilla: the battle for earth. The battle is okay, but like in Godzilla against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla is a bit too immobile and nonreactive. Though he is better here than in that film. That sense of polish is why I rate it a 7 rather than a 5, as apart from it, it really is an average Godzilla film unlikely to convert anyone into being a G-Fan.
It's a nice start, but the middle is somewhat dull, as we follow the man's relative,who is one of the mechanics of MechaG. Millennium-series Godzilla films tend to have a very formulaic plot: person in military has issues, Godzilla appears, military tries to fight him off with the help of other monsters, they win. Person resolves their issues. This doesn't break the trend, and honestly you'll wish they just dropped the mechanic altogether at times.
What saves it is some very nice direction. Tokyo S.O.S. has some striking shots for a Godzilla movie. Mothra, outside on a mountain as the snow falls, MechaG ducking behind a building to fire its missiles at Godzilla, who retaliates by firing his breath through it. Mu favorite is just a simple long shot of mechaG with all three white heron craft hovering overhead, staring down Godzilla.
The designs are also nice. The White Heron craft and MechaG are nicely made, and this version of Mothra seems much better than in other movies, like Mothra and Godzilla: the battle for earth. The battle is okay, but like in Godzilla against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla is a bit too immobile and nonreactive. Though he is better here than in that film. That sense of polish is why I rate it a 7 rather than a 5, as apart from it, it really is an average Godzilla film unlikely to convert anyone into being a G-Fan.