2003 Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

• Director: Masaaki Tezuka
• Writers: Masaaki Tezuka, Masahiro Yokotani
• Stars: Noboru Kaneko, Miho Yoshioka, Mitsuki Koga, Masami Nagasawa, Chihiro Otsuka, Koh Takasugi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Akira Nakao
• Runtime: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
• YouTube Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLWSYtXoacM
  

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

Mothra and the fairies are back to warn Japan they need to return the bones of Godzilla used to make Mechagodzilla to the ocean to rebalance nature. But they repair Mechagodzilla just in time for Godzilla’s return, so there’s a big creature battle. We both thought this one looked good, but it was only middling. A bit on the bland side.

Spoilery Synopsis

We open on Mechagodzilla, back in the base as the people do checks on the system. We then cut to the deep sea, where Godzilla wakes up. In the Caroline Islands, there is wind. In Hawaii, the Americans defect something on the radar– it’s Mothra! Credits roll.

The news reporter reminds us about the battle with Godzilla in the previous film– Mechgodzilla is still under repair from that one. Godzilla hasn’t been spotted in months, but he’s still out there somewhere.

Yoshi talks to his little nephew, Shun, about being a fighter pilot. He’d love to pilot the Mech-G. The grandfather is Professor Chujo. Suddenly, the two mini-fairies show up in the living room and want to talk to him. The old man knows them from way back in the first Mothra adventure, 43 years ago. They want him to send Godzilla’s bones back to the sea and not use them to build weapons like Mech-G. Yoshi argues that we need Mechagodizilla for protection, but the girls say Mothra will protect them– or else Mothra will destroy humanity.

There’s some debate on whether or not the presence of Godzilla’s bones is what attracted the new Godzilla in the previous film. Maybe they should get rid of those bones.

Grandpa Chujo tells Shun about his original adventure with Mothra, and he’s got photos to back it up. At the base, Yoshi and Azusa, from the previous film, know each other and talk about piloting. Yoshi goes in and looks at Mechgodzilla while remembering the fairies’ threat.

Chujo talks to the Prime Minister about cancelling the Mechagodzilla project. The leader has no other defenses against Godzilla and the monsters; they need MechaGodzilla, even if its absolute zero freeze-ray hasn’t been repaired yet.

Some giant creature washed up on shore, dead. It’s a giant sea turtle, but it was killed by something even bigger– like Godzilla. Meanwhile, Godzilla runs into, and rips apart, an American submarine.

Yoshi gets called to testify about the meeting with the Mothra fairies and what they promised. Meanwhile, Godzilla is heading toward Tokyo again. Shun steals Chujo’s Mothra-calling stone and tries to signal Mothra for help. It works very quickly.

Godzilla is heading straight for the Mecha base; his bones are attracting him. Inside, the men scramble to get Mechagodzilla working.

Mothra attacks Godzilla as the fairies sing to an egg back on their island. The big Mothra gets injured, and the humans decide they have to launch Mechagodzilla to assist.

Soon, the two Zillas are fighting, and many buildings in Tokyo pay the price. Mothra gets shot down just as his replacement egg hatches into two Mothras! The two soon set out across the ocean.

Yoshi drives around the deserted city looking for Chujo and Shun. The worms arrive and start spraying Godzilla with their silky strings. Meanwhile, old-Mothra is still alive and giving them advice– at least until she gets nuclear-blasted by Godzilla.

Mechagodzilla is dead. It can’t get up. Yoshi calls the commander and says he can fix it. What choice do they have? The fairies want Mecha-G dead, but they help Yoshi on the way to the repair anyway. He gets the problem fixed, but he also finds out that he’s trapped inside the thing.

The fight continues, and Mechagodzilla’s got some surprises to use against the bog lizard. The hyper-maser really annoys Godzilla. Mechagodzikka and Yoshi decide to stand by and let the Mothra worms disable Godzilla. The fairies insist that the Godzilla bones be returned to the sea. Suddenly, Mechagodzilla starts moving with a mind of its own, grabs the paralyzed Godzilla, and flies out into the ocean.

Azusa figures out that Yoshi is still on board Mech-G and shoots the sealed hatch open. He jumps out and is impossibly rescued in mid-air. The two Godzillas fall into the ocean and sink to the bottom. The Mothra worms swim back where they came from with the fairies.

Brian’s Commentary

How fast could the Mothra worms swim to get from their island to Tokyo during a single battle?

This one is all about the fighting monsters, and the human characters all suffer lack of development. They don’t really do much. Because of this, I think it’s a little dull– men in rubber suits fighting gets old fairly quickly.

This takes place not long after the previous film. Everything is sharp and clear and modern, but it’s almost too clear– the buildings look much more like models than they used to. The creatures, on the other hand, look better than ever, as do the planes, machines, and other CGI things.

Kevin’s Commentary

This one didn’t feel like much of anything that I hadn’t seen before. It all looks pretty good, with the creature fighting and collateral damage we’ve grown to expect. It’s just all on the bland side. I didn’t care much for this one.