Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie Review

A swarm of trouble.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 5, 2014

Note: 'Godzilla vs. Megaguirus' is currently only available as part of a two-pack with 'Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.'

Goodbye, Heisei, hello, Millennium. Though the second film in Godzilla's Millennium series following Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is the first to be released on Blu-ray in the United States. The picture certainly sets a tone that's noticeably different from the admittedly tonally uneven but largely identifiable Heisei series. Millennium's Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, as the series' name suggests, pushes the franchise into a new timeframe of moviemaking, still relying on some classic Godzilla structures and stylings but offering a more frenetic, fast-paced sort of experience that's less focused on dramatic subtlety and story nuance and more focused on kinetic action. The end result is a movie that's actually slower than most of its predecessors, a film that's too reliant on motion and less reliant on feeling. It lacks the grit of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, the wit of Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla, the action of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and the splendor of Godzilla vs. Mothra, though it does share something of an origins story vibe with Heisei's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. In short, it's a film with little rhythm and not a lot of purpose, one of the franchise's most forgettable entries.

Shoo!

Things have changed since the deadly attacks on Japan by the monstrous Godzilla. The nation's capital has moved from the destroyed Tokyo to Osaka. Nuclear power plants are offline and never to be constructed again in hopes of preventing future nuclear disasters after a run-in with Godzilla. While the nation relied on water, wind, and solar energies for power, they ultimately proved insufficient to drive the technologically advanced nation. Soon, clean plasma energy was introduced, and with that came the introduction of the technologies necessary to create a plasma weapon capable of opening a black hole that scientists hope will swallow Godzilla and leave the monster permanently trapped inside. While the weapon is under construction and Japan's anti-Godzilla special forces unit known as "G-Graspers" battle the creature, a child discovers and ultimately discards an egg that hatches underground and releases hundreds of young that eventually bring forth the creature Megaguirus and sets the stage for another showdown between Godzilla and an oversized foe.

As Godzilla vs. Megaguirus sets a new tone, it takes a look back at some action from previous installments while at the same time forging its own identity and timeline. A new capital city, closed nuclear power plants, and radical new technologies are amongst the new realities for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, all of which play into not only story structure and specifics but general action, too. Along with its new timeline comes a new look and flow for the franchise. There's an Americanized, big movie structure at play, one where the nuanced is replaced with the exaggerated, where story and pace and depth take a backseat to overkill action and style. The movie doesn't fall completely into Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay territory, but it seems clearly influenced by them and their uniquely identifiable screen rhythms.

Still, the movie hangs onto some core franchise action elements, chiefly in its rather long final battle that's perhaps more chaotic, but at the same time more laborious and repetitive, than most any other end act fight the franchise has seen before. Structurally, action never escapes from classic franchise stylings -- it still boils down to an epic clash between two gigantic opponents and, here, miniatures even more unconvincing than those seen in previous entries -- even as it feels a little bigger in scope and scale but lacks that real sense of dramatic importance that underlines the clashes in many previous installments, hence the rather lazy feel to it. On the contrary, there's a more substantial human element to the film, with an effort to create more dramatic character arcs born of confrontations with Godzilla and the emotions that result and scar. Unfortunately, the film never moves beyond the basics, failing to find much depth in its rather cliché plot lines and character motives that drive the story but don't create any tangible emotions beyond the obvious.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus arrives on Blu-ray with, surprisingly, one of the lesser efforts amongst the eight-film batch Sony has released in this run. That's not to say it's a poor effort. On the contrary, it's mostly on par with the other films of its era, just looking a little flatter -- quite a bit, at times -- and lacking the color definition and moderately intricate texturing of the other films. Light grain is present but so too is some noise. The image also looks a touch smooth in places. The image often lacks pinpoint definition and, in fact, offers some downright muddled and smeary textures, notably seen on clumps of vegetation. Clothing and skin details are only revealing of the most basic lines and definition. Creature close-ups do reveal adequate, detail-revelatory definition. Colors aren't at all bold, but then again this stretch of films isn't particularly vibrant to begin with. This transfer handles basic shades -- a purple car, a red shirt -- well enough in bright light but there's no punch to this palette. Black levels are never too far off in either direction -- crush or pushing a shade of purple or gray -- and skin tones appear natural. The transfer exhibits occasional spots and speckles in addition to its grain structure. This is a watchable transfer but hardly an example of Blu-ray at its pinnacle and certainly a tick below other recently released Godzilla films.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus returns the Sony Godzilla releases to the 5.1 well. The included native Japanese and English dub DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks are the best in the series to date. The Japanese track offers full, rich music, nicely spaced and immersive through the back. Clarity is quite good and there's a tangible weight to the track. Action sound effects are nicely implemented, featuring rockets that whoosh around the stage, creature screeches and other high-pitched sounds that push hard and clean through the system, and heavy crashes and stomps and collapsing buildings that replicate the chaos with the sort of energy that listeners should demand of a movie of this nature. Still, it lacks precision attention to detail; many of the sound effects aren't perfectly defined and come across as structurally muddled, but the effort is commendable. Dialogue plays evenly and accurately from the center. The included English dub isn't far off from its Japanese counterpart, offering much of the same in terms of volume and dynamics and richness of presentation. Even the dialogue plays naturally enough for a dub. As always, English, English SDH, and French subtitles are included.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus contains only the film's Teaser Trailer (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 1:10) and Theatrical Trailer (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 1:22).

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Audiences in search of easy monster movie entertainment will find some satisfaction in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus -- it's big and loud to a fault -- but those hoping to enjoy the monster bashings within the contexts of greater dramatic and emotional purposes will be left wanting. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is too frenetic and too modern, a movie that jumbles classic Godzilla motifs with accelerated action, light Horror elements, cheesy situational character interactions, and a disturbing absence of depth. It's a serviceable excursion into the newly redefined world of Godzilla, but the film lags far behind even the worst from the previous Heisei series. Sony's Blu-ray release of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus features decent video, strong audio, and limited supplements. Rent it.