GODZILLA VS. THE COSMIC MONSTER (1974)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological, sociological*

Since at least three Godzilla films reviewed here include the name "Mechagodzilla" in the title, I'll review the cinematic debut of "the Big M" under the U.S. release title. Said title was itself a substitute for the title "Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster," which was nixed by legal action from the owners of "The Bionic Woman." (Someone might also have objected on the grounds of false advertising, since Mechagodzilla was just a big robot, and not "bionic" in any real sense of the word.)

Since COSMIC actually introduced not one but two new kaiju, its structure is something of a double detective-story. First, the forgettable human protagonists must not only pursue the clue of a fragment of "space titanium" that will lead them to the alien base where Mechagodzilla was constructed, and where an eminent Japanese scientist is being forced to work for the aliens. Second, the viewpoint characters must also look into the strange prophecies of an Okinawan priestess, who claims that an Okinawan god, King Caesar, is destined to save the world from a destructive dragon.

When Godzilla begins a new rampage, the humans suspect that he may be the dragon of the prophecy. However, the fact that the Big G viciously attacks his sometime ally Anguirus causes the detectives to doubt their eyes. They don't have to wait long to have their questions answered, for another Godzilla shows up, uses his atomic breath to burn the outer skin off the first one, and thus reveals that the marauder is a mechanical impostor, Mechagodzilla, the real "dragon of the prophecy."

In the English translation at least, the matter of King Caesar's provenance remains unclear. Though some of the Tojo monsters were worshiped as gods, the basic rationale of, say, Mothra was that he was some prehistoric survival just like Godzilla, and that he'd simply been co-opted into primitive religion (though Mothra's fairy protectors might be a different story). But not only is the prophecy of the priestess right in all respects, King Caesar actually does seem to be a magical guardian spirit who takes the form of a lion-like humanoid. Maybe this divergence from the sci-fi narrative wasn't good for the King's popularity, for in contrast to Mechagodzilla, Caesar seems to have been wildly unpopular, not getting any revivals until he made a quickie appearance in GODZILLA: FINAL WARS.

The three-way battle that pits Godzilla and King Caesar against the invading aliens' duplicate monster is overall a good fight, though I could have done without the sequence in which Godzilla turns himself into a living magnet. But on balance the film's main accomplishment is to introduce the iconic Mechagodzilla, the only seventies kaiju who would enjoy repeated revivals. Usually the later films ignored ignoring the robot's creation by the forgettable aliens in this film, and instead had the Big M constructed by Earthpeople seeking to counter the natural furies of Godzilla. Since humans could only fight kaiju with their mastery of mechanical weapons, it makes symbolic sense to imagine them casting one great weapon into the image of their mighty foe. In this case, imitation would be the sincerest form of extermination.