GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA -

Japan's favorite city-wrecker faces his most formidable enemy--a robot version of himself--in this sci-fi adventure, which packs enough action to satisfy fans of giant-creature brawls. As with the previous films in the unofficial Godzilla Millennium series (which reinvented the Toho canon following the release of Godzilla 2000), Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla dismisses all of the monster's previous rampages after its initial appearance in 1954, including his three showdowns with MechaGodzilla. Here, the massive robot is constructed using DNA from the 1954 Godzilla (still moldering in Tokyo Bay) to combat a new one that threatens Japan. Director Maasaki Tezuki (Godzilla vs. Megaguirus) favors action over story, which may displease hardcore Godzilla fans, but the battles are spectacular, and clips from older Toho titles like Mothra and War of the Gargantuas are always a welcome sight (as is a cameo by the Yankees' Hideki Matsui!). As with other Columbia-TriStar Godzilla DVDs, this widescreen disc offers viewers two language options: the original Japanese dialogue track (with English or French subtitles) and an English-dubbed track. --Paul Gaita ...