26th(!) entry in Toho Studio's long running Godzilla series finds our favorite big bad lizard looking slicker than ever and boosting some of the best visual effects to grace a Godzilla movie (don't even count that 1998 Americanized junkmobile a Godzilla flick).

Godzilla has risen once again to destroy Tokyo but this time the government has created a robotic Godzilla killing machine based on the DNA from the dug up skeletal remains from the 1954 Godzilla to get rid of our favorite big green badboy once and for all.

Some cool destructive mayhem, a quick running time, and not too much of a lag between the expected showdowns adds up to a pretty fun romp that seems to skim by the details in favour of flashy visuals and some mild chuckles.

There's definately a lot left to be explained (like why they needed the DNA to make the robot, etc), the romantic sub plot is cliche, the little girl in the movie seems way too smart for her age and some of the sets in the battle scenes are obviously miniatures but that's just being nit-picky because for fans of the series there's a lot to enjoy here.

For one, Toho has started making new Godzilla movies (reason enough to rejoice) that are actually the sharpest, brightest ones I've seen; and aside from the noticable miniatures I had mentioned, the effects are pretty damn good. Godzilla's lookin' mean as ever and Mechagodzilla has a super cool new laser weapon dubbed "Absolute Zero" that disintegrates anything it hits (including a pretty cool water shattering sequence).

Fans know most Godzilla movies are nothing but brainless entertainment and there's certainly nothing wrong with that every once and a while. (Derek Carlson, 6/8/04)

Directed By: Masaaki Tezuka.
Written By: Wataru Mimura.

Starring: Yumiko Shaku, Shin Takuma, Kana Onodera, Koh Takasugi.