There are installments in the Godzilla franchise that feel like event movies. And then there are some that are just "the next one." "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" falls into the latter category for me. It's a pretty formulaic movie, including absurd "science,"a not at all subtle message, and the expected final battle between Godzilla and the Monster of the Week. As in its direct predecessor, "Godzilla 2000," the production values are once again decent. But due to the lack of an appealing story, the bottom line is that it is nothing more than halfway entertaining monster action without any depth.

Godzilla is forced to battle large flying bugs and later, the giant dragonfly Megaguius, after Japan's test of a black hole gun releases the nasty critters. Actually, the black hole gun was designed to rid the world of Godzilla himself. What results are several battles between the megunula in its various stages, leading to the final showdown between the two kaiju.

The Godzilla suit in this movie looks good, although the spines are way overdone. Megaguirus is big and ugly and as usual, depictions of a kaiju in flight are less than convincing. Their final dust-up is entertaining and a little goofy with nearly a wrestling feel to it. Almost as fun is Godzilla's encounter with the swarm of meganula. I didn't care much for the human characters and the team of G-Graspers aren't the most impressive fighting force you'll see Godzilla battle with.

The opening of this movie replaces the original Godzilla and its attack on Tokyo with this new-look Godzilla. It's a pretty neat trick to "photoshop" the new suit into clips of the original black and white classic.

One of the better storylines of the modern era.