Godzilla vs. Biollante

Godzilla vs. Biollante is a decent entry in the Godzilla franchise, particularly within the Heisei era. Surprisingly, for a sequel, it delves into the aftermath of a giant monster attack, exploring how the world grapples with Godzilla's existence. International corporations scramble for Godzilla cells, hoping to harness their power for their own gain. A fictional Middle Eastern nation, Saradia, seeks to weaponize these cells to create vegetation in their desert, while the American company Bio-Major resorts to terrorism to acquire them for a project to neutralize nuclear threats. Somehow, a giant rose monster emerges from all of this, only to be incinerated by Godzilla's atomic breath.

The plot is refreshingly complex, but the characters are forgettable. Their scenes feel disjointed, offering little backstory or development. Even the scientist who creates Biollante faces no consequences for his actions. The storytelling feels like watching an episode of a monster-of-the-week television show, where character arcs are secondary to the action. This episodic quality creates a strange listlessness, where characters change their minds on a whim and arguments have no weight. It's as if the narrative forgets about itself at times, with characters seemingly unaware of the giant monster battle happening nearby.

Despite its flaws, Godzilla vs. Biollante boasts some impressive visuals. The miniature effects, showcasing Godzilla amidst real-world locations, are well-done considering the film's reduced budget compared to its predecessor. The setting for the first Godzilla-Biollante fight is particularly striking, resembling an arena shrouded in fog with spotlights reaching towards the sky. There's a strange beauty to Godzilla movies, evident in the scene where Biollante explodes into glowing spores drifting towards the heavens.

It's almost a miracle these films work at all, considering their rapid production schedules and studio interference. Biollante even features a somewhat self-aware portrayal of humanity's anti-Godzilla strategies. The JSDF attempts to predict Godzilla's movements with the help of psychics and even hatches a plan to lure him into a zone rigged with lightning attacks. The military's monitoring of Godzilla's advance on transparent maps feels almost reminiscent of Evangelion. There's also a team of soldiers tasked with deploying bacteria engineered from Godzilla cells to consume radioactive material. One scene has a soldier firing a bio-warfare RPG from a destroyed office window - a bizarre but oddly captivating moment that injects the fantastic into the mundane. However, this soldier then inexplicably fails to escape the collapsing building, leaving his demise confusing and unearned.

Godzilla vs. Biollante is a film brimming with ideas - psychics, genetic engineering, corporate espionage - that never quite coalesce into a cohesive whole. The titular battle feels disconnected from the narrative, ultimately failing to deliver on the film's intended metaphor. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, as the original Godzilla metaphor itself is somewhat generic. Biollante offers a unique addition to the Godzilla bestiary - a monstrous rose, a mockery of its enemy with its otherworldly crocodile jaws. The film excels in depicting the chaos of a city preparing for a Godzilla attack, with construction vehicles working alongside tanks and soldiers. There's a sense of purpose in their actions, unlike the static defenses of previous films. Biollante is an improvement over its predecessor, but stumbles in its lack of a focused narrative. That being said, it's a film with Godzilla fighting a giant bio-engineered rose, and that's reason enough for most monster movie fans to enjoy it.

6.175/10.

This is a Godzilla movie that tells a very different story than the previous films. The root of the story all lies on one aspect-the Godzilla cell. The plot is solid and intriguing - a story about some of the world's power-hungry people who want to get their hands on some Godzilla DNA for their own devious purposes. When the Japanese refuse to hand over the DNA, terrorists release Godzilla from his lair and he begins a new spree of terror. In an act of desperation, a scientist merges some of the Godzilla cells with a rosebud, mutating it into the one of the most unique monsters in the Toho universe - Biollante. The two do battle as our protagonists in the film try to track down the terrorists. As a result, what we have is not the usual Godzilla vs. movie with an alien-invasion plot. This one is unique and substantive in its monster origins, plot flow and character development.

While an exciting movie, there are some people that this film could have done without, like the horrible Saradian agent SSS9 and the campy Biomajor people. I have to give credit to this movie, anyhow, because it introduced the Godzilla-centered psychic Miki Saegusa (played by Megumi Odaka). She would take a very significant role in this and the following Godzilla films. Her using her psychic powers to locate Godzilla and stopping him from coming ashore in Osaka was intriguing.

Overall, not a bad Godzilla film. Very distinctive, albeit a little too focused on the human subplot and the military, and the Biollante angle wasn't emphasized enough.

Grade B-

Being Toho's most mature kaiju film, "Godzilla vs. Biollante" placed Godzilla in the age of bio-terrorism. Your cliché 80's folks are seen here...the shy teen girl, the military hero, the villain with sunglasses and leather gloves, etc. What many fans don't like about this movie is the adult-oriented nature of it, considering that Godzilla films were seen as kiddie fun at this point. Personally, I would say this is the best of the series since "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962). The Godzilla design remains the best and most realistic to date, and the final form of Biollante is such an awesome sight, one of the most impressive screen monsters in film. Overall, "Godzilla vs. Biollante" stands out from the rest of the series, and has a poetic touch to it...something I've never seen in a monster movie. This film is much appreciated by me.

Another great entry into the rebooted franchise. It picks up where the last Godzilla films left of. However, it soon turns into an espionage thriller, Americans and, most dangerously of all, middle eastern folk, try and steal a Godzilla fragment to experiment with. It leads to the creation of a giant plant. Nothing too dangerous you might think, but as it mutates, the design is really quite breathtaking. This film once again takes it up a notch. It feels so genuine in its portrayal of the events, and even manages to convince the audience that this is all very real. As always, the score is truly dominant. It flows throughout the film bringing both dread and excitement. I loved how they gradually introduce the more "out there" ideas. This time, it's telekinesis with flowers. Like the classics, it is a story of man and nature, and how fooling around could lead to absolute destruction by giant monsters. There were also a number of humane touches and some maturity lacking from earlier attempts. When asked if he will go to America a young man says that he wont, as every country has bad things about it. For once, the foreign devils aren't to blame. Just humanity as a whole.

Gojira vs. Biorante is not a masterpiece in any shape or form, but I really liked it and thought it was a lot of fun. It is perhaps a little too long and the ending falls a little flat. Quibbles aside, it never fails to be entertaining. The film does move briskly, while I loved the idea of the story which was nicely constructed and fun. The visuals are great too, the colours look great while the cinematography is good and the effects are excellent, Godzilla especially is brilliantly done, so is Biollante. The score is quite nice also, it isn't amazing, but it is memorable and quite an interesting one. The dialogue is reasonable enough, while the direction is good and the acting and characters are likable without anyone in particular standing out too much. So all in all, quite a nice surprise and entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox