Godzilla Contra o Monstro do Mal

Once again swarmy aliens (this time from Earth's future) show up, make promises involving monsters, and then turn out to be up to no good. "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" takes place in three time periods, Lagos Island in 1944, Tokyo in 1992, and somewhere near what was Japan in 2204. Like most time travel stories, the plot does not bear close scrutiny (despite some fans' best explanatory efforts, the story is riddled with inconsistencies and paradoxes), but is imaginative and allows for a variety of kaiju action. Briefly, the 'Futurians' plan to eliminate Godzilla from the time-line by preventing his 'genesis' (by teleporting the dying proto-Godzilla dinosaur to the bottom of the Bering Strait where it won't be exposed to the 1953 H-bomb tests that turn it into the monster) BUT sneakily, they leave behind three little creatures that, when exposed to the radiation, become King Ghidorah who is under Futurian control and will be used to threaten/blackmail 1992 Japan BUT, as you apparently can't go anywhere on Earth without being exposed to radiation (our bad), Godzilla-genesis occurs anyway, producing a larger, meaner monster who defeats Ghidorah, sending him to the bottom of the ocean battered and minus one head BUT, in 2204 "We have the technology, we can rebuild him". The monster action in this outing (the 18th) is excellent, with the new 100 m tall Godzilla looking mean and predatory, while his adversary is a beautifully realized vision of vast wings and writhing golden snakes. The only thing lacking (IMO) with this iteration of the three-headed dragon is the original three-tone electro-chirpy calls ("three heads, two tails, and a voice like a bell"), which have been replaced by a more generic, less interesting, roar. The increased size of the monsters limits the details of the buildings that they trash, but the destruction scenes are still very good, especially the final showdown in Tokyo. On the downside, the dubbing on the version I watched (Tristar DVD) is weak, with random Shatneresque pauses in awkward sentences and some terrible lines such as "Take that, you dinosaur" (perhaps a feeble attempt at comic-relief). The film also liberally 'borrows' images from other works, such as a cyborg that runs fast in slow-motion and who, at one point, emerges from a fiery car accident with the underlying metal showing (the cyborg is a gimmicky character the movie could have done without). Overall: despite the derivative and implausible plot, mild peachiness, and (allegedly) rampant anti-Americanism, the film's pacing, excellent visuals, and great Akira Ifukube score make it a fun entry into the long-running franchise.

There's a lot to dislike in this film: awful English scripts, more plot holes than plot, and a long wait before Godzilla finally shows up.

Luckily, all of these flaws are made up for by its awesome monster battles, fantastic music, cheesy humor, and sheer entertainment. In the end, the balance is positive, and anyone who can get over their logical disbelief should have a lot of fun with this movie. It reminds us that there's more to movies than dull realism and sophisticated storytelling.

It's no masterpiece, but its definitely one of the Big G's most fun films.

This film came to my attention when I attended the first Monsterama Con in 2014 in Atlanta. One of the honored guests was Robert Scott Field who played an android. According to Fields, this film has been recognized as the third best Godzilla movie of all time. In Japan it received the equivalent to our Oscar Award. This film delves back to the origin of Godzilla and the epic battle with his equal King Ghidorah. The future visitors to modern 1990 Japan warn of destruction and want to change the course of the future but manipulating the present. A fun use of old school special effects and fun to see movies made pre- CGI. This movie is a joy for any Godzilla enthusiast. His name is Godzilla!

Ghidorah just won't die. This is the fourth of fifth flick he's shown up in, and somehow the Big G never has the nerve to off the three-headed two-tailed no-armed winged space dragon. Here's the deal. People from el futuro arrive to tell us that G will destroy Japan if he isn't gotten rid of soon. You think the Japanese would be a little jaded about it at this point, but of course they get scared and help the Futurians go back in time to kill the Godzillazaurus in 1944, before the atomic bomb tests could mutate into G. Mission accomplished, but instead, when the people come back to '91, King Ghidorah's running the show due to Futurian treachery. Now Japan nukes the slumbering Godzilla (although wouldn't he be nonexistent after having been retro-murdered in '44?) Godzilla beats Ghidorah. Godzilla runs amuck. Japanese enlist Ghidorah to smash G. Ghidorah runs amuck. Now the Big G has to whomp Godzilla, I think, all these twists get me confused. Ghidorah comes back as Mecha King Ghidorah and both fall into ocean or some other convenient device. Favorite line has to be American naval officer after watching Godzillasaurus perish: "Take that, you dinosaur!"

"Size does matter." So proclaimed the ad campaign of the Americanized Godzilla foisted upon us by Emmerich and Devlin in 1998. If only they had paid more attention to movies like this before they tried to retool Godzilla. Because their overgrown iguana is no match for the towering behemoth of indestructible, nuclear-fueled fury introduced in this movie.

Untold legions of fans grew up with the original Godzilla in the '60s and '70s. We found comfort in the quite cheesy special effects, massive plot holes, extreme overacting, and hilarious dubbing. Not to mention the martial strains of Akira Ifukube's trademark musical scores. The heisei series of second generation Godzilla movies may have offended some purists, but did stick with many of the same elements. Many of the effects were now very good, but others were still unintentionally laughable. The dubbing, of course, was as bad as ever. Logic is the last thing one should expect from a Godzilla plot, and it's not very much in evidence here. But this is all how we like it!

From the tortuous contortions of the time travel plot came a new Godzilla, leaner and far meaner than ever before. No more would he be the protector of Japan. Along with the new origin backstory for Godzilla, we're treated to one for this new King Ghidora, which resembles the original Ghidrah only in name and appearance. But while it took the combined might of all of Japan's monsters to slay Ghidrah, the new and improved Godzilla singlehandedly slew Ghidorah without working up a sweat. Truly a force to be reckoned with.

It's a shame that the second generation films were never released theatrically in the US and only recently released on video. Americans deserved to see that there wasn't a vacuum between Godzilla 1985 and Godzilla (1998). And a generation of American kids, too young to find the old films interesting, lost a chance to be hooked on what's arguably a cultural icon.