"Do not drive in your vehicles when King Ghidora is in your area."
-Inexplicable advice given in Godzilla vs King Ghidora
I love Godzilla movies, they really suck. Er, maybe I should explain that. One of the hold-overs from my childhood is an undying love of Godzilla, in spite of how silly the whole thing is. I can rationally sit down and note that the movies are juvenile and written using the same basic model: A plodding story that may or may not go anywhere until the third act when the rest of the plot is put aside so the big rubber monsters take center stage to duke it out. But, for some reason, I love this crap! There are some things you just can't let go of, I guess.
Even better, with the new American Godzilla movie coming out [look for my feelings on that in a different article] all sorts of neat Godzilla junk has been flooding the market, including new Japanese Godzilla movies! My personal fave so far is Godzilla vs King Ghidora.
This is the film that was accused of having "American-Bashing" themes in it when it was first released. [Mind you, this was during a lot of financial tension between the East and the West, and people thought that Japan was going to buy up the world. Boy, one shift in economic influence and things sure look different, eh?] I can sort of see how those critics formed their opinions, but the movie seems more conditionally "Pro-Japan" than anything. Plus, the execution is so inept that it's hard to take it seriously. In one flashback scene, a pre-mutated dinosaur Godzilla attacks a group of lousy American actors portraying WWII Marines. The only reason proto-G didn't attack the Japanese forces seems to simply be because they were bright enough not to start shooting at it. Nevertheless, the Japanese hail the dinosaur as their savior, and the regiment commander gives a solumn farewell speech to the wounded Godzilla before they leave. A guy giving a totally straight speech to a giant rubber dinosaur- truly a great moment in cinema. But, in modern day Tokyo, Godzilla flash-fries the now much older commander, so the symbolism really starts to get foggy.
That's just a small component of a truly out-of-control film. The main plot involves a series of time-travel tricks that not only invalidate the first half of the film, but every previous film in the series. Oddly, the characters can still remember events that now never took place. Just watch the film and try to follow the logic.
Plus, this film features characters that are rapidly becoming favorites of mine: The Godzilla Gang. This is a group of re-occuring characters who I assume are part of a national organization that is supposed to monitor and counter any actions by Godzilla or his wholesale-sized pals. The only characters that are featured from this group, however, are an old guy who over-reacts to everything, a psychic woman who's only power seems to be sensing big monsters, and a somber scientist who rarely seems to know what the hell he's talking about.
But the main point of the movie is that Godzilla gets to stomp around Tokyo and whomp on the three headed King Ghidora. Full of cheap effects, an incomprehensible plot, and bad dubbing, Godzilla vs King Ghidora entertained the beejeebers out of me. If you're a Godzilla fan, you've probably already seen this gem; if you're not a fan, you'll want to avoid this film like the plague. Just give the rest of us this indulgence.
Atomic fire blast on back to the Godzilla page, or stomp on back to the main page.
Get your own Free Home Page