Godzilla vs. King Ghidor

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Review

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Synopsis:

Time travelers from the 23rd century return to 1992 to warn Japan that Godzilla will cause a catastrophic nuclear incident in the 21st century and suggest a way to rid the world of him forever. They intend to go back to 1944, to Ragos Island, where a dinosaur was exposed to radiation from the Bikini H-Bomb test and became Godzilla. Upon completion of this task, King Ghidrah appears in 1992 and the visitors' true plan is discovered. They wish to destroy Japan so it will not become the dominant economic force. Luckily for the Japanese, Godzilla was still created and will now fight King Ghidrah.

Review (Spoilers):

A fiction book writer named Terasawa is starting to write a story of what he thinks are the origins of Godzilla & how Godzilla became what he is. He gets this information from WWII vets that claim a dinosaur in 1944 saved them from the American's, but most people think they are just crazy & some vets even deny it so they don't sound crazy.

Meanwhile a UFO is seen & lands near Mount Fuji. Three people (two white guys & one Japanese girl) greet the Japanese & tell them they are not aliens but that they come from the future and their craft is a time machine. They say there part of the Earth Union in the 23rd century. They explain to the prime minister that Godzilla will recover from the battle from Biollante (the movie before this one) and that Godzilla will destroy Japan in the future.

The Japanese girl (named Emmy) shows the prime minister a beat up old book written by Terasawa about the theory of how Godzilla became what he is. The book explains that a group of Japanese WWII men at Lagos island where attacked by the American's and a dinosaur that lived on the island fought off the American's & saved the Japanese. It then says that American Bikini H-Bomb tests mutated the dinosaur into Godzilla in 1954. The people from the future ask if they can go back in time to 1944 to transport the dinosaur off Lagos so it won't be affected by the H-Bomb tests & therefore change the future where there is no Godzilla. The Japanese agree to this of course & the future people ask to take three people. The writer of that book (Teresawa), Miki Saegusa (A powerful psychic seen in other Godzilla movies) & Professor Mazaki (dinosaur expert). Those three, Emmy & an android named M-11 go into a small craft time machine & go back to 1944. On board the little time machine ship are three cute odd looking animals named Dorats. Emmy explains that they are pets in the future made by humans.

In 1944 that Japanese corps is getting ready to battle the American's but out of nowhere a dinosaur attacks & kills the American's but is badly wounded by the American's & battleships. The dinosaur falls to the ground barley alive. That Japanese corps is very thankful for what the creature did & call it their savior. They leave & hope it heals. Soon after the people from the future teleport the dinosaur into the sea at another location in Japan so it won't be affected by the H-Bomb tests. Before they go back to 1992 Emmy releases the three Dorats onto the island in secret. Miki notices they are gone from the ship but before she can do anything they are transported back to 1992.

When they go back to 1992 they find out that Godzilla doesn't exist but that a new monster called King Ghidorah does & it’s attacking Japan. Miki figures out that the Dorats were mutated in Godzilla's place & merged into one big violent monster. We then find out that the other men from the future are controlling King Ghidorah & are trying to destroy Japan. Emmy feels bad about what she did to her own country & tells Miki & Terasawa that they aren’t part of the Earth Union but a group called the Equal Environment of Earth. She tells them that Japan will not be destroyed by Japan but instead will be the richest nation & start to buy nations. The people from the future planned this all out so that they could stop Japan before they become so big. Where they could create a creature & at the same time not have to worry about Godzilla fighting off their monster. But the psychic Miki feels that Godzilla still exists, they find out that a nuclear submarine sank years ago where they transported the dinosaur & that it created an even more powerful Godzilla. The men from the future find this out & send there monster King Ghidorah to kill Godzilla.

Teresawa & Emmy sneak into the mother craft where the people from the future control King Ghidorah & they destroy the control system for King Ghidorah. A battle between the two monsters begin. During the battle Emmy transports the mother craft to where the monsters are fighting & Godzilla uses his atomic ray destroying the craft & killing the men right before they go back to the 23rd century. Godzilla gets the final blow to King Ghidorah by chopping its middle head off with his atomic ray. King Ghidorah badly hurt tries to fly away & is shot at by Godzilla & hurt much more. King Ghidorah then crashed into the sea & the battle is over between the two.

Godzilla now goes on his rampage to attack Japan. Emmy decides to use the small time machine to go to the 23rd century & recover King Ghidorah into a cyborg so that she can stop Godzilla. It is now known as Mecha-King Ghidorah & theres a cockpit installed for Emmy to pilot. She goes back to 1992 & tries to stop Godzilla. Durring the fierce battle in Shinjuku she uses something equipped on Mecha-King Ghidorah to grab Godzilla & she flies off with Godzilla but he shoots his atomic ray at Mecha-King Ghidorah & they both crash into the sea. Emmy manages to escape & go back to her time. Godzilla is gone.....for now.

I was lucky enough to watch this movie in its original form of Japanese with English subs & widescreen. The R1 DVD is dub only & full screen.

One of the most powerful scenes in this movie is when Godzilla is attacking Shinjuku & the leader of that Japanese corps where Godzilla(when he was a dinosaur) saved them in 1944, he stayed in his building. The man stood to the window as Godzilla & him stare at each other. The man is very teary eyed & Godzilla gives a big roar & then fires his atomic ray at him killing him & destroying the building. Godzilla is just an animal and in this movie it really shows. During one scene Godzilla steps into the ground from a subway entrance & falls over screaming.

King Ghidorah/Mecha-King Ghidorah is maybe my favorite kaiju. I just love him. I love its design, it’s like a golden dragon cerberus. One of Godzilla's most popular rival who you can see in other Godzilla films.

The music is stunning & some of the best movie music I’ve heard. Really its THAT great! The music is by Akira Ifukube, who has done a lot of Godzilla music & a favorite with Godzilla fans. He uses lots of drums & such, the music very much reminded me of music from the Conan movies.

The special effects are amazing for a Godzilla film, mainly that of the monsters. The special effects of a couple scenes such as with the android can look a bit cheesy though & not so great, but the monsters are what’s most important of course.

There are many questions about events in the movie that don't make sense...but this is Godzilla, since when have these movies need logic & be realistic? They don't, so what you need to do when you watch this movie is not ask questions about things that don't make sense. In other words don't think too hard, just enjoy the story they give no matter how unreal it is. I find the story very interesting still. There is a lot more character drama that it seems, hell most of the first half is nothing but character drama & its all interesting. This movie is a must see for people that love these movies. Its one of the best Godzilla films.