My Godzilla retrospect continues with this week’s double feature putting together two of my favorite of the 90s Hensei Godzilla series. Although the enjoyable Godzilla vs. Mothra comes before our second feature chronologically, I paired these two because Mechagodzilla is a direct sequel with technology from the Mecha-King Ghidorah used to construct the Mechagodzilla robot and, obviously, they both feature Godzilla battling a mechanized opponent…
GODZILLA vs. KING GHIDORAH (1991)
This might be my favorite of the 90s Hensei Godzilla series. Kazuki Omori returned to write and direct and once again he takes the traditional elements and goes outside the box with them. Sure, the plot borrows very heavily from The Terminator, but like Godzilla vs. Biollante that preceded it, Omori shakes things up a bit like showing us Godzilla in dinosaur form for the first time and pimping-out the classic King Ghidorah as a cyborg for the epic battle finale. The story has a strange ship appearing over Japan. It is revealed that it is a time machine carrying three emissaries (Chuck Wilson, Richard Berger and Anna Nakagawa) from the future who claim to be from the 23rd century. They also come with dire news that in the future Godzilla will destroy Japan utterly and they have come to change that. Their plan is to go back to 1944 where Japanese troops claim to have seen a dinosaur on a pacific island, that they are certain would become Godzilla ten years later during the hydrogen bomb tests there. With Godzilla researcher Terasawa (Kosuke Toyohara), Professor Mazaki (Katsuhiko Sasaki) and psychic Miki Seagusa (Megumi Odaka) they go back in time and accomplish their mission. But modern-day Japan has been deceived. The emissaries from the 23rd century have removed the Godzillasaurus, but replaced it with three of their own creatures who fuse together into the mighty King Ghidorah when the hydrogen bomb hits. Their plan is not to save Japan, but to use the three headed dragon under their control to destroy it, to keep it from becoming the ruling nation in the future. But the futurians have miscalculated in two areas. One, their own Emmy (Nakagawa) is Japanese and rebels when realizing the true depth of their wicked plan…and the other, that fate sometimes will have its way regardless and Godzilla is created anyway and by more powerful, modern nuclear energy. The new Godzilla is larger, stronger and far more vicious and it has two objectives in mind…lay waste to Japan and destroy King Ghidorah, who is trespassing on his turf.
Back in the day, G vs. KG caused some controversy here in the States as it was viewed as anti-American with its scene of the Godzillasaurus slaughtering a platoon of American troops in the 1944 set sequence but sparing the entrenched Japanese soldiers…and the fact that two of the three futurians are Westerners out to destroy Japan. Personally, I think the most offensive thing the film contains is a really awful Steven Spielberg reference which is meant to be funny. Omori shows some growth as a director here with the film having some fun scenes and some very intense monster battles, his direction seems more relaxed on his sophomore film. There is still a little sloppiness here and there, but that also could be a result of an ambitious script and a low budget. He has a lot of fun with his Terminator borrowed story and the movie is a lot more energetic than Biollante. The two main battles between Godzilla and his triple-headed opponent are some of the best Godzilla battles in this modern series with some real intensity as Godzilla first fights the villainous Ghidorah as an anti-hero, then Omori cleverly switches the sides as Godzilla starts to destroy Japan and Emmy reconstructs King Ghidorah as a mechanized cyborg in the future and returns to 1992 Japan to stop Godzilla, who is now become the villain. It’s a fun switcheroo and Kawakita’s excellent (for these kinds of films anyway) model and visual FX well represent the destruction and carnage. The cast are also much livelier and better directed this time especially American actor Robert Scott Field who appears to be having a blast as Android M-11, who Emmy reprograms to be an ally when she turns on her comrades. Another reason to love this movie is classic Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube returned to do the score after a 16-year absence and his work is as powerful as ever.
Cyborgs, robots, douche bags from the future, time travel, bad Steven Spielberg puns, some well-orchestrated wholesale destruction and two epic monster throwdowns…what more could you want from a Godzilla flick? Sure, it has flaws, Godzilla takes almost an hour to show up, the plot, with its time travel elements, is even more far-fetched than usual, but this is a series about a giant radioactive monster, so the ludicrous ship sailed a long time ago. It’s a lot of fun and was refreshingly bold in toying with the series conventions and adding some new twists, even if they were borrowed from other movies. It gave us one of the most powerful and cool looking Godzilla incarnations in the entire series and gave him not one but two knock-down drag-out fights with what might be his greatest opponent…And Anna Nakagawa was totally adorable and crush-worthy. One of my all-time favorites and a lot of fun.
-MonsterZero NJ
Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) Godzillas.
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GODZILLA vs. MECHAGODZILLA (1993)
This, Godzilla’s 20th adventure seems to skip over the events of the more fantasy-oriented Godzilla vs. Mothra and opens with scientists examining the mechanical head of the Mecha-King Ghidorah from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and using the future technology to make anti-Godzilla weaponry. One, a flying battleship called the Garuda and the other, a robotic replica of Godzilla himself loaded with weapons and protected by diamond encrusted armor. The plan is simple…next time Godzilla attacks, destroy him. And that time may come soon as the discovery of an infant Godzilla on a remote island is certain to lure the adult into a trap, but the appearance of a giant Pteranodon dubbed Rodan, may complicate things somewhat as it seems to have adopted the baby Godzilla as its own. Can Japan survive if Rodan, Godzilla and Mechagodzilla meet to fight it out at the same time?
Written by Wataru Mimura and directed by Godzilla vs. Mothra director Takao Okawara, this entry’s plot is less convoluted and the style more down to earth than when Omori wrote and directed. While I liked Omori for thinking outside the Godzilla box, Okawara is more traditional in his approach and that is fine too. The film is filled with action and has some of the biggest battles and destruction scenes in the series. Except for some of the Rodan effects, Kawakita and crew are at the top of their game as Godzilla and his mechanical double go head-to-head in the middle of a large city. The destruction is on a massive scale, but Okawara doesn’t forget his numerous characters who are caught in the middle. The film goes back to a slightly more serious tone after the lighter Mothra, but not quite as somber or dire as King Ghidorah or Biollante. I wasn’t all that happy with them adding Baby Godzilla to the mix. I always disliked the character and the Disney-ish silliness it brought to the series, but his design is less cartoon-ish (thought that would sadly change in the next film, Spacegodzilla) and it is handled as best it could, considering. Rodan is also a slight disappointment as he seems a bit too small to be considered a worthy opponent to either Godzilla or Mechagodzilla, but he holds his own when facing both and does have character. Mechagodzilla has the least interesting design in the character’s history but makes up for it with some real destructive firepower and some truly spectacular battle scenes with Godzilla and Rodan. Again, the FX are quite impressive here for this kind of movie. The human cast is fine and seem to be having fun with the material, though they treat it with respect, and none go over the top. Psychic cutie Miki Seagusa (Megumi Odaka) returns for her third go around and Masahiro Takashima makes a likable hero in pilot Kazuma Aoki. Kenpachiro Satsuma appears for the fifth time as Godzilla and does another great job making him fierce and formidable. Akira Ifukube again scores and it is one of his best in the 40 years he has been associated with the series. But it is the epic battles that really fuel this fun time and the film has a lot more Godzilla then the last three flicks, as it should be.
Overall, this is one action packed flick, and its flaws can be overlooked by the sheer spectacle of the battles and the top notch SPFX that they are realized with. Okawara gives the film a somewhat faster pace, too and it helps that Godzilla shows up early and only disappears for short periods of time before returning and causing more carnage. I love that he is still an anti-hero here and despite the fact that Mechagodzilla is being piloted on the side of good…though he does represent man’s arrogance…we still want to see Godzilla make junk out of him. A fun and very action heavy installment in the 90s series.
-MonsterZero NJ
Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) Godzillas.
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