Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

While Godzilla vs. Biollante has become a favorite among fans it didn't set the Japanese box office on fire.  That, along with the fact that Toho couldn't get theatrical distribution in many countries including the U.S., frightened them a bit.  Because of this, and with the 50th anniversary of the studio coming up, it was decided to do another rematch with King Kong.  Problem is, unlike in the 1960s, King Kong was now owned by Turner Broadcasting, and they wanted 9 million dollars for the rights.  Being that it would have been two thirds of what was the final budget for this movie Toho did a poll to decide who Godzilla would go up against next.  The result was King Ghidorah.

Only thing is returning director Kazuki Ômori didn't want King Ghidorah to be, in his words, was a silly space monster.  Since The Return of Godzilla had wiped the slate clean of every Showa film after the original that meant the origin of King Ghidorah, as well as Godzilla himself, could be altered.  

In 1992 a UFO is spotted flying over Tokyo and landing near Mount Fuji.  Kenichiro Terasawa (Kôsuke Toyohara) is a writer who specializes in the supernatural but, rather than pursue the UFO, he is interested in claims by a World War II veteran that his garrison, stationed on the island of Ragos in the Marshall Islands, was saved by a dinosaur that chased away the American troops.  He is thought to be a crank until a well-respected man named Shindo (Yoshio Tsuchiya) provides proof.  This leads Terasawa to believe the dinosaur was actually Godzilla (Kenpachirô Satsuma), forever changed in 1954 after American nuclear tests in the area.

It happens that his theory made it into the future.  Two centuries, to be exact, as the UFO is not from space, but from the year 2204.  The people in charge of the mission, Chuck Wilson (Chuck Wilson), Grenchiko (Richard Berger) and Emmy Kano (Anna Nakagawa), have read the book Terasawa will publish and have come back to help erase Godzilla from history by teleporting him off the island so he never becomes irradiated.  Problem is, they have ulterior motives, replacing the big guy with three creatures called dorats that, after the tests, are fused together as King Ghidorah.  Controlling the monster the Futurians hope to cripple Japan and change the future.  Only thing is both history and Godzilla are quite stubborn.

Despite King Ghidorah being a terrestrial creature and the villains being from the future this still owes a lot to Invasion of the Astro-Monster, where supposedly benign aliens removed Earth's monsters to help them fight King Ghidorah, who was really under their control and part of their invasion plan.  The Futurians' goals are not on the same scale but their methods are quite similar.  Besides Terasawa on the good guys' side there is also Professor Mazaki (Katsuhiko Sasaki), an expert on dinosaurs and a returning Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka), now highly placed in G-Force and still having a psychic link with Godzilla.  The events in the present occur three years after the battle with Biollante, and it is interesting to see Godzilla given a solid origin story.  

There are a number of references to popular American films at the time as the robot M11 (Rober Scott Field) at times references The Terminator as well as Bishop from Aliens.  There is also an awkward reference to Steven Spielberg, with his dad being on the ship that tries to take Ragos.  Though it caused some controversy the World War II scenes are hardly anti-American, and military personnel based in Japan participated in the invasion scene.  Problem is, none of those that got speaking parts were actors.  Since these parts are in English the Japanese audiences probably didn't notice how bad the line readings were, but it is quite painful for an English speaker.

Despite these minor things, as well as some low-budget digital effects, this is one of the more memorable Godzilla films of the 1990s.  When they ditch the CGI and go with the suitmation and miniatures it looks great, and the final solution to take care of Godzilla once again - who is no good guy in this film, deciding to finish off Japan himself after taking care of King Ghidorah - is wonderful.  It includes a scene that is a callback to King Ghidorah's original entrance way back in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.  

Where the first two Heisei film kind of brought the big guy back Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah sets up the rest of the series for the 1990s.  It is too bad these later films didn't get a video release in the U.S. until 1998 and, when they did, as usual they were dubbed and had parts chopped.  The Heisei films, just like the Showa ones, are best seen in their original Japanese versions.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Time: 103 minutes

Starring: Kôsuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Robert Scott Field, Chuck Wilson, Richard Berger, Kenpachirô Satsuma, "Hurricane Ryu" Hariken

Director: Kazuki Ômori