Saturday 16 August 2008

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Director: Kazuki Omori
Starring: Kosuki Toyohari, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka
Genre: Kaiju (monster)
Year: 1991
Release: HK, Universe

3rd film in the 'Hensai' period of Godzilla flicks. The series rebooted in 1985, so here we have the big grey guy, fighting Ghidorah, with a new story behind them. Ghidorah is no longer a space monster, as was previously, this story has it being created by people from earths future. The story is convoluted, to say the least, but it goes something along these lines. In 1944, a batallion of Japanese soldiers are about to get defeated, on some remote Pacific island. A T-Rex appears, and saves them. No-one bothers to explain how it's survived for millions of years, on a small island, undetected, but there you go. Rexy does the biz, but gets a pasting by The Yank ships. In 1954, Yankland lets off an H-bomb, on the Bikini atoll. The island that rexy is on is nearby, and the radiation mutates him, creating duh duh duuuuuuuuhhhh, Godzilla. Now, cut to 1992. Some dudes, from the future, show up, claiming that Japan is totally destroyed in their time, they want to stop Godzilla before he gets a chance. They grab some folks from 92, head on back to 1944, and teleport rexy away, stopping the creation of Godzilla in the first place. Only, and here's where it really gets twisty, they leave behind 3 Dorats (cutesy winged things, from the future). These 3 get the blast instead, creating King Ghidorah. Ghidorah is under the future dudes control, and promptly starts laying waste to Japan. Japan had gotten too big, in the future, and controlled everything, these guy want to stop it from ever happening. Now, in order to fight Ghidorah, a weapon is needed, something capable of taking it on. How about a giant, radioactivly mutated T-Rex? Knowing how Godzilla was created, they send a nuclear sub to where future dudes teleported rexy, in order to irradiate him. Only, he's already mutated when they get there, (his creation is inevitable, see?), by other nuclear material, so, with the extra from the sub, he becomes even bigger than he did originally (uh-oh). Cue big scrap with Ghidorah. Thanks to one of their kind defecting, and some help, future dudes lose control of Ghidorah, and Godzilla gives him a pasting, chucking him in the sea. Thats Japan saved then, but, oh noes, now Godzilla is on the rampage. Future dudes are now dead, except for one, the defecter, so she heads to the future, finds Ghidorah, ressurects it, using cyborg technology, from the future, and comes back to stop Godzilla.
Aaaaaaaaaand breath.
The story is absolutly full of holes and paradoxes. Plus, outright baffeling moments, like why do future dudes bother with 1992, why not just go back to 44? Why does the one who defects even go? she must have known the intent for Ghidorah, and what they were up to, she released the Dorats, ffs. Anyway, despite the bonkers storyline (even by godzilla standards), this is still great fun. G-man is a badass all the way in this period, he doesn't fight Ghidorah to save humans, he fights it 'cos he's a tough nut who loves a scrap. During his rampage after, he meets face to face with a soldier from the island he saved. Giving a little nod of recognition, he then blasts him, full force. G-man is baaaaaad. Fun little way to while away 100-odd minutes.

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