#10) Godzilla x Mothra
x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.: Another Godzilla movie that I did a 180 on.
In my opinion, this one is better than its prequel, Godzilla x Mechagodzilla. Kiryu
was proven as an effective weapon against Godzilla and had been assigned to
fend off any future Godzilla attacks. There’s a twist, Mothra doesn’t like it that the first Godzilla’s bones had not been
laid to rest and requested that Kiryu retire
and that he would take his place in defending Japan. A three way, and later
four way, monster battle breaks out in Tokyo, show-casing Toho’s new special
effects, and a wonderfully choreographed battle. It is as good as its prequel
with a few improvements.
#9) Godzilla v
Biollante: An often overlooked installment in the Heisei Series but with one of the most popular villains, Biollante. Of course, villain might be
overstating it, because Godzilla is the villain of this movie. After wrecking
Tokyo, the world scrambles to obtain samples of Godzilla’s cells. A grieved
scientist, in hopes of preserving the life of his deceased daughter (or
something like that), fuses a sample of Godzilla cells with a rose and his
daughter’s cells. The result is an abominable plant monster named Biollante. What fans love about Biollante is that he or she dwarfs
Godzilla and even attempts to eat him in one scene.
There are only a few drawbacks to this movie. I was not a
fan of the JSDF theme in this movie (I’m not referring to the classic one by
Ifukube, but the new one that sounded totally out of place when Super X2 first
confronts Godzilla). The only other real complaint is that the story is
somewhat slow moving and there is not a bunch of Godzilla action.
On the other hand, concerning a G movie with a rival
monster, the only film that surpasses this one’s special effects is G2014. I
enjoyed the plot and the inclusion of the G cells became somewhat of a
foundational point for the rest of the series. Godzilla’s escape from Mt.
Mihara is one of the most well-accomplished film sequences in the series. All
of the characters were inspired and this was the first film to include Miss Sagusa,
the psychic (who becomes the main character of the Heisei Series).
Supposedly, Biollante was designed by a dentist. If you’ve
seen the 80’s version of Little Shop of
Horrors, you would find this fact quite ironic.
#8) Mothra v Godzilla: Not to be confused with the 90’s Godzilla vs Mothra. MothravG took full
advantage of G’s early villain status and played it to the bone. This movie was
a sequel to King Kong vs Godzilla and G’s entrance answers the question
concerning his whereabouts at the conclusion of the said movie. Godzilla
mercilessly rampages across Japan destroying everything in sight while the
military desperately tries to put him down. The grim reality for Japan is that
nothing can stop Godzilla and Godzilla will stop at nothing from wiping Japan
off of the map. The only hope for Japan, and perhaps mankind, is the giant
insect Mothra (a giant moth if you
haven’t caught on).
Mothra is a beast in this movie. He/she (I can never figure this
out with Mothra) dwarfs Godzilla, but is nearing the end of its life span.
However, Mothra has an egg that has
landed on the shore of Japan that could provide hope for mankind if it is
allowed to hatch. A greedy corporate entity swoops in and claims ownership of
the egg which results in a lesson about greed.
Downers about this movie? It’s one
of the more preachy of the Godzilla movies, for sure. Also, I don’t like
watching Godzilla be defeated by a couple of rollie pollies, no matter how
awesome of a battle it was leading up to the conclusion.
#7) Godzilla, Mothra,
King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack: To really appreciate this
movie you have to watch the original Gojira
in Japanese. Elements of Godzilla’s existence in this movie do not make
sense otherwise. Once you have that background, it is easy to admit that GMK is
one of the most well-done G movies, and probably the best of the 2000 series
(even though this film is a stand-alone and not really part of the actual 2000
series in the strictest sense).
As the name suggests, Mothra and King Ghidorah appear in
this movie, but we are given the added bonus of Baragon, as well. One must
wonder how Baragon did not make the final cut in the title, seeing how fans
loved his battle with Big G.
The downside to this movie is it seemed like the creators
really struggled with understanding who their audience was. Certain elements
suggested they were marketing to kids. Other elements suggested they were
marketing to adults. Given that they provided one of the fiercest looking
Godzilla designs in the series had him kill the other three featured monsters,
they probably should have focused on adults for this movie. Also, King
Ghidorah’s appearance was admittedly lacking and the ending was somewhat lame,
but touching nonetheless.
Regardless, the music was pretty good. The special effects
were great. The only portrayal of Mothra that was better in the series was that
in Tokyo S.O.S. Overall, they nailed
Godzilla’s screen presence in this movie. One of the unexpected advantages GMK
had over other Godzilla movies was a mystical/fantasy element that was probably
inspired by the 90’s Gamera Trilogy.
At the end of the movie, even though the humans prevail, it is learned that
Godzilla is more or less immortal.
#6) King Kong v
Godzilla: Fans will probably be outraged over this selection for #6 on my
chart. First, I opted to not call Godzilla
98 the worst GFilm ever and now I am saying that KKvG is just one movie
outside of the top five? Why do fans have a tendency to underrate this installment?
I actually wrote a hub page article about this phenomenon
where I boldly stated that King Kong defeated Godzilla. This fact infuriates
Godzilla fans, but requires them also to wonder, why did G lose? It was not a
matter of Kong being the stronger monster. It was because Kong was the underdog
and G (this being his third film) was still considered a villain. King Kong had
always been more of an anti-hero who was intruded upon by mankind and lashed
out in order to defend his territory. This is the same story for KKvG. Humans
travel to Kong’s island, sedate him, and bring him back to Japan to do battle
with Godzilla.
Mind you, I have not seen even a 100th
of the Japanese version and I know for a fact that the Americanized version is
horribly butchered (My guess is that Godzilla is a cross between a Tyrannosaurs
Rex and the Stegosaurus; also known as the plated lizard - actual line from one
of the American actors, as though Godzilla had no history in their universe).
Regardless, the action is incredible. Its monster battle is as intense as G Raids Again but pits two known movie
monsters against one another. KKvG is one of my go-to movies. Whenever I don’t
know what to turn on, it’s on my list of Why
not this one? options.www.williamhseng.com
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