REVIEW DATE:3:23:9:9
REVIEW DATE:3:23:9:9
Ah, Toho. Been awhile, hasn't it? As if you couldn't tell by now, I, your humble Doctor, am trying desperately to review every Godzilla movie there is in chronological order, thus this review is late in coming, since Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster isn't that easy to find. Probably because it doesn't have "Godzilla" in the title, even though it is a Godzilla movie. Number 5 in fact.
Ghidorah
marks some important turning points for the Big G. This would mark the first time in which
Godzilla would actually help humanity, as opposed to stamping them flat as he had
done in earlier works. Secondly this movie would begin the so-called "monster tag
team" fights in which three (in this case four) or more monsters would fight each
other with the fate of humanity in the balance.
As lab coated scientists watch the skies a giant meteor slams into earth. Don't worry, its no where near the size of the "that bitch that needs drillin'" from Armageddon, but its still plenty big. Ever curious, the scientists trade their lab coats for hiking gear and go to investigate.
Elsewhere in Japan, at the headquarters of a quasi-CIA, Detective Shindo (Yosuke Natsuki) is assigned to protect the in coming Princess Salno (Akiko Wakabayshi). If she dies, he is warned, her country might become communist, and if there's one thing the 50's have taught us its that those Godless commies are evil, eeeevillll!!
Being eeeevillll, the Commies blow up the Princess' plane before it even gets to Japan. After a search party finds nothing Shindo is about to call it a day, until his sister shows him a picture of a street prophetess who claims to be from Mars and is walking around preaching that a horde of monsters will soon arrive. Shinto's sister, Naoko (Yuriko Hoshi) hosts a sort of 1960's Japanese Jerry Springer like show and is hoping to book the woman. Shinto sees that that's no prophet, that's the Princess, and it's off to protect her before the Vodka chuggers get their paws on her again.
Sure enough,
however, Rodan and Godzilla make their appearances again. True to form, as soon as they
get within sight of each other they start fighting. However, while this should be the
highlight of the movie, it shoots itself in the foot because of the bargain basement FX on
display here. I'm not talking about the suitmation (which has ups and downs itself), but
rather, for most of the fight, footage of two hand puppets was used. As with the original Godzilla, the puppets look nothing like the entire suits, and
I just can't get over that. 
However things look up for me, and down for Japan as soon Ghidorah hatches out of his/its (hit's?) meteor and goes on his/its (hit's?) own little rampage through Japan. Since the military is (predictably) useless against the monsters, our main characters call on the help of Mothra and the fairies/peanuts/Shobijin (hereafter just "Shobijin"). After breaking up the Rodan vs. Godzilla fight, the three monsters actually have a conversation. I'm not kidding, True Believer. With the Shobijin translating for those who don't speak monster, Mothra tries to convince the two other daikaiju to join forces and stop Ghidorah. After some dickering, a deal is struck and the three monsters go off to save the day.
Despite its usual Toho monster movie flaws (poor script, worse acting) I actually liked Ghidorah, most because the script (written by Shinichi Sekizawa) is very, very, liberal with its monster fights. All you really have to do is sit through the first 30 monster-less minuets and get ready for a hell of a payoff. Also good about this script is continuity, something the 4 previous movies had little, if any of. Reverences to previous movies are all over the place here, and I think its about time. Savor it though, because after this all continuity would go down the toilet, along with a few other things, which we'll get to as I review the rest of the Godzilla series
Godzilla's suit is really nothing more then a slightly altered version of the suit from Godzilla vs. Mothra, the only big difference is the elimination of that stupid flapping jaw, for which I am eternally thankful to FX man Eiji Tsuburaya.
Yet it is but a Godzilla movie, and thus probably wont please everyone. The fact that Godzilla turns into a hero might not sit well with even the most liberal of G-fans. However, this is still a Godzilla movie to be savored, since it's all down hill from here.
RATING (OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE)
NOT BAD, BUT NOT EXCELLENT.