Godzilla - Duell der Megasaurier

This film came to my attention when I attended the first Monsterama Con in 2014 in Atlanta. One of the honored guests was Robert Scott Field who played an android. According to Fields, this film has been recognized as the third best Godzilla movie of all time. In Japan it received the equivalent to our Oscar Award. This film delves back to the origin of Godzilla and the epic battle with his equal King Ghidorah. The future visitors to modern 1990 Japan warn of destruction and want to change the course of the future but manipulating the present. A fun use of old school special effects and fun to see movies made pre- CGI. This movie is a joy for any Godzilla enthusiast. His name is Godzilla!

Ghidorah just won't die. This is the fourth of fifth flick he's shown up in, and somehow the Big G never has the nerve to off the three-headed two-tailed no-armed winged space dragon. Here's the deal. People from el futuro arrive to tell us that G will destroy Japan if he isn't gotten rid of soon. You think the Japanese would be a little jaded about it at this point, but of course they get scared and help the Futurians go back in time to kill the Godzillazaurus in 1944, before the atomic bomb tests could mutate into G. Mission accomplished, but instead, when the people come back to '91, King Ghidorah's running the show due to Futurian treachery. Now Japan nukes the slumbering Godzilla (although wouldn't he be nonexistent after having been retro-murdered in '44?) Godzilla beats Ghidorah. Godzilla runs amuck. Japanese enlist Ghidorah to smash G. Ghidorah runs amuck. Now the Big G has to whomp Godzilla, I think, all these twists get me confused. Ghidorah comes back as Mecha King Ghidorah and both fall into ocean or some other convenient device. Favorite line has to be American naval officer after watching Godzillasaurus perish: "Take that, you dinosaur!"

Hitchcock would have admired the no-nonsense progression of this movie. There's no stuffing around with unnecessary sub-plots or boring character histories basically what we want to hear about is Godzilla.

This is from the modern series of Godzilla redoes. The original was 1955, and millions of camp sequels followed in the 60's - and now these latest movies in the 90's. So this looks like a modern movie - with modern technology available, yet they've retained the puppet-like Godzilla. Many have complained at how fake it looks - but considering all the other self-reference, they've definitely done it one purpose. Why do Godzilla computer animated when the vintage puppet Godzilla is so fun!

There's nothing better than a camp movie that knows its camp - this is very fun stuff. For example, the obvious parody of American sci-fi flicks: we see two US soldiers discussing casually how they'll take over the island they've just discovered "yes, the stars and stripes will fly here too." And they see our heroes flying in on their time machine/ufo and think its a space ship (which it is). One says to the other: "Let's just keep this secret. You can tell your son about it, when he's born, Major Spielberg." The slickness of the entertainment actually is the best homage to Spielberg here. These are the kinds of movies Spielberg makes, and the kind of movies we all used to love when we were kids. Good on them, I say.

There is plenty of sci-fi action: UFOs, time machines and futuristic creatures. There are also references to American war movies in the war-like sequences with US troops fighting Godzilla on the Bikini Atoll (or whatever atoll it is - one famous for Nuclear testing). There's adventure, also: the troupe going back in a time machine to 1954 to try and wipe Godzilla from existence is a very exciting adventure premise.

7/10. Thoroughly recommended entertainment.

Time travel movies mess with my head. However, GOJIRA VS KINGUGIDORA is the only time travel movie I can follow. To a certain extent. Like, when Big G has been erased from time, why do the Japanese folks still talk about him?

Godzilla is easily at his best here, with his battles with King Ghidorah, the JSDF and their maser tanks and when he gives Sapporo and the Shinjuku distrcit a lovely pounding. Best bit: Big G torching Shindo.

King Ghidorah is good in this movie, but his fight with the jets is not very good. I think the ultimate Ghidorah would be a cross between this one and the Ghidorah from MOSURA 3.

Koichi Kawakita does a lovely job on the special effects. I always prefer Godzilla to battle at night, as that's when the opticals (eg Godzilla atomic heat beam) are at their best.

Akira Ifukube really breathes life into this movie, especially with the use of the Godzilla theme on the end credits.

Roll on GOJIRA VS MOSURA!

This Godzilla film, being the third in the second series, offers a lot of things for the fan . This is the plot: People from the future come to present day Japan to warn the citizens about the threat that is Godzilla and that he will totally destroy Japan and offer their assistance to get rid of it. The futurians deves a plan to go back to the past to the event in which Godzilla was created by moving him from the site where the atomic bomb was used to create him to a neutral location. However, the futurians have an ulterior motive, they create King Ghidorah and use him to destroy Japan, for economical reasons. Unfortunately thier plan to get rid of Godzilla backfires greatly. Not only did they not get rid of Godzilla, but he comes back bigger and more powerful than he was before, and that spells major trouble for both the futurians and Japan.