Directing the third entry in the "Millenium" or "Alternate Universe" series,Kaneko turned the fan base on its collective ear with this grim vision.The man responsible for the amazing rebirth of Gamera in the '90s was called in to breathe new life into the Godzilla franchise,and he certainly did here,rewriting kaiju history,updating special effects,and creating a knock down,drag out giant monster battle that'd knock yer Aunt Fanny's knickers back asswards.Even non-kaiju fans will appreciate this film's unique take on the Godzilla legend.
Radioactive breath first,questions later.
An American nuclear sub is destroyed off the coast of Guam,and when the Japanese send in rescue submarines to investigate,they see giant reptilian fins gliding off into the murky blackness.Admiral Tachibana recognizes the fins as belonging to Godzilla,the beast responsible for his parents' death during the destructive wake of his original attack in 1954,and warns the government officials of the impending danger.Elsewhere in Japan,unexplained phenomena and mysterious deaths plague the unexpecting populace in three separate areas,spurring on a TV news program,Digital Q, to cover the incidents.Yuri,a reporter for the show and the Admiral's daughter,meets a mysterious old man named Isayama who warns that apart from the monster's nuclear origins,he is an amalgamation of old vengeance-thirsty souls who were abandoned and died in the Pacific War,and thus cannot be destroyed by conventional weapons.Only the Sacred Guardian Beasts of Yamato can protect the planet from the murderous beast's radioactive rage.
Godzilla makes short work of Baragon.
When Godzilla surfaces from the tide,the Earth Guardian,Baragon(revamped from "Frankenstein Conquers the World")burrows out of a mountainside to meet his attack.Godzilla quickly dispatches his foe and continues on his destructive path.Isayama sets out to awaken the other two Guardian beasts as Tachibana is vindicated in his suspicions.An enormous eggsac surfaces in a lake,and from it hatches Mothra,a giant moth, in larval form,the Guardian of the Water,next to combat the cold,white eyed terror.As the behemoths battle to the death,Ghidorah,the three headed sky Guardian awakens to join the fight for earth.The demonic spirit proves too powerful for Mothra,setting her on fire in mid-air just as Ghidorah arrives.
The final battle is on.
In desperation,the two guardian monsters joined forces against their common enemy. Ghidorah attempted to inject Godzilla with burning bolts of electricity, but too weak for the demon beast who knocks the three headed defender out cold. As Godzilla attempts to finish him off, Mothra takes the full force of the blast and is incapacitated as well. With no monsters left to carry on the fight, the military attacks Godzilla by itself, utilizing a special drilling missile called the D-03,which sends the creature into a terrible offensive,destroying 90 percent of the military defenses.Mothra rises from the streets aglow, but Godzilla senses the oncoming attack and destroys the mammoth moth permanently. Her spiritual essence rejuvenates Ghidorah, transforming him into the thousand year dragon,King Ghidorah,who redirects a thermonuclear blast into Godzilla,sending him into the bay with a large wound in his shoulder.It's a bombastic bestial battle to the last bang of the gong,with twists a plenty!
Godzilla and King Ghidorah get ready to rumble as Tokyo crumbles.
Some series purists complain about Kaneko's drastic changes;gone is the big green defender of the planet,and in his place is a terrible immortal ghost/demon with white emotionless eyes,huge fangs,and thermonuclear breath that leaves a mushroom cloud in its wake.Also the director's original plans were to cast Baragon, Varan and Anguiras as the three guardians,scrapped in favor of the more familiar foes.An enjoyable Kaiju eiga romp that never fails to entertain,though Kaneko's earlier work on the Gamera films remains as the high water mark for this particular sub-genre.Cue the Godzilla theme music...
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