TALKBACK #5: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster

[Russzilla]

I wouldn't mind a CGI Rodan. As long as it was in the air scenes. I'd still be cool with a suitmation Rodan for any ground scenes. And it would absolutely have to be the Showa Rodan. (his air scenes in Destroy All Monsters destroying Moscow and Tokyo are awesome)

[Russzilla]

[Russzilla]

What is this exactly before Rodan flies upwards out of Mount Aso? Rodan's claws or what?

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

When I was a kid watching the pan and scan version, where only one of those was visible, I thought it was Rodan's beak. But ever since I've had the full tohoscope version, I assume it's his claws (whether it's his hands or feet I don't know).

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

The moment I started watching these in widescreen I wondered how I even managed to tell what was happening when panned-and-scanned. I do think I did have quite a few 'Huh? What am I looking at?' moments as a kid.

[Russzilla]

[MekaGojira3k]

The same here. I think the weirdest moment is in Son of Godzilla, in the tv recording I had there was a scene in which Reiko seems to magically appear. I was so confused.

[ebirahsmeg1]

[H-Man]

I always thought those were the tips of Rodan's wings sticking out of the rocks, but it appears the scale is off.

[Russzilla]

Ok. So I take it those are the claws from Rodan's feet. Figure they would have to be judging from the way they have him coming out of the rocks and rubble.

[Jorzilla]

[Goji 84]

So, seeing this in 1080p suddenly means Rodan was likely buried while turned around?

It's probably impossible to know for sure, but them being the claws of his feet is a hell of a lot more likely.

[Russzilla]

[jellydonut25]

[kiryugoji04]

I always assumed it was some of the spikes on his chest, actually.

[Hybrid Gojira]

Just watched this today with my wife.

I enjoyed it...Ghidorah is awesome and really steals the show. Rodan has a few moments (dropping Godzilla on his face and ramming KG in mid-air) that are spectacular. My favorite Goji moment is when he body slams Rodan into the ground.

The miniature work is really great here.

[ebirahsmeg1]

[Dr Kain]

Just like with everyone else, Ghidorah is one of my favorite villains in the Godzilla universe. He has a great design with the three heads, giant wings and no arms, which also make him quite unique. On the other hand, he seems to get the short end of the stick at times when it comes to screen time or build up. Half of the time, he seems to be used because he is easily recognizable and can make a quick buck over coming up with something original, and it works. However, when he is used well, he is definitely an incredible monster.

This movie is definitely in the later camp (which is to be expected given the movie’s title), but I feel even his debut here was a rushed job as Toho just wanted to do something different. That does not mean the movie is bad by any means, in fact, it is a very good movie, but it has some quirks to it that take away from it. The plot itself is interesting as it pays homage to spy thriller movies while being a monster movie at the same time. This makes it a very unique movie for its time and really helps add a small level of suspense to the movie. Unfortunately, it also shows us the villains of the movie making the standard mistakes of those found in spy movies like James Bond such as not killing their targets the moment they had the chance to. It just never makes sense to me and I always think back to that moment in Austin Powers when Dr. Evil’s son wants to get his gun so they can just shoot Austin together and Dr. Evil keeps telling him Austin is guaranteed dead. Aside from that, too much is left unexplained. Why did Princess Salno think she was from Venus and how did she make those predictions? Was she being controlled by a spirit, an alien, or was it just some faint memory of ancestors long past? The movie never really explains it, but does it really need to? It does add a piece of the mystery the movie is trying to portray throughout its plot. And in a movie about giant monsters, does it really matter enough to the viewer? Finally, what is up with the television show towards the beginning of the movie? It just seems weird to go to an island to have two fairies appear on a TV show and for them to agree to it. That portion just does not work for me at all, even more so than the whole “monster discussion” that takes place between Mothra, Godzilla, and Rodan.

Anyway, the characters are great, likable, and it was really nice to see Toho have a returning character from the previous movie. Shindo and his sister are just as great characters too as those found in “Mothra vs. Godzilla,” and I also think their acting was good. The woman who played Salno did an excellent job when it came to having to not recognize those from her home country who were there to kill her. Even Malmes was a good character even if he had very little development. Upon thinking about it, this movie’s characters are definitely in my top favorites list for characters found in a Godzilla movie as the plot surrounding them seem to be more interesting at times than the monsters themselves, which is something I hardly ever say.

Speaking of the monsters, I am not sure what to think about them in this movie. This movie marks Rodan’s return since his premier movie and I just don’t feel he lives up to the terror he was previously. He awakens and then just conveniently disappears for about 20 minutes, which does not feel believable, even for a movie about monsters in rubber suits. I also feel like the special effects people got lazy on him as his wings barely seem to flap when he is flying, so he really glides more than anything else. There is something off about Godzilla’s look though and I am not exactly sure what it is. They reuse the same costume from the previous movie, which is fantastic, but the head appears to have lost that menacing look he had. Maybe it is just because of the camera angles used, but Godzilla no longer seems to be as mean as he was before. Then there is that sitting scene during the “discussion.” That is the beginning of Godzilla’s fall from being a true monster for me, but at least it does not take away from the movie itself. Another thing I do not like is that Mothra is still in larva form. Is there a reason for it? Wouldn’t it had been quicker to go into adult form between movies so that she could protect the Earth when the need arose? Or was the budget so limited on the movie itself that they just decided to keep her a caterpillar the entire time? Of course, the movie’s main attraction, Ghidorah, just looks freaking badass. As I previously said, he has a very unique design, and it is quite obvious that was one of the reasons he has become such a big star himself. The concept is well done and the execution works as you can tell there is a lot of wire work going on without seeing the wires, making it truly believable. Sadly though, I cannot say the same for the rest of the movie as the effects seem disjointed. Sometimes they are truly impressive, such as during the Ghidorah fight, while at others times they seem lackluster, as seen while Godzilla and Rodan battle each other. There are also times when the film print itself seems to be faded and washed out at times like they had used different types of film when they were recording. It does get slightly annoying at times.

The music continues to be a treat to listen to, especially Ghidorah’s theme. Overall, this movie is not the masterpiece that was “Mothra vs. Godzilla,” but it is still a great solid entry into the Godzilla series even if it is a flawed one. The human storyline outshines the monster storyline, an oddity, but that does not make the monster action any less enjoyable. I give this movie a nice 7/10 stars.

[Benjamin Haines]

[briizilla]

[Dr Kain]

[eabaker]

[Dr Kain]