#10- "Godzilla vs King Ghidorah" (1991)

Starting off the top ten, Godzilla vs King Ghidorah features the Heisei era reintroduction of Godzilla's most infamous rival, along with an elaborate origin story of the King of the Monsters himself, along with a time traveling theme. The movie starts with the discovery of a UFO, which turns out to be a time machine carrying travelers from the year 2204. They hail from Japan, and come to warn the present day Japanese that Godzilla has completely destroyed the entire country by the 23rd century. Their mission is to go back in time to the 1940's during World War II to find the original Godzillasaurus, a dinosaur that survived somehow on Lagos Island in the Pacific and saved a troop of Japanese soldiers, led by the older character Yasuaki, from an American attack. Main character Terasawa, a writer, believes Yasuaki knows something, although Yasuaki denies the dinosaur ever existed. His hypothesis confirmed, the time travelers, known as the Futurians, allow Terasawa to accompany them, along with psychic Miki Saegusa. The group witnesses first hand as the Godzillasaurus destroys the American land forces before being mortally wounded by the nearby US destroyers out at sea. After a younger version of Yasuaki thanks the Godzillasaurus and bids it farewell, the Futurians transport the wounded Dinosaur away from the island, so that it may never come in contact with the nuclear tests that morphed it into Godzilla. They deposit the creature deep in the Bering Sea and return to present day Japan, although not before one of the Futarians, a homegrown Japanese girl named Emmy, releases 3 futuristic pets onto the island, little golden winged bats named Dorats. Back in 1991, the group learns that Godzilla has vanished, but now in his place there is King Ghidorah, a monstrous Golden three headed Dragon, the creation of the Dorats being exposed to those same nuclear tests that formed Godzilla. The Futurians control the beast to destroy Japan. The tides turned, Emmy suddenly feels resentful for what she has done and tells Terasawa what actually is up. Japan becomes the worlds leading superpower in the future and the Futurians mission is actually to destroy Japan before that ever comes to fruition. The Futurians send their android M-11 (who looks just like Michael Fassbender) to retrieve Emmy in a ridiculous and entirely cheesy car chase with Terasawa. The scene is all to similar to a Terminator spoof. At this same time, Yasuaki sends  a secret Japanese Nuclear sub to revive the Godzillasaurus corpse in the Bering sea in an attempt to bring back Godzilla to combat the rampaging King Ghidorah, but a Russian sub goes down in the area and soon after, the Japanese sub is attacked. Godzilla has returned, and is alive and well. He returns to Japan, a monstrous hulking form larger than ever after absorbing the two submarines nuclear payloads. He is now 100 meters tall, nearly twice that of the original Godzilla. He looks incredible too; the G suit for this movie was largely unchanged from the previous Biollante movie. The Futurians send King Ghidorah to destroy Godzilla, and the golden dragon gains the upper hand quickly. Back at the Time Machine, Emmy secretly changes M-11's hard drive to be on her side, because the Futurians don't lock her up for her betrayal, and with Terasawa's help, the group manages to cause King Ghidorah to go haywire as it combats Godzilla in the countryside. Without anyone controlling it, Ghidorah loses its advantage over Godzilla, who picks up the three headed monster and slams it against the Earth, then blasts its middle head off with an Atomic Beam.

Emmy teleports the Futurians space ship to Godzilla's feet before they can escape, and Godzilla finishes them off. Japan still has Godzilla to deal with now, and Emmy thinks she can help. She returns to her futuristic home to reconstruct King Ghidorah, as Godzilla in the present day destroys Tokyo. Yasuaki remains in his penthouse office, awaiting the beast. He shares a tear with Godzilla as they look each other eye to eye, as if remembering each other from that day long ago on Lagos island. Suddenly, Godzilla destroys Yasuaki and his building, before marching right into the heart of Tokyo. Surrounded by 1000 foot skyscrapers, Godzilla is somewhat small looking, especially when Emmy returns from the future just in time with a monstrous cyborg creation, Mecha King Ghidorah. She pilots the cyborg as it begins attacking Godzilla, sending the monster toppling into a skyscraper.

 

Godzilla's advance is ceaseless though, and he quickly gains the upper hand in knocking Mecha King Ghidorah's wings out of commission as the cyborg attempts an aerial assault. However, in a less than spectacular ending to an awesome idea, Emmy uses the cyborgs G cables to capture Godzilla's limbs and waist in large metal grips. She then flies out over the ocean before Godzilla blasts Mecha King Ghidorah's wings for a final time, plunging the two monsters deep into the ocean. Terasawa and his group wait anxiously for Emmy before she surfaces and waves goodbye, returning to the future. Godzilla awakens at the ocean's floor, next to a lifeless Mecha King Ghidorah carcass. It's a rather ambitious plot, but I think with the exception of the final battle between Godzilla and Mecha Ghidorah, its well put together. The origin of Godzilla is finally laid out in film, and this is a welcomed treat to any G fan. The special effects are awesome, especially in Godzilla's first countryside battle with Ghidorah, and during his scenes where he marches into Japan. However, Godzilla vs King Ghidorah was met with heavy criticism during its release for being anti-western in a way. The American forces on Lagos Island appear inept at combating a forty foot tall Dinosaur (who wouldn't?) and are utterly destroyed by the beast that clearly favors the Japanese. The Futurians, with the exception of Emmy, all appear American. On top of this all is a bizarre scene as two naval officers observe Lagos island the night before their attack, and witness the Futurian time machine fly past them like a comet. One officer says it's nothing, and that it would make a good story for the other officers children one day, calling the younger officer "Major Spielberg." Now Steven Spielberg, the famed director, was born in 1946, after World War II was officially over, so he himself could never have participated although after some digging, I found that his father Arnold Spielberg, who was born in 1917, participated in a war himself, and it was likely World War II. Now I have no idea what Toho was trying to get at with this gag in allowing Steven Spielberg's father to be mentioned in this movie, but it likely relates to something along the lines of two of Spielberg's most famous movies "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial" and confusing the Futurian ship with a UFO. And this is the 2nd time I've mentioned E.T. in this countdown which scares me. Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is a great movie though, very entertaining and action packed, with some hilariously cheesy moments to boot. These positive moments in mind, GvKG is clearly the worst of the top 10 though.