Revisiting Godzilla & His Foes

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is almost here, and it’s looking to be a milestone in Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse. Finally, after so long in being a Godzilla fan, I get to see the monster rumble produced on a massive $200 million budget scale. This would be the first time in 15 years we get to see Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan on the big screen in the US –the last film was Godzilla: Final Wars.

Despite the original 1954 Godzilla being a metaphor of nuclear warfare and the destruction it brings to civilization, the Godzilla franchise was built around the common premise of Godzilla fighting another monster. Time and time again, Godzilla’s role as a character fluctuates throughout the series. Either the film paints him as the villain that needs to be stopped or the story sets him up as an anti-hero that must defeat another monster that’s deemed to be a lot worse. Regardless of which type you prefer, we can all agree that Godzilla and his foes have been through a lot.

So, this is the perfect time for me to write about some of my favorite on-screen monsters of all time. Let’s revisit Toho’s Godzilla and his history and relationship with some of his most iconic foes. Since Godzilla has faced countless opponents throughout Toho’s filmography, I will be focusing solely on Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan, since they are the ones that have been heavily promoted in King of the Monsters.

The Toho Cinematic Universe

The first thing to acknowledge right off the bat is Toho was one of the original studios that embraced what we today would call a cinematic universe. While Marvel Studios consistently builds on top of a single continuity in their films, Toho simply does crossovers among different monsters, often ignoring the events of previous films.

Where the two studios share in similarities is both took their time to deliver individual “origin stories” first. Rodan had his own movie in 1956, titled Rodan, while Mothra had her solo movie in 1961, titled Mothra. Then, 1962 came along and Toho took a giant step towards becoming a crossover franchise, with the release of King Kong vs. Godzilla, a film that will see a remake in 2020. This monster rumble crossover will go on for over 60 years and remains the signature style of the franchise today.

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Though chronologically Godzilla’s third foe, Mothra is one of the most famous opponents/allies in the entire franchise. She is commonly written as the monster with the moral compass, only causing destruction to rid the world of evil and corruption. The trope goes like this: Mothra protects the Earth under the guidance of two twin fairies, and often lays an egg at the end of the film, whose larvae will eventually grow up to become a new Mothra and restart the cycle.

For a good hour, Mothra vs. Godzilla unfolds like a Mothra film. Mothra’s egg is washed ashore after a typhoon, only to be taken into custody by a group of greedy businessmen. A pair of journalists and a scientist (Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, and Hiroshi Koizumi) then assist the twin fairies (The Peanuts) in returning the egg back to Mothra. And then, halfway into the film, things get complicated when Godzilla emerges.

In this film, Godzilla retains an antagonistic role. By framing Mothra as an underdog, the film wants you to root for her victory. One hit by Godzilla’s atomic breath and she’s done for, and humanity will have no defense. The climax of the film features some of Toho’s best practical effects in the 60s, from the pollen and web effects to the countless explosions that show Godzilla’s invincibility. Even the miniature sets are shot in a way that helps sell Godzilla and Mothra’s sizes, since they’re clearly just animatronics and rubber suits.

If you’re a newcomer to Godzilla movies, Mothra vs. Godzilla is a great place to start. It highlights some of the authentic charm present throughout the Shōwa series (1954-1975) while keeping the plot simple and easy to digest.

Ghidora, The Three-Headed Monster (1964)

This movie checks a lot of boxes for first time milestones. It’s the first time Godzilla fights Rodan, the first time Godzilla fights King Ghidorah, and the first time the Godzilla series completely embraces the monster rumble.

Surprisingly, a lot of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is about prophecies and foreshadowing. The plot involves an extraterrestrial from the planet Venus preaching the return of Rodan, the return of Godzilla, and an imminent threat that could destroy the entire Earth. Of course, the threat is later revealed to be King Ghidorah, a three-headed extraterrestrial dragon hell-bent on destroying planets.

If it wasn’t for an unnecessary side-plot where the extraterrestrial happened to occupy the body of an assassination attempt victim, the film’s storyline is quite engaging. Mothra is once again summoned to protect the Earth, but this time she requests help from Godzilla and Rodan, who prove they’re not getting along via hilarious rock throwing. This is arguably one of the earliest moments of crossover hype, the kind that Marvel Studios excels in today. Seeing Mothra fight Godzilla is one thing. Seeing Mothra riding on the back of Rodan, webbing up King Ghidorah for Godzilla to fight, is another.

For a 55-year old film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster holds up in terms of cultural impact. From this point on, King Ghidorah would remain as Godzilla’s greatest foe.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

The revival of Godzilla fighting King Ghidorah in 1991 is undoubtedly one of the most classic monster movies and one of the best Godzilla battles in the franchise. Acting almost as a reboot, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah rewrites the origin of Godzilla and King Ghidorah as both creatures that were mutated by radiation in 1954. And if that’s not enough, the plot combines alien invasions with time travel.

Visitors from the future (called “Futurians,” of all names) arrive to warn Japan of the country’s future, where Godzilla has completely decimated everything. Using a time machine, the Futurians remove Godzilla off the island to prevent its mutation. In secret, they also plant three little creatures called Dorats on the island in Godzilla’s place, who become exposed to the radiation and merge into King Ghidorah. Now, back in the present, the Futurians reveal their true intentions: control the newly formed King Ghidorah and invade Japan.

If there’s one thing the franchise has proven consistently, it’s to never trust strangers from another planet, dimension, or timeline. Full of large sets, outstanding practical effects, good performances by Yoshio Tsuchiya and Anna Nakagawa, and one hell of a climax, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is a near perfect balance of a monster rumble movie –probably the best litmus test to take to see if you’re into Toho’s style of rubber suit monsters duking it out.

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

With the Heisei series (1984-1995) heavily focusing on sci-fi premises, Godzilla vs. Mothra sees a return to the traditional fantasy storyline, while expanding the Mothra mythology by introducing a new monster called Battra –think of it as the foil to Mothra. As a result, Godzilla vs. Mothra is a strange entry in the Heisei series, for it is light on tone and arguably the most unnecessary in terms of plot.

Battra has an interesting design, along with a roar that sounds an awful lot like Rodan’s. The film mostly plays out as a Mothra story rather than a Godzilla story, which is unfortunate, given that Godzilla’s name is in the movie title, set up to be a versus movie. Remember, this came right after Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, one of the most classic Godzilla movies.

Here, it’s almost as if the King of the Monsters was added in for a box office boost. Once again, Godzilla is given an antagonistic role, designed for Mothra to stop. With the iffy adventure subplot for the human characters and the on-the-nose politics about protecting the environment, this film is basically a retread of the 1964 original, but with improved special effects and an expansion on Mothra’s abilities.

Aside from its intriguing first act and satisfying climax, Godzilla vs. Mothra is not an essential viewing for beginners looking to be introduced to Mothra or the franchise. For that, I’d easily choose the 1964 rendition instead, as well as Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. In fact, I’d recommend the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, where Mothra takes on a slightly altered form of King Ghidorah all by herself.

GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

GMK stands for “Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah,” so yes, that’s one long movie title. In terms of story, continuity, and canon, GMK is easily the odd one of the bunch. For starters, the story is a lot simpler and easier to follow, free from nonsensical plot points like aliens or time travel. GMK follows the citizens of Japan, as they call upon the guardian gods King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Baragon to help defend them against Godzilla’s impending destruction.

You read that right. King Ghidorah is a heroic monster in this –a series’ first. Furthermore, it rewrites Godzilla’s origin as an embodiment of all the human lives lost in nuclear war returning for revenge on civilization. Sure enough, this film shows Godzilla at his most heartless and relentless state.

The effects in this film are some of Toho’s absolute best. From the miniature sets to the way the camera is placed, we finally get a sense of scale to these monsters. Most of the initial attacks are filmed solely from the human perspective, and Godzilla has not been this terrifying since the 1954 original film –there are even some tasteful visual callbacks. The cinematography, editing, and directing is noticeably better and more thought out. From Godzilla’s first use of the atomic breath to the birth of Mothra, the film is full of exciting directing choices made by Gamera veteran director Shusuke Kaneko.

Though short on humor or deep substance, both political and emotional, it has consistently stirring action sequences, tight pacing, and a likable female lead (Chiharu Niiyama). This is efficient monster entertainment, and if you’re already a Godzilla fan, this is surely one of the best installments in the franchise.

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

And now, we are back to Toho’s regular scheduled programming, where aliens control multiple monsters to invade Japan. Final Wars is easily a fan favorite of the entire franchise. Being the film that honors the franchise’s 50^th anniversary, Final Wars goes all-out by throwing in almost every single monster we’ve ever seen in the series and increasing its production budget to a whopping $19.5 million USD.

In addition to Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan, the film includes other monsters like Anguirus, Gigan, King Caesar, Kamacuras, Kumonga, Ebirah, Hedorah, and even the American Godzilla (named Zilla) from the 1998 Roland Emmerich film. No joke, this is the Avengers: Endgame of the Godzilla franchise.

For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to describe the plot of Final Wars as this: Japan revives Godzilla from the frozen ice to help defeat the aliens and the monsters they control. The rest of the film unfolds as a Greatest Hits compilation –pretty much just Godzilla rampaging around and beating the hell out of every monster one by one like some kaiju John Wick.

And it’s awesome. Batshit crazy, but awesome. If you ever think the human scenes in past Godzilla movies are too slow or boring, look no further than Godzilla: Final Wars. While the monsters are fighting one another, wrecking building after building, the humans fight the aliens like a cross between Power Rangers and Star Wars. Sometimes, the film goes way overboard on its action, to the detriment of its tone and narrative coherence, but it’s clear that director Ryuhei Kitamura approached the material with the sole intention of creating the mother of all monster rumbles. Don’t expect anything more than action and you’ll do fine.

Without a doubt, Final Wars is not a Godzilla film I’d recommend for beginners. That would be like celebrating someone’s 21^st birthday by introducing them Absinthe. However, if you end up watching and enjoying the previous five films I’ve described here, then you’re certainly ready. Welcome to the club.

But Wait… There’s More!

So there you have it –six short reviews for six Godzilla films that give a solid exploration of Godzilla and his relationship with Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

If you end up loving most of the movies I wrote about here, you should actively seek out the other 29. Yes, there are 35 Godzilla movies as of today, if you count the upcoming King of the Monsters. All of them have their merits, with some being the best of the whole monster genre.

If you’re interested in Godzilla when he was a metaphor for nuclear warfare and destruction, I’d recommend the original 1954 classic, the 2016 Shin Godzilla, and the 2014 entry by Legendary Pictures and director Gareth Edwards.

If you’re interested in the cheesy rubber suits and want to watch something more ridiculous and fun, I strongly urge you to watch Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and Son of Godzilla –all three are available to stream on the Criterion Channel right now.

And in addition to all of those titles I’ve mentioned, I have yet to talk about MechaGodzilla, Godzilla’s son Minilla, Biollante, SpaceGodzilla, Jet Jaguar, Gigan, Orga, or Destoroyah! But I’m getting way ahead of myself. I think these other monsters are all subjects to write about for another time.

What is your favorite Godzilla movie? Share below.