A Major Disappointment

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

After the success of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962), it was time for Toho to make two sequels that both came out that year. GODZILLA VS. THE THING (a.k.a. GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA) and GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEAD MONSTER (both 1964). It has come to my attention that the two other monsters that team up with the big G had their own movies before they were involved. Rodan and Mothra. Akira Ifukube's score is awesome and the special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya are wonderful. This movie has a sense of wonder. They are many reasons why people rooted for Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra when they fight the three-headed golden dragon-like Goliath. To me, even though he is modeled after the hydra from Greek mythology, it is because, before hand, there was this multi-headed dragon from the DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS cartoon that scared me (read my review on that cartoon) and seeing Godzilla take him down with his fellow team-mates reminds me of the 70's Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the big G (also read my comment on that cartoon). This was the movie that turned Godzilla from villain to hero and he will do that over the next 11 years. King Ghidorah would be a recurring character in the franchise. So there you have it. I highly recommend it. Bottom line: Give it a watch because it's great fun. Not rated, but a G would be nice.

One of the best Godzilla sequels. A fun monster rally that introduces the title monster, King Ghidorah, a three-headed dragon from space. There's a lot of silliness in this involving a Martian princess and the two singing fairy twins from the last two Mothra movies. They can communicate with the monsters. They play a big part in the film, convincing Godzilla and Rodan to join forces with Mothra and save Earth from Ghidorah. This would mark Godzilla's official turn to hero for future sequels. The special effects are a lot of fun. If you see the American version you'll get lots of amusing dubbing. As with most of these Godzilla movies, there's a lot of time before any monsters show up. I haven't seen one of the sequels yet that couldn't have benefited from losing 10 or 15 minutes of people standing around talking. At least with the American versions the most boring segments have some cheesy entertainment value from the silly dubbed voices. Anyway, it's all harmless fun with nice visuals and ideas. The selling point, of course, is when Godzilla & co. do their thing. The monster battles are awesome. The rock fight between Godzilla and Rodan is especially goofy. The climactic battle has Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra versus King Ghidorah -- what's not to love about that?

Sequel to both "Mothra Vs. Godzilla" & "Rodan" sees the debut of Ghidorah, a three-headed monster from outer space bent on the destruction of the Earth. All that stands in its way are Godzilla and Rodan, who have both re-awakened nearby. Can Mothra(with the help of the "Twin Fairies") persuade Godzilla & Rodan to stop fighting, and unite to defeat this common enemy, before all is lost? Convoluted but entertaining film with lots of action was the first to portray Godzilla at all sympathetically, though he wouldn't become the Earth's protector just yet. Nice to see Rodan back too, though Ghidorah would return as well in next entry.

This film is one of the original series' best in my opinion. Four of my favorite monsters coming together for the hugest battle yet seen (at the time of course). This film also holds a very special place in my heart, seeing as it was the first GOOD Godzilla movie I ever owned. Back when I must've been four I'd estimate. The only G-film I'd seen prior to this was "Godzilla vs. Megalon", but compared to this film it only looks even crappier! I unfortunately broke my VHS copy of it at nine due to excitement over a new G-film I'd been given as a present and up until 2007 I thought I would never see the film again. Fortunately, Classic Media recognized its greatness and released on a spectacular DVD. Another reason I love this film is the fun plot. Of course it's dropped any mention of nukes or strong themes, but I still find it one of Sekizawa's best. Next time around let's say Princess Salno used a parachute instead of "leaping in between dimensions". As for the characters, this film has a really good cast. Akikko Wakabayashi (the Princess/Martian prophet) is excellent and fine by the way. Takashi Shimura stars as another 'Dr.' character and his performance is as usual, top notch. Akihiko Hirata stars in a small role where as Yuriko Hoshi returns playing a very similar character to her previous role in "Mothra vs. Godzilla", done well. Along with all the other actors, every one gives entertaining performances, Honda even adding some cool shoot out scenes.The special effects are mostly good. King Ghidorah was an incredible accomplishment for Eiji Tsubaraya. The three headed dragon looks magnificent both on the ground and flying. The gravity beams were done exceptionally well, where as Godzilla's heat ray became a mist due to the money spent on Ghidorah. Anyways, the space demons rampage scenes are beautiful and I love the odd shriek. All the sets are huge and well constructed, my favorite being the downwards sloping hill where Ghidorah (or Ghidrah as he's called in the dubbing) is first confronted by Godzilla and Mothra. Godzilla and Rodan's battle is just cool and full of energy and Ifukube's music fits it perfectly. The best two parts were Godzilla using his tail and Rodan lifting the King of the Monsters into the sky and dropping him onto the electrical tower. The continuity is still there and still no aliens (although King Ghidorah is technically an extraterrestrial). Godzilla looked great, considering it's the incredible suit from the last film. Except for its eyes, which didn't look as imposing. Rodan looked decent, but nowhere near as impressive as the 1956 original. The final battle is an excellent display of SFX and real action. Total highlight of the film no doubt.When you're a seven or nine year old watching these films you don't notice these things but times change. Whereas Sekizawa was quite the writer, it can be noted he brung the first essences of campiness into the original Godzilla series. The monster summit isn't really campy per say, but it does lower the seriousness of the film. It is the beginning of Godzilla's hero stance, which will soon become the beginning of the end for his career till 1984 ("Godzilla 1985" begins the second series of films). Luckily, Godzilla still gets his menacing scenes at Yokohama harbor and he does kill hundreds of innocent people on a cruise boat when he first emerges from the ocean depths, done nicely. The characters still fear him and don't look at him as a hero just yet. In a way he just settled a brief negotiation. But I didn't know Godzilla cursed: "Oohhh, Godzilla what horrible language", twin fairies translating at the monster summit. In the end it's rather funny so I appreciate it more and more with each viewing. And seeing as I as I watch the film on a weekly basis, you get the idea.Well, the first three G-films had elaborate and often unnecessary Americanization's, with added American scenes, changes to the SCORE, and even changing Godzilla's name to Gigantis! "Mothra vs. Godzilla" was the first to avoid it, but this film to a degree didn't. The story is left intact and there are no American actors edited in but Ifukube's score is AGAIN tampered with!! Thankfully not as much as in "King Kong vs. Godzilla". Other than that the American cuts actually make sense and actually fix that continuity error with King Ghidorah (buy the Classic Media DVD and watch the Japanese version). Overall, I love this film for several reasons and if you haven't seen it, you most definitely should.