Hi my name is Ryker and … sigh… and I love Godzilla movies… 

Luckily for me, some of my favorite Godzilla films have hit Netflix on Xbox Live and are definitely worthy of individual viewing or (better yet) while in a party with your friends.  

Ever since I was a kid, my brothers and I would watch the giant grey lizard destroy Tokyo and kick monster ass every chance we could.  Occasionally, local theaters would run a Godzilla flick and we would drag my Dad to go and see it.  My Dad was quite the trooper as he sat through every one of them, even when we insisted on sitting right up front.  Of course this was during the infamous Showa series of the films that were filmed in the 1960s and 70s.  There were a total of 15 Showa-era films, accounting for over half of the library of work devoted to Godzilla, and probably the work that you are most familiar with. 

In the Showa series, Godzilla starts out as a menacing freak of nature; a warning to mankind for their abuse of nuclear power.  Then, in the fifth film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla took the role of a hero. From that point onto the end of the Showa series, Godzilla stayed a hero, protecting Japan against attacks from other monsters, aliens, etc.

The Showa-era films can best be described as campy fun.  There were no deep plots, no character development, and the special effects were marginal at best.  You could tell that Godzilla was a guy in a suit, and nobody seemed to care about that.  In Godzilla vs Magalon (A true classic) Godzilla and Jet Jaguar (A Giant Ultraman like robot) tag team against Magalon and Gigan in what looks to be a poorly choreographed wrestling match.  Godzilla even does a flying drop kick on Gigan, a sight that made my father shake his head.    

For most of us, the Showa-era films are where our knowledge of Godzilla ends.  Oh true that Sony and Mathew Broderick made a monster movie that they called Godzilla, but this was no Godzilla my friends…no sir!  The next two series of films were quite different, and where I will be making my movie recommendations from as they don’t get much play here in the U.S. 

 The Heisei-era Godzilla films were the second of the film series. In total, there were seven Heisei-era films, making them amount to one fourth the total Godzilla movies in existence.  The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways.  The most prominent difference is that the Godzilla outfit was changed to look much more intimidating than previous suits, and Toho did away with Godzilla being the hero of the films.  While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of an antihero, he was consistently portrayed as a menace to humanity throughout the films.  Perhaps the biggest change we see in the Heisei-era is the plotline.  Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and generally referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series.  If Godzilla was defeated at the base of Mt. Fuji in one film, he would be spotted again near Mt. Fuji at the beginning of the next.  Characters such as the head of the Tokyo military and several scientists reprise their roles in each film.  It’s like a giant lizard geek soap opera!

It is the Heisei-era where we will begin our dive into modern Godzilla lore, as we look at Godzilla vs King Ghidorah.  This movie was made in 1991 and is the third film in the series.  The first two films were the reboot of Godzilla at the time, and while good they don’t really advance any cannon for Godzilla.  Godzilla fans are quite familiar with King Ghidorah, the three headed, winged beast that often got the best of our hero.  The aliens in the Showa series would often pull King Ghidorah out as a mind-controlled heavy hitter, the Ivan Drago to our beloved Godzilla.  As a kid we would always whisper HOLY SHIT whenever the winged menace showed up because we knew things were gonna get crazy!  

In this movie, King Ghidorah is the catalyst for several changes in the modern Godzilla universe.  The story is kinda goofy, but nonetheless cool.  Time travellers from the 23rd century return to 1992 to warn Japan that Godzilla will cause a catastrophic nuclear incident in the 21st century and suggest a way to rid the world of him forever. They intend to go back to 1944, to where a dinosaur was exposed to radiation from the H-Bomb test and became Godzilla. If they kill the dinosaur, Godzilla would cease to be.  Upon completion of this task, King Ghidorah appears and the visitors’ true plan is discovered; they wish to destroy Japan so it will not become the dominant economic force.  Who will save Japan now? 

This movie is important for a couple of reasons.  First, the movie got panned for anti-American sentiment throughout the film.  The time travelers are from North America so there is a ton of hate on them; and there is a scene where the dinosaur (named a Godzillasuarus) saves Japanese troops during an American attack in WWII.  This makes it an interesting watch for us Yanks.  Secondly, this is the film where Godzilla get’s his make over and becomes a bigger badass then before.  They explain how he gets his new looks and strength, and the appearance is strikingly different.  Finally, this movie sets up some important cannon in the Godzilla universe and sets the ball in motion for some kick ass movies to come.  I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice to say that a reviewer’s quote on Amazon of  “Godzilla…Terminator style,” was quite accurate.

So if you’re like me, and you are a closet Godzilla fan, be sure to check this film out.  If you’re not, but you are looking for some sci-fi fun, get some friends together and have a Godzilla party.  You won’t regret it.