To me, the 90's produced a lot of the better Godzilla movies - many thanks to Toho's decision to do away with most of the silliness a lot of the previous kiddie-orientated Godzilla flicks were bogged down with. In fact it was around this period that Godzilla films - while just as fun as ever - had a more cynical, darker and foreboding tone mixed in with the B-movie monster crush-a-thon hijinx.

The best example of this trend, Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah, is littered with anti-American sentiments and paranoia.

Time traveller's from the 23rd century (who look a lot like Westerners - aka: Americans) have come to Japan to warn them. They say that in the not too distant future Godzilla will completely annihilate the country and they offer their technological advances to go back in time before Godzilla became Godzilla to disarm him before the mayhem can occur. Well that turns out to be a scam as the time-travellers only wanted to get rid of Godzilla so they can unleash their own creation, King Ghidorah, to destroy Japan (without any nemesis to get in the way) because it is Japan who will become the most powerful nation in the years ahead.

If you can get past all the political knife throwing you're in for a treat. The battle scenes with Godzilla and King Ghidorah (and eventually Mecha-Ghidorah!) are just plain awesome, with the monsters and effects looking great - aside from some laser and computer graphics that look a bit dated and "super-speed" running that comes off downright cheesy.

Another big plus on this one is the fact that it actually has a plot that's imperative to what's going on. It's not just giant monsters fighting each other for the sake of giant monsters fighting each other. Even if this might jump around a bit too much with the time travelling, this is one of the most well written and enjoyable Godzilla films - and those with patience (Godzilla doesn't really show up until the 60 minute mark) will be rewarded with uber-destruction galore.

Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah was one of the most successful Godzilla films in Japan, paving the way for the even more successful Godzilla And Mothra: The Battle For Earth. (Derek Carlson, 5/26/04)

Directed By: Kazuki Omori.
Written By: Kazuki Omori.

Starring: Kosuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka.