The Most Gonzo Godzilla Movie Ever Made Just Hit Max (2024)

One thing that becomes immediately apparent to anyone interested in Godzilla is the sheer longevity and variety of the series. There have been close to 40 feature films with the titular monster since 1954, and Godzilla, as a character and a film series, shows no signs of losing popularity any time soon. There’s always been something inherently appealing about seeing a giant monster like Godzilla stomp around, whether that monster is a metaphor for something serious — such as atomic weapons —more representative of a natural disaster humanity must rally against, or simply something for another monster to take on in spectacular combat.

Those after the more serious or grounded Godzilla films might not love Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, but anyone who may have a soft spot for unapologetically silly and maybe even schlocky monster movies ought to check it out. It saw the triumphant return of one of Godzilla’s most iconic foes, King Ghidorah, after almost 20 years, and dealt with an alien invasion threatening humanity. Importantly, it also deals with time travel, which is rather novel within the Godzilla series. It’s one of the wilder and more underrated Godzilla films, and will hopefully find some new fans in the coming years.

The Premise of 'Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'

The titular battle that’s promised by a title like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah does ultimately deliver, but this movie — the third of seven in Godzilla’s Heisei era — is more than just a long-awaited rematch. Essentially, Godzilla begins the film as a threat to humanity. When aliens visit Earth and say they have the power to allow humans to go back in time and prevent Godzilla from becoming a true threat, the human race jumps at the opportunity. Regrettably, though, the aliens betray humanity, using the whole complex scheme to birth King Ghidorah and use him in an attempt to conquer Earth.

The Godzilla movies that focus on aliens trying to conquer Earth through the use of monsters are usually very over-the-top, as can also be seen in 1968’s Destroy All Monsters and 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars. More recent Japanese entries in the Godzilla series, like Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One, have been praised for each feeling a little more grounded and serious, but the magic of Godzilla, as a series, is its variety. Godzilla can be a villain, Earth’s savior, or something in between, with the behemoth of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah being something of an anti-hero; a destructive force that’s not a friend to humanity necessarily, but one that humanity still needs to save it.

'Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah' Indulges in Time Travel

With time travel, it's best to just go with the flow. As long as a sci-fi movie with time travel attempts to establish some rules and at least sort of sticks to them, time travel stories are generally fun.Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah doesn’t perfectly hold up to scrutiny in this department, but you could also argue that scrutiny has no place here. This is a giant monster movie with time travel. Isn't that enough?

The film takes place in the early 1990s, the aliens say they're from a couple of hundred years in the future, and the plan to kill a not-too-powerful version of Godzilla involves traveling back to World War II, (going back to the 1940s before Godzilla Minus One did, impressively.) Before Godzilla was mutated by a hydrogen bomb test, he was essentially a dinosaur known as Godzillasaurus. Ghidorah also gets two forms here, both as a regular King Ghidorah and a more powerful version from the future known as Mecha-King Ghidorah. Again, it's best to be like a 2011 Adam Sandler movie and Just Go with It.

Other Ways 'Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah' Gets Wild

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is heavy on action as well as time travel-related nonsense. It’s a tongue-in-cheek affair by the series’ standards, featuring a rather surprising shoutout to Steven Spielberg, and a couple of years before Jurassic Park, too, (it's admittedly a movie that comes to mind during the Godzillasaurus scenes). But it’s hard to call Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah ahead of its time otherwise because much of it plays out like The Terminator with kaiju.

Still, the camp value is high, the action is undoubtedly fun, and there’s a good deal of humor to be found here — both intentional and unintentional. It’s a good time and a worthwhile Godzilla film. Sure, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah isn't one of the best in the series, but it’s also far from the worst. More positively, it has a shot at being considered one of the wildest films featuring the King of the Monsters, and that’s worth something.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Not Rated

In their attempt to warn Japan of its downfall under Godzilla, the Futurians offer to erase him from history. However, after Godzilla vanishes, another creature emerges, revealing the Futurians' real motives.

Release Date

December 14, 1991

Director

Kazuki Ômori

Cast

Katsuhiko Sasaki , Kosuke Toyohara , Anna Nakagawa , Megumi Odaka , Akiji Kobayashi , Tokuma Nishioka , Yoshio Tsuchiya , Kenji Sahara , Kôichi Ueda , Sô Yamamura

Runtime

103 Minutes

Main Genre

Action

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is available on Max in the U.S.

Watch Now