The Kaiju Thread of Building-Smashing, Flame-Breathing, and Slam-Dunking

No. Mikey doesn't really have any problems being fused with Ghidorah's DNA via the "Kaijutagen". But, that's partially thanks to April having a special connection to Mothra, which helps the boys stabilize the process. But, it is just the kaiju's DNA, not their minds.

Monster Zero in Minus Zero does have a certain symmetry to it...

Super Saiyan Blue?!

...um...I mean...Blue Burning?! Okay, that's pretty cool. That's a good looking new form.

I was kind of wondering if we were going to get the form change for Monster X. And I'm pretty pleased that they went for it.

Fun short!

Okay, random thoughts:
There is a lot more violence in this one, including some fairly graphic depictions of deaths and injuries, it definitely earned the R rating. It's not one for the younger kiddos, for sure.

I'm mixed on Ghidorah. I like that they kept the extraterrestrial origin. Not a big fan of the wyvern look, but we kind of knew that it would probably hew close to the Godzilla: the Ride design. Making Ghidorah assimilate aspects of various creatures it absorbs is an...interesting take on the monster, though it kind of steals Orga's shtick in that respect. Some of those scenes reminded me of scenes from of The H-Man. "Kevin" (the left-most head) gets the short end of the stick. Again. They hit a lot of the classic Ghidorah images, including the destruction of the torii and the Godzilla vs King Ghidorah '91 poster. Sadly, the classic Ghidorah theme is absent.

The beginning and end of the movie are suitably intense and full of kaiju action, but the middle kind of needed more kaiju; there's not quite the sense of urgency or immediate threat from either Ghidorah or Godzilla that I feel like there should have been.

That said, some of the active destruction scenes were maybe a bit much. When King Ghidorah first uses its gravity beam, we see a lot of human casualties fairly closely. I know that casualties happen in kaiju attacks, but I don't enjoy seeing people's final moments of terror up close. I didn't enjoy it in X3: The Last Stand, I didn't enjoy it in Man Of Steel, and I didn't enjoy it here. (On the other hand, the gravity beam sequences were reminiscent of Battle in Outer Space, complete with blue aura, so perhaps it was meant in homage?)

There was also a surprising amount of depictions of Hiroshima's aftermath, as well as a similar sequence in New York (which was a revenge-fueled dream, but still.. ).

I feel like Americans were not depicted overly favorably in this film. In Minus One, they had a "not our problem, good luck with your giant lizard" attitude, but that was about the extent of it. Here, they seem to be helping, but with obvious ulterior motives that are revealed by the end.

Okay, who had a Godzilla 1984 plot device on their bingo card? Also, bonus The Birds homage, intentional or not.

So we get to learn the truth of what happened to Noriko, and it makes me wonder if Yamazaki read the short story "The Godzilla People" that was printed in G-Fan magazine many years ago? Her story isn't completely resolved by the end, and it almost seems like she has developed a link to Godzilla (beyond the seemingly one-way Godzilla Signal resonance machine), so possible sequel material there.

Once the final battle starts, it's one of the most brutal battles we've seen in a Godzilla film. Ghidorah definitely does some damage to the big G, but Godzilla ripping his own arm off to free himself from Ghidorah and then just regrowing it on the spot is pretty epic.

Overall, I don't think this was the home run that Minus One was, but it's still a pretty epic movie in its own right, with plenty of Wow moments, while still staying grounded in the recently post-war setting. If I can see it in theaters again, I probably will, and it will be a day one blu ray purchase.

Now, Ghidorah's early form would make a nice figure, and the end of the movie gives us a glimpse of another Ghidorah form that will probably get a figure, but those may be a while before we see them...

I was unspoiled as to the other kaiju. I had a brief thought of Rodan when I saw the wing, but then the gold lightning hit, and well krutz. They're breaking out Ghidorah in the first five minutes. And Minusverse Ghidorah is pretty terrifying, I must say! The quick-fire lightning looked really cool, the gravity beams were wild, and I too appreciate they kept the extraterrestrial origin.

Hardware aside: hey, Skyraiders! Not a common plane you see used.

So the 'forecaster' lady really was just a really good meteorologist. Nice bit of misdirect in the trailers on that, since Noriko is the actual one with...I hesitate to say powers, but. Everyone knew she was going to be involved from the sequel bait in Minus One.

Also a neat bit of misdirect with the New York scene being the old professor's revenge fantasy; that was up there with the nukes going off in Terminator 2. And yeah, between that and some of the actual kaiju action, this one earns its R-for-violence. Big G using one tailblade as a headchopper, arms being ripped off, chunks flying...I'm not put off, but I was definitely surprised!

As far as the human story goes, still really good. At least Shikishima didn't walk away with too much more trauma, Noda's death aside. Instead, very nearly traumatizing the kid, yay! Noriko's story is still pretty unresolved, so if there ever is a third movie I'd expect it to come up (although in-universe she clearly doesn't expect to survive super-long). And of course, if there ever is a third movie, clearly whatever happens will be the Americans' fault.