Post by GL on Feb 20, 2007 11:34:53 GMT -5
“Godzilla vs. Biollante” is an incredibly solid entry in the series and one of the most entertaining ones as well.
**SPOILERS**
After Godzilla’s rampage through Tokyo, his cells are recovered and put into storage. When Godzilla begins to stir years later, Dr. Shiragami, (Koji Takahashi) is asked to help develop an anti-nuclear bacteria to fight him off, and he reluctantly joins the project, secretly wanting to use their powers to save his prized rose garden. When a gigantic flower suddenly appears in a nearby lake, he fears that the creature has been created from the bacteria project, and the newly-freed Godzilla arrives and destroys the creature. Reappearing in Osaka, Godzilla is infected with the bacteria but doesn’t show any signs of infected, leaving the city in ruins. In a last-ditch effort to get the bacteria to work, the Defense Forces attack him, only for a larger version of the plant monster to appear and battle Godzilla while the military hopes the bacteria takes hold during the fight.
The Good News: This is easily one of the better entries in the series. One of the best features is the really strong story, which is quite creative and introduces new elements into the mythology that the series had established. Mixing in biotechnology, espionage and psychics together with a classic monster story is a nice feat, giving this a feel that this is a new and original type of story, and is somewhat refreshing. The biological and technological weapons devised against Godzilla for the film are both logical in design and exciting in their execution. Attacking Godzilla’s source of energy with the ANB makes so much sense that it is amazing it hasn’t been in a previous film. The Fire Mirror in the Super-X 2 is a solid piece of strategy, turning Godzilla’s most powerful weapon back at him. These two are quite creative, and make the film a lot more entertaining. Godzilla here looks quite impressive, quite possibly his best ever. With a triangular build to the body, stocky legs, elongated neck and increased musculature in the chest and shoulders make him seem more massive, this makes him seem powerful that ever. The head is also a little smaller and more triangular, with large brown eyes and very little white in the pupils and second row of teeth combine into a fiercer and more dragon-like appearance than ever. Biollante is a pretty original design, a massive spore with a crocodilian jaw and reptilian head with a never-ending series of vines armed with jaws of their own into a rather memorable creation. From an action standpoint, there is almost no shortage of memorable scenes. Godzilla’s awakening at the volcano is quite simply one of the most impressive entrances ever, coming out of the middle of an eruption as fires and explosions go off in all directions as he strides forward unharmed. The battle with the Defense Forces in the sea are pretty exciting, as all sorts of ships, helicopters and submarines are used in the fight from all directions, and the land encounters aren’t that bad either. The fight with Super-X 2 in the water is one of the film’s high-points, as it’s always exciting. The missile batteries are used judiciously and effectively, the Fire Mirror comes into play often enough for it to work, and there are several interesting tactics employed by Godzilla, batting his tail at it and throwing up huge geysers with his ray to combat the weapon. It’s a really exciting battle, and almost eclipses the spectacular brawl at the end. Despite being rooted to the location, this is still a really nice battle. Keeping Biollante from firing a beam weapon is a nice touch, and the realistic damage both inflict on each other in it’s place is a strong point. The sight of Biollante’s thorn piercing Godzilla’s hand is one of the most effective and memorable visions ever created, and seeing all the vines getting torn up is a great sight. The most visually creative and impressive tactic used by the military is the Thunder-Control-System, which is so cleverly executed and realized that it delivers plenty of goods. Utilizing several different weapons, a couple scientific ideas and a real rationale for trying it, it comes across as the highlight of the film. With plenty of monster action in this, it becomes one of the all-time best in the series.
The Bad News: There are only minor problems with this one. The first is the fact that, with all the different ideas populated into the film, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on. It leads to a difficult narrative when it jumps from one sub-plot to another and back again pretty rapidly without explanation, and many of the events in the film do go without any as well. The ending is also a real down-beat and uninteresting one. During the middle of the fight, Godzilla breaks it off and leaves, collapsing in the ocean. After a few human sub-plots get finished, he gets up, roars and goes out to sea, without finishing the fight at all. It wasn’t all that physical, and being that he’s been in much more strenuous ones in the past without a break or the need to quit makes it a strange way to end the film. The first confrontation with Biollante is also a little strange, not really being much of a fight and with an ending clearly foreseen early on in it. The weak version of the monster fighting it is also to blame. Otherwise, this one isn’t that bad and has only these minor problems.
The Final Verdict: Despite a few problems, this is one of the best entries in the series and serves as a great form of entertainment. It’s got enough for fans of the series to really get into, as the good moments are what everyone wants in similar type of movie. Highly recommended.