Reluctant Anti-Hero; Running through Godzilla Part 3:1964-1965

Everyone is looking to the stars in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), even before the titular planet devouring space monster swoops down and wrecks Earth. An astronomically bizarre heatwave strikes Japan in the dead of winter, with many more natural anomalies occurring the world over. Given the global hysteria the last several years saw in the wake of atomic bomb-created creatures of destruction, a fantasy which has become reality, astronomers have opened their minds to the possibilities of even more groundbreaking discoveries - such as life on other planets. It's a logical move for the Godzilla franchise to delve into science fiction, after its prior success in horror, action, and fantasy. There can only be so many human-made monsters before the concept runs dry, so it's a refreshing change to throw space aliens of mysterious origin into the mix. The fifth and sixth films, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), both directed by Ishiro Honda, are sci-fi heavy outings that prominently feature new series villain King Ghidorah.

It wouldn't be a Godzilla film without a questionable human subplot, and this time we have a story revolving around a Princess Selina Salno of Selgina who has been heavily guarded by police out of fear of an assassination attempt. She goes missing when her plane vanishes during a meteor shower, and an identical looking woman shows up on Earth soon after, claiming to be from outer space, prophetically warning Earthlings of their impending doom. She predicts the return of both Godzilla and Rodan and explains the circumstance of each return, both which prove true. And she warns the arrival of King Ghidorah, an ancient creature who exterminated all life on Jupiter thousands of years ago.

The human plots that dominate the first two acts are briskly paced. The princess-turned-prophet character arc is fun, and the obligatory subplot of a group of reporters following the action is never intrusive. It helps that the Shobijin appear several times throughout these stories, and even perform another full "Mothra" musical number, with the larvae offspring from Mothra vs. Godzilla now the designated Mothra and idol of Infant Island.

The initial kaiju conflict in the third act is between Godzilla and Rodan (who is making his first film appearance since his 1956 debut in Rodan), who are pummeling each other presumably because they are the only 150 foot monsters around, and surely toppling buildings over gets boring after a while. The winged Rodan is strong, actually lifting Godzilla up into the air with its claws, as it flies higher and higher, and soars over the countryside, before dropping him on top of a pole full of electrical wires. Godzilla's weakness is frequently in combating flying creatures, which Rodan utilizes well. On ground, they're more evenly matched, and in one of the franchise's more comical moments, the two monsters volleyball a boulder back and forth towards each other, while Mothra, positioned between them, watches, actually turning his body to the left and right. Mothra breaks up the action by spitting silk over Godzilla, which causes Rodan to cackle in amusement. When Mothra does the same to Rodan, Godzilla then bends over laughing at Rodan's misfortune. The film doesn't simply attribute human characteristics to its monsters, but essentially turns them into two children fighting on a school playground. In these early '60s features, Toho is transitioning the Godzilla of old into something new and palatable to wider audiences, to children. They already proved Godzilla works terrifically as a horror movie, but there's arguably not as much longevity in an adult Godzilla franchise than there is in a family franchise. Throughout these movies Toho was reinterpreting their monsters, giving them more recognizably human personalities, making them more sympathetic to the viewer, with Godzilla becoming the most animated of the kaiju. His eyes as big as a family pet's, his face more expressive than ever before. In victory, he even performs a celebratory dance. All these things make him more appealing to younger viewers. Toho wanted to make it safer for children and families to like the character, to become invested in his adventures, to the extent where he gradually becomes a hero. Godzilla isn't quite embracing his soft side in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, but the film propels him in that direction.

Mothra tries to enlist the help of Godzilla and Rodan in defending the Earth against King Ghidorah, and they refuse at first. The Shobijin translate for the reporters (and viewers), saying that Godzilla refuses to help humans because humans always cause trouble. He doesn't elaborate, but it is implied through this brief dialogue that Godzilla has some intelligence and awareness of the world around him. Ever since he was awakened from his centuries-long slumber by the atomic bombing from World War II, all he has known is conflict with the human race. From his own perspective, he probably committed no wrongs. People and cities did not exist when he first roamed the Earth, so this is an adjusting process for him, not to mention the anger he would have felt by being woken up so violently. And all throughout the sequels, before and after this entry, we often see Godzilla minding his own business, away from all traces of people, only for military planes to attack him, or scientists to experiment on him. Godzilla can do no right with humans, as far as he is concerned.  He would rather not get involved. This complicates Godzilla's character between the past and the present, Honda's vision of nuclear annihilation and the family friendly version that audiences would soon begin to know.

Mothra slithers towards the arriving Ghidorah, intending instead to battle him all by herself. After watching Mothra get beaten badly by the space creature, impressed by her selflessness and courage, Godzilla and Rodan are won over, and step in to battle Ghidorah. It's interesting that Godzilla's decision to become involved isn't actually to help the human race, but Mothra, who is someone closer to his own kind. Ghidorah is the most powerful kaiju by far at this point in the series, taking the combined efforts of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra to defeat him, frequently with all three attacking at once just to slow him down. It's an exciting finale, with impeccable miniature work that sells the enormity of the action. The kaiju acting has also improved greatly since King Kong vs. Godzilla, with the actors learning to be more subdued in their body language. They move slowly, more realistically, and sell the extent of the damage their characters experience. There's a brief aerial battle between Rodan and Ghidorah, and Godzilla and Mothra find themselves working together to take down their common enemy. This has an interesting ending, because it's the first time Godzilla isn't defeated, or presumed dead at the end of one of his movies. He and Rodan are simply left alone, as Mothra swims back to Infant Island. Humanity is reluctantly beginning to accept Godzilla's existence, although their relationship would prove to be rocky for more years to come.

Invasion of Astro-Monster doubles down on science fiction, this time sending its kaiju to battle in outer space. It's an absurd film - even compared to other Godzilla movies - that gets by on the sheer novelty of it being so weird, and that alone is what makes this otherwise sluggish film stand out in the Godzilla canon.

After humanity's discovery of life on other planets in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, the space program sends a group of astronauts to explore a faraway Planet X. The benevolent species on this planet, the Xiliens, are in need of assistance. Their planet is frequently under attack by King Ghidorah, and the leader of the Xiliens, named The Controller, asks the humans to borrow Godzilla and Rodan so they may vanquish or scare away Ghidora. In return, the Xiliens will give Earth the cure for cancer. This is as fine a premise as any for a kaiju movie, but it eats up too much screen time. The expedition to Planet X is slow moving, and there are too many ensuing scenes of politicians discussing whether or not to accept the deal. Godzilla sequels usually insert a subplot with warm, likeable protagonists, to provide a perspective for which the viewers can insert themselves, but Invasion of Astro-Monster is too concerned with its political dealings and scenes of diplomacy and forgets to build any actual characters. Of course, the Xiliens are evil and their plan is a ruse. They brainwash Godzilla and Rodan and wish to gain control over Earth. The strangers from Planet X are treated as menacing from the get-go so their betrayal is no surprise. It was also suspicious that they wouldn't ask for Mothra's help, only asking for the monsters who have been mostly villainous in the past.

 

Invasion of Astro-Monster veers on hard science-fiction, with a lot of technobabble and discussions of new technology that make the movie's plot possible, as well as new tech that could save the day. It drains the life out of the picture. Ishiro Honda's presence is still felt, and inserts whatever humanity he can into these movies, but unfortunately his hands feel tied in this outing. He is unable to work around the film's setting and sci-fi politics, with the film only sparking energy whenever a monster is on screen. There's a jolt of excitement just in seeing Godzilla and Rodan walk around in outer space, on a foreign planet, against new and visually interesting backdrops.

Unfortunately, the final act contains significantly less monster vs monster action than the two previous films. There is too much plot involved in moving the monsters from Earth to Planet X and back to Earth again and there is a little too much military action going on in the final action scenes. This is probably done to avoid repeating the previous film's finale, as we're dealing with the same cast of monsters yet again, minus Mothra. What kauji scenes are in Invasion of Astro-Monster, however, are pure Honda. Any time Godzilla interacts with human civilization, there's a weight to his actions. He walks through a small town, a close up on the bottom half of his body, his enormous legs crushing wooden houses as he pushes through them, cutting then to a wide shot with this action occurring in the background, as people run manically towards the screen. When Godzilla and Rodan fight, there is extensive collateral damage. After a strike or gust of wind or ray of fire or rock throw, it cuts to a reaction shot of human made structures crumbling. Honda does not take his creatures for granted and doesn't want the audience to either, constantly reminding us of their ramifications. Even when they battle antagonists from space and ultimately save the planet from further destruction, the damage is still done, and in Honda's vision of Godzilla, we never forget.