Following the events of 1984’s The Return of Godzilla (or Godzilla ’85 as it’s known in the States), the Big G has tumbled into a volcano and some of his cells have been shipped off to the Saradia Institute of Technology and Science in the hopes of using the material to help plants grow in the barren Saradian desert.
Lending the ol’ helping hand to the project is Dr. Genshiro Shiragami (Kōji Takahashi) and his daughter, Erika (Yasuko Sawaguchi), but things go decidedly south as terrorists soon destroy the lab and kill Erika… which results on the good doctor pivoting his research to include trying to preserve his daughters soul utilizing G-cells and rose petals (seems like solid science to me… ) under the pretense of developing an anti-nuclear bacteria.
Meanwhile a cache of psychic children have a premonition that Godzilla is bound to make the scene once again… and he surely does, as due to some more terrorist interference the beast escapes his volcanic prison… and even the governments super-charged advanced aircraft, The Super-X2 is near-powerless to slow him down.
Naturally everyone is in a tizzy about G’s return, but thanks to those aforementioned experiments the populace of Japan must contend with two monsters as the plant-based toothy nightmare Biollante soon arises… but is the new monster friend or foe?!
If you couldn’t tell from all of the above, Godzilla vs. Biollante is one strange entry in the long running series… and as Kaiju fans well know; that’s really sayin’ something!
Godzilla vs. Biollante, the second entry in Godzilla’s return to theaters that began with the aforementioned Godzilla ’85 (the creatures first film since 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla) is filled with a dizzying blend of spies, assassins, a school of psychic children surprisingly not run by Charles Xavier, and a monster that is comprised of Godzilla cells, a rose, and a dead teen…
And what a monster it is!
By far one of the most elaborate practical monsters in the series, Biollante displays multiple tentacles… some ending in bitey-mouths… a giant alligator mouth, occasional blooming flowers, and a serious dislike for Godzilla that results in plenty of violent battles which considering the unwieldy nature of the titular beast is nothing short of a practical effects miracle!
As much as most of us just come for the kaiju brawls, the human component is on point here as well with the plight of Takahashi’s Dr. Shiragami adding plenty of gravitas (along with the comic book bio-science) to the proceedings, as well as the debut of the character of Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka); a powerful psychic that would join the battle to save the Earth in multiple entries in the franchise.
It must be also noted that if you dig on Toho’s policy of apparently grabbing anyone that could speak English off the street and a shoving them in front of a camera, the hilarity is present in many scenes (and since this release contains only the Japanese audio track, the nonsense is even more noticeable).
As far as image quality of this release is concerned, things look pretty solid with vivid color and deep, rich blacks… and those are a particular boon as this film features a plethora of night-set scenes.
Adding to the overall experience, Criterion have provided bonus material (mostly contained on the included Blu-ray edition of the film) to enhance the main event including: an info-packed commentary track that provides a scholarly analysis of Godzilla vs. Biollante by film historian/writer Samm Deighan, an archival “making of” program, a (brief but totally awesome) look at the film’s concept maquettes (also archival), a silent collection of deleted effects shots, and collections of TV spots & trailers.
Also included in the package are a slipcover and fold-out mini-poster with an essay about the film courtesy of sci-fi and horror film expert Jim Cirronella on the reverse side.
Dark in tone, filled with vicious monster action, and loaded with all-manner of glorious sci-fi pseudo-science; Godzilla vs. Biollante is one of the strongest entries in the classic series and offers a grim, nihilistic aesthetic while retaining the flashy action that makes a Godzilla flick so much damn fun!
