Other than introducing "Ghidorah", perhaps the second most popular monster in Toho's bestiary, "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964) has little to recommend it*. The fifth entry into the Godzilla canon opens with an unnecessary background story involving a missing princess who inexplicitly survives the in-flight destruction of her airplane after hearing voices. She resurfaces as a self-proclaimed Venusian oracle who predicts a number of kaiju-based disasters in involving Rodan, Godzilla and the space monster who was responsible for the destruction of Venusian culture. All of this comes true, as Rodan frees himself from entombing lava, Godzilla wades ashore, and Ghidorah materialises from a mysterious meteorite. While secret agents continue to attempt to kill the princess/Venusian (James Bond films having become very popular), the miniature twins from Infant Island appear and recruit Mothra to fight Ghidorah. This leads to the climatic brawl on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, with the three 'Earth's monsters' squaring off against Ghidorah (the first of many external existential threats our planet). The movie marks the beginning of the 'Godzilla as a hero' trend that continued into the '70s. The overall story is relatively dark, but the monsters are almost comic, and the fight includes lots of rocks being batted back and forth, and child pleasers such as Godzilla scampering around after being burned on the butt by one of Ghidorah's lasers. Rodan, who was almost majestic in his debut movie ("Rodan",1956), is now a bit bug-eyed and, as suit-mation doesn't really work well for bird-like kaiju, unconvincing when not in flight. Another revision to the canon is the obvious sentiency of the monsters as Mothra (in her larval form) argues with Godzilla and Rodan (translated by the twins) about the ethical and pragmatic pros and cons of helping mankind defend the Earth. The debate includes odd statements from the monsters, such as Godzilla's complaint that he was bullied by mankind. Like many of the later entries in the "Showa" era films, "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" is the kind of silly fun that most "westerners' expect from Godzilla films. Although there is a bit of blood spilled as the assassin stalks the princess and some of the language in the subtitles is more adult that the story calls for, the movie is essentially for the kids, with heroic monsters cooperating to take on a three-headed bully and a simple 'why can't we all get along' message. (*note: this review refers to a subtitled Japanese version).
