Dir. Ishirô Honda (1962)
An advertising executive wants to pump up ratings by capturing footage of King Kong, but Godzilla has other ideas.
After the serious tone of the first two Godzilla films, director Ishirô Honda returns for the third film with a much more comedic tone. His bosses at Toho demanded that he make another kaiju film featuring the hottest American property facing off against Godzilla, bringing King Kong into the mix, and they also demanded that he make it as funny as possible. Despite being none too happy about his marching orders, Honda is a fantastic director and actually brings the series back to relevance after the subpar outing that was Godzilla Raids Again.
A pharmaceutical advertising executive sends a pair of his men to Faro Island to do research on the appearance of an alleged Demon God. Upon arrival, they discover King Kong, a giant ape similar to the lizard that has been terrorizing Japan. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper Godzilla film is said lizard wasn't around as well, and when he shows up, all hell breaks loose. Godzilla immediately lands a blow to the military, taking aim at the ape shortly thereafter. As the researchers try to survive in this foreign land, the two giant monsters throw themselves at each other in an attempt to determine who reigns supreme.
King Kong vs Godzilla is a fascinating film, a complete departure from the emotional social critique of the first two films and one that understands the assignment completely. It's funny, and the characters involved are actually entertaining and interesting. The involvement of the American kaiju blends the culture significantly, as does the inclusion of Americans speaking English in the film during certain scenes (which are subtitled in Japanese along the side). This film is wholly Japanese, but it also has sprinklings of American within that really show the worldwide appeal of the series that is still in its infancy at this point.
The film also gets the King Kong aspect dead on. Rather than just inserting him inside a Godzilla film, they actually deal with Kong's appearance on an island that belongs to him, as well as other giant creatures on the same island that will be familiar to any fans of Kong's own films. The ability to combine both of these monsters, fully involving the film in each of their worlds rather than just one or the other, is incredibly well done and a promising indication that the Godzilla series is once again in good hands with Honda at the helm. The creatures are realistic and scary again, giant monsters that don't seek to destroy so much as they do to remove obstacles. It's also the first film in the series in color, presenting what these creatures would actually look like in real life (or at least as much as the rubber suits would afford).
That's always been the appeal of Godzilla to me. He's always been a sympathetic character, not some evil monster but just an animal trying to survive. It's not his fault that the world has modernized around him, and he is being put into situations entirely outside of his control. Kong was always the same, and King Kong vs Godzilla gets this part of the mythos perfectly accurate. in fact, King Kong isn't doing anything but minding his damn business on his own island, and he only because a danger because the companies themselves bring him to the mainland.
This film pits the two kaiju against each other as a form of corporate greed, two huge businesses fighting for adspace with a monster proxy war. The social critique of this film is something that is unfortunately relevant even today, the fact that these big corporations would readily endanger everyone on Earth just to make a few extra bucks. As disgusting as this is, and as much as this still continues to happen, it would be much easier to tolerate the corporate malfeasance if they were actually giving us wrestling matches between monsters. At least then Bezos would be providing some decent entertainment.
Who this movie is for: Kaiju movie fans, Monster movie lovers, Pharmacists
Bottom line: King Kong vs Godzilla is a return to form for the series, even though it's a much less serious affair than the previous two films. Director Ishirô Honda was instructed to go for comedy, and he's largely successful in his efforts. The monster fights are great, the characters are endearing, and this is the first film in the series that embodies what the rest of the series represents. It's largely unserious and has some great creature effects, presenting the first on-camera fight between the world's two most famous monsters. If you're a Godzilla fan, this is exactly the type of film that you're in for.
