#Godzilla2013 Entry #4: KING KONG VS. GODZILLA

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962)

Directed by: Ishiro Honda

Written by: Shin'ichi Sekizawa

Starring: Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Mie Hame and Ichiro Arishima.

Synopsis: A suspiciously familiar giant ape has to fight with a recently-escaped Godzilla after he is kidnapped by a couple of TV studio lackeys.

Here we have the third installment in the GOJIRA franchise. This one, Kingu Kongu Tai Gojira (KING KONG VS. GODZILLA) is notable for being the return of original GOJIRA director, Ishiro Honda, after being gone for GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. This was a....quite the experience? This is the first movie that I believe will set a more goofy tone in the upcoming movies. 

The story starts off with a cartoonish advertising executives trying to come up with a new campaign to boost ratings for their Bill Nye-like science show that they sponsor. When a random side character hears about this crazy island with a monster, the executive sends Sakurai and Kinsaburo, our two leads, to the island to investigate this monster in hopes of bringing it back as an attraction for the show. When they get to the island, they discover that the monster is King Kong, who makes his entrance by fighting a giant octopus. 

At the same time, we have a poor American nuclear submarine that runs in a suspiciously radioactive glacier. Yes, folks that's the Godzilla iceberg from the end of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. The plot boils down to the fact that Godzilla has come, and we have to, yet again, use another creature to combat him since the usual staple of attacks that include tanks (which don't work), electrical wires (which have really never worked) or fighter planes (which also never work) don't ever work. 

I'm actually a little surprised how "off" the monsters look in this movie. King Kong looks especially weird. It looks like his face was made of Play-Doh. I mean, let's face it, we're not going for "realism", but seriously Double K looks hideous. And I'm actually sure that they changed the Godzilla costume a little bit because it looks spikier which I don't mind.

During the final fight sequence, I was actually a little nervous for the big ape a little. Given the precedent that Godzilla will kill you and burn you (RIP Angilas), I figured the same would go for King Kong. I kind of liked how the ending played out where as far as we know both of them come out alive. It would've felt really masochistic if King Kong would've died. 

It's very strange that this was such a high grossing film, which justified the next few entries in the series. This is probably my least favorite of the movies so far in the series. 

Oh, and from now, I'm going to keep count of how many Japanese castles get destroyed during the series with my handy DESTROYED JAPANESE CASTLE COUNTER. As of now, it stands at 3 in the series. 

DESTROYED JAPANESE CASTLE COUNTER: 3 

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