Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack, is a 2001 movie from the Millennium era of Godzilla films written and directed by Shūsuke Kaneko. With the upcoming releases of Toho’s Godzilla Minus Zero, a sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning and critically acclaimed Godzilla Minus One, and Legendary’s next installment in their series Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, I thought I’d take the time to revisit one of my favorite films in the franchise as it recently hit Netflix. 

In this film, the traditional Godzilla format of Godzilla facing off against an enemy Kaiju is switched around, as here Godzilla is the outright villain as he battles the kaiju known as Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah, who act as Guardian Spirits for Japan against the attacking Godzilla. In GMK, Godzilla is the embodiment of the souls who died in the war in the Pacific coming to make Japan pay. Godzilla is not acting for one specific side of the war, but for the general loss of life and destruction caused by man.

Another conflict arises when some modern-day youth in Japan display a lack of knowledge and/or care for their history and traditions. We see scenes of adolescents desecrating or destroying ancient statues and historic landmarks intentionally, or to cause some drunk fun. This also awakens the guardian spirits, and despite being here to defend Japan from Godzilla, they hold no mercy for the people trampling on their sacred grounds. 

For the human cast we follow Yuri Tachibana (Chiharu Niiyama), a young reporter for a bottom of the barrel “news” station, focusing mainly on dressing up normal occurrences as supernatural to drive up viewers for their show. Yuri, who has had enough of the fake stories she makes up for the station, seizes the opportunity of the kaiju clash to get a real supernatural scoop in hopes of being viewed as a real reporter. One other reason for her motivation is her father, Taizô Tachibana (Ryūdō Uzaki), a military man who feels she should be using her talents on a “real” news channel. Taizô serves as our military point of view for the movie, commanding the operation to limit the destruction the battling Kaiju will bring about, as well as working to find a way to bring Godzilla down. 

As for the kaiju in this movie, Godzilla’s appearance takes on a change due to this alternative take on the character. His body is devoid of color, his eyes pale gray and blank, he’s a monster of vengeance through and through. No charm or fun personality, just pure anger and violence drive this version of the King of the Monsters. 

A lesser-known kaiju to the wider audience and Godzilla universe, Baragon makes an appearance here. Baragon is a four-legged monster with red skin, floppy ears and horns that burrows through the earth to travel and fight. He makes pitfalls to send Godzilla crashing down or strikes at him from unexpected angles. Mothra and King Ghidorah are not much different than their famous appearances, a few slight tweaks here and there, having some minor new abilities and functionality. Mothra appears as an egg in a lake, bursting out and going through her usual stages of evolution. Ghidorah is found in a frozen cave and described as being a guardian spirit that awakes every millennium, but his rest is disturbed by the movie’s events, his appearance has minor changes: his horns are more curved and bony than the straight scaly spikes of his classic appearance. 

I love this movie. In terms of alternate takes on the traditional Godzilla formula, this is one of the best ones. The soundtrack is incredible; my personal favorite in the franchise as it adds a wonderful mystical feeling to every kaiju scene. Some impressive direction and fun choreography make for enjoyable kaiju battles and some impactful somber scenes.

A union of monsters and humans fighting together isn’t uncommon in Godzilla movies, but the reworking of the story of the monsters and inclusion of King Ghidorah in the lineup are elements that set it apart in a great way. The mythical power of the kaiju and advanced technology of humans uniting to stop a rampaging vengeful Godzilla is truly a great experience. 

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack is available to stream on Netflix.