I am a big Godzilla fan and that’s not really easy in a country like the Philippines. For some reason, the King of Monsters has not really been huge in my country but that does seem to be changing a little. That’s probably because of movies like the upcoming Godzilla Minus Zero, the sequel to the very well-received Godzilla Minus One. I say times may be changing because, this week, SM Cinemas hosted a Godzilla Film Festival where they showed six classic Toho films featuring the big lizard himself.

While this was incredible good news for the few Godzilla fans over here in the Philippines, it kind of wasn’t for me. Like I said, it isn’t easy being a Godzilla fan in the Philippines because it was very hard to come by the movies here. I have managed to watch them sporadically but it took me decades to see a lot of them. I was hoping the SM Cinema’s Godzilla Film Festival would allow me to finally see some of the ones I haven’t yet. But, just my luck, out of the five films they decided to include, which were Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla 2000: Millennium, Godzilla: Final Wars and Shin Godzilla, I’ve seen them all… save for one.

I was not missing out my chance to see Godzilla vs. Biollante, especially when I only have a few chances to do so here.

Now, as Godzilla vs. Biollante is a decades old film, I think it’s fair to talk about some of the plot elements here and there. So, yeah, I am putting up a SPOILER WARNING. I also have to warn you that, since I am indeed a Godzilla fan, this is going to be a heavily biased review. I will be mentioning the things I know non-Godzilla fans will probably be facepalming to. I am aware of how silly these movies can be but, for me, that’s part of their charm. So, you have been warned as to why I’m going to be glazing this film somewhat.

Godzilla vs. Biollante takes places some time after the events of The Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985. Godzilla has been trapped in a volcano but is carefully being monitored just in case he manages to escape and wreck havoc to Japan again. During his second attack on Tokyo, Godzilla shed several of his skin and muscle cells and these Godzilla cells are highly sought after for research purposes as well as maybe a way to learn how The King of Monsters manages to regenerate from damage. One particular scientist, who’s daughter died during a terrorist attack who were looking for Godzilla cells, fuses her daughter’s DNA with a rose as well as some Godzilla cells to keep the flower alive eternally.

When terrorists blow up the volcano imprisoning Godzilla, the scientist manages to use the same Godzilla cells to create a bacteria that should be able to eat up nuclear energy, thereby making it a weapon against the nuclear capable King of Monsters. Also, the flower, sensing Godzilla’s release, starts to mutate into the monstrous Biollante with the two monsters headed for a big fight.

If the plot summary is weird, well, that’s the Heisei era for you and that’s pretty much standard operating procedure for this period of Godzilla films. Okay, it’s not as insane as the Showa era but that time period was generally “family friendly” with the super destructive Godzilla becoming a friend to all children of the world. The Heisei era was more serious but still retained a campy element to them. Godzilla also is the villain here… but we’re still cheering for him despite that. Charisma goes a long way!

Probably the best thing I loved about the film are the monster designs. Toho has been doing Godzilla movies for quite a while by this time but I do think the Heisei era is when they really perfected their “suitmation” abilities. Godzilla looks menacing while still being both realistic and fantastical at the same time. Godzilla here is still a lumbering slow beast but, even though he moves as slow as molasses in your refrigerator, there’s nothing you can do to stop his forward movement. I also have to mention I love the effects Toho did for his nuclear breath here. It’s not like in the new movies where it’s very dramatic as you can see his scale start to glow before he fires. Here, Godzilla’s fins do glow but there’s no charging up necessary. He just lets it rip almost instantly and I do feel that’s even scarier as he can fire it off without warning.

As good as Godzilla’s suitmation is, what Toho did with Biollante was way better! Biollante has two forms. Her first form, essentially a giant rose, may look goofy, especially since the flower part actually has teeth, still looks awesome thanks to some good lighting direction. The way they had those little spotlight shining on the rose bud looks fantastic! But it’s Biollante’s second, more menacing, form that really impressed me! Biollante’s second form looks more like a massive thorn brush rather than a single rose looks particularly fearsome, especially since she makes Godzilla looks like tiny lizard because of how large she is!

However, I will say, despite this being the marquee matchup, the Godzilla vs. Biollante fights seemed pretty short. Yes, I said “fights” because they do tango twice. Once during the middle and the other happening in the climax and both of them are stunningly quick. I’m pretty used to the final fights in a Godzilla movie being rather long, sometimes even taking up the last third of the film’s runtime. Here, they both seem very protracted and I can’t help but feel disappointed, especially since Biollante’s design is incredibly cool.

Of course, as this is a Godzilla movie, there has to be a couple of B-plots involving the human characters. And I will say they’re like a lot of the other Godzilla movie human character plots during the Heisei period: they’re pretty forgettable but dumb fun while you’re watching it. There’s the overly long espionage subplot which seems to be there just to pad out the film’s 103-minute runtime but, because of how cheesy the acting is here, I enjoyed it. This is especially true for the non-Japanese actors. I bet they just put out a casting call for any foreigner who wants to be in a Godzilla movie and hired the first people who walked. Either that or the Japanese director didn’t know how to direct them. Then again, even the Japanese actors here come off as pretty wooden. Like I said, that’s not a bad thing for me as this kind of performances have always made Godzilla movies so charming to me. Your mileage may vary.

I do have to mention one special human character from this movie: Miki Saegusa. I have to call her special not because she has psychic powers but because she does become the only recurring character during the Godzilla Heisei films. As such, Miki Saegusa is someone important as she pops up regularly throughout the other films. She sort of becomes a surrogate for the audience as she is, much like the audiences who watch Godzilla movies, the only one who kinds of roots for Godzilla despite technically being the villain. She doesn’t really do much here as Godzilla vs. Biollante is where she make her debut. But she is someone you do have to take note of if you do plan on watching the other Godzilla Heisei films.

As much as I enjoyed Godzilla vs. Biollante, it’s not a movie I can wholeheartedly recommend. There is always a certain charm to Godzilla movies that I’ve found enchanting but I know it’s not for everyone. If you do like cool monster designs and B-movie side plots, this is a good one to watch. Others may as well stay away. I would say you’re missing out but… if you don’t like these kinds of movies, you’re probably not.

Have you seen Godzilla vs. Biollante? What did you think of it? Better question: what’s your favorite Godzilla film? Let me know in the comments section below!