npinkham19
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-10-2014 8:18 PMThe 80s were my favorite decade for Godzilla, just two films but that was the point, they took their time. 85 was the grand beginning to a new series and it blew me away. Despite their success they waited five years to release the sequel and again, worth it. Biollante and 85 were so dark, serious and fought Godzilla with actual logical science. Biollante herself represented a new form of enemy. She was so massive and Non-humanoid, the perfect example of what a new breed of foe for Godzilla should be. In the original draft Godzilla dies but they decided against it. I actually would have got behind it. The miltary tried so hard in this one that NOT killing him seemed anti climactic.
Anyways, the movie didn't pull in the figures they wanted so Toho decided not to take chances and instead rely on tried and true formulas. After Biollante the plots were much lighter, budgets stripped back, older monsters that they knew people would flock to see were rebooted and the films were shelled out every year. Like it or not had Biollante been a huge hit I think we would have seen a very different hesei series.
In my mind a follow up would keep the dark tone and see a new creature, also non humanoid, probably like a fish like creature or whatnot but instead of feeling like a vs movie it would be primarily focused on the threat of Godzilla and by the end they might actually quit while they were ahead and kill him off. Personally had they made a proper follow up and made the heisei series just a tight trilogy it could have been on par with the gamera trilogy. I dunno, what do you guys think?
petedj06
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-10-2014 8:40 PMI agree, they are two of my favorite movies, and Biollante is one of my favorite kaiju. What you sited above is why I think the 90's and Mellenium series' don't really do it for me. (Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla Vs. Destroyah aside). Every series starts off strong then tapers off in my opinion. It's because the budgets fall, and the development time goes right down with it.
G. H. (Gman)
AdminGodzillaFeb-10-2014 8:57 PMThere's a lot of "what-ifs" with the Heisei series. What if Kawikata had been given the opportunity to do darker films had vs. Biollante been a success? Would the effects have improved instead of declined? What if Ishiro Honda had stayed alive long enough to direct Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II? Would it have been the best movie of the series? What if Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II stuck with its original ending: Godzilla's death and Baby absorbing his radiation to become the new Godzilla. Would audiences have accepted it? Would it had segwayed into an American film as originally planned? Would vs. King Ghidorah through vs. Destroyah even exist had vs. Biollante been a box office hit? No telling, but there's a lot of alternate paths that start immediately with vs. Biollante.
Good topic. Wish I had more on my mind to contribute outside of questions leading to more questions.
Durp004
MemberBaragonFeb-10-2014 9:15 PMI think had they followed the direction Godzilla vs Biollante went in the series would have essentially stayed the same. As toho has made it clear they will bring back their most popular monsters in every series, so while Ghidorah's movie might have been different, there'sno question in my mind he and Mothra would still have gotten 1.
WRSMOV
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-10-2014 9:55 PMYeah Biollante is awesome. I would like to see her back and maybe taking over monster island. The story with Biollante make more sense than another monsters against Godzilla. The director of Godzilla 2014 says he'll like do a sequel about Destory All Monsters, maybe we will see the return of Biollante.
Gojira2K
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-10-2014 10:21 PMI so agree with this, Biollante is my absolute favorite monster it would have been great if it had been made into a trilogy, maybe with the return Biollante.
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Ernest Hemingway.
Madison
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-10-2014 11:06 PMYeah, Biollante would be a very interesting monster to revisit. Compared to other Toho monsters Biollante has a lot of flexibility and unexplored potential; unlike many Toho monsters which have been basically exhausted or never had that much depth to begin with.
To be fair though, it wasn't JUST the performance of Biollante's movie which caused Toho to put the character in the closet and collect dust. Godzilla 85 has to share a large part of the blame as well. Neither film was that financially successful or very well reviewed at the time of release. It's estimated that even Godzilla 85 only made about 10% profit margins, and Biollante most likely lost money.
The reason why 85's performance is key, is because in the past, if a single Toho character premier didn't go over well (Anguirus, Gigan) but the SURROUNDING Toho films were successful, then Toho would usually give that character a second chance down the road, even if it was a move to save costs. But characters that had weak premiers and were surrounded by weak neighbors were harder to revive.
So after two financially disappointing films in a row to kick off Godzilla's return, Toho had few options left but to retread the tried and true formulas and characters. And it worked for them, much the same way as these constant super hero sequels keep working. Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla (and even Spacegodzilla) all saw their films make 25%-50% or more profit margins, even if those movies may have been more generic than Biollante's film.
That all being said, if Godzilla 2014 inspires Toho to get back in the game, I would love to see them revisit Biollante :-)
Jazmyne
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-10-2014 11:44 PMMaybe they wouldn't have made the god awful sequel that was Godzilla vs King Ghidorah if biollante had been successful.
84 and biollante were in their own league of awesome eighties science fiction films, can't really be touched in my opinion. The eighties were awesome when it came to originality in creature design.
twiddinky
MemberMothra LarvaeFeb-23-2014 5:14 AMi think bio was succcesful 1 of my fav monsters 6th if u will looks badass awsome origin cool attacks i whuld hope to see bio in a nother film
the battle was a u liked it or u didnt think bio is a giant plant that looks badass godzilla is a giant lizard that shoots a atomic beam of death out his mouth bio may be bulky but godzillas breath obviosly whuld get the best of her i still love the film and whuld like to see bio again