Father's Day Weekend New Japan and Godzilla

So I had a chance to rewatch Naito capturing his first IWGP Heavyweight championship against Okada in the start of a special three day weekend of New Japan Pro Wrestling and Godzilla, sort of culminating by Sunday evening's end. Naito using heavy interference from his  Los Ingobernables de Japon  stable to secure victory in every possible way ruined what could have been a humdinger. Of course later bouts were less tampered by the likes of Evil, Bushi, and Sanada (this Invasion Attack 2016 being Sanada's intro into Naito's faction) than this particular match. Still you see Okada, his third reign at this point, pulling out Red Ink, a STF camel clutch type submission, and Heavy Rain, a version of the Death Valley Driver off his shoulders driving Evil to the mat. Okada doesn't have the likes of Goto and Ishii out there for him as Naito does to support him until the end when it was too late. Naito does land his arsenal of well known moves, including Gloria, the spin off top rope DDT, sweep the leg over the turnbuckle ropes kick to the face, and eventually Destino. And he did his customary slow start and pose on the mat fake out to piss Okada off. Spitting in Okada's face and abusing ref Red Shoes after his faction beat on manager Gedo and Okada some more after the match to garner further heat, but this crowd LOVED it. ***/****

The Never Openweight Champion Shibata (during his most successful era) was, at this time, sort of working with the midcard developing his gradual resume of success. You could see he was a star on the rise (many might consider Sanada sort of trending this direction as a comparison today), cut short by the headbutt to Okada in the infamous IWGP Heavyweight championship match (after he won the Japan Cup) that ended his career in the ring. Against bruiser Tenzan, Shibata survives more or less. Headbutts are a mainstay in Tenzan’s offence, as he comes to the ring in a bull-horn mask, and is shaped as a blunt force object of a man. His head is one of those blocks of ice that shouldn’t be tested…Shibata does, of course, and drops in a heap afterwards. Shibata had to use his kicks, forearms, chokeholds, and the PK in order to finally get the victory. Tenzan, to his credit, nearly had Shibata with an Anaconda Vice and Cobra Clutch, two arm locks that often use an opponent’s own arm as a chokehold against him. You get see Shibata’s face turning purple, eyes losing life, oxygen loss quite evident. The headbutts always make me cringe, personally. I don’t enjoy even seeing Ishii use them. But headbutting the chest or neck doesn’t unnerve me like the flat direct head blows do. And considering the injury that nearly killed Shibata (how Okada didn’t suffer lingering effects shocked me) with a headbutt, seeing him in matches like this just don’t entertain me at all. **/****

I do try to space out my Ospreay / Kushida matches as I never want to lose sight of how special they are. No matter how dazzling Ospreay might be with how he can contort his body in midair and acrobatically surge out of any situation (even when it appears most dire) or Kushida’s myriad of arm bars and arm locks (he can fly with the best of them, too, but his “hoverboard lock” and variety of punishing holds that twist and turn the arm are first rate) no matter where he is in and out of the ring; you can only see them at it so many times over and over. And through Kushida’s time in New Japan, he wrestled Ospreay many times. In this match, for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship, it was a fresh and exciting beginning in the promotion and sign of great things to come. I actually watched these two in a tournament in Great Britain, I believe, on YouTube. Word of mouth brought me the attention needed to seek them out. And I was quite pleasantly surprised, too! I believe this tournament (which included Rey Mysterio, while he was performing in the indies) was Ospreay’s face turn. I first starting watching Will when he was a heavy, his girlfriend by his side, the two of them snarling and antagonistic. In his NJPW debut, Ospreay just wasn’t going to the title immediately. But his spinning in midair and ability to work off any rope and any turnbuckle is quite exhilarating, although purists balk he’s just a choreographed acrobat. Sure, I personally don’t car. I think he’s brilliant. Kushida being able to lock in a cross arm breaker out of a top turnbuckle plex is incredible. Kushida retained this time, but the two had many classics ahead of them. Jushin Thunder Liger challenged Kushida after this match. *** / ****

G.O.D (Guerillas of Destiny), sons of Haku, Tama Tonga and Tonga Roa (the latter formerly Camacho and Fake SinCara in WWE) get a shot at IWGP Heavyweight Tag champs, Unchained Gorilla Makabe and Headbutt Sick Honma for the belts. It is clear that the team who unseated former Bullet Club members, Anderson and Gallows, were just transitional champs. Makabe did all he could to preserve the reign but Honma’s fucking headbutt sickness cost them dearly. And GOD, wearing white “skeleton” face paint, resembled old school Somoan tag team with headbutts, power maneuvers, and as Jr put it “tandem offense”. Seemed to go on way too long. Lots and lots of headbutts from both teams. Yawn. Double teams at the end which included DDTs (both traditional and reverse) with legs extended and arched result in the changing of hands of the titles. ** / ****. Commentator Josh Barnett makes a Breakin Too, Electric Boogaloo reference, much to JR’s dismay.

Never Openweight Six Man Tag championship was on the line and at this time Omega cemented himself as the leader of Bullet Club’s “Elite” addition to NJPW. This whole match is a clown show. Omega and The Young Bucks goof off with cold spray, dancing, mockery, with crotch chops and two sweets right out of the NWO and DX playbook. Elgin, Yoshitatsu (returning from a long tenured broken neck injury that nearly killed him), and Tanahashi are the challengers. these belts are meaningless and everyone in New Japan wears them at some point. Elgin can pick up two Young Bucks at once in power moves like body slam back drops and suplexes. Tanahashi gets to throw some clotheslines and dragonscrew leg whips but is given very little to do except appear for the fans. Yoshitatsu appeared  to be presented as the next big thing but nothing truly materialized. He does land some stiff kicks but a bit of pudge and some ring rust interferes with his crispness. This was more or less to reintroduce him. The superkick parade emerges as you might expect. Yoshitatsu talks of the trio becoming Bullet Club Hunters but Tanahashi and Elgin were like, “Nah”. Omega and the Bucks were having a blast. Elgin was challenged by Intercontinental Champion Omega and he accepted. Captain New Japan (whoever that is) wanted to assist Yoshitatsu but he laughs the guy off.  The belts change hands, but it doesn’t appear the Bullet Club cared at all really. Elgin is a fucking beast. ** / ****

2016 New Japan Cup bouts

A tournament match between Toru Yano and Naito lasts about two minutes. Yano does his typical shtick. The removal of a turnbuckle pad, hiding under the top rope and playing to the crowd with his hands rising over and over, the shot to the crotch when the referee’s back is turned, and the hair pull to the ground. Naito never even gets off his removal suit, as he kicks Yano in the nuts and slips him into a cradle with his legs pulled to his head for the three count. Just a nonsense match to get Yano involved in something and Naito an easy win. * / ****

Elgin puts over Goto after an impressive Falcon Arrow suplex/bomb from the apron (Elgin positioned on the turnbuckle), kick to the face on the apron, and senton flip from the apron. Goto has won three of these tournaments, failing every time to win the Heavyweight championship. I was hoping Elgin might get the nod over him but this appears to always be Goto’s consolation prize for never being the top guy. ** / ****

In Naito’s match with Goto, Red Shoes as the referee is booked as an embarrassment to his profession. The egregious nature of Bushi and Naito to just middle finger any rules at all and bask in their illegality and Red Shoes just allow them to do whatever they want makes him into an idiot. JR repeats the same back stories and complements the likes of Goto as a Bret Hart type, Naito returning from Mexico a changed man, the forearm shots opposed to clinched fits (earlier Elgin being from St Louis), and Tree of Woe Kevin Sullivan reference appear again when calling the match. Super-suplex from the top turnbuckle, Super-Frankensteiner from the top turnbuckle, Shouten-kai (think a suplex dropped into a Rock Bottom to the mat), Ushigoroshi (elevating the opponent from your shoulders into a knee to the back of the head), headbutts and kicks, with the unfortunate interference from Evil and Bushi to halt Goto’s efforts at victory. Naito escaping with the win as heels do, although the fans loved him. It was quite a year, 2016, for Naito. *** / ****

Physical matchup between IWGP champion, Okada, and a paint-decorated Goto (the G1 match between these two where Goto actually defeated Okada was outstanding) with a demoralizing loss for the challenger who hit his Shouten-kai too near the ropes after dominating a very lopsided affair. Goto kills folks with that Ushigoroshi  from the top turnbuckle…Okada sold it as if he suffered whiplash during a car crash. Okada was being positioned at this point as a hard-to-beat champion in 2016, with Naito right alongside him. It took three Rainmaker clothelines to finish off Goto (who sold them as if he was hit by a mack truck each time). I feel like I’ve seen 100 Goto matches this year and the last. I watched four between Goto and Nakamura last month. Okada took a lot of offense for Goto in the win, so Hirooki was treated with a lot of respect, with his theatric Japanese lettering painted all over his body setting off the visual image of a man considering this match the most important of his career. Goto is always so close, the bridesmaid never the bride. *** / ****. Okada offered a spot for Goto on his Chaos faction, a babyface faction among many heel factions.

Watched a car crash match pitting IWGP tag champs, The Kingdom (a young Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, followed by their manager, Maria Kanellis), against Doc Gallows (accompanied by wife, Amber) and Karl Anderson. Before Taven would be ROH’s Heavyweight champ, he was a long-haired spotfest athlete flying off second ropes into moonsaults and landing superkicks. Bennett was trying to defend his woman when Doc superkicks her off the apron. Kanellis draws all the attention and does so scantily clad with the camera right behind her ass as she seductively moves her body to distract obsessed Anderson (this was an angle at the time). Amber is vicious just like Doc, landing any shot on Kanellis that is available to her. Anderson does his “Ayyy-Yah!” kick but this is a showcase for the ROH tag team, who are the faces in this fast-moving garbage match that is busy and noisy with cameras all over the place. There is a lot of movement as often is the case in these tag matches. This felt very much like a Texas Tornado type match as bodies were all over the place and the ring always seemed to have more than two wrestlers in it. ** / ****. Gallows and Anderson regain the titles when Anderson gun-stuns Bennett on the apron and the Bullet Club members hit their Magic Killer finisher on Taven.

What sets up this match between Yano and Tanahashi bewildered me, I must admit. He actually upset Tanahashi in the New Japan Cup of 2015, astonishingly in about three minutes. A failure of that magnitude seems improbable considering the caliber of talent Tanahashi is. I just watched a match where Naito defeated Yano in like two minutes and that felt exactly right. But New Japan will throw a curve at you such as that upset from time to time. At Osaka-Jo Hall, you wouldn’t think Yano would be in a highly touted match against anyone. He’s more of a comedy bit player early in the card, but high profile against Tanahashi shows you how long ago this feels. This was the first NJPW card in this venue at that time in 21 years. Tanahashi finally sniffed out Yano’s shtick with the under-the-middle-rope by sliding outside and jerking his feet, essentially stretchering him for a few seconds. When the match goes outside the ring, into the crowd, over the railings, into chairs, I lose interest. But that is just how Yano needs it, gimmicked with the turnbuckle exposed and brawling to hide behind…this isn’t a technical classic. JR and Barnett trying to give the match some seriousness despite Yano being in it must have been quite a task. Yano really uses the referee as a weapon to his advantage while Tanahashi, bless his heart, tries to make the match dramatic and tolerable. **/****. I can take Yano in small doses, at the bottom of a card, but as a feature attraction, nope. Yano uses the chair to halt a High Fly Flow frogsplash. But the inevitable Tanahashi win isn’t a surprise. Plenty of Yano cheating. Yano’s biggest moment is powerbombing Tanahashi on a chair. The referees of New Japan, constantly abused and treated like shit, are always booked as fools.

Dominion 2019

Shota Umino vs. Jon Moxley (IWGP U.S. champ)

Shingo Takagi vs. Kojima

Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, and Taguchi vs. Jay White, Chase Owens, Ishimori

Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee (IWGP Junior Heavyweight champ)

Chris Jericho vs. Okada (IWGP World Heavyweight champ)

Umino took brief advantage of Moxley’s emergence from the crowd instead of the ring entrance ramp, diving on him. But despite an early clubbing blow or two, Moxley just overwhelmed Umino once he started using his vicious brawling style. This served its purpose: it allowed Umino, a Young Lion, to be in the ring with a major star, Moxley to strut and pose, and Moxley to declare he wants in the G1. I like how Moxley landed his double-arm hook DDT this go-around. He thrusted it fast without lifting him too high. Using it this way, the victim doesn’t have much time to stop it. **/****

Juice’s energy was not there although he did land a thunderous left hand punch to White outside the ring. I feel bad for Juice because clearly the US title did him a lot of good, but this defeat to Moxley made marketing sense for NJPW. Tanahashi and White mix it up a bit but it isn’t anything dramatic. Chase does a lot of the work, trying and failing to land his package DDT on Tanahashi. As you might expect if you see a Taguchi match, he relies on his ass/hip bumps much the same way as Honma does with his headbutts…and like Honma misses with his ass more than he hits his opponents with it. Tanahashi tries this reverse DDT into elbow smash to the chest on Chase and it looks sloppy and ineffective yet gets the win. **/****

Ospreay (considered by many to be the best in the world right now; he’s certainly one of the hottest acts after Moxley and Shingo Takagi) and Dragon Lee battle it out with the kitchen sink effect in terms of everything acrobatic and athletic each high-flyer has available in their bag of tricks. Ospreay landing on his feet outside the ring out of a Lee hurricanrana steals the show. Ospreay wins with the Stormbreaker after an incredible OZ cutter from out of the turnbuckle. Lee has established some good will since his clumsy injuring of Hiromu a year ago. These two can land on their feet out of anything. Ospreay’s ability to counter anything dangerous on top of turnbuckles, off ring ropes, off ring aprons, in midair, is on full display. Just a hair less is this match from Ospreay’s clinic with Takagi, maybe because this didn’t seem to have the same amount of suspense in regards to its outcome. Ospreay winning the Best of Juniors tourney against Takagi seemed to indicate the obvious: Ospreay was just destined to capture another Junior Heavyweight title. ***½/****

Takagi needed to build on his momentum, only losing to Ospreay in the finals of the Best of Super Juniors, so a challenge to a great veteran like Kojima seemed ideal to build his confidence. His joining Naito’s faction added to Takagi’s fame. Kojima was a perfect choice to challenge Takagi, a wily veteran with a toughness that would challenge the smaller Super Junior juggernaut. Kojima landed his barrage of chops to the chest, “Koji cutters” (essentially Diamond Cutters, including one off the turnbuckle corner), even a DDT on the apron. But Takagi’s youth and will to win just got him through. He wants in the G1. This was more or less a test for Takagi, with the veteran asked to, and successfully, put over the rising young star. **½/****

Chris Jericho, in leather jacket with spikes and Clockwork Orange face paint, with fedora, arrives with the scumbag villain shtick against gutsy New Japan legend, Okada (still early thirties). Okada gives Jericho a lot of offense, fulfilling the customary face-in-peril, nearly losing several times, just kicking out before the three count on several occasions. The usual Jericho move set, including a lot of outside-the-ring brawling, is showcased. The liontamer, dropkick to Okada who is on the ring apron, lionsault, Codebreaker, and mocking the crowd with a snarl (with some additional profanity to give the violence spice) put Okada to the test. He rolls up Jericho with a Rey Mysterio type leg-pin for the win. Jericho just wails on him afterward motivating Tanahashi to interrupt his flurry of sneak attack violence. Chair shots and pummeling blows leave Okada laid out. Jericho is having the time of his life right now, luckily in just enough shape to endure a long fight of a match without needing to accommodate the New Japan style, as those he has battled in the promotion adhere to his way of orchestrating the action. Jericho and Tanahashi should be a good feud even if it does look like Jericho wants to fight Okada again. These AEW performers in New Japan intrigues me. **½/****

Also included was Kenta (Hideo Itami) returning to Japan, “hosted” by Shibata.

I took a break from wrestling and watched the American version of Gojira, starring Raymond Burr, Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, from 1956. Terry Morse, piecemealing footage featuring Burr (and Japanese-American actors included), with Ishirō Honda’s Toho Studio’s film, does his best to develop an American perspective within Tokyo (and Odo Island) as a giant lizard based in myth (reason behind the God in Godzilla), rises from the watery depths to wreak havoc on anyone in its trajectory. Ships on the water are the first to suffer the flames that blast from the mouth of Godzilla, villages on Odo Island once it reaches land for the first time, Tokyo Bay, and then Tokyo city itself. The carnage is the real reason it was a favorite on television in the US (and other areas), as well as, the presence of the monster (its screech of menace often accompanying the furious fire that sprays across wherever it targets) when it would pop up out of the water to scare the hell out of the Japanese people. Burr documenting what he sees, too, a reporter looking for a major story, often accompanying Tomo Iwanaga (a “security defense” officer), an interpreter to help him while in Tokyo. Those in Gojira—such as Kurosawa legend, Takashi Shimura as Dr. Yamane, Momoko Kōchi (as Yamane’s daughter) as Emiko (Burr often converses with her specifically, including when injured and taken to a clinic after his building collapses to ruin), Akira Takarada (as Ogata, a ship captain, Emiko’s true love interest), and Akihiko Hirata (as Dr. Serizawa, arranged to be married to Emiko, wearing an eyepatch, and having developed the Oxygen Destroyer than can disintegrate marine life if set off)—appear with Morse using standins (he shoots the back of them, as they talk to Burr, while Burr is often in the background surveying the characters of the footage and the action that took place in Honda’s film. I think true fans will consider this inferior, seeing Honda’s masterpiece as intended will be all the better for it, but Burr’s film isn’t a total waste. Burr adds that American voice to the terror he sees overtaking Tokyo and its surrounding environs when Godzilla lays waste to anything it chooses to obliterate. The tail swinging even renders buildings into rubble. Seeing the footage of Japanese running for their lives, with Burr speaking into a tape recording from a high rise apartment, as Tokyo surrenders unvoluntarily to Godzilla’s rampage is still quite impactful. The city on fire, Godzilla with its mouth often capsizing towers, clawed hands pulling apart a clock tower, moving through electrically charged power lines, seemingly unbothered by machine gun ammunition, or even harmed by depth charges, the threat is quite well emphasized. But the original, untampered with, has a power all its own. And without any interference has its message intact. *** / *****

Tanahashi and Bad Luck Fale (Underboss of The Bullet Club) matches are all the same. I enjoy them for what they are: Fale throws the Ace around a bit with his power, sits on his chest, splashes him, spears him, and just bullies him until Tanahashi responds with Sling Blades, German suplexes, forearms, the Andre the Giant body slam, and High Fly Flows (one outside the ring) resulting typically in the hero victory. **/****

Kenny Omega won the Intercontinental Championship against Tanahashi and challenged Elgin to come for it. Elgin, often so close to real success in New Japan, would always fall just short. Nonetheless, Elgin can produce some incredible offense. The Falcon Arrow from the top turnbuckle is epic as are his power bombs. The powerbomb on Omega to the table was OUCH. Those tables break really well! Omega’s knees to the face are the bees knees. But the show stealer, for me, was Omega’s Doctor Bomb (gut wrench into a power bomb) on Elgin…the ability to pick him up and hoist him over his head before dropping him to the mat shows a lot of power one might not realize Omega has. Omega can flop and drop back with quite the animated body and face, often criticized (perhaps correctly, I guess it depends on each person) as cartoonish. At this point, Tanahashi and Omega (a forgotten precursor to their Wrestle Kingdom finale) were on the cusp of a feud for the IC title as the former challenges the latter after Omega defeated Elgin (impressively with the One-Winged Angel, laddering Elgin on his shoulder, hooking his head, driving him to the mat). Using the ladder and crotch kick to dump Tanahashi to his back, Omega diabolically laughs and mocks him after the challenge. Elgin’s size and power are often so much fun to see used against smaller opponents. Omega was no different. Still, Elgin’s leaping off the top turnbuckle was ill-advised as was not taking a countout victory. *** / ****

Eight-man tags and multi-team matches are a New Japan norm because they allow feuds and championship bouts to stem from them when pinfalls result in upsets. Plus it can get stars on a card without exhausting them or wearing out their welcome. Elgin, Tanahashi, Goto, and Shibata oppose Yoshi Hashi, Ishii, Okada, and Sakuraba. Elgin power German Suplexes all four of them in a fan highlight as does Shibata and Ishii rekindling their ongoing rivalry by forearming and kicking each other. Elgin once again does a fall away slam on Yoshi Hashi and Okada. The fans were marvelous, popping for everything including the Okada / Tanahashi exchanges. They LOVED Elgin and his gorilla presses. Shibata definitely had Ishii’s number. They were set for the next Wrestle Kingdom where Shibata would unseat him as Never Openweight champ. Here, no different. Chokehold into the PK (a kick right to the torso, most of the time the sternum)  for the win as Shibata was victorious for his team with some help from Goto (he and especially Sakuraba were almost inconsequential to the match with Yoshi Hashi flopping around a lot due to his lack of size in comparison to everyone else). *** / **** because the crowd was so enthusiastic and invested. Headbutts between Shibata and Ishii are sick and disturbing.

The Tag Team League tournament of 2015 featured the final teams of Evil and Naito (Sanada not yet arrived) and The Unchained Gorilla Makabe and Honma. This Sensei-Sun Plaza crowd was quite advocating for a Honma victory. He was in the ring the majority of the match, too. Evil and Naito work over Honma and by the end he was gassed and exhausted. But those damned headbutts (the Kokeshi from the top turnbuckle, he even hits that!) to Evil eventually get the job done, along with the King Kong Drop shin to the neck from the top by Makabe. Makabe gets the Bushi mist in the eyes, while Honma even has to deal with Bushi assaulting him right in front of Red Shoes…when Naito dropkicks Red Shoes I lost my shit. I can’t fucking stand assaults on the referee in New Japan. Fucking disqualify those bastards and they would quit that nonsense! But when this happens believability goes right out the window. I get that refs are booked, it seems, to preserve a win by pinfall but the egregious nature of cheating and illegality that occurs without punishment is inexplicable to me! ** / **** because the interference is just too much even though Naito and Bushi’s actions fail to help them. Sadly, even though Makabe and Honma do indeed dethrone Anderson and Gallows at the next Wrestle Kingdom, they function as transitional champions, losing them to G.O.D. 

I revisited Ghidorah (the Three-Headed Monster, from 1964) in preparation for the newly released Godzilla sequel, although I don’t really need a reason to return to any Toho monster movie. I love these silly things. Much like the Universal monster movies, they are like cotton candy or M&Ms. This film always surprises me with its epic plot all things considering. The rubber monsters destroying model sets in a studio remains a treat for the right kind of audience. A millennial I work with in the office balks about how her husband wants her to go see the new Godzilla monster mash so perhaps such decades old content has nearly met its expiration date…nah, maybe it just has its appeal for a certain viewer but not so widespread any longer. Just the same, I know another young woman in her thirties who loves these Godzilla monster movies so it is all according to taste. Any Godzilla monster mash with assassins assigned the task to take out a Japanese princess by someone needing her dead in order to secure power, a Venusian “spirit” possessing said princess with amnesia (she was “ordered” by that spirit to leap from a plane wired with a bomb that goes off), two miniature girls from “Infant Island” harmonizing to their caterpillar god, Mothra, to come coordinate a standoff between feuding pterodactyl beak-pecking Rodan and irritable Godzilla so they can take care of three-dragon-headed monster with bolts that pulverize the countryside after it hatches from a meteorite egg is just too irresistible to not succumb to if you love Toho Studios Kaiju craziness. I do. A cop, his reporter sister, returning Shimura as a scientist, the aforementioned princess, the twins from Infant Island carried around in a box, and the doc who has been studying the egg that landed out of space on Mt. Fuji all eventually converge where Mothra, finally able to “convince” through a type of “monster communication” Godzilla and Rodan to quit throwing rocks back and forth at each other (must be seen to be believed) and join forces to stop King Ghidorah , surfaces. Tokyo gets cut some slack for a change and the mountains where villages (a tower does fall and a bridge is doomed to have Godzilla fall on it, with the inevitable collapses a sure thing) are located get laid to waste. Godzilla has no flames that emerge from its mouth this time, but Caterpillar Mothra actually survives so I’ll take it. Ghidorah goes to work, blasting Godzilla in the ass (when it grabs its ass and physically goes Oww, I crack up every time!) and throttling Rodan on occasion. Mothra, with its silk webbing, does nearly cocoon Ghidorah, while Godzilla (getting thrown to the ground by Ghidorah more than once and pecked on the headed, lifted off the ground, and dropped to the ground by Rodan during combat) finally grabs Ghidorah’s tail(s) and tosses it. Ghidorah leaves Earth, tired of dealing with that trio of nuisances. The humans involved in this film have enough plot to keep them busy but I do feel the monsters perhaps get the shaft, left with the end of the film to try and deliver enough mayhem to make up for the lack of screen time. I think even Ghidorah doesn’t hatch until almost an hour into the film! *** ½/*****