Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) is the second film of Godzilla's Heisei era and the creature's cinematic resurgence in the 1980s. It follows directly from the events of The Return of Godzilla (1984), which after a prior decade full of kooky wonders and outlandishness returned the King of the Monsters to his sombre, darker roots. At the beginning of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla has been imprisoned at Mount Mihara and some of his cell samples have been taken away for experimentation in the hopes of turning an oil-dependent desert nation into a lush, green paradise. Thanks to a violent espionage plot and Godzilla's inevitable return, things don't go to plan. Instead, Biollante is born; a gigantic floral abomination created using cells from Godzilla, plant life, and a chief scientist's dead daughter. One giant lizard, one giant plant… of course they are going to slug it out.

Upon release, Godzilla vs. Biollante was praised for, among other things, its impressive visuals, which are bestowed with a fresh sharpness by the 4K restoration. Kazuki Ōmori's film has to balance both Godzilla's traditional visual spectacle with shoot-em-up action sequences akin to (and to compete with) Hollywood's slew of geopolitically-driven thrillers from that decade. It all inevitably feels a little dated even in 4K, but it remains an impressive spectacle. At the time, Godzilla vs. Biollante was the most expensive Godzilla film ever made, a fact that manifests through the inventiveness and imagination of both the special and practical effects.

It is at the frontier of classic and new, its inherent dangers, that Godzilla vs. Biollante compellingly locates itself. The score sees classic Godzilla motifs sit alongside classic sounds of the '80s complete with electric guitars and synthesisers (a sudden swap from non-diegetic to diegetic music as Godzilla approaches Osaka ends up being quite funny, one of several lighter moments throughout the film). This embrace of the future however is not without caution. While the original Godzilla (1954) is a tolling omen about nuclear warfare, Biollante is a warning about rampant genetic engineering. It feels astoundingly forward-thinking, especially given that Hollywood's similarly-themed blockbuster Jurassic Park (1993) wasn't released until four years later. Biollante's very DNA contains echoes of the past; voices of a dead daughter, old cells from an injured Godzilla, and plants that would otherwise wither and die. The past providing a foundation for the future (and the doom this can summon) is written into the bones of Godzilla vs. Biollante, offering a deeper philosophical and ecological message than you might credit it for.

Biollante itself is a wondrous creation, with more than a whiff of The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) about its design. Compared to the marching, thunderous lizard that is Godzilla, Biollante cuts a more ethereal and at times almost tortured figure as if its creation causes it no end of pain. As an aside at the film's conclusion, exactly what or who monsters are is cast into doubt. It happens in a more throwaway manner than you may wish for, but this is ultimately a Godzilla movie with a gigantic reptile and even bigger meat-eating flora. You can hardly expect spades of subtlety.

Godzilla vs. Biollante is a strong contender for one of the top five (maybe top three) Godzilla films ever made. It just about strings together the juxtaposing demands of a classic 1980s action movie, Godzilla's cinematic stamp of authority, and a deeper message about rampant science. It is unlikely to make waves with anyone not already aligned with the franchise's rich heritage. However, it proudly demonstrates that, years before Godzilla Minus One (2023), cinema's longest continuously-running franchise could repeatedly offer more than just a surface-level monster mash.

Extras:

New 4K digital restoration, with 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.
[UHD only] One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features.
New audio commentary featuring film historian Samm Deighan, host of the podcast Eros + Massacre and co-editor of the book Revolution in 35mm.
Making-of programme from 1993 featuring director Kazuki Ōmori and special effects director Kôichi Kawakita, among others.
Short documentary from 1993 about the Biollante and Super X2 vehicle concepts.
Deleted special effects.
TV spots and trailers.
New English subtitle translation.
An essay by science fiction and horror film expert Jim Cirronella.
New cover by Eric Powell.