Director: Koji Hashimoto
Year: 1984
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Godzilla 1985
Genre: Kaiju
Plot:
Following a series of sea disasters, a reporter becomes convinced that a giant prehistoric monster has returned to attack the country after being driven away decades ago. With the government reluctant to admit its existence for fear of widespread panic, they’re eventually forced to do so when a nuclear submarine is destroyed forcing everything to come to light to prevent worldwide war as the continued destruction eventually makes it known it’s heading for Tokyo. Trying to find a way of stopping the vicious creature, the escalating political tensions are put aside to deal with the monster rampaging through the city and finally come to rely on a scientist’s crazed invention to lure it away and stop it once and for all.
Review:
Overall, this is a solid and really fun comeback to the series. One of the finer features here is a strong storyline that manages to bring back the tone and feel of the original series. As there’s a new regeneration process for Godzilla to come back due to the newfound nuclear sub-accident that brings him back with the sub-disaster creating the new Godzilla from his slumber, the whole setup allows for an intriguing Cold War scenario involving the different countries in play. The fact that there’s an increase of political tensions within here as the US and the Soviet Union are steadfast in trying to use their nuclear arsenal to stop the creature which has to be approved by the Prime Minister which continually gets stonewalled due to the hesitancy about recreating another atomic catastrophe that has continually haunted the country. The festering tensions over the hesitation exerts itself in the passive animosity towards each other that both countries are fighting through as the impact of these events including how the missiles are launched and how the final resolution. By wrapping a typical monster-on-the-loose structure around this by including the other advancements to the political tensions bringing the creature closer to the country with other hints that he’s coming with the discovery of the giant parasites and the destruction of the military vehicles that bring about a potential monstrous creature in the area.
That brings about the kind of exciting monster sequences usually featured in these efforts. While not one of the better designs, this one does come off nicely enough to connect greatly with the darker side of the storyline; it takes on several impressive old-school features that were in the original. A return to the dinosaurian look and other special features on the suit helps to give this a great touch to match the aggressive personality that gives the film a great base for the special effects in general. The special effects here are really enjoyable elsewhere, with the massive cityscape for Tokyo used during the rampage taking on a great concept involving trying new things to differentiate it from the previous rampage. Getting up close and personal with the destruction as there are more attempts at bringing a sense of awe alongside the devastation caused by it in some strong pyrotechnic displays. With the military battles that take place not just with the armored forces but the other defense forces scattered throughout the city and surrounding areas. The miniatures are incredibly effective with scenes like his first appearance at the nuclear plant, the skyscrapers along the main city, and the final battle on Mt. Mihara that has some inventive tactics with some impressive action. These features are enough to make this a strong overall entry.
There are some drawbacks to this one that hold it back. Among the main drawbacks here is a series of bizarre storyline factors that are included here for little reason. The main storyline about the political ramifications between the three countries is fine enough but there’s way too much commentary on the red tape within the countries that needs to be passed before they can go through with the attack on Tokyo that is planned in secret anyway so it makes little sense to go through with this idea based on how it plays out. Taking a series of exaggerated points that manage to make some of the scenes feel repetitive as it never advances the story beyond continually telling us the bomb won’t be used so it causes the pacing too slow to crawl with this setup. The other factor here with this setup is the generally formulaic approach to other simplistic monsters on the loose scenarios normally featured in the genre where it’s pretty much the same kind of structure. A series of disasters at sea points to something malicious in the area, a survivor gives hints about something there that none of the authorities want to believe until it finally appears, and then relies on a single scientist’s fanciful invention to stop it when normal conventional weaponry fails to stop it. It’s all decent enough in the long run not being too noticeable but these factors are still present, and with the few instances of wonky effects-work popping up do bring this down.
Overview: ***.5/5
Far better than it should be even with some big issues, there’s still quite a lot to like here even if this one manages to come up with some big enough flaws to hold it back. The main audience for this one is the general old-school fan who takes the earlier entries of the series as a priority or are general genre fans while most others should heed caution with this one.
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