Godzilla, or The Return of Godzilla is a dated, but still very strong example of Godzilla done right. It began a new Era of Godzilla films that would be known as the Hensei films, but in this, it would also start a long history of continuity confusion that lasts to this day. What I mean by that is, that this film literally wiped the slate clean of its history, aside from one film. The original 1954 Gojira. In this, Godzilla (1984)...whatever you wanna call it, acts as a direct sequel to the original iconic film, and the start of an era that includes some of my absolute favorite Godzilla films to date. It takes a step away from what the Showa era did, and makes Godzilla intimidating, and begins a trend of darker films for the Godzilla franchise, while holding on to a few light-hearted tropes that make the franchise fun to watch. But I will say of all the Hensei films we got in the 80's and 90's, none of them really match the depth and the overall mood of this particular film, which marked the 30th anniversary of the Big G.
I'm sure many of you are probably getting sick of my comparisons to Toho's newest Godzilla film in Godzilla Resurgence, or Shin Gojira, but if you want a Godzilla film, with political undertones, done right, then this is about as good as it gets for the Godzilla franchise, and I mean that in the best way possible. It does everything, from highlighting threats of Nuclear War, to referencing the Warsaw Pact. While I will still say that politics is the last reason I will watch any Godzilla movie, the parallels that Toho did to mirror the nuclear tensions of the Cold War era during this particular period were fantastic. One of the things I criticized the newest film over was the particular depiction of America who seemed to react rather fast to Godzilla by saying to just nuke 'im. Maybe being American, I'm a bit biased when I say, I doubt we'd straight up rush to that conclusion, but in this movie, they bring that same conclusion to the table. And so does Soviet Russia. At first I scratched my head at this, but looking deeper into it, when both nations were in tense relations and when full scale nuclear war looked as if it could break out at any moment, I gotta say that this is perhaps ironically, kinda accurate. I will say the resolution of "If Godzilla were attacking Moscow or Washington D.C. Right now, would you be so fast to use nuclear weapons?" Solution was maybe just a bit...silly? Like honestly, you'd think a ten year old could come up with such common sense. But regardless of it, it's still wonderfully executed, and it gets even more interesting when the Soviets accidentally launch a nuclear missile in this film. That actually marks a first! We've never seen nuclear weapons used prior to this, and if memory serves right, we'd never seen them used again until Godzilla (2014).
Godzilla as a monster I gotta say is a bit of a mixed bag. While he looks, and sounds intimidating (that animalistic roar is absolutely wonderful to hear and terrifying at the same time), there are a few things that make him stand out just a bit in some wrong ways. One thing that immediately comes to mind is the eyes. They're huge. While not the worst I've seen from Godzilla, the eyes seem just a tab bit too large for this particular monster if you were to ask me. And while Godzilla isn't exactly the largest here as he is in later films, it should be said that his size doesn't factor much to intimidation in these films. He can still take a beating, and demolish anything in his way. And that's what matters when it comes to the big guy. I can overlook a few flaws in design which honestly, was probably just a product of the times. When his foot comes crushing through the streets, nearly crushing terrified civilians, it can be a lot of fun to see.
One thing I will say is that the effects of the film are surprisingly well done. That's not to say they are perfect, I counted more than one effect that stood out. But a lot of the time, the line between fantasy and reality was most certainly blurred. One of my favorite scenes in this film, and in all the franchise takes place when Godzilla first attacks Tokyo in this film. Not only is the military attack fun to watch, but when Godzilla attacks, unleashing that trademark atmoic breath, it is a sight to behold, and a gruesome one at that. We get full on views of soldiers being burned alive, incinerated, and of course we see all of man's deadliest machinery fall to the Destroyer of Worlds. This film also held to the concept of futuristic sci-fi in a way I always loved with special tanks that shoot beams, and a heavy warship that if I remember right was exclusive to this film, the ship Super-X, which actually succeeds in bringing down the big guy. It's not often mankind can harm the big guy like that. And while it's not exactly a matter of effects here, I gotta say that the musical score to this film isn't half bad. Godzilla scores aren't usually something I'm impressed by, as many of them tend to lean too much on that iconic, yet repetitive theme that can get a little old. This film however did a good job of composing new music that is actually pretty decent.
While characters have never been a strongpoint in the Godzilla franchise, this movie does a decent job of telling its story around its set group of characters. While many of the character arcs are kinda forgettable, like the whole controversy over that one guy's journalism (I can't remember his name off the top of my head), most of the story arcs they bring to the table are not only satisfactory, but contribute something new to the franchise. One thing I love so much about this film, was that for a film, meant to reintroduce Godzilla as this terrifying monster, and not so much a hero, it goes beyond simply retelling the original 1954 film. There's added problems, new obstacles, and newer elements of story and that is a very good thing because there were times this film could practically mirror its 1954 predecessor. And I will admit that this film had a few moments that legitly had me chuckling. Such as one or two scenes involving this homeless guy who gets some screentime during the Godzilla attack, and both times, he just kinda blatantly curses and insults Godzilla. It's silly, adds nothing to the story, and it made me laugh.
I'm giving Godzilla...or The Return of Godzilla, whatever you wanna call it, a nice solid three and a half star rating out of four. While there are indeed times that this movie can drag itself out, the story is told well to keep your attention, and again, there are some things here that are in no other Godzilla film that just make this one stand out as one of the best for me. Hell, I ranked it amongst the top 25 absolute greatest giant monster films out there if any of you remember that list. And I stand by that stance. It's not the model Godzilla film, but it's still one of the many I will recommend, and it pains me to say that I don't officially own it. If Toho would just release it officially over here, I could change that, but my copy will do for now. For those of you who are with me in the states, there is an American edit of this film that you might be able to find, but I believe I can safely say that the original Japanese cut is far superior, though it is cool to see Steve Martin (the reporter from the American 1956 edit of Gojira) back for a small cameo. If you have the resources to get ahold of this film, I'd recommend giving it a look see. It's one of the best starts of any Godzilla era out there, and I'm honestly tempted to go through that era now. Maybe I should.
Please feel free to suggest any films you'd like me to have a look at down below. Leave a comment expressing your own thoughts and opinions on the film itself, and as always, thanks for reading.
Final Verdict: 3.5/4
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