Gojira vs. Desutoroiâ

When I first saw this movie, I hoped this would have more of a brooding, menacing feel to it than it did. I half expected them to return more to the tone of the 1954 GOJIRA, especially since they made so many other references to the original, like bringing back Momoko Kochi as Emiko.

Instead, G. vs. Desutoroia was shot in the usual nervous style of the Heisei series, which so irritated me at first that I found myself counting seconds, to see if ANY SHOT in the whole movie would make it to ten.

On repeated viewings, though, I felt the movie held together better than most of the others in the 'new' Godzilla series. As usual, the human characters seem simply to be along for the ride (the exception is G. vs. Mechagodzilla (II), where I found myself actually caring what went on between the humans). In this case, it's only natural that the Big G. takes center stage.

The final moments are absolutely amazing. Akira Ifukube's classic "the-army-mobilizes-against-Godzilla" theme is heard for probably the last time: not as the usual march, but in a slow choral arrangement that will tear the heart out of any Godzilla fan...

Godzilla may be back in the form of the new, improved Little Godzilla, but PLEASE someone reassure me that we've finally seen the last of that psychic Miki Saegusa. By the time the Heisei series was over, I knew more about Godzilla's inner life than I did about hers. IMHO the whole Psychic thing added nothing to the continuing story... give her a 900 number and an infomercial and keep her out of Godzilla Millennium!

When I first heard about this latest movie, I knew that it was going to be a good one. It is, and MORE! The special effects, the storyline, and, of course, the cataclysmic confrontation between the Big Green Guy and this malignant, super-powerful force of destruction appropriately named DESTROYAH! He smothers King Ghidorah as Godzilla's most powerful adversary after just one battle!

This truly isn't your father's Godzilla, and the sheer brutality of this new series proves it. With the creation of these movies, Godzilla has reclaimed something he hasn't had in a while: ATTITUDE! Meaner, bigger, and more powerful than ever, a true 'G fan' such as myself loves it!

The ending was a heartbreaker. Godzilla's body could no longer take over 40 years of radioactivity, as well as an ongoing war with Destroyah (he is one, bad...shut yo'mouth!) Now I hear that a new Godzilla movie is looming on the horizon. I knew that this movie couldn't be the last one. Godzilla is IMMORTAL! I would like to see him take on Destroyah in his vintage form.

On a Godzilla movie scale of 1 to 10, I give 'Gojira VS Desutoroia' a TWELVE!

This was the last Godzilla film in the Heisei series, and it certainly topped all the rest. All the stops were pulled out to make this one a fantastic and explosive film that made July 4th a real firecracker.

First, they are trying to develop some new chemical to kill Godzilla and they create some really neat looking creatures that look somewhat like a crab or a lobster with a long neck and a head. I really don't think Godzilla will have any trouble with these things as one spent five minutes trying to get a girl our of a car and couldn't do it before he was destroyed.

But, the creatures apparently form in to one Destroyer and this one kills Baby Godzilla. Godzilla arrives to do battle and what a battle it is. The fireworks were spectacular and the sound track was marvelous.

Add to the mix a space shuttle-like super jet piloted by a cross between Tom Cruise and Will Smith and these babies don't stand a chance. Since this is the end of the series, you know Godzilla will die, but you can be sure that he will likely comeback in some form in the future.

I liked this movie because it had some connection with the original Godzilla movie of '54. I finally learned what happened to Shinkichi and Dr. Kyohei Yamane after the original Godzilla movie. Shinkichi got adopted by Dr. Yamane (!) What a great story line, and Shinkichi's son and daughter carries on the mantle of their father.

I've read some of the comments made by other Godzilla fans for this movie and their complaint is basically what I've been saying about these movies all the time - That Toho has very bad casting. I understand that it's cheaper for them to use their in house actors, but they probably have no aspirations to improve their acting or to be a good actor because they're on salary and don't have to worry about where their pay checks are coming from. More over, they might think that nail that sticks out gets hammered and tries not to stand out. Hence, the movies made have no central focus and plot meanders.

But out of all the '90s Godzilla movies, I thought this one did have better plots and better casting. Special effects was great with Godzilla appearing in places its never been seen like Hong Kong and its body spewing steam due to heat generated from within. It was also good to see Kochi Momoko reprise her role as Emiko Yamane in her last appearance before her demise in 1999 (Now if they had Akira Takarada's character in this movie too it would have been 100% better but...).

So this is the end? No, meanwhile they found a way to revive Godzilla. But 1995, it was supposed to be. In order to close the circle, "Godzilla vs Destoroyah' referred directly to the first Godzilla movie from 1954. The monster Destroyah is a result of the `oxygen destroyer' used back then to fight Godzilla. Toho Studios really managed to tie up the loose strings here, giving us a rather dark action adventure, picking up the environmentally hazardous theme from `Godzilla vs Hedora', but at the same time have Godzilla junior return without becoming as childish as in `Son of Godzilla' 1967. If you see Godzilla glowing red with radioactivity (i.e. throughout the entire movie!), you almost feel the pain. Great flick, shouldn't miss in anyone's monster movie collection.