Le Retour de Godzilla

After nearly a decade of silence, the Godzilla series makes a return with a film that sought to resurrect the thematic potential seen at it's inception. While Terror of Mechagodzilla was never intended to end the series, it would serve as a send off as the series succumbed to a struggling film industry. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka sought to revive the series in the modern era with a more thoughtful and politically driven film that attempts to harken back to the original. With this film I'd say that Toho was overall successful.

The moody tone is were the strength of the film lies as it attempts to bring back the horror element of Godzilla. Th slower pace gives the monster a more grandiose entrance and makes his rampage feel like an actual disaster. The characters express disbelief that Godzilla has returned, showing that despite all the economic prosperity Japan has achieve, the shadow of Godzilla and what the monster represents still looms. This is emphasized by the first half of the film with a strong focus on the response of the Japanese government as well as the involvement of the United States and Soviet Union. It's very much a tactical film that allows for build up. The side-effect however is that this takes away some of the development for our main characters. There are some interesting ideas given to them, but they aren't full explored as deep as they should be. Still, there are some stand out performance such as Keiju Kobayashi as the Prime Minster. Despite his limited role, he gives the film some much needed pathos. Some of the foreign actors aren't that good but I don't hold it against film aimed first and foremost to a Japanese audience.

Special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano is finally given a budget to showcase his talents. The towering landscape of the Tokyo skyline is recreated in wonderful miniaturized detail. There are so many small details to appreciate like signs, billboards and the lights inside windows. Another thing to note is the scale as the modern skyscrapers of Tokyo manage to tower over Godzilla in size. The design is also quite nice, with Godzilla having large expressive eyes and sharp dragone-sque fangs. There are a few hiccups such as the use the giant animatronic that doesn't match the suit, as well as the giant life-size Godzilla foot. Sill it doesn't detract from all the effort and hard work shown on screen. Another issue is that there are moments where Godzilla feels rather aimless. Still, he does have a great presence and the musical score from Reijiro Koroku really helps accentuate the tone the film is going for. It is menacing as well as tragic.

While it is often cited as the birth of the Heisei era, it just as easily could be viewed as a final hurrah for the Showa era. It was technically made in the Showa era, and much of the crew were holdovers from the prior films. It really serves as a transitional point caught between two eras as the Godzilla series would be taken on by a new generation of filmmakers. While it may be slow at times, for anyone who enjoys the tone and artistry of these films, they will find plenty to appreciate here.

This reboot of the Godzilla franchise is not outstanding, but it's solid enough. The Cold War fears of nuclear proliferation are played out by the Americans and Soviets both advocating the use of nuclear weapons to destroy Godzilla and promising that it would be "contained to a small area," while the Japanese prime minister expresses grave concerns about that, and his forces focus on more controlled, scientific methods. Privately, they express worry that the superpowers are only offering to do it because they want to test and practice with their nuclear arsenal, and wonder if they would use them on their own soil, which were nice bits of cynicism. Both sides also have nuclear space weapons, the control of which becomes as big a threat as Godzilla itself. The only thing I rolled my eyes over was how poor the actor who played the American envoy was, though mercifully it's a small part.

As for Godzilla's foot-stomping, tail-swinging, atomic energy-breathing mayhem, the special effects are hit and miss even accounting for the film being 40 years old, but there are some cool moments, like when he lifts up a train and looks inside. Otherwise it's as if he's walking through Tokyo like a drunken sailor, wreaking havoc. I always think he should be tilted forward, like modern representations of theropods, but this is of course the original kaiju. The film has him representing nuclear weaponry, forever loose in the world after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, immortal and always a threat to destroy blindly, which certainly resonates, as does the view one character expresses that the monsters are an indication of imbalance in the world and a sign of the "end times for humanity."

After an extended break, Godzilla as a movie force made its comeback with this the 16th Godzilla film and the first of what would be the Heisei series. It's a reboot that basically follows on from the original Gojira film of 1954. Plot has Godzilla back as a destroyer of mankind, setting its eyes on stomping Tokyo into oblivion. As Zilla goes about its destructive way, and Tokyo attempts to repel the onslaught, there's a backdrop of a diplomatic crisis reaching boiling point as the Soviets and the Americans get ready for nuclear war. Thankfully the Japanese are able to convince the sane politicians that it is in fact Godzilla at the crux of things. Can the world powers join together to defeat the mightiest of lizards?

If a Godzilla fan you could be forgiven for going into this one fearing the worst, and yet it ticks many of the boxes for those who prefer Zilla as the destroyer of mankind as opposed to the saviour of mankind that the Showa period ended up as. There's the standard amount of miniatures and sets destruction, splendidly constructed as usual, nifty effects work and a whole bunch of iconic images to take from the experience (Zilla atomic breath destruction, stomping through the city, nuclear reinvigoration, back from the dead with awesome carnage following). There's good sci-fi within as well, such as the Japanese scientists having created a super fortress known as Super X, while sometimes all you need is to hear that brilliant roar followed by lizard devastation.

This was a return to the dark roots of Godzilla, complete with anti-nuclear sentiments. It didn't reinvent the wheel, but it did restart it successfully. 7/10

This has a much more modern feel compared to the earlier ones but it's still dated. The special effects are substantially better, so is the cinematography, Godzilla actually looks huge now! The nuclear power plant scene is amazing and so is the city smashing. The opening is really gross, no way it should be a PG rating! This does have a serious tone. Sadly it suffers from a very boring middle section of endless political chatter. The story follows Godzilla (1954) and ignores all other sequels but also ignores that he died in the first film so to me it would have been better as a remake. I loved the life size Godzilla foot prop and the animatronic head. The music is mostly good music. Shame about the middle but easily the best Godzilla action so far.

It's pretty much a sequel to the original. Much darker in tone and that's the way I always envisioned it. I think there are a bunch of versions of this with some scenes added and product placement. Try and find the english dubbed version of it with no alteration to the plot.