Pre-Ramble Ramble: As I said in Pubski, I’ve been putting off reviewing this film because I just don’t really like watching it anymore. It’s not because it’s a bad movie, because it isn’t, but it also isn’t a great movie, and that’s where the problem lies. If you ever go to more Godzilla focused places on the internet, this movie comes up in discussion a lot. To make a long story short, a lot of fans absolutely fawn over this particular title, often speaking of it like its the Magnum Opus of the Godzilla franchise. I think somewhere along the line, there evolved a counter reaction to this viewpoint, because there are people out there who feel like it’s absolutely awful and will nitpick it to no end. The two sides are so extreme in their views that when I watch this film now, after reading opinion after opinion on it, I find myself flipping back and forth between enjoying it and hating it over and over in a single viewing. It’s an uncomfortable emotional whiplash. I promised myself I’d watch it again this time around, to try to see it with an open mind, and honestly, I really don’t get the polarization. It’s very much a middle of the road film for me and I can’t help but think maybe all this back and forth over it is unnecessary. I do know though, that I don’t really know how to talk about it, so I guess I’m just gonna ramble on and see where things go.
Plotwise, I kind of like this movie. There was a nuclear accident and Godzilla is no longer able to maintain his radiation levels and is starting to burn up, think of it like a fever except of instead of just a spike in body temperature, there’s also an accompanying spike of radiation levels to go along with it. The clock is ticking because if Godzilla isn’t able to get things under control, he’s gonna pop and there’s a good chance he’s gonna take the whole world with him. That part strikes me as a bit ridiculously high stakes, but I’ll talk more about that in a bit. So G-Force and company gotta figure out a way to stop all of this from happening and there’s a guy experimenting with micro-oxygen and everyone figures, “Hey, the Oxygen Destroyer stopped the original Godzilla back in ‘54, we’ll give that a shot again.” Weird stuff happens, a bunch of Precambrian crustaceans were mutated by the original Oxygen Destroyer, and that’s how we get a super weird but kind of cool monster, Destroyah. So then G-Force decides that “Hey, since we got this guy, we don’t need to remake the OG Oxygen Destroyer, so let’s use Godzilla Junior (cause that’s his name now) as a lure to make these other two duke it out.” Stuff happens. Godzilla Junior dies. Destroyah dies. Godzilla dies. We’re treated to a closing shot of Godzilla Junior coming back to life in a triumphant manner because sci-fi, cue the credits with a fan service montage of clips from previous films. Close this chapter of the Godzilla franchise and pass the baton on to Tri-Star for their ‘98 film.
It’s an okay story. It’s also a fan servicey story because it throws back to previous films, namely the original ‘54, by bringing back elements such as the Oxygen Destroyer (man, I’m typing that way too much) as well as previous characters such as Momoko Kochi as Emiko Yamane from Godzilla ‘54 (who is sadly under utilized in this film) and includes her relatives as central characters. We have some clips from the original film sprinkled in towards the beginning, the Super X makes a come back, on and on we go. There’s parts of the script I don’t like though. I’m not a fan of Kenkichi Yamane at all, because through the whole film he comes off as very cold and impertinent. Then there are statements like “If Godzilla does explode, it will be a force greater than all of the atomic weapons on earth and will set our atmosphere on fire” and I can’t help but think that A) that’s a bit over the top, even for a Godzilla film and B) that’s a really bold speculation to make without showing us even a hint of data to back it up. Overall though, it’s not that bad of a script.
Speaking of not that bad, there are a few sub-par special effects decisions in this film. I don’t know if they exist because the creators were pressed for time or budget or talent or what, but they’re there. Know how I said there are a lot of haters who like to nitpick this film? This is something that is brought up repeatedly and while there are some flubs here and there, these flaws really and honestly don’t detract from the film that much. There’s some pretty good special effects too though. I for one think they did a delightful job with Burning Godzilla’s suit and the pyrotechnics are a blast (pun!). The Super X III model struck me as a bit on the cheap and dull end, but I have that complaint about every version of Super X.
If we’re gonna talk special effects and designs, I just gotta talk about Destroyah. He has multiple iterations in this film and as static pieces, every design looks great. He looks menacing, imposing, dangerous, and just downright evil. In action though, every version falls short in their own way. The mini swarms of Destroyah are poorly animated, his second form looks loose and floppy, and his third and final form, while grand and imposing, is too big and clunky to properly animate through suitmation. We only get to see his third and final form walking once, briefly, for less than five seconds. Otherwise, he’s standing still or hanging from wire. It kind of reminds me of the first few films from the Showa Era with King Ghidorah, where the suit is big and ambitious and impressive, but maybe too ambitious, because the special effects team struggle to make it work. Overall though, he’s a fun design, and while he’s not one of my favorite Kaiju, I can see why people like him.
Pacing wise, the film is a bit of an odd mix. On the one hand, we have high stakes and a limited time frame to work with, as Godzilla is a metaphorical ticking time bomb who, if and when he pops, he’s taking the whole world with him. On the other hand though, while there is a sense of urgency to keep this disaster from happening, at least to me, it feels very muted. The film just kind of unwinds at an even pace, even the third act battle. At no time did I ever feel like time was running out, even though there were graphs and clocks and such literally illustrating “OH NO! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!” Maybe that’s just me though.
Speaking of the third act battle, eh, it’s there. It wasn’t awful, but it doesn’t blow me away either. Maybe I’ve seen the film one too many times. I will say though, that I genuinely enjoyed watching the Japanese Military take on Godzilla and for once, be an effective force. Then again, Godzilla was obviously sick and in distress, so it also came across kind of one sided.
I dunno. I just gotta say, it’s not amazing guys, it really isn’t, but neither is it awful. I’m gonna give it a 3/5, because it’s more good than it is bad. I’d really only recommend you see it though if your goal is to see all of the Heisei era of films, see one of the more “important” films in the franchise, or see a flawed yet unique and interesting enemy Kaiju in the form of Destroyah. Otherwise, you can skip it and you’re not missing much.
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It is a noticeable small step up from Space Godzilla though.
YES. I don't know why, but I've been looking forward to this review since you mentioned it in Pubski. I haven't even watched an OG Kaiju film, but something about the way you talk about them is entertaining to me. I'm probably not going to watch Godzilla v. Destroyah, but at least I know some miscellaneous facts about its runtime, production, and the discourse around it! Thanks :)
Absolutely. If there's any films you're interested in or want to talk about, let me know. More importantly, if you ever do watch anything and wanna talk about it, I'm totally game. These kinds of films are totally better when shared with others. :)
This would be my core list. They're all really good options in my opinion and none of them are that hard to track down, with the exception of the Gamera Trilogy which is sadly out of print at the moment. I really hope it gets re-released soon cause I've heard so many good things about it. What did you think of Pacific Rim and Godzilla '98?
I think I'll carve some time out this week for Godzilla '54, since my gut reaction is to go with an absolute classic and build out my understanding of the genre from there! That list reminds me: I've seen Cloverfield, but it's been so long that I can hardly remember all of the details. I remember wishing for more "BIG MONSTER SCARY" and less "College kids can't communicate well!" Pacific Rim is just good fun. I loved the big battles, and I really enjoyed how it was shot (mostly) from a human perspective. They do a great job selling the scale of the battles, and I think the score is perfect. Godzilla '98 was a long, long time ago. I liked it as a kid, but having seen footage of it with adult eyes? Meh. I think it's a bit schlocky, but I'm coming at that with a pretty heavy bias built from years of exposure to people who hate that movie - maybe I'd like it if I gave it a second chance, but there are so many great movies I haven't seen. I'd rather take a risk on something new!
Godzilla '54 is a great start. It's dark and serious, so it doesn't match the tone of the rest of the Showa era, but it's pretty powerful. If I could expand on that just a bit, not that you have to watch these films, but just to talk about the evolution of the era a bit. The next film in the series is Godzilla Raids Again and due to a rushed production, it's a bit of a flawed film. However, it lays down some groundwork for future vs. films. The third film in the series is King Kong v Godzilla and this is where Godzilla becomes more of a colorful character and we the series take a tonal shift into being action and adventure oriented. The fifth film in the series, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster is where we see Godzilla first take on a hero role and on the series evolves from there. There are some really good resources about Godzilla's history that I'm learning a lot from. I think pretty soon I'm gonna make a thread about what I've been reading and watching, because obviously none of this I'm learning through conducting my own research and there's tons of good stuff out there. Besides, credit should be given where credit is due. :) I only watch Cloverfield once every few years, but each time I take away something new from it. I can promise you the heroes aren't as annoying as you remember. At least, I kind of like them. :) The only thing about that film that I don't like is that the filmmakers put in a couple of scenes and images that are reminiscent of 9/11 and I'll definitely go over that when I get around to reviewing it because I definitely have opinions on the matter. I will personally say that each time I've seen the film, I've liked those scenes less and less. That said, they do such an amazing job with so many other things, it's still a great piece. I totally agree with you on Pacific Rim. It's just a treat. I haven't seen that film in years, but I recently rewatched the Cinema Wins video for it and it reminded me of so many reasons of why I like that movie. I'm not as personally as generous in my views towards it, but that doesn't mean I don't find it just delightful. As for Godzilla '98, it's honestly not as bad as people make it out to be. If it had come out under a different title, it probably would have been better received. For tons of obvious reasons though, it just doesn't live up to the public perception of Godzilla or his legacy. All that aside, it still has quite a few flaws, but viewed as an experiment, it's an interesting piece.