Hey everyone. I'm a big fan of Godzilla and I wanted to have a post where I can discuss my love of the franchise and a place where the fans can discuss the movies that Godzilla has appeared in. I'm going to make this similar to another discussion bo...
Hey everyone and welcome back to another Godzilla Discussion. In today's chapter we begin our journey through the 2nd Godzilla series known as the Heisei series. When it comes to the Heisei series It definitely feels the most consistent in terms of continuity with every movie taking place one after the other.
(BTW you got to love those old school trailers, they're hilarious.)
Anyways, this one is a bit unique. There are 2 very different versions of this movie. There's the original Return of Godzilla cut and the North American cut known as Godzilla 1985 which once again sees the great Raymond Burr Reprising his role as Steve Martin from the original Godzilla King of the Monsters film. (The North American re-edit of the original 1954 film Gojira that is).
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Both movies in essence cover the same basic plot structure (As in the only film in continuity with this movie is the original film and none of the sequels are considered cannon to it) but the Godzilla 1985 cut in essence just has Raymond Burr in a room spouting exposition without really doing anything. At least in Godzilla King of the Monsters he was in Japan and at the events in Godzilla's path and they just had it to where he interacted with the Japanese characters. In this movie it looks like they filmed all of his scenes in a weekend and got paid for it. Thankfully he doesn't phone it in and he actually does a good job with the material. Originally the company releasing the North American version wanted to make it more comedic but Raymond Burr objected to the idea because he thought that they should take the idea of Godzilla as a nuclear metaphor seriously. So kudos to him. Also, there was a lot of Cold War era tension in the film so yeah there's that.
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Plot: Godzilla shows up 30 years later to once again cause havoc on Japan. He's a lot bigger and meaner than before and they have to try to stop him. So it's pretty much the same as most Godzilla movies.
The miniatures and the Godzilla suit have all been updated and look much better than anything in the Shōwa series. I really like the design of this Godzilla. He's a lot more menacing and scarier looking than he was before.
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Godzilla's first major appearance in the film is rather eerie. He's in the shadows and all you hear is the sound of his footsteps along with his roar. Then we finally get the reveal. It does a great job establishing the pure menacing side to him.
Eventually, Godzilla makes his way to Tokyo. The military does their best to try to stop him but it's no good. Nothing seems to be doing anything. That is until the military unveiled their new "Super Weapon" known simply as "The Super X"
The design of this thing is pretty simple. But, it is powerful. Even managing to hurt Godzilla. Although he does get back up and annihilate this thing which is a pretty great scene to watch.
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In the end these scientists are able to lure Godzilla to a volcano and trap him in there. The ending with the music is actually kind of sad to watch. Even though the Godzilla 1985 cut isn't as good as the Return of Godzilla cut. I do prefer the ending with Raymond Burr's narration. It kind of adds to it for me. Even though it seems like Godzilla dies in this movie. The truth of the matter is that he just sort of stays trapped in the volcano until the next movie. (Godzilla vs. Biollante) But, going into this movie without knowing that makes this scene seem more effective.
Final thoughts. While I think this is a pretty good Godzilla movie I wouldn't call it one of my favorites. It's somewhat in the upper middle of the series for me. Godzilla is great in it. But, I kind of wish that he fought another monster in it. As far as the characters go. They're kind of bland too. Nothing all that special about them. (With the exception of Raymond Burr in the 1985 cut. But, even then he's still not all that important to the movie. If your a Godzilla fan. It's definitely worth checking out.
Anyways, that's all I have to say about this movie. If you want to talk about this movie some more leave your thoughts in the comments below and we can continue to discuss more Godzilla! As always thanks for reading and I'll be back soon to talk about the next entry in the series! Godzilla vs Biollante!
