The Return of Godzilla (1984) [Tokusatsu Review]

Godzilla 1984; or, Return of the King!

With the premiere of Legendary’s Godzilla in May 2014, a renaissance period arose for Kaiju films. Not only we have a new Gamera movie announced, but also Toho’s Godzilla Resurgence (Summer 2016) is in preparations as well as Godzilla 2 from Legendary to hit the screens in 2018. In view of such wonderful times for Kaiju fans, it seems fitting to discuss other past attempts to resurrect king of the monsters after long periods of his cinematic absence. The first such try was made in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla, or simply Gojira (not to be confused with original Gojira 1954) as the Japanese title says.

Release Info

Directed by: Koji Hashimoto Starring: Ken Tanaka, Yosuke Natsuki, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Keiju Kobayashi
Language: Japanese Original Title: Gojira Runtime: 103 min

 

Plot

30 years after the heartbreaking annihilation of Godzilla from the first movie, the king re-awakens (although, it is not explicitly stated that he is indeed the same Godzilla from the original film and confusion about it only increases in the following Heisei films) after a volcanic eruption on Daikoku Island. The only survivor of a nearby fishing vessel, Hiroshi (Shin Takuma), is found by a reporter Goro (Ken Tanaka) and the two inform the authorities about the incident. As the politicians argue what to do with Godzilla, Professor Hayashida (Yosuke Natsuki) along with his assistant Naoko (Yasuko Sawaguchi) step into action, trying to devise a form of communication with Godzilla and lure him to Mount Mihara where he would fall into the volcano.

A New Hope

It’s been ten years since the premiere of Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) when the king was finally brought back. This is certainly not a return in style, but it has some interesting things. The primary fault of this movie is the fact that it’s completely anti-climatic. In the opening sequence, the viewers expect that Godzilla will attack the fishing vessel, whereas the fishermen are massacred by a mutated parasite that was attached to the king. What is more, throughout the majority of the picture there are absolutely no fighting sequences. We are only shown Godzilla destroying a Russian submarine, a nuclear plant, and then proceeding to a full rampage in Tokyo. Maybe not including any monster but a ridiculous aircraft called Super-X wasn’t such a good idea. Another disappointing thing is Godzilla’s appearance. The overall outlook seems quite decent, but he has a damn eye squint! It’s extremely distracting when watching him in action.

 

Nevertheless, apart from the abovementioned disadvantages, I really appreciate the serious and dark tone of the movie. The music score, although not made by Akira Ifukube, fits perfectly and sounds really refreshing. In addition, I think that the topic of nuclear weapon was much well handled here than in the 1954 original. As both Russia and the United States try to convince Japan to nuke the king, the Prime Minister Mitamura (Keiju Kobayashi) remains steadfast with his decision against it. Yet, by pure coincidence, the weapon is indeed launched at the king , which constitutes the most beautiful sequence of the whole picture.

 

In addition to this, the final scene is quite moving, despite the fact that the king was again modelled as an antagonist here. On a side note, I don’t get what’s the fuss about the ending of the movie in American Cut and Godzilla’s scream. I watched the original cut first and to me, the slow-motion fall without any sound is just perfect.

Speaking about the American version of The Return of Godzilla. I literally had to force myself in order to watch this. In contrast to Godzilla: King of the Monsters from 1956, there’s absolutely nothing that makes this film deserve a standalone review. Not only about 30 minutes of footage was cut out and a standard crappy English dub added, but also the whole nuclear weapon sequence was changed (to make more politically correct at that time). The only thing worth watching in this waste of tape is Raymond Burr himself (reprising his role as a journalist Steven Martin). He did awesome and I loved his monologue towards the end of the film. It’s a shame that Toho never engaged him into any official Godzilla project.

Recommendations

All in all, it’s a safe to watch Godzilla film. Don’t expect neither anything breathtaking nor sheer nonsense of the late Showa entries. The Return of Godzilla sets the tone for the rest of the Heisei series (which, in my opinion, is the best one) and the situation only improves with Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Overall score: 7/10

Armour of God (1986) [Film Review]

Armour of God; or, Jackie Chan and the Temple of Lunatic Satanist Monks

When talking about Hong Kong cinema it seems as quite a fool’s errand not to mention one of its greatest pillars. The one and only epic, ass-kicking, kid-friendly, and politically correct stuntman/actor/director/(occasional) singer, Jackie Chan.

Release Info

Directed by: Jackie Chan Starring: Jackie Chan, Alan Tam, Lola Forner, Rosamund Kwan

Language: Cantonese Original Title: Long xiong hu di Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 88 min (US cut)

Plot

In this movie Jackie plays... Jackie (as in most of his films), but to be more specific, Asian Hawk, a ruthless treasure hunter who, unlike Indiana Jones, tracks down valuable artifacts and later sells them in auctions to make a profit. Well, Jackie’s abilities in field are so impressive that a group of Satan-worshipping monks decide to blackmail him so that he could get for them a complete set of the so-called Armour of God (the only five remaining pieces of weapon with which the Crusaders defeated the Pagans). In order to carry out their plan, the devilish monks kidnap Jackie’s friend Lorelei (Rosamund Kwan). With the help of her fearful fiancé Alan (Alan Tam), eccentric Count Bannon (Bozidar Smiljanic) and his daughter May (Lola Forner), fearless Asian Hawk rushes to the rescue.

A Classy-ish Jackie Chan’s picture

Armour of God was made at the height of Jackie Chan’s cinematic career. After  such successful and unforgettable action flicks as Drunken Master, Project A, and Police Story, the fearless action man decided it would be a good idea to have a take on Indiana Jones-style of entertainment... Well, he was wrong. In my opinion, Armour of God is probably the weakest directorial entry out of all Jackie’s classics from the 1980s.

The primary flaw of this movie is the screenplay. Whereas the idea of Jackie Chan going on a treasure hunt sounds quite cool, the way the whole thing is written feels quite... embarrassing. First of all, the characters are horribly drafted and there’s no sense of chemistry between them. Initially Jackie/Asian Hawk looks a bit uninterested when his effeminate friend Alan begs him to help. Later, when the two finally resolve to cooperate, they go to Count Bannon who also doesn’t give a damn about the whole issue (having three pieces of the Armour covered in dust in the corner of his room). On top of that, there’s also May, the blandest character of all, whose communication abilities when convincing her father to let her go on an adventure come down to nasally produced “Hmmm”...

Additionally, the plot holes are numerous. I understand that while watching Jackie Chan’s flicks, it's a required necessity to suspend our disbelief, but in this case, it goes beyond the limits. For example, what kind of a plan is that to kidnap a treasure hunter’s friend in order to make him find the artifact? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just hire him? Or, May conveniently falls asleep while a possessed Alan and Lorelei steal the Armour. Or, when trying to get to the monk’s temple, Jackie and Alan dress up in robes and it’s a perfect disguise for two Asians in a truck full of European whores...

However, when posing such harsh statements, by no means do I intend to criticise the action sequences of the picture. Jackie, as always, did a splendid job with these. These are a true pleasure to watch, right from the opening intro with an African tribe, through a bombastic car chase in a village town, to an epic showdown with a Grand Wizard (Ken Boyle) and his team of Grace Jones’ choir girls.

The pain of US Cuts

Maybe, partially the faults of this particular film are due to the Miramax version that is widely available on Blu-Ray and DVD formats. Apart from a horrible English dub (in which Jackie has no sense of intonation) and soundtrack re-scoring to make it sound like from a work-out vhs cassette, roughly 10 minutes of the original footage were cut out (allegedly, to increase the pacing...). I’m still on the lookout for the uncut Hong Kong version of Armour of God, but so far without success.

Recommendations

In spite of aforementioned issues, Action (with a capital A) is what makes Armour of God a watchable and entertaining film. If you like Jackie Chan films, you can safely watch it, but remember to take the story’s idiocies with a pinch of salt. Thankfully, Jackie learned his writing mistakes and in 1991 made the almost flawless Armour of God 2: Operation Condor. Later, he unlearned everything with the horrible Armour of God 3: Chinese Zodiac.

Overall score: 6/10

To Live (1994) [Film Review]

To Live; or, The Irony of Existence

What did you name our son?

           “Don’t-Gamble”

This weeks’ review will be about a Chinese historical epic film directed by Zhang Yimou and the only motion picture from his filmography that was actually banned in mainland China.

Release Info 

Directed by: Zhang Yimou Starring: Ge You, Gong Li, Liu Tanchi, Fei Deng

Language: Mandarin Original Title: Huózhe Movie Industry: PRC Runtime: 125 min

Plot

Meet Xu Fugui (Ge You), a wealthy property owner and a compulsive gambler with a strong tendency to lose. At one of the gambling sessions, he actually loses his family house, rendering in this way his wife Jiazhen (Gong Li) and children homeless. Nevertheless, Fugui finds a way to make a living. He travels through China with a shadow puppet troupe, raising in this manner enough money to open up a shop. Unfortunately, his run of luck is abruptly stopped by the Second World War, or, to be more precise, the conflict between the Kuomitang and the Communists. When Fugui returns to his hometown as Mao Zedong takes control of the country, a penniless family has to learn how to survive in the People’s Republic of China.

The irony of fate

The movie is based on a novel by the Chinese novelist Yu Hua who grew up in the times of Cultural Revolution which had a profound, and negative, influence on him. Both the book and the film are a direct critique of Communism. The action of To Live begins in the 1930s, the period when there were still class boundaries within Chinese society. Thus obviously, Fugui, with his family fortune, belonged to the Upper Class. However, losing everything he owned paradoxically saved him from getting killed by the Communists. Instead of him, the guy who won the house was publically slaughtered. In addition, Fugui assured the kindness of local authorities by presenting a congratulatory letter from the revolutionary army (for entertaining the communist soldiers with his puppets everyday). These are the elements of black comedy that Zhang Yimou conveys in the story. Nevertheless, To Live is primarily a hardcore drama.

Parental instincts

The story is not so much about the survival of a nuclear family in extreme circumstances, but the inevitable failure to do so. Whereas Fugui entertains fellow comrades with his feudal puppets, Jiazhen works hard every morning distributing water, not mentioning the children: Fengxia (Fei Deng) and Youqing (Liu Tanchi) who constantly have to show their “spirit of comradeship” at school. Yet, Communism as an unlawful system, in fact, deprives Fugui and Jiazhen of their children in the most tragic way possible. In the end, the family survives the worst (sort of) but the price they had to pay for “life” involved a lot of suffering.

Recommendations

I recommend this movie to anyone who is very into political matters and would like to finally see something that exposes Communism for what it actually is, a ruthless brain-washing criminal system run by the tyrants, for the tyrants. Yet, the image of China presented in the picture may seem as an already outdated one (for as we all know China is constantly expanding economically); nevertheless, the movie’s still worth watching for a vivid depiction of the Cultural Revolution. In addition, if you enjoy Zhang Yimou films, it’s a must watch.

Overall score: 8/10