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