Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) [Tokusatsu Review]

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah; or, Highway to Hell
     First you come and see me to warn me not to make an Oxygen Destroyer. Now you want me to make one?
Citing a popular proverb, all the good things come to an end, and this is also the case with my revisitation of the Godzilla Heisei series. I was a bit reluctant to write this review, especially in view of that fact that I still have conflicting thoughts about the Big G’s 90s swan song that is revered by the fans and considered to be one of the best Godzilla movies out there. Well, here it is, my review of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Release Info

Directed by: Takao Okawara Starring: Megumi Odaka, Yasufumi Hayashi, Sayaka Osawa, Yoko Oshino

Language: Japanese Original Title: ゴジラ対デストロイア Runtime: 103 min

Synopsis
40 years after the detonation of the Oxygen Destroyer by Dr Serizawa that led to the annihilation of the original Godzilla in 1954, a species of tiny, prehistoric creatures emerge from the sea depths and wreak havoc in Tokyo. The United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center travels to Birth Island to monitor Godzilla and his son. It turns out that Godzilla’s heart is nearing a nuclear meltdown. In the meantime, the devilish creatures morph into an indestructible monster called Destoroyah. Hoping that Destoroyah would kill Godzilla and prevent the meltdown that would contaminate Japan, the authorities lure the Big G and his son to Tokyo for a battle against a hellish nemesis.

Animal I Have Become
During the promotion of the film, the producer Shogo Tomiyama stated that Toho wanted to finish with Godzilla while he was still a star. Tomiyama explained that the studio wanted to end the series on a high note while they still had some good ideas. In my opinion, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is an unnecessary entry in the Heisei series, and was made only as a “publicity stunt” (Ryfle 1998: 312) because Toho wanted to get more money out of the franchise before handing it over to Hollywood (see Ronald Emmerich’s 1998 remake).

Why Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is a publicity stunt? Well, from the get-go the studio marketed the movie with a gargantuan tagline “GODZILLA DIES”. They did not even care about the spoilers or the emotional impact of the story. Even the early teaser trailer harkening back to the original 1954 movie contained this premise.

To ensure decent box office returns, producers Tomoyuki Tanaka and Shogo Tomiyama essentially rehired the creative team behind the financially successful Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992); that is, director Takao Okawara, writer Kazuki Omori, composer Akira Ifukube, and F/X director Koichi Kawakita. As a result, on the technical front, the movie is a bombastic mash-up of kaiju fights and action sequences, but storywise, numerous characters and their erratic behaviour water down the gut-wrenching finale.

My biggest problem centres on the subplot concerning Miki Saegusa in this picture. In Godzilla vs. Destroyah, her story arc is essentially thrown out the window because she consciously agrees to put Godzilla Junior in danger, just so the Big G could get killed off. Of course, the whole plan fails miserably. It boggles my mind that Kazuki Omori came up with such an idea for a character that accompanied Godzilla for the previous five films.

Apart from this issue, the second act of the film is essentially a remixed version of Aliens and Jurassic Park as we see multiple, unformed Destoroyahs terrorising a journalist Yukari Yamane (Yoko Ishino) and going up against the military. In the meantime, the scientists continue to theorise over and over again about the Oxygen Destroyer and Godzilla’s nuclear meltdown.

Still, I have to praise the fact that Kazuki Omori tried to turn this Heisei movie into a direct continuation of Godzilla (1954). What is more, the special effects done by Koichi Kawakita are simply top notch across the board, especially in the film’s epic final battle. What is more, maestro Akira Ifukube goes all out in his final gig as the film composer and creates a truly captivating and enthralling music that accompanies Godzilla’s death.

I have to say that I saw the film for the first time on TV in the early 2000s and when I saw the King’s death I could not help but cry. “I want people to look at the death of Godzilla knowing that he was created by nuclear power and the most selfish existence in the world: mankind,” director Okawara explained, and indeed, he accomplished his intention (Ryfle 1998: 313).

It is without a doubt, a beautifully executed sequence. After the end credits rolled, I was genuinely convinced that I saw the all-time best Godzilla movie ever; however… this is the main problem with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The whole weight of wonderful visuals, emotional engagement, and paper-thin plot rests on this one absolutely magnificent sequence. Without it, and the scene that follows immediately after (no spoilers), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah would not have been held in such high regard as it is nowadays.

Recommendations
All in all, as a grown-up Godzilla fan, I appreciate Godzilla vs. Destoroyah for what it is, but I think that this conclusion of the Heisei era was a bit forced by Toho. I prefer more optimistic take on the King of the Monsters as presented in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and even Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Well, please stay tuned for more Toku reviews on the blog soon because I am going to finish my reviews of the Godzilla Millennium series and the Polygon anime trilogy as well.Overall score: 7/10

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