Godzilla 1985 (1984)

[GL]

“Godzilla 1984” is one of the more decent entries in the series.

**SPOILERS**

Finding a ship lost at sea, reporter Goro Maki, (Ken Tanaka) finds it abandoned except for gigantic parasites. Escaping with lone survivor Hiroshi Okumura, (Shin Takuma) back to Tokyo, he reveals that the parasites are from Godzilla. Keeping it under wraps for fear of a panic, nothing is said about it’s existence until a destroyed Russian submarine is blamed on America. Forced into revealing it’s existence, they call Steve Martin, (Raymond Burr) to help out with his impending return. When Godzilla returns, it’s noticed that he responds to a special bird-call frequency, Professor Hayashida, (Yosuke Natsuki) unveils a special device that will lure him away from the city. Returning and attacking Tokyo, a new machine called Super-X is put into action, but doesn’t stop him and are finally turn to Hayashida’s device in a last-ditch effort to stop him.

The Good News: This was actually pretty good. Godzilla here doesn’t look that bad, and is pretty nice. The fact that some older features made a reappearance on the costume is quite nice, including fangs, ears, four toes, an unsmooth underside of the tail and staggered, crowded but well-detailed dorsal plates, with the largest one at waist level, giving him a rather odd but impressive profile. The neck is short and the head is quite large, with reddish brown eyes underneath the eyelids giving a cold, evil presence. The tail is much longer and more sinuous than ever, and is quite lively which is nice to see. With the deep bellowed roar coming back as well, this is quite a likable Godzilla. The fact that the film relies on him being the single creature in the film gives it a much closer monster-on-the-loose feel than ever before, and allows for Godzilla to have a lot of screen-time inside one of the most simplistic and entertaining stories ever. His entrance is masterful, as a security guard walks outside to thunderous footfalls only to come up against the monster’s foot, and slowly looks up at the creature roaring in the dark. His confrontations with the armed forces provides some great action sequences, including the first landing in Tokyo Bay. The attack by the Super-X inside Tokyo remains the film’s highlight, as a wide variety of tactics are presented from both sides and it has a real flow to it, starting in the outskirts of the city to the heart of the city, and the final method for dispatching the machine is quite inventive. With some great moments during the rampage, especially the sequence where Godzilla’s reflection is cast upon a passing building as he wades through the fiery ruins of Ginza being one of the most impressive shots, that recall the rampage at the end of the first one, and with spectacular scene after another of skyscrapers being destroyed, this one isn’t that terrible. The ending plan to stop his rampage is quite ingenious and is pretty creative, using thought rather than contrivance to explain it and that makes it all the better. This is an all-together decent entry in the series.

The Bad News: Despite updating the film to the present time and the themes of nuclear war and it’s effects being revived, the way it is added into the story is a little flat. They come off as rather forced, and scenes are seemingly there specifically to do moralizing. This is most evident in the subplot involving Cold War conflict and the Russian atomic missile, which should’ve added tension to the story but instead just seems forced into it simply because of the time it came out. Especially weird is the slightly brief shot showing the Captain of a Russian ship launching the missile at Tokyo when Godzilla surfaces, despite many scenes indicating that the two countries were on the same sides. There’s also some really curious scenes added that don’t have any sense, such as the several scenes talking about the need to keep the appearance a secret because of the nuclear ramifications or the blame on the Americans for the Russian nuclear disaster. These don’t do anything other than enforce political rhetoric common at the time instead of some monster movie. There are a couple of really questionable physical qualms about Godzilla’s look. With no musculature in the chest and shoulders, it really reduces the amount of power he has, and having no visible shoulders lowers the look even more. Outside of these, this wasn’t that bad.

The Final Verdict: It’s a decent enough entry in the series, with some good moments and some bad ones mixed in together for a watchable if uneven film. It’s good enough for fans to get into, and it’s good enough for an evening’s rental.