The Return of Godzilla (1984)

[ゴジラ]

Director: Koji Hashimoto
Starring: Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki

Synopsis:
The return of Godzilla stokes tensions with the Americans and the Soviets as Japan tries to deal with the threat.

Impressions:
This movie serves as a soft reboot for the franchise, sweeping away all of the Showa Era films save for the original to make way for the Heisei Era. This is a return to the series' roots with a darker story and a Godzilla who's an unambiguously antagonistic force. Whereas the later Shin Godzilla is a critique of the government, here the government gets portrayed far more favorably with the Prime Minister standing up to both the Americans and the Soviets in a way I don't think we would've seen in the real world at the time. The human side of the story isn't all that compelling, but we get some decent rampages from Big Daddy G. The effects are generally pretty good, but the design of the Special X is a bit hokey. Overall, it's worth seeing, especially if you want a reprieve from the camp of the Showa Era sequels.

Rating:
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