Godzilla vs. Destroyah

Godzilla is dying.  With his body going through a nuclear meltdown, the King of the Monsters is on his last rampage.  What’s worse, the ghost of a weapon once used to destroy Godzilla has emerged as a new kind of monster: Destroyah.  As Godzilla marches towards his final showdown, the potential damage of his demise rises to the point where Godzilla’s meltdown could destroy the planet itself.  Godzilla or Destroyah, whoever wins, all of Mankind could lose.

While the second era of Godzilla, the Hesei Era, is generally well loved, the law of diminishing returns began to affect it with Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla.  Hence, in 1995 the decision was made to close out the series with one final film (even though it wouldn’t be).  And in a decade that also saw DC Comics kill off Superman, Godzilla needed a premise and a foe worthy of being his ultimate challenge.  Does Godzilla vs. Destroyah meet the hefty requirements needed for a proper bow out for the King of the Monsters?
 
Godzilla vs. Destroyah isnt just the culmination of events spanning the entire Hesei Era from 1984’s Godzilla 1985 thru 1994’s Space Godzilla, it also recalls the very beginnings of the franchise with Gojira.  Several prominent cast members are the descendants of legacy characters from previous films, such as the children of Gojira protagonist Dr. Yamane.  And there’s also Megumi Odaka’s psychic Miki Segusa, who has been a main character throughout the Hesei Era.  We also have Destroyah itself being born from the remnants of the weapon used to destroy the original Godzilla back in 1954.  There’s irony in seeing Godzilla come face to face with a monstrosity born out of something that was once humanity’s last hope to stop him.  Intercutting explanations of the Oxygen Destroyer with footage from the original 1954 Gojira only serve to strengthen the sense that the series is coming full circle.  Heck, there’s even a special guest appearance by Momoko Yoichi as Emiko Yamane, a character from Gojira.  Also, Akira Ifukube returns one last time to the deliver one of his best Godzilla scores, invoking excitement, terror and even pure sadness.
 
Godzilla himself has seen better days but that’s not to say his design in this movie isnt one of his best.  The big guy is in a constant state of agony going through a very bad case of heartburn, er a nuclear meltdown.  The glowing red portions of his body are just as scary as Godzilla’s furious face and they look really cool too.  Destroyah also has, in my opinion, one of the best Kaiju designs in the entire series.  There’s a really fun sequence directly influenced by James Cameron’s Aliens where a special forces team fends off an entire swarm of Tiny Destroyah’s before they all come together to create the creatures ultimate form and man oh man, what a reveal.  Destroyah evolves from a crab like creature to a, well Crab Dragon if I could describe it that way, that’s downright demonic in appearance.  If Godzilla is carrying the heat of Hell across the Pacific, then Destroyah is the Devil itself waiting to meet him and the resulting action as intense as things have ever been.  Even Godzilla Junior, now looking more like his dear old Dad only smaller, gets in on the action properly after being an adorable tiny for two other films.
 
What also helps Destroyah stand above other Godzilla films is its emphasis on emotion rather than just Kaiju beatdowns.  Godzilla is dying and there’s no way it can be avoided.  As scary as he looks bringing the destruction, there’s an air of sadness knowing he isnt going to make it out of this one.  Once again, Ikufube’s score emphasizes these stirring emotional moments, particularly for Godzilla himself.  This isnt just the triumphant heroes final charge (though I wouldn’t call Godzilla a hero in this one).  It makes the film quite somber.  In a way, Miki, who holds the record as human character with the most frequent appearances in the entire franchise, is the audience surrogate, having formed a genuine connection with both Godzilla and Junior (in a way she’s been Junior’s surrogate Mom in other movies), when she cries for the two monsters, you do too. 
 
While Miki does get a decent conclusion to her tale across six movies, the other human characters are not as interesting.  Like I said, some are tied to characters from the original movie, but for the most part they and many others don’t have character arcs of their own.  Anytime we aren’t focused on Miki, Godzilla, Destroyah or Junior, we cut to a room with people just explaining things for the audiencne and wondering how they can stop the oncoming Godzilla meltdown.  Most Godzilla films are guilty of having really stupid human subplots that distract from the overall action.  Here, everyones just a walking scientific Wikipedia.  Besides Miki, the only character who sees any kind of action is reporter Yukari Yamane, who ends up in a scene very reminiscent of one from Jurassic Park when she gets up close and personal with a Tiny Destroyah.
 
The humans might not invoke much from the audience but everything else about Godzilla vs. Destroyah certainly does.  The Kings final bow (for the moment) is full of epic clashes, hellish imagery, tear jerking emotional beats and a sense of completion.  Complimented by the music of a man who brought Godzilla’s theme to life in 1954 and a brutal and heart punching final act, this really is Godzilla’s ultimate challenge and one of his very best films since his first debut.  Yes, you will believe a Godzilla film can make you cry.  Hail to the King Baby.
 
9/10

But of course, much like DC and Superman, Godzilla would return after a four year hiatus, but we’ll get to that in two weeks. Next Monday we’re looking at why Toho decided to kill of Godzilla…and arguably decided to bring him back again just as quickly.  Hope you’re ready for “a lot of fish”, we’re checking out Godzilla (1998), Next Monday, right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.