The Heisei era and all of its glory. *Warning, spoilers within*
The Return of Godzilla
Long before rebooting became a whip owned by Hollywood to be abused on franchises in desperate need of rest, “Godzilla” found itself due for a large scale reimagining after a bizarre descent into incoherency resulting in increasingly lower box office returns by the mid-70s. Unlike most modern day examples of the practice however, not only was this franchise in desperate need of reinvention but the resulting product, “The Return of Godzilla,” debuted as one of the best films of the franchise and heralded with it, the Heisei era, a golden age of Kaiju filmmaking.
Similarly to what many films of the millennium era would do, “The Return of Godzilla” sidesteps the events of the Showa era by creating a world in which none of the previous films of the franchise existed, with the lone exception of “Gojira.” The departure of past continuity abandoned the series’ events, many of the characters and most notably, the tone of all of the Godzilla’s past sequels.
The film’s tone is much darker than even “Gojira” and is perhaps the most morbid entry of the franchise even to this very day. The portrayal of Godzilla as the wrath of nature is taken to that of a higher degree than ever before; He’s vicious, angry, dangerous and unlike the first Godzilla, he has a vendetta against humanity. Yet, for all of his malicious intent, never had he been portrayed in a more sympathetic light.
Despite boundless rage that this incarnation of Godzilla carries with him, his anger comes off less as a blind prejudicial hatred and more like a confused animal lashing out at the surroundings that he doesn’t understand.
His tragedy of being unable to find peace in the world of man gives him a far grimmer edge than he had ever had and is eventually developed on over the course of the next 10 years to give us a more “human” Godzilla.
*Spoiler alert for the ending of "Return of Godzilla"*
As an antihero, Godzilla ultimately proved to be more fascinating than ever before. His actions seemed more logical, his attacks more ruthless and a consistent element across the entire series is his relatively unheroic actions despite the presence of several antagonistic monsters that intend to cause more damage to the human race than himself. This meant that while he would always take on whatever monster dared to step in on his territory, what he did to the humans afterward was not always necessarily predictable, as opposed to the Showa era Godzilla, that typically left for home after his work was done.
The new portrayal of Godzilla in “The Return of Godzilla” made his character development a centerpiece of the entire series bringing a warm element of humanity to the franchise that it had never quite had before; an element demonstrated no better than in the final three entries of its era in which the King must contend with "fatherhood."
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2
If “Return of Godzilla’s” ever needed validation as to whether or not rebooting the series was a good idea, one would need to look no further than the “trilogy” that brought “Heisei Godzilla” to a close.
“Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2,” “Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla,” and especially, “Godzilla vs. Destroyah” are not only in the running for best films of the franchise after “Gojira” but are solid works of science fiction in their own right and masterpieces of storytelling for the genre. While the writing and direction was overall outstanding, save for key moments of “Space Godzilla,” most of the success of this string of films can be attributed to a certain little guy’s effect on Godzilla.
Introduced as Baby Godzilla in “Mechagodzilla 2” and hatched from a clutch of eggs that had no connection to Godzilla himself, Godzilla Junior came into the series just before it could get stale and threw a new X factor into the already unpredictable nature of the antiheroic Godzilla’s behavior by giving him a more personal stake in his activities.
In its own right however, “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2” is still a good film even if you strip it of its franchise’s baggage. One of the biggest mistake that the franchise tends to make is using human characters to do nothing more than contextualize the kaiju conflict. In “Mechagodzilla 2,” not only are these characters well defined in their motivations regarding their involvement with the Godzilla conflict, but the emotion surrounding the conflict rings true and makes the revelation of the outcome all the more desirable. One may be able to predict what direction the ending will go down, but the desire for these characters to get what is best for them makes the journey all the more compelling.
This holds especially true when the conflict in question involving will decide the ultimate fate of Baby Godzilla, who is friendly and adorable in his baby form but must nevertheless force the protagonists that wish to care for him to face the truth; he will ultimately grow up and potentially treat him as the threat to humanity that most kaiju have shown themselves to be.
With Godzilla closing in on Japan, drawn to Baby by a telepathic connection that they share as the last of their kind, the military break out Mechagodzilla as their trump card while Godzilla specialists and Baby’s caretakers Miki Saegusa and Azusa Gojo struggle with the fact that despite their love of Baby, the best thing to do for everybody including him, is to let him go and live with his “adoptive father.”
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
While “Space Godzilla” isn’t quite on par with either its prequel or sequel, it is nonetheless a fun ride that builds well off of the events of “Mechagodzilla 2,” actualizing on the possibilities of Godzilla Junior’s existence and showing how much more dangerous Godzilla can be when he has something to fight for.
The heart in this one is carried solely by Junior and Godzilla’s bond in the face of a clone of himself that may be just as powerful as he is. Just another small reminder of how much character development Godzilla has undergone despite having no dialogue for obvious reasons. The movie is essentially an improved remake of the much hokier “Son of Godzilla” and is more of a fun intermediate ride than a work of greatness.
Fortunately it effectively serves the purpose of whetting the appetite before the Heisei era’s grand finale.
Godzilla vs. Destroyah
Until this year, save for two Millennium era entries of the franchise, this was pretty much the end of Godzilla as far as I’m concerned. Nothing made after this movie comes even close to the powerful note that its final 20 minutes end on, let alone the strength of the film as a whole.
“Godzilla vs. Destroyah” is one of those rare, franchise defining films that manages to encapsulate every great element of a long running series in a single product so superb in execution, that future installments are doomed to forever be measured up to its greatness.
The final installment of the franchise sees the King of Monsters going into a nuclear meltdown after having worked up and absorbed more energy than he can handle. The new “Burning Godzilla” is more powerful than ever but the energy boost proves to only be temporary as the building meltdown is estimated to occur within days and will take out the entire planet if it comes to fruition.
Meanwhile, a new monster is born from the Oxygen Destroyer compound that destroyed the original Godzilla in 1954. Humanity is left to lead Godzilla into one final battle before figuring out how to extinguish him before his meltdown ends the world as we know it.
Conceived of as means to put the series on hiatus in order to make room for the then upcoming American “Godzilla” film released in 1997, “Godzilla vs. Destroyah” can be best described as the “final exam” of kaiju film during the Heisei era. Every usable idea was put on display and linked together in a story that closed out the events of its predecessors by providing closure to dangling threads and celebrating the legacy of its franchise.
The tie-ins of the oxygen destroyer and Momoko Kōchi’s role reprisal as Emiko Yamane from the original served to revere the legacy of “Gojira,” while additionally shoring up continuity across the series but also managed to apply the film’s original themes to a modern context constructed by many films that had come before it. In essence, this is the ultimate Godzilla sequel because it builds off of the themes and tropes of “Gojira” but it could never have been made if the franchise hadn't stepped so far away from what made the first film so powerful.
The juxtaposition of Godzilla’s uncontrollable rage with the genuine love he feels for his adopted son makes him more identifiable than he had ever been in the series while making him more of a literal personification of director Ishiro Honda’s original nuclear metaphor.
Meanwhile humanity’s treatment of him as a force of nature that must be reacted to shows something of an evolution regarding their understanding of the natural order, leaving their complete dehumanization of Godzilla to be balanced by their consultant Miki Saegusa, who has watched his development over the last 10 years and knows that there is more than just a rabid beast under his monstrous exterior. All of these conflicts along with the fate Junior resolve themselves in an emotion filled climax that properly exalts the King’s legacy into something more spiritual.
Over the course of the Heisei era, Godzilla has been significantly grounded to a more mortal level despite what he is capable of but as a capper to his story, he is immortalized within this world by a clever ending that retains the tragedy of all that is lost within the film yet leaves audiences a final reminder that what Godzilla represents, can never be destroyed.
“Godzilla vs. Destroyah” is truly difficult to discuss to those who have not seen it. Every moment is so intrinsically tied together that even spoilers don’t do justice to what works so well about the film, as every piece adds together to create a whole up until the final seconds of the film that is so beautiful, it must be seen to be believed.
The tie-ins of the oxygen destroyer and Momoko Kōchi’s role reprisal as Emiko Yamane from the original served to revere the legacy of “Gojira,” while additionally shoring up continuity across the series but also managed to apply the film’s original themes to a modern context constructed by many films that had come before it. In essence, this is the ultimate Godzilla sequel because it builds off of the themes and tropes of “Gojira” but it could never have been made if the franchise hadn't stepped so far away from what made the first film so powerful.
The juxtaposition of Godzilla’s uncontrollable rage with the genuine love he feels for his adopted son makes him more identifiable than he had ever been in the series while making him more of a literal personification of director Ishiro Honda’s original nuclear metaphor.
Meanwhile humanity’s treatment of him as a force of nature that must be reacted to shows something of an evolution regarding their understanding of the natural order, leaving their complete dehumanization of Godzilla to be balanced by their consultant Miki Saegusa, who has watched his development over the last 10 years and knows that there is more than just a rabid beast under his monstrous exterior. All of these conflicts along with the fate Junior resolve themselves in an emotion filled climax that properly exalts the King’s legacy into something more spiritual.
Over the course of the Heisei era, Godzilla has been significantly grounded to a more mortal level despite what he is capable of but as a capper to his story, he is immortalized within this world by a clever ending that retains the tragedy of all that is lost within the film yet leaves audiences a final reminder that what Godzilla represents, can never be destroyed.
“Godzilla vs. Destroyah” is truly difficult to discuss to those who have not seen it. Every moment is so intrinsically tied together that even spoilers don’t do justice to what works so well about the film, as every piece adds together to create a whole up until the final seconds of the film that is so beautiful, it must be seen to be believed.
Next time in Part 4...
The First and the Last. 1954 and 2014
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