Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Godzilla is nearing death not only for himself but possibly all of humanity as his nuclear heart is about to explode. If that wasn't enough to deal with, Japan's G Force must also contend with some truly scary monsters created from the original 1954 Godzilla weapon-the oxygen destroyer-that have reached maturity and come ashore.

Though we are still in the rubber suit era, the CGI and miniatures are quite good for this time and budget. The Destoroyah describes a number of ten foot tall monsters that look like a cross between Alien and the creatures from Starship Troopers, or giant creepy scorpions that can also shoot laser breath out. Their battle with humans in a building were probably the scariest scenes I've seen in the old G movies. The danger and stakes were immediate and personal. When a reporter is trapped in a car with a Destoroyah after her it's more compelling than when unseen humans die in buildings and cars crushed by the giant monsters.

The story for this movie is strong when it focuses on the monsters. Godzilla's son appears and fights Destoroyah, drawing Godzilla back for a final battle. The fights are good, resisting the camp of older movies.

The weak spot in this movie is as usual, the humans. This group was a particularly bland group of actors and flat characters. The one bright spot was a call back to the original Godzilla movie when Momoko Kochi reprises her 1954 role as Emiko Yamane. Ultimately, the monsters showed more believable anger and grief than the humans.

The OST for this movie was particularly good for a Godzilla movie evoking emotions and blending appropriately with the scenes. Probably the best music from any of the Godzilla movies I've watched.

Aside from the acting, the biggest problem I had with this movie was that the narrative and pacing were not always coherent or cohesive. There were times I wasn't completely sure what was going on. At others, it felt like parts of the story had been forgotten.

The movie makes a nice circle back to the original which is fitting as this was to be the last in this series. Godzilla fights one final monster, maybe his greatest enemy yet, before his punishing finish for Tokyo.

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