The Return of Godzilla

Directed by: Koji Hashimoto
Distributed by: Toho

Written by Nick McCann

76/100

After an on-and-off 1960s and 70s, Toho put Godzilla to rest as demand kept decreasing for their star monster. Come the 1980s, and interest was regained among moviegoers. Toho even wanted to tap back into the roots of the character after MANY silly endeavors. Thus the pedals started to turn for a new back-to-basics entry.

This film continues on from the 1954 original, doing away with the other kaiju shenanigans between then and now (1984 now, that is). The darker tone and dread-filled atmosphere return, having Godzilla appear with a sense of menace that hadn’t been seen in a while. It holds up really well today, with later parts of the film almost looking flat-out apocalyptic! It also takes advantage of the era’s Cold War tensions, fittingly reinstating Godzilla as social commentary on the silent dangers of nuclear warfare.

Godzilla himself still delivers on his city-clearing skills! The bigger budget makes for some of the best-looking visuals yet. All the effects sequences have a gritty look, aided by the right amount of visual haze and great camera angles. The miniatures have a nice variety of detail and Godzilla’s new look packs the most mean-looking rubber suit and animatronic puppets so far. Although at certain angles, Godzilla can look a little sillier than expected.

Sound design is also on point, having you feel every footstep and steel girder break. Godzilla’s new roar is arguably his most menacing alongside his original set of noises. That guttural screech just rattles out spectacularly. As for the score, it’s one of the eeriest of the series. Perhaps not a strong listen on its own, but the horror-style flourishes and military marches give it a likable quality that nicely beefs up the visuals.

As you could expect, the characters are fairly weak. There are some cool archetypes present but their uses nearly fizzle out once Godzilla shows up. A couple of exceptions are Yoskuke Natsuki commanding good screen presence and Keiju Kobayashi as a prime minister politically caught between two global superpowers. Overall a middle-of-the-road character ensemble that doesn’t leave too strong of an impression compared to other Godzilla movies.

“The Return of Godzilla” ends up an underrated gem when everything’s put together. Toho set out to make Godzilla serious and menacing again, succeeding in a grim fashion. Godzilla wrecks everything like he does and its themes still carry weight beyond its time. Another testament to how these movies contain that same classic enjoyment they always have, no matter when and how they’re packaged.

“The Return of Godzilla” Trailer

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