Godzilla vs Destroyah. What was imagined as the final Godzilla movie and the conclusion of the 90's Heisei era also harkened back to the original Godzilla movie more than any other. Of course, the idea of wrapping the entire Godzilla series was short lived as soon as the Americans decided to slap the trademark name on a giant lizard movie in 1998, and the combined disapproval of G fans the world around is what brought back the Japanese Godzilla in 1999. However, when watching Godzilla vs Destroyah it is easy to see that this was intended to be it: Godzilla's final march. But why? And how? Well all good things must come to an end someday my friends, and if you look closely at the above photo Godzilla not only dukes it out with the incredibly powerful Destroyah, but he is dying. Yes, his body can no longer control the massive amounts of radiation inside, and Godzilla begins heating up. His skin turns orange and glows in places, and his atomic beam is crimson orange. Steam flows from his body constantly and throughout the movie it appears the King of the Monsters is in agony as his body slowly breaks down. In a way, it is sad to watch, even for myself after countless times. But as sad as Godzilla vs Destroyah is, it is just as brilliant. It is epic. It is deserving of the number two entry and consideration for the best overall.
Miki Saegusa flies out to Birth Island to check on Godzilla and Little Godzilla, but finds only destruction as the island is a smoking pile of ash. The monsters are no where to be seen. A burning Godzilla then makes landfall in Hong Kong and destroys the city as the opening credits role. He appears on fire. The JSDF hires a young man Kenichi Yamane, a self employed Godzilla enthusiast. His grandfather was Dr. Yamane, who studied the first Godzilla in 1954. Kenichi theorizes that once Godzilla's internal temperature reaches 1200 degrees Celsius he will explode more violently than all the world's nuclear weapons. The survival of the human race is in jeopardy. Meanwhile a scientist, Dr. Kensaku Ijuin, creates what he calls "micro-oxygen." It is based on the same track of research that Dr. Serizawa used to create the Oxygen Destroyer, the weapon that killed the first Godzilla. While testing the micro oxygen on some soil samples, ancient micro organisms in the samples are exposed to the new science and mutated into something more significant. Whatever it is escapes from one of the samples and multiples in an aquarium by killing all the fish inside, just like the original oxygen destroyer. The creatures progress from small crab like organisms that are barely conceivable to the naked eye to human sized crawlers with multiple legs and bad attitudes. The JSDF does battle with several of these beasts and fends them off with flame throwers, however the creatures are not defeated. They have become destroyers and grow in size again. Meanwhile, Godzilla attempts to destroy a coastal nuclear plant but is frozen in the ocean by the JSDF's secret weapon, the Super X-3, which is designed to handle nuclear plant hazards. Using cadmium missiles and freeze rays, it successfully lowers Godzilla's rising temperature and sends him back into the ocean for the time being. Godzilla Junior appears near a beach as the worried Miki and her psychic counterpart Meru look on. The former little Godzilla has been mutated further by the radioactivity at Birth Island into a semi adolescent Godzilla. Godzilla begins following Godzilla Junior, although they are dozens of miles apart. The destroyers back in Tokyo fuse together to form a massive beast after the military engages them all at once. A plan is hatched to lead Godzilla to Tokyo and the new monster "Destroyah" by having Miki and Meru psychically convince Godzilla Junior to head towards Tokyo. The plan works and Godzilla Junior meets Destroyah in battle.
Destroyah seemingly kills Godzilla Junior, but the little guy has some fight in him and turns the tide of battle, sending Destroyah into a burning explosion with his Atomic Ray. Godzilla arrives in Tokyo and goes to meet Godzilla Junior near an airport. He is reaching a critical level temperature wise and instead of exploding, it is now calculated that he will meltdown. His corpse will sink into the Earth and destroy it. The outlook is still bleak for humanity. Suddenly Destroyah returns in his final form, a truly immense monster far larger than Godzilla. The creature quickly disposes of Godzilla Junior, dropping him from high in the air onto a building. Godzilla is enraged and a titanic battle with Destroyah ensues. The JSDF stands guard for Godzilla's meltdown. The plan is to freeze him with everything possible as he melts. Even with the power of micro oxygen, Destroyah is no match for the maddened Godzilla, whose radioactivity flies off the charts as he blasts Destroyah with super charged Atomic beams. Destroyah's form reverts to smaller more mobile Destroyers that crawl all over Godzilla in a attempt to smother him, but they are pests at most. Godzilla marches over to his son, who is nearly dead, and tries to breath radiation into Juniors soul, but it is too late. The loss of his son drives Godzilla over the edge, as he begins to meltdown. Destroyah reforms one last time and attempts to kill Godzilla but in Godzilla's last moments, his power is unreal.
Just being nearby Godzilla burns Destroyah's skin, let alone the massively powerful atomic beams he now possesses. Destroyah attempts to flee, but the JSDF and Super X-3 shoot him down while Godzilla finishes him off. With Destroyah out of the way, all eyes turn to Godzilla, whose spines begin to melt. The JSDF begins unloading everything they possibly have at Godzilla, turning the air around him white with cold, but it is not enough. Pure radioactivity floods out of his body as he roars one last time. His massive body shrinks, and his skeleton soon becomes exposed in places as he groans out his final breath and melts down. The world looks on as the invincible Godzilla dies. Doomsday has seemingly arrived, but suddenly the radioactivity levels plummet. Godzilla has vanished, his body completely lost into the wind. Through the fog of the massive event, a figure slowly rises, a familiar figure. Godzilla Junior. Absorbing the massive levels of radiation, the Son of Godzilla now fully grown rises to take his fathers place. Godzilla is reborn.
This is the kind of the Godzilla movie that stands out because it is more than just matching Godzilla up with a new monster like most Godzilla movies. The premise of this one is not "Let's watch Godzilla somehow defeat this new monster," it is "Godzilla dies." That is a striking contrast. From the get go this movie was set up for greatness and it doesn't disappoint. And what is more, Godzilla vs Destroyah has so much more emotion than other G movies. There is so much at stake for humanity and the characters are so invested in that fate. Godzilla's death is heart wrenching. As Destroyah wedges himself between Godzilla and his son and tragically takes Junior from Godzilla, you will feel enraged and saddened at the same time. It is the rollercoaster of emotions in regards to Godzilla movies and it pays homage to the original better than any other, mainly because the events of the first movie are key to the happenings of this one.
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| Look at the tremendous scale of this picture. It's marvelous. |
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And this one.
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Godzilla vs Destroyah is a monumental G movie and pretty much rates perfect in my opinion in all regards, acting, effects, plot, everything. This Godzilla movie is nearly flawless. So how can any Godzilla movie possibly be better? At long last, we have reached the coveted number one spot in the Glog's Godzilla movie countdown.
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