Godzilla VS Destroyer (1995)
Produced and Released by: Toho Co. Ltd.
Images Source
Director: Takao Okawara
By DrKain

Introduction

With the success of Godzilla's resurrection in 1984, the way was paved for multiple sequels. In 1989 he took on the plant monster Biollante. We saw the return of King Ghidorah in 1991, Mothra in 1992, and MechaGodzilla in 1993. All three were given new origins, and a new monster named Battra was also introduced in the Mothra movie, while Rodan returned in the MechaGodzilla movie. Then in 1994, Toho created another new monster, SpaceGodzilla, which battled both Godzilla and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. Finally, in 1995 Toho created Destroyer, the monster to bring a conclusion to the Heisei series, and what an ending it was.

The Story

In 1996 the island Godzilla and little Godzilla were living on sank into the ocean due to a volcanic eruption. The baby is thought to be dead, while Godzilla tramples through Hong Kong, but something is different about him. Lava and smoke cover his body, which makes him even more powerful than he was before.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kensaku Ijuin (Takuro Tatsumi) has created a new weapon called Micro-Oxygen, which resembles Dr. Serizawa’s (Godzilla 1954) Oxygen Destroyer. The Oxygen Destroyer was the weapon used to kill Godzilla in 1954, which rid all of the oxygen in the Tokyo Bay area so nothing could survive there. News reporter Yukari Yamane (Yôko Ishino) is very worried about the Micro-Oxygen since her aunt Emiko Yamane (Momoko Kochi) is really worried it is the same thing as Serizawa created.

To make matters worse, G-Force is told that Kenichi Yamane (Yasufumi Hayashi) has discovered Godzilla will explode like a nuclear reactor soon, which will destroy the entire planet. Kenichi is a fan of Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka), and takes up the offer to join G-Force just to meet her.

After an underground lab by Tokyo Bay overheats, Dr. Kensaku takes samples of the ground to study it. A crustacean-like-creature breaks from one of the samples and swims off into the piping and then its found in an aquarium because it killed several of the fish in a few tanks. It's discovered to be a living Oxygen Destroyer.

Godzilla rises from the ocean, and the military sends the new Super X III to freeze him so he won’t explode while they try to stop him. The Super X III is successful in freezing him, but it does not delay his temperature from rising, and once it hits 1200°C he will “meltdown” and cause a hole to burn right through the Earth.

Police forces are sent to take out the Oxygen Destroyer creature, which is now as tall as a human, but the biggest surprise is that there are dozens of them. The forces are slaughtered, but they were successful in at least defeating a few of the Destroyer monsters.

The little Godzilla is discovered as he shows up at a beach, but he looks a lot like a smaller version of Godzilla instead of a Godzillasaurus. G-Force figures it was caused by the volcanic eruption. They find out he is headed back to Adonoa Island, but they decide to use him as bait to get Godzilla to come to Shinagawa to fight the Destroyers.

Dr. Kensaku discovers it may be possible to defeat the Destroyers by spraying them with a frozen form of the Micro-Oxygen. Godzilla Jr. arrives to fight the Destroyers when they combine into a single monster.

(Spoilers Notice– Do not read beyond this point if you have not seen this movie, and do not want to know how the Heisei series ended.)

Godzilla rises from the ocean once again to make his way to the battle scene, but not before Godzilla Jr. is killed by the Destroyer monster. Godzilla and Destroyer battle each other, but things look grim as Godzilla is still losing, and his temperature has reached 1190°C. The Super X III is sent out to freeze both Destroyer and Godzilla using the Micro-Oxygen. Godzilla’s temperature reaches 1199° as Destroyer is killed by the Super X III and Godzilla is being frozen. When his body reaches 1200 he starts to melt, but he is the only one affected thanks to the Micro-Oxygen.

Review

Well, this is my final review for the Heisei movies, since it is the final movie, and what can I say, it's excellent. This is my favorite of the Heisei series, and there is good reason for that. There is a lot of monster action, and it starts in the first few minutes with Godzilla destroying Hong Kong. The story has some nice twists, especially when it reflects back on the original movie. Having Momoko Kochi return as Emiko also gave a nice feel on how the thought of a new version of the Oxygen Destroyer was not something that should be welcomed because of its effects. Destroyer was a well thought up monster, especially its being mutated thanks to the Oxygen Destroyer of the 50’s.

The special effects are excellent; this and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla seem like they contain the best effects for the movies during the Heisei era, and it really shows. I mean just watching Godzilla attack Hong Kong at night time was really cool, and they probably spent quite a bit to have all the signs made and light up.

I forgot to mention this in my MechaGodzilla review, but hearing people speak in English is always fun (I own the Region 2 DVD), especially when they tell you about Godzilla in English rather than Japanese. For those that may see this movie in Japanese for the first time, it will help understand why Godzilla has lava covering him.

The costume designs are also excellent. As I said, Godzilla looks like he has lava covering his body with smoke coming out, and it looks great, especially in the dark. That costume alone must have been a pain to make correctly, at least with the lighting involved. Godzilla Jr. looks just like a smaller version of Godzilla without the huge fins, and that is a cool thing. This is certainly the best incarnation of a young Godzilla, especially when you think about the Minillia design from Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Even Destroyer looks just plain cool. The spider-like form was kind of interesting, especially when it was in a human size form, but the coolest design is his “Perfect” form. I believe he gained it from part of Godzilla Jr.’s DNA since it does have a similar look in the face, but I do not remember for certain. Also, Destroyer was a huge monster in his “Perfect” form, and proved to be a true menace for Godzilla.

It is also time to say goodbye to Megumi Odaka, who played Miki Saegusa in every movie since Godzilla vs. Biollante. It was nice to have a character who constantly returned each movie, even if it was only for a few scenes. Akira Nakao also retained his role as Commander Takaki Aso, which was introduced in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla. I believe having both of them play the same character in each movie added something special to the Heisei series for continuity’s sake.

Akira Ifukube returned to do the soundtrack after being absent from Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, and he didn't disappoint. The soundtrack fit just right, especially in the beginning when Godzilla is destroying Hong Kong. The credits also have his famous “Godzilla March” theme along with a score that has not been heard since King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Speaking about the credits, the original Japanese credits show scenes from the original movie along with the Heisei series, while the version released here by Sony cuts off after the scenes from the original movie.

Conclusion

Toho went all out on this movie, and thus created a work of art. There is something for everyone here (unless you absolutely hate Godzilla movies, you inhumane person ^_^). This is a must see for anyone who loves Godzilla, even if you did not like some of the movies from the Heisei era. If you have not seen in yet, well, what are you waiting for? Go out right now and buy, or at least rent, this movie right now. Well, what are you doing reading this, GO NOW!

My rating: 5/5 stars

DrKain