jackdickie Godzilla's back and has a new look... I like this 1985 Godzilla because he looks and acts more animal. He's clearly perfect. And To add to this, I must talk about Raymond Burr, he returns and reprises his role but both he and some of those in the American Army don't do much for the plot, they just sit and stand around and tell things which I really don't care for. All and all this film is great and I love it! (The Japanese version that is.) 9/10 highly recommended.

robfather_87 Synopsis: This movie like the title says Godzilla returns. This time they bring in American and Russian military to the scene. A Russian submarine gets attacked and they blame the Americans for the happening. When they figure out that this is Godzilla returning back they want to use atomic warfare on it. But like the original Godzilla movie from 1954 the Japanese still have not forgotten the Hiroshima bombing and refuse to let the Russians and Americans use atomic bombs on Godzilla. They want to find another way to stop him.Actors: These actors are not the best I have seen but did a fairly good job in this movie. Ken Tanaka have not been playing in any big things that I think people outside of Asia would know of. Yasuko Sawaguchi have acted in a bit more known works, like Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), she have also been in another Toho Company monster movie called Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994). Yosuke Natsuki on the other hand may be the one who have played in most notable movies of these actors. The most well known movie he have starred in may be the Akira Kurosawa movie Yojimbo (1961), He have also been in other monster movies like Beauty and the Liquid Man (1958), Dagora the Space Monster (1964), Gihdorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Keiju Kobayashi have also been starring in a lot of movies but most of them not very well known outside of Asia. Maybe most known for his role in Kurosawa movie Sanjuro (1962). I actually think he did the best performance of the actors in this movie as the prime minister. Cinematography: The sets here are all good like you expect from the Toho Studios when creating monster movies. The charming fact of the movies they make is what I mean is good cinema when you keep away from CGI at most. Like rockets from military wagons and planes they have created it themselves and it does not look very real but it looks cool. When you see they fire on Godzilla it is very cool scenes. The only CGI in most Godzilla movies are the radioactive breath that comes out of the mouth of Godzilla. I don't know if we should call it CGI actually but it is the closest to it you get in these movies. They create miniature versions of the cities and then the monster can go rampage there and it looks cool. And take note of what I say, it is not very good looking like wow but it looks cool and charming effect. Outside of all these bad CGI effects we get from Hollywood movies. One cool thing to take in mind before seeing this movie is a scene where a helicopter gets blasted down you see a billboard in the background of the Ghostbusters logo.Music/Sound: The music is nothing very special in this one but the sound in Godzilla movies is always a treat. The roar of Godzilla is the best monster sound ever. The only thing that comes near may be the sound of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park, and that sound was inspired by the sound of the original Godzilla movie. Costume/Make-up: In costumes I guess the only thing that can be mentioned is always the costume of Godzilla. It is a man inside that monster and that is what I love so much about the monsters in Asian monster movies. Not a computer generated monster but as close to the real thing that you can get and the costume is very good and detailed. The only other costumes to mention might be the ones that the military uses and well they are as they should be.Summary: This is the first real sequel since the original Godzilla movie from Toho. And the first Godzilla movies since the original where he do not meet another monster to fight. The directors of this movie Koji Hashimoto and R.J. Kizer have not done much in main directing but many other movie related jobs. This movie is very good in the way that they wanted to take Godzilla to where he started if they succeeded or not is for each and everyone to decide. It may be a better watch for those loving the concept then the normal viewer. If you want the typical Hollywood way of movies stay away. If you like monster movies and foreign movies go for it. I liked it very much so this review may give you a bit of what to expect. Or point you in direction of other movies in the same genre.

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain I saw the original Japanese version. It was fantastic. This is a reboot to the dark and destructive ways of Godzilla. Sure, I enjoyed the time spent with aliens, robots, other monsters etc. But it was nice to take it back to basics. In context of the movie, this is the first time Godzilla has been spotted since the 1954 original. Here, he is a mistake of the humans, and he's here to smash crap up, not protect it. The film is more reminiscent of disaster movies of the era. The Towering Inferno sprung to mind. The film jumps around from scientists, to the Prime Minister of Japan. We get some hard issues to face, as Japan must argue with Russia and America on whether to use nuclear weapons to destroy Godzilla. The effects are incredible. A new suit brings Godzilla to life once more, plus some shots of a detailed animatronic version. The sets are remarkable in their detail and realism. This feels like Godzilla tearing through buildings, and not just models. If you want to keep your Godzilla films serious and dark, just watch the original and this.

FilmExpertWannabe Almost a decade after 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla, Toho finally launched a new Godzilla movie to kick off the Heisei series of Big G films. Terror of Mechagodzilla was to be the last Godzilla film for a while, but there were actually a couple of proposals between it and Return of Godzilla. Godzilla vs Gargantua was proposed for 1978 but never happened, and Godzilla vs Asuka Fortress was to be for 1979. I think Toho made the right decision. If nothing else, it certainly created quite a build up for this film in 1984 (or 1985 for us Americans).If you disliked the campy and more child-friendly Godzilla flicks that had succeeded the dark original, you'll appreciate Return of Godzilla greatly. The dark, somber theme coincides with a much more menacing, far less campy Godzilla. Godzilla is bigger and looks ferocious. His atomic ray (along with other special effects) have been upgraded considerably, although there are still the oft-mentioned quirks with the mechanical head and other here-and-there's. The earlier part of the film with the Shockirus, a mutated louse that feeds on people by sucking them dry, adds a jumpy scene or two and tells the audience right away that this isn't your kid-friendly Godzilla's Revenge movie.The plot is also fairly topical, something that couldn't be said for a lot of Godzilla movies. No goofy looking aliens, no underground communities, but we do have the Cold War and Russian-American tensions. The only somewhat larger flaw I found with the American version as compared to the Japanese version was the cut explanation for the Shockirus. I suspect it would have been nice to have that scene, but you can't have everything.Toho did a pretty good job, both in the movie and in returning Godzilla to his roots. They continued this excellence with the film's sequel five years later, 1989's Godzilla vs Biollante.