Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Hedorah
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Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Hedorah »

w00t w00t 1st topic on the Heisei board! ANyhow were you all really staisfied that GvD was supposed to end the series? Thoughts and opinions? I for one was satisfied, it really closed the series and yet gave hope that it would come back....and it did!
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Arbok »

Please no more "first!!!1!" topics. -_-

Anyway, I was happy with the closure of the film. The movie has its problems, but the ending was done so well that it elevated the whole thing a lot. Brought a tear to my eye the first time I saw it as a young lad back in 1996, in fact.

I do like the conclusion with Junior as well, giving that sense that he wasn't really gone... and also like that they never picked it up again, as I feel it would have cheapened it to actually continue the Heisei series and not just leave it with that great cliff hanger.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by GotengoXGodzilla »

I like the ending and the score, but that's it. Other than that, I find Godzilla vs. Destoroyah to be pretty boring. We spend most of the film wondering when Godzilla is going to blow up, and not actually doing anything important. Destoroyah is a pretty generic villain, though it has an interesting background. Even the fights aren't anything special or new, so I was unimpressed by them.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the way that they handle Godzilla's death, but other than that, this film is fairly uneventful.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Hedorah »

GotengoXGodzilla wrote:I like the ending and the score, but that's it. Other than that, I find Godzilla vs. Destoroyah to be pretty boring. We spend most of the film wondering when Godzilla is going to blow up, and not actually doing anything important. Destoroyah is a pretty generic villain, though it has an interesting background. Even the fights aren't anything special or new, so I was unimpressed by them.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the way that they handle Godzilla's death, but other than that, this film is fairly uneventful.
It was pretty cool how they had Destroyah based around the Oxygen Destroyer
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by JVM »

Making Destoroyah connected to the Oxygen Destroyer IMO helped a lot - it tied everything up well. It seems fitting to me Godzilla be destroyed, if he must, by something he has a past with. And Destoroyah is probably my favorite post-Showa kaiju.

It was a good movie, I've been meaning to rewatch it.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by James23873 »

I just which they had made Destoroyah's death more obvious. I wasn't sure he actually died the first time I watched it.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Hedorah »

James23873 wrote:I just which they had made Destoroyah's death more obvious. I wasn't sure he actually died the first time I watched it.
Yeah I know I was like, "wait? Now whos gonna stop Destroyah?"
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Arbok »

James23873 wrote:I just which they had made Destoroyah's death more obvious. I wasn't sure he actually died the first time I watched it.
Yes, in the final cut Destoroyah ends up getting a quick and cheap death at the hands of the SDF.

I do, however, prefer that over the originally planned ending, as having Godzilla fight Destoroyah up until the end kind of kills the mood of what should be a sad scene.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Legionmaster »

Arbok wrote:I do, however, prefer that over the originally planned ending, as having Godzilla fight Destoroyah up until the end kind of kills the mood of what should be a sad scene.
I dunno. I think I'd rather see Goji and the Oxygen Destroyer go away at the same time. Kind of an "end of WMDs" feel. That would pull more from the original film rather than having Destoroyah just be a monster. Plus, it looked so much cooler.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by JVM »

I just would've liked to see Godzilla kill Destoroyah before dying - it's been a while since I saw the movie, but I remember feeling detracted when I actually realized Destoroyah had died, and at the JSDF's hands.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by vaporchu »

I think I've made it clear that this is one of my favorites in the franchise.

Anyways, where do I start? The score is wonderful. From the powerful Destruction of Hong Kong to the moving Requiem, Ifukube's work here is top notch.

I love the fact that they tied Destoroyah to the Oxygen Destroyer. What better way to end the Heisei series than with the only weapon able to successfully kill Godzilla?

Meltdown Godzilla is just badass. Not only that, but when you remove the orange "splotches(for lack of a better term...) all over the suit, it just screams to me "this is the definitive Godzilla." IMO, the suits here were, again, top notch.

Of course, the best part is the ending. Though I would agree with Legionmaster that the original ending would've tied the original film with this one even more, the one we have is just great on its own. The way it ended, with Junior's silhouette surrounded by the smoke, then cutting to the credits was just great.

Yes, the film isn't "great" like the Showa series. But it is one of my favorites in the entire franchise, possibly only beaten by Gojira.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by KaijuSapian »

Although this movie does start out great, the first and second acts are somewhat generic (aside from a few key scenes). It isn't until the third act that this film really begins to picks up, and once it does, it doesn't stop. The fight between Junior and Destoroyah, the revealing of Destoroyah's final form, Junior's death, the bloody battle between Godzilla and Destoroyah (although not the best), these were all great. Plus on top of this, we got Godzilla's all new Burning form, which I still believe is nothing short of awesome! Destoroyah just so happens to be one of my favorite Kaiju villains, I guess it has to do with his origins. Being mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer essentially making him the anti-Godzilla in a sense. He may not have had much of personality, but I still thought he was pretty awesome.

This movie had a great climax, which still brings a tear to my eye.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by HayesAJones »

This movie gave us an awesome version of Godzilla, an awesome villaian, an awesome score, and an incredible ending. I love this film! It's one of my favorites of the franchise.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Hellblaze »

I love the film but its also sad at the same time cause 1 you get a heart warming scene with Big G and Godzilla Jr reuniting. 2 You get a sad scene when Godzilla cries when Godzilla Jr almost died by being lifted up high in the air by Destroyah and then let go and he fell hard to the ground. 3 The last scene when Godzilla dies by far one of the saddest scenes :cry: But still I heard the ending of that movie was extended in the Japan DVD which we don't get to see and heard that they battled for a long while till Destroyah finally died by Godzilla Jr. I like to see a Youtube video of that since it was deleted in the American version.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Drunken Kong »

I don't even really like the creature of Destoroyah, but I still love the movie. It's Godzilla's best suit and the opening Hong Kong scene is great. It was cool for the story to relate back to the original Gojira, return of Emiko Yamane, and the emotion at the end is just excellent, especially between Godzilla and Junior.

It's a very well made film, and most likely in my top 5 favorite Goji films.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Cinematic Kaiju »

I loved Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Like I posted on the old board, it would have been the perfect way for Godzilla to go out if they didn't make any more movies after that. In my opinion the movie comes full circle, bringing in the old faces from the past (Emiko), and a mistake of a result from the Oxygen Destroyer that killed Godzilla in the first movie. I dunno, to me, it just seems almost perfect with minor flaws.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by godzilla1996 »

The one they used is fine. I think it is a lot more dramatic, and think the focus should be more on Godzilla, because it is his ending
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by DaikaijuSokogeki! »

This is one I haven't seen in a while, but I'll try to see how much I can remember. The film starts out strong with Godzilla's sudden attack on Hong Kong while Ifukube's score thunders in the background, all culminating in the best title card EVER. Then once we get introduced to our lead cast and situation, the film slows down. The atmosphere leading up to Destoroyah's first appearance is pretty chilling, leading up to a scene that's typical Kazuki Omori Hollywood rip-off magic (although I will admit, Destoroyah's first attack did scare me senseless as a kid, but that's because I hadn't seen Aliens yet).

The costumes look great, that's for sure. I especially love the work put in Godzilla Jr.'s suit and how he's becoming more like Godzilla but still has the tiny dorsal fins and things like that. Ifukube's score is extremely powerful, even though it recycles many of his older work. The plot works for a while, then it just sort of simmers out. The characters are completely uninteresting, seeing as how I remember none of their names. In fact, I was always bothered by how Emiko Yamane, in one of the coolest cameos in the Godzilla franchise, shows up for two scenes and then is never mentioned again. The SPFX are a mixed bag. While Godzilla's glowing suit effect looks awesome and his meltdown incorporates several unique effects such as stop motion and CGI, the rest is just meh. The flying models are stiff, the matte work is lazy, and the clear use of Bandai toys in a few scenes is just inexcusable. The film's FX aren't nearly as hit and miss as Spacegodzilla, but its got its large share of faults.

The film does succeed entirely in the dramatic effect of Godzilla's death, though. The advertising may have mercilessly whored out that plot point, it still hurts once it actually unfolds. It's Godzilla's saddest death in the series bar none, accompanied by what I believe is an original and powerful piece from Ifukube. That scene alone is worth the 100+ minutes of averageness.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by HedorahLives »

A depressing film to watch since Godzilla is clearly dying from the very beginning, but probably one of the most captivating kaiju films yet done. All the good points have pretty much already been noted, so I'll just point out the part that bugged me most. That would be the SWAT team against the human-sized Destroyahs. Personally, I thought the Destroyah story had been pretty eerie up to that point and I wish they had gone a route more similar to the original Rodan with the miners vs. the giant bugs. You know, a more straightforward horror approach. Normally I don't mind Omori's hollywood bastardizations (I appreciate the camp value of M-11), but here the obvious Aliens rethread kinda cheapens the film, especially since the Destroyah vs. Swat team sequence is way too sanitized compared to its source material.

That's my only real complaint though. Top notch kaiju film otherwise. Godzilla's last stand is one for the ages.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Post by Arrow »

I'll just post what I said over at Monster Zero:
I always found Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, like a lot of the Heisei movies, to be a bit of a 'hit-and-miss'. On the one hand I couldn't think of a better way to have closed the Heisei series - Godzilla vs. the Oxygen Destroyer. It really brings the entire series full circle and closes with one of my all-time favorite scenes in any Godzilla movie. Godzilla's meltdown is the thing most memorable about the movie and it is done so unbelievably well. Godzilla, alone and dying, while Akira Ifukube's theme "Requiem" plays in the background. Godzilla's final roar and the wonderful CGI effect as he finally dies really gives the movie an emotional feeling. What helps is that this Godzilla, the Heisei Godzilla, is the same version of the character that had been in all seven movies. The climax that surrounded the scene: Godzilla Junior's death and Godzilla's last stand against Destoroyah, was done excellently. The monster drama is well-done here. You really feel for Godzilla as a character.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is not quite as up to par. As usual, Kawakita's awesome effects are countered by some really mediocre ones. Godzilla's rampage in Hong Kong is ruined by horrible matted shots of people walking calmly in the picture as Godzilla rampages around them. Destoroyah is your standard late-Heisei era beam spammer, needlessly bulky and nearly immobile. His design is awe-inspiring, but his execution is terrible. The flying Destoroyah prop moves awkwardly in the air. And the Aggregates are so obviously ripped off from the Xenomorph aliens. On the plus side, the Burning Godzilla is fantastic. And Godzilla Junior is a great design as well. The Super X-III is my least favorite of all the flying mechs, but that's just personal preference. Its freeze cannon is a neat effect, however, and I like the CGI freezing of Godzilla.

For what was supposed to be a final film, I was disappointed that the human characters do little but shoot at the monsters and stand around on the sidelines. Miki was never high on my list of favorite human characters in the Godzilla series, but I find her almost as annoying as the previous film - Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla. Once again her character exists only to be inconsistent. On the one hand she doesn't want to harm Godzilla or Junior, but assists in aiding G-Force anyway, same as the two films previously. None of the other main human characters do much but stand around and explain the events of the film. They are as bland as ever here.

Akira Ifukube's scores are marvelous. I cannot pick out a theme that I didn't like. My favorite was Requiem, but I love Destoroyah's ominous, threatening theme. I also love Junior's sad, haunting theme as well. Even the song playing over the montage at the end of the movie is nice.

All in all, despite its flaws, I enjoy this movie. It's the kind of film that can only be done once and for that, I appreciate it.

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