Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Terasawa
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Terasawa »

SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:And now that it's not hidden behind VHS bootlegs and word of mouth, and people can see it's many flaws and stumbled executions, it's becoming more and more of a punching bag.
It actually received a lot of mixed reviews in G-Fan's initial coverage of it, while it was still playing in Japanese theaters. Some fans enjoyed it, sure, but only a handful (if that) outright praised it. My recollection is that the negative reviews outnumbered the positive ones at least 2:1. So it was not exactly acclaimed from the start...

If there was any Heisei movie that was nearly universally praised and then suffered a fall from grace, it was MGII.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Terasawa wrote:
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:And now that it's not hidden behind VHS bootlegs and word of mouth, and people can see it's many flaws and stumbled executions, it's becoming more and more of a punching bag.
It actually received a lot of mixed reviews in G-Fan's initial coverage of it, while it was still playing in Japanese theaters. Some fans enjoyed it, sure, but only a handful (if that) outright praised it. My recollection is that the negative reviews outnumbered the positive ones at least 2:1. So it was not exactly acclaimed from the start...

If there was any Heisei movie that was nearly universally praised and then suffered a fall from grace, it was MGII.
Yeah, I remember around 1994, GvsMGII was being praised as the second coming of Mothra vs. Godzilla. Destoroyah came along in the wake of fan disappointment in Spacegodzilla and enthusiasm for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, and thus didn't benefit from that hype train.

On the whole, I'd say the Heisei series was met with largely mixed reviews from Western fans at the time, with the old guard particularly skeptical of this new material. In the years that followed, the younger side of the fandom was heavily populated with people who grew up on the Heisei movies, and these fans constituted the bulk of the online fan community for quite some time. As that generation of fans have aged, they've taken a more objective look at the movies and started to see more of the flaws, and at the same time a lot more fans both older and younger than they are have become active members of the online fandom, resulting in a much wider array of opinions on the Heisei movies being expressed.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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I feel most of the movie's "praise" comes in the form of all the stuff you just mentioned - ZOMG GODZILLER DIES ZOMG DESTROYAH IS TEH DEVIL ZOMG JR. DIES. Most of that hails from comments on places like Youtube or Facebook, most of whom are younger/more casual fans anyways.

All this post is missing is James Rolfe's annoying exaggerated pronunctiation of "Destoroyah".
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

MaxRebo320 wrote: ZOMG DESTROYAH IS TEH DEVIL
Speaking of, this is another Godzilla fandom thing that makes me cringe. Though thankfully it seems to have mostly died out over the years.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:Why is Godzilla Vs Destroyah the hated movie of the franchise these days?

The Godzilla movie to hate use to be either Godzilla's Revenge or Godzilla 98.
Um, it isn't? Not even close. Toho Kingdom is probably the only forum in existence where Godzilla's Revenge is better liked than Destoroyah and, while the hatred for GINO may have died down in the last twenty years, I'm pretty confident the vast majority of fans would take Destoroyah over GINO. I also see a lot more hate for GFW, the anime trilogy and KOTM than I do for Destoroyah. Not to mention Space Godzilla, which is still easily the most disliked Heisei film (and deservedly so, in my opinion).
Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:Nowadays on the forum all you get is Destroyah is a useless monster, Godzilla Vs Destroyah is a horrible movie and similar comments.
Who is making these comments? The worst I've seen is a few fans opining that Destoroyah isn't any better of a movie than Space Godzilla. It's an opinion I disagree with but it's hardly the hyperbolic hatred you seem to be describing.
Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:Ages ago the movie was popular, people remembered Godzilla's death as a standout and liked Destroyah as a monster.
The impact of Godzilla's death was washed away by his near-instant revival. The scene itself is still a standout, which is something even most people who dislike this film seem to agree on. Destoroyah is still fairly well-liked in my experience but, if we're being honest, Destoroyah has always been more popular among casual fans due to his "badass" demonic design. I haven't seen anyone flat out hate on the kaiju itself, only on the clunkiness of the final form's suit, which is a valid criticism.
Jeff-Goldblum2 wrote:Have people gone too far in course correcting the past popularity of the movie to point out it's apparent flaws?
No. The movie has some major flaws, chiefly its criminally underdeveloped cast and Destoroyah's rather arbitrary role in the plot and anti-climactic death. The effects are also hit and miss, as in all of the Heisei films. Still, I have never seen a single person refer to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah as the worst film in the franchise and only a few refer to it as the worst of the Heisei series. Outside of TK, it still seems to be the most popular Heisei film, edging out Biollante and MG2. On various forum polls I've seen over the years, Destoroyah tends to place very highly and I haven't noticed that changing recently. I think negativity toward all of the Heisei films has increased in the past decade, which tends to happen when the "newness" of films wears off. Give it another decade and people will be placing Heisei on the same pedestal as Showa and talking about how the era is just as good in it's own way.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Just for the record, I think it's a lower-average Godzilla movie, no worse. Its strengths include a powerful score and an effectively dreadful atmosphere. In fact, I think the atmosphere sets it apart from the other '90s Godzillas. Too bad the rest of the movie simply doesn't match those virtues.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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It’s a mid tier kaiju film.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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HE LOOKS LIKE THE GODDAMN DEVIL.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by eabaker »

Where one ranks GvsD really depends upon how one ranks; of course, that's true in the case of any work, but with GvsD the disparity is pretty easy to zero in on.

If you rate a movie based on the consistency of its quality - on how well it develops and follows its characters, themes, and narrative through-lines; or even just on a consistent level of interesting photography and editing choices or strong special effects - then you're probably going to dock GvsD a lot of points; it's a terribly uneven movie.

If your primary gauge is how well it performs when it is at its best - how well conceived and executed certain key moments are, how much of emotional punch it can deliver when it reaches the points its been building toward - then the odds are you're going to have a lot of good to say about this movie, because it has a handful of moments that really sing.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote:
MaxRebo320 wrote: ZOMG DESTROYAH IS TEH DEVIL
Speaking of, this is another Godzilla fandom thing that makes me cringe. Though thankfully it seems to have mostly died out over the years.
Go spend some time on the Monsterverse and Godzilla subreddits then. On second thought, don’t. Half of them are convinced that Destoroyah is the devil because “he actually killed Godzilla!” Or “he beat burning Godzilla like he was nothing!” Sometimes I wonder if we watched the same movie.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by HedorahIsBestGirl »

JesstrK wrote: Go spend some time on the Monsterverse and Godzilla subreddits then. On second thought, don’t. Half of them are convinced that Destoroyah is the devil because “he actually killed Godzilla!” Or “he beat burning Godzilla like he was nothing!” Sometimes I wonder if we watched the same movie.
Is it just me or is misremembering that Destoroyah kills Godzilla one of the most common misunderstandings among novice fans? I hear that one a lot.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by GojiDog »

I could understand people making that mistake if this was pre-internet and pre-home video. Memory gets fuzzy after you see a movie on TV or in theaters, and its easy to mess up details, even big ones.

But how on Earth do fans confused that Destoroyah killed Godzilla in an age where we can pull the movie up in the blink of an eye? I mean...I shouldn't even have to explain it.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

For the same reason people think King Kong Vs. Godzilla has two different endings.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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If a story gets repeated often enough, people will tend to believe it, despite that the truth is easily found.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Terasawa wrote:Just for the record, I think it's a lower-average Godzilla movie, no worse. Its strengths include a powerful score and an effectively dreadful atmosphere. In fact, I think the atmosphere sets it apart from the other '90s Godzillas. Too bad the rest of the movie simply doesn't match those virtues.
The atmosphere is certainly more dreadful than anything since '84, IMO. It feels like there are real stakes at play in this film. The 91-94 films don't carry the same weight and the city destruction scenes don't have the same impact. Now, I think '84 does this better but I see GvD as better than a lower average G flick.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

I do think Godzilla's torment from his own nuclear power is showcased very well. It's clear from the way he behaves and how his spiral ray erupts from his mouth during his attack on Hong Kong that he's in insanity inducing levels of pain throughout the movie.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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You can see a definite moment of reaction as he approaches meltdown.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

Destroyah has a lot of moments that really sound cool on paper but the overall execution can be pretty shoddy at times.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by GodzillavsRayquaza »

The human characters could have been more fleshed out, and the flimsy connections to 54 are a noticeable issue due to not being properly explored, but those are my only real complaints.

The human characters still have good moments and interesting stuff going on with them, even if again they could have gotten a bit more depth. The atmosphere of dread throughout the movie is great. The kaiju aspect is great. Burning Godzilla and the excellent showcasing of the pain he’s enduring, the interactions between him and Junior, and Destoroyah feeling like a true threat all throughout. The movie juggles the plots of Burning Godzilla and Destoroyah pretty well, sometimes it does feel like they just stapled two movies together but overall the dual plots don’t detract from one another too much. The final battle is great, and adds to the tragedy of it all as Godzilla, even at the peak of his anger and power, still finds himself overwhelmed.

And Godzilla’s death is one of my favorite scenes in a kaiju movie. Everything about it is wonderful and comes together perfectly.

Is this a perfect movie that’s up there with the best of the best? No, of course not. It has glaring flaws holding it back. But, I still love this movie.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by H-Man »

Watched this with my 12-year-old daughter tonight.

She thought it was sad and almost cried at the end. That reminded me how sad I felt when I saw it for the first time when I was 16 back in the late 90s. That ending stayed with me for days.

One thing I've always liked about the final reveal of Godzilla Junior is how he uses two roars that had been retired after Invasion of the Astro Monster.

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