Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Shin Takuma

Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.

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66% liked it

4,765 ratings

PG, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Koji Hashimoto, R. J. Kizer

Release Date: January 1, 1985

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Flixster Reviews (239)


  • January 7, 2008
    Fun but rather univolving return for the big green guy. I've only seen the American version (Godzilla 1985) so that may be part of the problem. Too many Raymond Burr scenes, not enough footage of the Big G destroying Tokyo. It's not bad just not very good, either. I may retur...( read more)n to this review if I get around to seeing the original Japanese version...
  • September 13, 2007
    A childhood favorite of mine. I really wish they would release this on DVD
  • April 18, 2007
    Great updating of Godzilla and it was good to have him as a bad guy again.
  • December 17, 2009
    The first movie in the Heisei era harks back to the original Gojira movie back in the 50's. Gone are the silly fights with other kaiju in the Showa era to a more serious movie. Godzilla is back to his bad ass self after awakening from his slumber to head back to his favourite sto...( read more)mping ground of Tokyo. The Japanese counterattack with their newest secret weapon - Super X! I thought this was a great start to the new era with plenty of superb destruction sequences as Godzilla rampages in central Tokyo. The story is sombre and dark. A brilliant reboot to the franchise.
  • November 27, 2009
    I have always though the Godzilla movies were so stupid and cheaply done. I could never get into them. Thought I would try a newer version, not any better.
  • July 27, 2009
    **This review is of the original Japanese version, NOT the recut American version**

    There's a lot of interesting ideas floating around in Gojira (1984), which is one of the few films in the craptastic Godzilla series that's actually worth watching. The fact that the idea...( read more)s never come into real focus is, of course, due to the fact that this is a film about a giant rubber mutant dinosaur destroying a decently rendered miniature Tokyo, but hey, at least it tries.

    In visual terms, the film is a pleasant surprise. The cinematography is excellent, with lots of gloomy, apocalyptic imagery. There are several shots that linger in the mind: a POV shot of the title beast as it approaches a nuclear power plant through the fog; the Japanese Prime Minister framed between two immovable stone pillars as he debates US and Russian ambassadors (a brilliantly subtle touch); Godzilla reflected in the innumerable glass windows on the side of a skyscraper. The score by Reijiro Koroku is a masterpiece of epic menace, gorgeous melody and fabulous orchestration--easily ranking alongside Akira Ifukube's legendary score for the original film (its not too hard to track down a copy of the score on web forums).

    The banal monster-meets-hipsters Cloverfield appears to have gleefully lifted a sequence near the opening here, where the main character is attacked by giant mutant sea lice that have sucked dry all the crew members of an abandoned ship.

    Alas, it can't be all good. The plot to lure Godzilla to his doom is laughably innane ("dinosaurs evolved into birds, and birds follow electromagnetic currents in the Earth, so logically, since Godzilla is dinosaur and related to birds, we can lure him somewhere using recorded bird calls!"), Godzilla himself is saddled with gigantic white googly eyes that rob him of any seriousness, and the human characters are all thinner than tissue paper.

    Despite all its many, many, MANY faults, Gojira (1984) has just enough style and just barely enough substance to still make it worth a viewing. Just try to suppress your giggles.
  • February 25, 2009
    a true sequel to that gigantic classic
  • February 16, 2009
    godzilla walking around smashing stuff what could be wrong with that?
  • November 4, 2008
    the only godzilla movie to ever scare me
  • November 3, 2008
    The movie that got me into Godzilla as a kid. I wish this would be released on DVD.

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