Godzilla Film Review: Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (dir by Masaaki Tezuka)

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

A direct sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, 2002’s Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. begins with the Shobijin, those two little annoying girls who hang out with Mothra, appearing to a Japanese scientist and his family and explaining to them that Godzilla won’t stop attacking Japan until the government does away with their Mechagodzilla, Kiryu. Kiryu was constructed using the bones of the original Godzilla and, as a result, the current Godzilla is drawn to him.

Instead, the Shobijin suggest that the Kiryu should be tossed in the ocean. In return, the latest incarnation of Mothra will serve as Japan’s champion whenever Godzilla attacks.

So, to make clear, Japan can either be protected by a badass cyborg that was created out of the skeletal remains of the original Godzilla or it can be protected by a giant moth that has to spend time in a cocoon before it can even become an effective monster. And, along with the whole cocoon thing, Mothra also comes with two annoying little sidekicks who are constantly popping up and going on and on about how stupid humanity is.

Now, I don’t know about you but, if I was in charge, I would probably just stick with the cyborg. If nothing else, the cyborg looks like a badass and it can destroy just as much property as Godzilla. The cyborg exists to say, “Hey, Godzilla — you’re not the only pointlessly destructive monster on this planet!” Add to that, the cyborg can be piloted and controlled by humans. The cyborg doesn’t talk back. The cyborg doesn’t tell humanity that everything is their fault. The cyborg can be shut down whenever there’s not a monster attack going on. In other words, get lost, Mothra!

In Tokyo S.O.S., The government of Japan agrees with me, which of course leads to a huge fight between Godzilla, Kiryu, and eventually Mothra. Mothra does that thing where she wraps Godzilla up in string and also where she appears to sacrifice her life. The problem is that, after you see enough of these films, you know that Mothra is always going to sacrifice her life and she’s always going to be reborn.

So, the story isn’t that spectacular. It’s pretty much just Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla all over again. But here’s the important thing: the fights are really cool. Yes, the fights are a bit familiar and there’s nothing about them that will really take you by surprise but, if you just want to watch Godzilla destroy stuff, this film delivers plenty of that.

Tokyo S.O.S. is unique amongst the Godzilla films of its era in that it was a direct sequel as opposed to be a reboot. In fact, it was only the direct sequel of the so-called Millennium Era. The next Godzilla film, Godzilla: Final Wars, would be a reboot and a spectacular one at that. We’ll take a look at it next week.

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Horror Film Review: Godzilla 1985 (dir by R.J. Kizer and Koji Hashimoto)

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Nine years after The Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla finally returned to Japanese movie screens in The Return of Godzilla!

One year later, Raymond Burr joined him when The Return of Godzilla was released in the United States as Godzilla 1985.

The film’s plot is a simple one, though it does have an interesting subtext. Godzilla is once again roaming the planet and, after spending the last few years as humanity’s champion, he is once again destroying everything in his path. (This is a rare later Godzilla film that features only Godzilla. Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah, and that weird armadillo that always used to follow Godzilla around, none of them are present. The son of Godzilla is not mentioned, to the regret of no one.) Looking to prevent a mass panic, the Prime Minister of Japan tries to cover up the news of Godzilla’s return. But when a Russian submarine is destroyed by Godzilla and the Russians blame the Americans and bring the world to the verge of atomic war, the Prime Minister is forced to reveal the truth. The Super X, an experimental new airplane, is deployed to take Godzilla out but it turns out that Godzilla is not that easy to get rid of.

Now, as I said, there is an interesting subtext here. If the first Godzilla films were all about the trauma of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this version of Godzilla is all about being trapped between the whims of two super powers. For the most part, Godzilla only attacks Japan. At the time this movie came out, he had been attacking Japan for nearly 30 years and the rest of the world was content to allow Japan to deal with the consequences alone. However, when Godzilla sinks that Russian sub, both the Russians and the Americans blame each other and bring the world to the brink of annihilation. Japan, like the rest of the world, finds itself caught in the middle. In the end, it’s up to Japan to not only defeat Godzilla but to keep the Americans and Russians from blowing up the rest of the world. Godzilla may be bad, this movie tells us, but he’s nowhere near as bad as the idiots with all of the atomic missiles.

Of course, when The Return of Godzilla came to America, extra scenes were shot to make it clear that America had Japan’s back. For that reason, Raymond Burr returns as journalist Steve Martin. Martin is called in to share his first-hand knowledge of what Godzilla is capable of. One has to wonder who thought that was a good idea as Martin basically comes across as being a grouchy crank who just wants to tell everyone to get off his lawn. As opposed to the first Americanized Godzilla film, which was edited to make it appear as if Burr was actually talking to characters from Gojira, Godzilla 1985 just features a lot of scenes of Burr staring at a screen in the Pentagon and making ominous comments about what Godzilla is capable of doing. It’s a wasted cameo but I guess the film’s American distributors didn’t have faith that Godzilla could pull in the audiences on his own.

Fortunately, Raymond Burr’s time-consuming cameo can’t keep this film from being a lot of fun. It’s a Godzilla film, after all. Godzilla stomps on a lot of buildings and breathes a lot of fire and wisely, the film doesn’t wait too long before allowing him to go on his rampage. After spending several films as an almost comic character, this film reminds audiences that Godzilla was always meant to be frightening. Of course, lest anyone take this film too seriously, the size of the Super X changes from scene to scene, depending on which miniature was being used. Godzilla loses his temper and falls into a volcano but there’s never any doubt that he’ll be back. You can’t stop Godzilla!

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Horror Film Review: Godzilla Raids Again (Dir by Motoyoshi Oda)

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Godzilla Raids Again begins with a plane making an emergency landing on an island near Japan. Soon, another plane lands to help out the first plane. The two pilots, however, are immediately stunned by the sight of Godzilla battling an armored dinosaur with a spikey back. Rushing back to the Japan, the pilots learn that the armored dinosaur was an Ankylosaurus that has been named Anguirus. Anguirus and Godzilla are among the many prehistoric creatures who, having once been thought extinct, have been awakened and set free by nuclear testing. And though Godzilla and Angurius are first spotted fighting on an isolate island, there’s little doubt that they will soon make their way to Japan, where the population is still recovering from the previous Godzilla attack.

First released in Japan in 1955 and subsequently released in the United States in 1959, Godzilla Raids Again was the first sequel to Gojira and, in a nod to continuity that would become extremely rare as the series continued, it actually does provide an explanation as to how exactly Godzilla is still alive after being apparently dissolved at the end of the first film. It’s explained that there are actually several Godzillas. The one that previously attacked Tokyo was destroyed but now a second one is coming. Unfortunately, the man who destroyed the first Godzilla was killed in the process and apparently, he didn’t leave behind any notes explaining how he did what he did.

Once again, Japan is attacked by a giant monster. Once again, cites are in flames and innocent people are dying. The main difference is that, this time, Godzilla isn’t so much trying to destroy humanity as he just doesn’t even seem to realize that humanity is there. Godzilla is more concerned with fighting Angurius and he barely seems to notice the buildings that he’s destroying and the lives that he’s ending. If the first Godzilla film was about the lingering trauma of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla Raids Again is about being a small country caught in the middle of a conflict between two nuclear superpowers. Godzilla and Angurius are so obsessed with beating each other that they really don’t care about anyone who gets trampled underfoot. While Godzilla Raids Again is nowhere near as dark as the nightmarish first film, it’s still considerably more sober-minded than the Godzilla films that would immediately follow. Godzillla Raids Again may not be as powerful a film as the first one but it still has its moments. The film is at its best when it examines how ordinary citizens react to being pawns in the middle of a war between two super-powered monsters. Some people defy the orders to stay home and instead try to have a good time in what may be their final moments. Others cower in fear. Some turn to religion. Some turn to science. A group of criminals try to bust out of prison. In the end, it’s the brave citizens who are willing to risk and sacrifice their lives who ultimately save the world from Godzilla’s atomic fury.

When Godzilla Raids Again was released in the United States, it was in a heavily re-edited and poorly dubbed version. (The narrator is sure to mention that the United States is willing to help out Japan with its monster problem.) The film was retitled Gigantis and, throughout the Americanized version, Godzilla is referred to as being “Gigantis.” Apparently, the film’s distributor thought that audiences would stay away if they knew that this film was a sequel, despite the fact that Godzilla had been a hit with American audiences. Since Godzilla died at the end of the first film, the distributor felt that audiences would reject the idea of the character returning from the dead. Times certainly have changed.

Of course, Godzilla is forever.

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