Woodyanders Godzilla gets resurrected so he can terrorize Japan once again. This time the Japanese have to come up with a way to stop Godzilla as quickly and efficiently as possible without starting a nuclear war with Russia and America.Director Koji Hashimoto keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, maintains a darkly serious tone throughout, milks plenty of suspense from the Cold War scenario (things get super tense after Godzilla destroys a Russian nuclear submarine), and stages the mondo destructo set pieces with rip-roaring gusto. Hideichi Nagahara's compelling and intelligent script not only does an ace job of presenting Godzilla as a fearsome and unstoppable force of nature animal that's essentially a living nuclear weapon which can't be ignored or reasoned with, but also makes a powerful central statement about the intrinsic dangers of nuclear weaponry. The fine acting by the capable cast helps a lot, with especially stand-out contributions from Ken Tanaka as heroic reporter Goro Maki, Yasuko Sawaguzhi as the sweet Naoko, Yosuke Natsuki as the shrewd and resourceful Dr. Hayashida, and Keiju Kobayashi as the resolute and sensible Prime Minister Mitamura. Tetsuya Takeda supplies hilarious comic relief as a bum who tries to advantage of all the sumptuous free food available in the wake of Tokyo being evacuated. Reijiro Koroku's robust full-bore orchestral score hits the rousing spot. Kazutami Hara's sharp cinematography provides an impressive polished look. The special effects for the most part are pretty solid and acceptable. A worthy entry in the series.

patrickkeastead I own both the Japanese and "Americanized" version of the movie, and I saw the Japanese because I hate how he Americanize Japanese classics. Anyway, I saw it and it was amazing. By far the most underrated film in the entire Godzilla series. Godzilla is terrifying to look at, he destroys everything in his path and it's defiantly one if my favorites in the series. The Hiesi series is by far my favorite Godzilla series, and this is the film that started it all. The only problem, 22 minutes of Godzilla out of 1 hr and 45 minutes and not another monster appears in the film to fight. But a nice entry in the series. It's a shame it was never released in America, and it was followed by the horrendous Godzilla vs Biolante. Godzilla (85) is worth a watch, and I personally think it's the best movie to get people into Godzilla. He's in color, it's not as super serious as the original but it's enough to get kids and adults to see how cool the Big G really is.

Horrorfan1995 In the 1980's, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka had plans to make another Godzilla movie. Instead of making a sequel to 1975s Terror of MechaGodzilla, he decided to reboot the series. This film takes place directly after the 1954 Gojira taking place 30 years later, ultimately ignoring the sequels from the 50s to the 70s. In Japan, the movie was called Godzilla, in the US it's known as Godzilla 1985, but I like to call it by its international title, The Return of Godzilla.The story may be simple, but it works. It's essentially the plot of the first movie with some differences. For one thing, this is the second Godzilla creature to attack Japan. Another thing is the addition of the new flying weapon, the Super X used to stop Godzilla and ultimately failed. The major difference is the setting, the first movie was in 1954, this one is in 1984, a whole 30 years since he original attack.The acting is really well done, and the effects look spectacular. My only minor nitpick has to be the animatronic close ups of Godzillas face. It's a unique idea, but it suffers from the fact that the head doesn't resemble the suits head.Speaking of the suit, I love what they did with is suit, it resemble the 1954 Godzilla minus the ears and tiny pupils that made him look more like an animal.I can safely say it's one of the best Godzilla films I've seen in a while. It really is worth watching. Only problem, like most American fans, it's very hard to see this film mostly because it never got a US DVD release, it was released theatrically in the US and was released on VHS in the US, but never got a DVD release. Thankfully I own a bootleg of the movie which also comes with the US release, Godzilla 1985.Now my quick thoughts on the US release, it's the same as the original release in Japan, but with a lot of differences. One major difference is the inclusion of Raymond Burr, returning as Steve Martin from the US release of Gojira (Known as Godzilla King of the Monsters). There were also minor scenes cut from the film I.E. Goro calling his editor from an island, and Hayashada and Naoko making a wave generator. The most controversial change was the scene where the Russian submarine officer Colonel Kashirin valiantly attempts to stop the launch of a nuclear weapon. New World edited the scene (and added a brief shot of Kashirin pressing the launch button) so that Kashirin actually launches the nuclear weapon.It's an OK release, but the Japanese version is much better.My Rating - The Return of Godzilla (Japanese Release) - 10/10. Godzilla 1985 (US Release) - 6/10

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.