Godzilla’s Revenge Review

Godzilla’s Revenge and Godzilla Vs. Megalon have caused a huge controversy, of sorts, within the Godzilla fandom. That controversy being which film is the worst out of the franchise? But in recent years, many fans have come to view this film differently…including myself. While I don’t believe I ever considered this the “worst” of the franchise, I have considered it one of the weakest for reasons I’ve stated in the PXCR podcast and for what I will mention here.

Synopsis: Ichiro is a boy who is being picked on by a bully named Gabara. Ichiro seems to have few friends and his parents are always absent from his life due to having put in long hours to make ends meet. Living life in the very industrial (and noisy, polluted) Kawasaki is tough for a boy such as Ichiro who is trying to fit in, in a way, and prevent Gabara from picking on him.

Ichiro finds a friend in an older neighbor: toy maker, Inami. Inami is a pseudo father figure to Ichiro and looks after him from time to time. But Ichiro finds solace in daydreaming, and literally dreaming, about Monster Island and its roster of daikaiju. Ichiro befriends Minya who is also being bullied by, coincidentally(?) a daikaiju named Gabara; an ogre-looking monster that shoots electricity out of its hands. Minya and Ichiro watch Godzilla battle numerous monsters: Kumonga, Kamacuras, and Ebirah. Both seem to, not only be entertained by Godzilla’s trouncing of his opponents, but taking notes on how to stand up for oneself.

Eventually, Ichiro is kidnapped by a pair of robbers who, while striking fear in the local populace, are extremely incompetent. Ichiro visits Minya and Godzilla in his dreams a couple more times. Ichiro witnesses, and assists, Minya and Godzilla in defeating Gabara. While dreaming of this, Ichiro builds up the courage to take on the two robbers and eventually leads them to the police who arrest them. Ichiro stands up to his Gabara and picks on a painter nearby by honking the horn on the painter’s motor bike which distracts the painter. The painter falls to the ground spilling paint all over himself and Ichiro and his new friends run from the painter. Ichiro’s father does his son a favor by stopping the painter, preventing him from catching up to Ichiro. In the end, Ichiro and Gabara are friends and all is well.

Story: Let’s just get this out of the way right now: Godzilla’s Revenge is a children’s movie. The movie very much mirrors the Gamera movies during the same period except with fewer plot holes and with a child actor who is not annoying.

Despite a really low budget and tons of stock footage, Godzilla’s Revenge features a story that kids between the ages of 5 and 8 can relate to. While some fans dismiss this movie’s story as being simple (basically a story about a kid standing up to bullies), I think the story is a bit more than just a kid standing up to bullying. I believe the story is about a kid trying to find acceptance with his peers and to, in some ways, break out of a shell to become more assertive. There also is this element of a modernized Japan that has affected the family unit in a negative way where both parents are away for long hours without being able to raise and nurture their children.

Sure, the story, at times, is a bit goofy and ridiculous. But the daikaiju scenes are shown in the context of dream sequences, so that works out very well even if 80%-90% of those scenes are stock footage. Even the incompetent robbers are a stretch considering the amount of fear they induce in the community, but, for a kid’s movie, it works out perfectly.

The only part, though, that really bothers me is Ichiro’s arc at the end of the movie. He defeats Gabara, but harasses the painter; essentially becoming a bully himself. While we will never know the extent of Ichiro’s arc, one can assume he could have become a bully himself even though the film, more than likely, doesn’t want you to believe this sweet boy would become a bully. Nevertheless, it is a bit “disturbing” considering what Ichiro went through and it seems to be an almost 180 degree switch in his personality.

Anyways, even as an older Godzilla fan, I do find the story very simply, yet entertaining. The message it implies, I believe, still could resonate with audiences today.

7.8/10

Special Effects: As mentioned earlier, much of the daikaiju action is stock footage from films like Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, and King Kong Escapes.

With the new footage we do get, we are treated to a nice Monster Island set that, while confined, is still beautifully put together. The Godzilla, Minya, and Gabara suits look fantastic and I have found myself liking this incarnation of the Destroy All Monsters Godzilla suit the most. The brief skirmishes between Gabara and Minya are fun and they become even more fun when Godzilla gets into the mix.

I always found Gabara to be a wonderful addition to the Godzilla roster and have hoped he would return in future movies. I believe his physical appearance, and the sheer amount of potential he possesses, Gabara could be a big-time Godzilla villain.

It’s hard to rate the effects when so much of it is stock. Sure, the stock footage is annoying and it takes you out of the movie seeing the different Godzilla suits and lighting changes in the footage. But the newer material is well-produced, so I guess I will have to try and find some middle ground…

7.0/10

Acting: In a kid’s movie, you’re bound to get some acting that isn’t completely on par. Godzilla’s Revenge is a slight exception to that. Tomonori Yazaki plays a wonderful Ichiro that isn’t annoying like so many of the children we will get in later Showa era Godzilla or even most of the children in the Showa Gamera films. He plays a child that truly does seem like an outcast and yearning to find some sort of peace and stability in his life while finding a niche to fit in.

Hideyo Amamoto is my favorite in this film. His Inami is funny, quirky, goofy, yet wise and caring. Amamoto never cared much for this movie, but I can’t help but to believe that he did to some degree, because of his performance.

Sachio Sakai and Kazuo Suzuki play the incompetent bank robbers and this is where the acting is a bit off at times. Sure, they are supposed to be not quite as threatening otherwise the movie would not be suitable for children, but the acting is too silly at times. However, for what they were called to do, they did wonderful work and provided the comic relief when necessary. I cannot even give half the fault on these guys for their goofy characters, but I get a sense that they could have given a little more in some scenes. Nevertheless, the acting is great.

9.2/10

Battles: This is probably the weakest point of the movie depending on how you look at it… It could be disappointing, because many of the battles are stock footage battles we’ve seen in previous films. But it could also not be weak, because you are still being entertained despite the stock footage.

For me, the stock footage takes me out of the movie a bit. The different Godzilla suits and obviously knowing that such battles took place in previous films is a bit annoying. At the same time, though, to some degree, I am entertained.

The newer footage is fun despite how little of it there is. In the end, many points are docked due to the stock footage, but not enough to make the rating for this section a Super Monster Gamera-like disaster.

4.2/10

Human Drama: I found myself invested in Ichiro and Inami even though I knew Ichiro was completely safe from harm even in the clutches of the robbers. Ichiro’s story is somewhat relatable for me and I still that I can find myself relating to it on some level.

Ichiro’s plot to snag the robbers is interesting to watch and entertaining. His confronting Gabara, though, I thought was more satisfying than him taking down the bank robbers. There isn’t, though, much to speak of when it comes to drama. We get it in spurts but it all comes together in the end. So, I guess, there is a lack of drama, but the movie does so well to keep the viewer entertained between the monster and human scenes that it’s hard to give this section a low score. The human drama, overall, isn’t stellar, but it is fairly entertaining.

8.2/10

Overall: I don’t watch Godzilla’s Revenge as often as I did when I was younger. Part of it, then, was that the movie was a part of my small library of Godzilla films at the time. Even then, though, I found myself extremely enthralled by the movie and totally relatable. The pacing was quick enough where I wasn’t bored and, despite the stock footage, I always felt entertained.

Being older, now, I have found that, even though the story has some relatable qualities with it still, it’s nowhere to the degree it was when I was younger. And the answer to that is simple: I’m no longer a child.

Godzilla’s Revenge is a children’s movie and older fans need to keep this in mind as they watch it. Even then, yes, the film is not perfect and it is understandable that some fans are extremely irritated at the large amounts of stock footage. While the stock footage is annoying to some degree, I’ll admit, it doesn’t annoy me like it did when I was younger. I’ve come to accept this movie more and more as a film that was designed to help kids face their fears and to understand giant monsters do not exist.

The movie isn’t horrible and I find a lot to like in it. I’m always surprised as to how much I really do like it given the fact that I am, as of this writing, not too far off from the age of 30. I’m still a kid at heart, though, and I think that part of me is able to see the diamonds in some of the roughs in the film.

The only true knock I will give the film is the title. What is Godzilla getting his revenge on? Of course, that wasn’t the original Japanese title, but the movie, I think, is poorly titled.

Godzilla’s Revenge is certainly not a movie for everybody. I think it’s a great way to introduce younger fans to the franchise. But I still say that this movie should be watched by every fan every so often

7.3/10