Gojira vs. Desutoroiâ (1995) Directed by Takao Okawara

Maybe it actually was a good and positive thing when every Gojira movie used to be very different from another, with each different and new characters in it. This is the third Gojira movie in a row to put its main focus on the G-force and I have to say, it's getting a bit tiresome to watch.

This movie yet again feels like more of the same really. Gojira is yet again fighting another giant kaiju, while protecting his son and G-force is after all of them as well again of course. Sure, there is plenty else happening in the movie as well but the point is that there also is plenty of the same happening in it again, especially when compared to the previous two sequels, that came out before this one.

There still is plenty of variety and creativity in this movie but yet it somehow all feels very familiar. Maybe it's a problem that for a while in the '90's new Gojira movies got released every year, so all of them tend to feel and look a bit the same, also because most of them were done by the same cast and crew.

Even the new villainous kaiju Destroyah feels a bit bland, despite the fact that he has a great look and some truly awesome powers. It just seems silly to me that basically every Gojira movie feels the need to introduce some new big kaijus, even though there are plenty of great villainous kaijus already, who previously had been introduced in some of the earlier sequels.

But enough 'complaining'. Like I said, this movie also still has some originality and creativity in it. For instance the whole idea that Gojira is literally a walking nuclear bomb in this movie. But in the end, is the movie really doing enough with this concept? It adds some extra tension and cool looking visuals to the movie but at the same time, it's pretty redundant and silly as well, like most plot devices in Gojira movies often are. Again, it seems like a good and welcome addition though the movie is also going for slightly more emotional and dramatic approach as well, which gives the movie some more depth and layers to it.

The kaiju fights themselves luckily also all are pretty good and fun to watch. There is enough action in this movie, which ensures that the movie itself never turns into a boring one, even though the story doesn't have an awful lot to offer. It's actually amazing how a modern movie featuring a bunch of guys in rubber suits, crashing into miniature buildings, still can work out as something both convincing and entertaining, without looking ridicules, or turning the movie into a totally silly one. Really, it all makes you wonder why there weren't some more movies at the time that were still using miniatures and guys in suits, as opposed to CGI'ing everything up. Seems like a both cheaper and easier thing to do and it often works out as something far more convincing, spectacular and entertaining in my opinion, since with CGI, you always know it's fake, no matter how good looking all of it is. Not saying that the effects in this movie are all perfect but it's really not half as bad, silly or outdated as you would expect it to look like.

Not as fresh or original as some of the ealier sequels but still a good and fun enough movie to watch, especially for the lovers of the series of course.

6/10

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