Godzilla vs. Destoroyah/Godzilla vs. Megaguirus [Blu-ray]

GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH Director Takao Okawara’s film is the last of the Heisei series, wrapping up storylines began in the mid ‘80s. Though it’s not my favorite of the plethora of Kaiju flicks my son and I have watched so far, I found it to be enjoyable and well made. When it’s discovered that Godzilla is destined to explode in a nuclear fireball that could destroy the planet, the government scrambles scientists and the military to devise a way to freeze the King of the Monsters, preventing an atomic holocaust. Meanwhile, the unintended consequences of the Oxygen Destroyer Bomb from the original GODZILLA from 1954 include mutating hibernating prehistoric organisms from the blast site into horrifying new monsters. They begin as roughly human-sized beasts but continue to grow, while also gaining the ability to coalesce into a single giant beast, the titular Destoroyah. With this new menace rampaging along the coast of Japan, seemingly on a collision course with Godzilla (and Godzilla’s less aggressive offspring, natch), will humanity prevail? Along with the solid man-in-suit action, this film also utilizes some stop motion, early light CGI, and animatronics. There’s less of an emphasis on city stomping in this entry, which isn’t necessarily bad as it provides a slightly different approach. I enjoyed seeing the smaller Destoroyahs being engaged by the comparably sized human characters as this is another element that helps set the film apart. The futuristic heavily armed Super-X III vehicle is cool and realistically rendered. Really, all of the effects work is nicely done, relative to the budget. This entry’s Godzilla, with his glowing radioactive rashes, is another distinctive element that stands out from other films in the franchise. The Burning Godzilla, as he’s known, is my son’s favorite look. Despite all the unique elements of the film, which are much appreciated, the structure is overall pretty standard fare for the series. Also, the human characters are nothing special. Now, I haven’t seen all the Heisei films, so it’s possible that I’m missing some of the implications for the characters. That also leads me to say that this particular film wouldn’t be a great starting point for an uninitiated viewer. I would probably put Takao Okawara’s GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH in the middle of the pack of the films we’ve watched in our recent binge. Featuring some unique elements but not quite enough to overcome a handful of minor flaws, it was nevertheless a fine matinee for a cold Saturday. GODZILLA VS MEGAGUIRUS After watching so many Godzilla films over the last month, I figured Masaaki Tezuka’s GODZILLA VS MEGAGUIRUS: THE G EXTERMINATION STRATEGY from 2000 would probably be a fine film but nothing extraordinary. However, I was greatly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and while I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, it’s near the top of the list of the films my son and I have binged. As it is a part of the Millennium series, this is mostly a standalone film that doesn’t have much connection to any previous Godzilla films outside of the original from 1954. Even that connection is tenuous, though, as it lightly retcons some of the events. Explicitly taking place in an alternate timeline, there’s a montage that briefly explains the impact a handful of Godzilla’s attacks have had on Japanese society and especially their technology. When the King of the Monsters attacks again, the Japanese deploy a high tech battle jet and a satellite based black hole gun. On the gun’s first usage, it is mostly ineffective, but it results in the arrival of a prehistoric dragonfly through a wormhole. Soon, the newly mutated dragonfly lays eggs that are the basis for an army of the giant aggressive insects. Following the massive flooding of parts of Tokyo, the huge dragonfly queen, the titular Megaguirus, lays even more waste to the city and confronts Godzilla. Will the black hole gun be able to rid the world of the rampaging beasts? So the basic plot is pretty familiar if you’ve seen more than a few Godzilla flicks. That being said, the flourishes are what make the film stand out. The black hole gun is a cool weapon. The alternate history angle, though somewhat subtle, is also interesting. Godzilla’s look is fierce, and possibly the toothiest outside of the “realistic” rendering of Shin Godzilla. Budget appropriate CGI and animatronics impress and are utilized effectively. I really appreciated the image manipulation in the POV scenes with what looks like low frame rate photography. The submerged Tokyo sequences are also visually engaging and a nice wrinkle. The battle scenes call back to the Showa era feel, with an almost big time wrestling approach. The tone never dips into camp, however, as it’s more evocative of comic books. The human characters and storylines, often a weak point in these films, aren’t bad. I actually had a lot of fun with Masaaki Tezuka’s GODZILLA VS MEGAGUIRUS: THE G EXTERMINATION STRATEGY. Though formulaic, it more than gets by on some efficient sci fi creativity. Being mostly standalone, it lends itself to a broad audience and while it wouldn’t be the first Godzilla movie I’d recommend, it earns my general recommendation.

I'm a Godzilla fan and definitely feel these releases are just higher quality overall than the previous dvd releases. If your wanting to see what Godzilla is all about, these blu rays are a better start than some of the dvd collections that were released (some of those lack even subtitles)

great to see these movies still in circulation. they are terrible by today's standards but have a cult following. would be nice to see better full collections.

I haven't scene many of the 28 Godzilla films since the 1954 Godzilla film that brought the King of All Monsters to life. This 2 pack has what is considered the best Godzilla film since that 1954 film in Destoroyah paired with what some consider to be the weakest of the film series presented by the Toho company. I was very pleased with Destoroyah film, it is well deserved of the hype surrounding this film. I the PQ is very good and has the original Japanese audio track with the english dub as the other audio track. I am just glad that these films have been given the blu ray treatment in the US. A great watch for monster film fans.

I am so glad they remastered both these movies in Blu-ray. Godzilla Vs Destoroyah is one of my favorite Godzilla movies of all times besides Godzilla vs spacegodzilla. If your a fan this is definitely worth it & to get a double feature like this on 2 discs for only $15 it’s worth it. You can chose between Japanese language with English subtitles or English language & still have English subtitles

Being a life-long Godzilla movie fan, I've enjoyed all the films since I was a child. If you're a young or old fan of "Kaiju" movies from Japan, you should buy these Blu-ray discs! Another double feature set of some of the last of the 2nd Era of Godzilla movies, with the 3rd era starting from "Godzilla 2000". Fun! One of the most successful & enduring film series in history, dozens of Godzilla films have been made for over 60 years!

Great Godzilla collection. Cheesy, campy goodness. Much better than the newer, American Godzilla films. Destroyah may be the best Godzilla movie ever made. Megaguirus is pretty good as well. Highly recommended to Kaiju/monster movie fans.

It's Godzilla. If you enjoyed the classic Godzilla from the 60s, then you'll probably enjoy these.