Now that the sublime Godzilla Minus One is streaming on Netflix and Godilla x Kong: The New Empire is now both the MonsterVerse’s highest-grossing movie and on home video, it’s time to look back on the Big G’s massive history. How has the Godzilla franchise lasted 70 years? What’s allowed it to retain its energy to the point that audiences are still tuning in?
Godzilla Minus One
- Release Date
- December 1, 2023
- Director
- Takashi Yamazaki
- Cast
- Ryûnosuke Kamiki , Takayuki Yamada , Sakura Andou
For one, it’s a franchise that knows how to give fans what they want. Movies like the original Gojira, 1984’s The Return of Godzilla, 2016’s Shin Godzilla, and 2014’s debut MonsterVerse film all knew how to build up the monster’s presence.
For that matter, so too did the much-maligned 1998 film. And, for those movies where the Big G isn’t the only massive draw, it’s a franchise that knows how to deliver bombastic brawls. So, those are the similarities…what are the differences between the Japanese and Americanized takes on the IP?
10 Drawing in Breath
In the Japanese Godzilla movies, be they Showa-Era or Heisei-Era and beyond, the monster is quick to shoot out his blue atomic breath. And it’s not always a long stream of it. Just look at the short burst he spurts out at a helicopter in 1984’s The Return of Godzilla.
Waiting to Exhale
The MonsterVerse, however, makes a meal of it. Not only do his dorsal plates light up one by one from tail to head, but he draws in his breath and puffs out his chest, as well. It’s a nice visual element, and helps allow the viewer truly get a sense of just how destructive the atomic breath is.
9 The Allegorical Nature
The Japanese Godzilla films, particularly the original, make the monster a stand-in for the dangers of nuclear radiation. The Return of Godzilla does much the same just with the backdrop of the Cold War upping the tension. And, to be fair to the American Godzillas, they haven’t excised this element altogether.
We Have a Point to Make Here
The 1998 film also had the Big G (its version of him, at least) be a direct product of radiation tests. Were the tests not conducted, the iguana wouldn’t become the big iguana just as in the 1954 original movie, had the Americans not conducted their hydrogen bomb test, the thought-lost ancient reptile (with an identity never explicitly stated), would have died with the remainder of its kind.
The Legendary movies also incorporate radiation, but it’s much more subtle. Godzilla was crafted by radiation, but not due to a test…he’s so old that he existed when Earth’s surface had far more radiation than it does now.
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8 Who’s the Villain Here?
There are plenty of potential additions to the MonsterVerse (e.g. Destoroyah and Godzilla Jr.), but it stands to reason the 1998 version of Godzilla will never be one of them. Even if it’s underrated, it’s still not exactly beloved, and Godzilla: Final Wars has already managed to find a way to incorporate the renamed ‘Zilla’ as part of the official IP. And it’s fair that the movie is not well-liked, because the title character is far from Godzilla.
I Said…Leave Me Alone!
When the Showa era started, the Big G spent four and a half movies being the antagonist. He converted to the side of good by the end of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and stayed that way until The Return of Godzilla, but even then he was equally different from the ’98 take. Either way, the Toho movies had Godzilla in charge…whereas the TriStar movie has him running away from helicopters.
7 Minus One’s Popping Out Spines
This one may be a bit of a cheat, because it’s not just unique to the Japanese Godzilla movies. It’s unique to just a single take on the character: Godzilla Minus One‘s. But, there is a small similarity between Minus One‘s Godzilla and Legendary’s Godzilla. Namely, the aforementioned tendency for Godzilla’s dorsal plates to light up from tail to head.
Looks Like It Hurts
But, Minus One ups this cool factor by having each dorsal plate pop out as it lights up. It’s as if someone’s pulling up the plunger on a dynamite detonator only for it to get pushed back down when it’s explosion time. In other words, it’s just one way Minus One showed there were new things to do with the Big G.
6 The Human Element
Just as the Toho Godzilla movies were at their best when they were exploring the title character as an allegory, they were just the same when embracing the horror potential. This also goes for when they were character-focused. The original film did it the best, at least until Godzilla Minus One stopped around, but there were also some monster vs. monster installments (particularly Mothra vs. Godzilla) that did it phenomenally, as well.
As for the Americans?
The MonsterVerse has nailed the combat of the older films, but not so much the human side of things. That said, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters did manage to pull this off, but one might argue at the expense of the action. It’s the most distracting in the 2014 franchise opener and The New Empire, where human characters exist to basically comment on what’s going on and crack ultra-lame jokes.
5 Legendary’s Godzilla Has Always Been Around
As mentioned, Legendary’s take on the Big G is ancient. He even predates humans. It’s not quite as effective as the narrative device of having him be the direct result of a nuclear test, but at least it indicates that American cinema is taking the character seriously enough to take some creative liberties and make him their own.
Ol’ Man Ziller
But, the point remains, the monster in Gojira isn’t exactly ancient. He was inadvertently crafted by the Americans. It’s just a wonder that the MonsterVerse G isn’t going gray and eating dinner at 4:30 PM.
4 Monster Island
As the Showa-Era Godzilla movies progressed, and he lost some of his rough edges, there was something that started to become prevalent. Specifically, the Big G’s stomping ground: Monster Island. After all, if Godzilla and his pals Rodan and Anguirus are going to be on this planet, they need somewhere to snooze without annoying planes shooting missiles at them.
Great Place for a Vacay
Legendary’s MonsterVerse has broached the topic of Monster Island in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, but it’s not the same. If anything, the MonsterVerse’s Hollow Earth is its take on Monster Island. It just happens to lack forestation and a surrounding body of water.
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3 Mobility
Lumbering is the best word to describe Godzilla’s movements in the Japanese movies. The only real exception would be his early stages in Shin Godzilla, but it’s hardly the same considering he’s crawling around haphazardly at that point. He’s big and he’s slow, which makes sense considering just how big he is.
It’s Big, It’s L- Fast, It’s Fun
In the Legendary movies (save for the 2014 one), however, he’s got some speed. It’s like when Zack Snyder updated the undead for his Dawn of the Dead after 28 Days Later showed that, yes, fast zombies can still be scary. Well, Legendary has shown that a running Godzilla can work, too.
2 Monarch
In the newer American Godzilla movies, the Monarch organization is a prevalent a presence as Godzilla himself, if not more so. It’s a fine way to keep things a bit grounded and give the human characters some more agency than usual. Though, really, Monarch is typically playing catch-up.
Well, That’s New
Long (and tall) story short, there’s no massive, shadowy organization in the Japanese films. There’s just the Japanese government. And instead of leading expeditions into the Hollow Earth (something else unique to the Legendary movies) they’re mostly just sending out doomed jet pilots to shoot at the atomic monster until they’re swatted down eight seconds after liftoff.
1 Practical Effects vs. CGI
A small budget can allow but so much. And the Japanese Godzilla movies have always had small budgets. This includes even Godzilla Minus One, even if it quite clearly made the absolute most of it.
Legendary Budgets
The Legendary G-films (and Roland Emmerich’s 1998 movie, for that matter), have all had blockbuster budgets. And, like Minus One but on the opposite side of the coin, they’ve made the most of them. The movies look terrific, and one can’t help but assume that an actor in a rubber suit just wouldn’t fly in the States, even back in ’98.
