Godzilla vs. Destoroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 5, 2014

'Godzilla' mania! Sony has made available eight 'Godzilla' films in four separate two-pack Blu-ray releases, no doubt hoping to capitalize on the imminent release, and heightened public awareness, of the new 'Godzilla' film. This set contains 'Godzilla vs. Destoroyah' and 'Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.' Individual reviews, and additional screenshots, can be found here and here.

No, they are NOT pink!

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Score: 4.0/5.0

"Godzilla dies." It was the news heard 'round the world, a proclamation that was front-and-center in promotional teasers, and represented, seemingly, the end of an era or, looking at it another way, an open door for further future opportunities. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah will certainly go down in history as one of the more important Godzilla films in a franchise practically bursting at the seams with unforgettable moments, unbelievable villains, unstoppable destruction, and unending chaos. The film also marks the end of the Heisei series of films, a grouping that carried the franchise through the first half of the 1990s (as well as 1984's The Return of Godzilla), including, from that decade, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla.

"Birth Island," home to "Little Godzilla" and one of the key locations from Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla, is gone, destroyed by a dangerous fission reaction. That reaction has further irradiated Godzilla, turning him red and making him more dangerous than ever. Scientists, including a young upstart college student and Godzilla expert named Kenichi Yamane (Yasufumi Hayashi), believe that Godzilla will ultimately suffer nuclear meltdown and bring mass destruction to the entire globe. Meanwhile, Psychic Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka) searches for Little Godzilla. Scientists hope to slow Godzilla's meltdown by re-introducing the "Oxygen Destroyer," the same device used against the monster decades ago (as seen in the original film). Unfortunately, use of the device proves disastrous, giving birth to a new, deadly, unstoppable species.

Talk about a radical change of pace. Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla took the series in a different tonal direction, incorporating a good bit of levity into the proceedings and, while maintaining the core Godzilla principles and franchise characteristics, engaged the audience from different perspectives and to mostly enjoyable result. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah proves an even more radical change of pace, this time in the oppose direction. This is a beautifully dark, serious, somber film, one constructed of a relentless pace, no fluff, and an edginess and grit that only adds to the darkness and dire consequences on which the story is built. The film captures an essential drama behind the chaos, too, proving to be much more than toppled buildings and combat on a massive scale. It's also a story of closure and feeling, of endings and new beginnings, of both physical and emotional pain. The film folds quite a bit of material into itself, making it one of the series' most focused and purposeful entrants.

The picture's tonal bleakness, high stakes, edge-of-seat thrills, and absence of humor don't lessen the core Godzilla entertainment value. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah features some of the most robust action the series has ever seen, including a middle stretch that's more about man versus monster than it is monster versus monster. There's a rather lengthy Aliens-inspired segment and several moments of danger when characters are placed directly in harm's way, engaged on the ground with the monsters and not viewing the action from afar, as is frequently the case. More, the picture finds greater urgency by ramping up the consequences of failure for stopping Godzilla, moving well beyond basic destruction and finding a significantly more grave and deadly outcome should man not prevail. In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, man resorts to the ultimate emotional manipulation to set up a confrontation between Godzilla and Destoroyah, rationalizing certain sacrifices in the name of preventing a catastrophe greater than any the world has seen before. It's the moral quagmires and explored feelings and consequences that help elevate the film above most others in the series, and the result is a tight, focused effort that's equally balanced between drama and destruction.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Score: 2.5/5.0

Goodbye, Heisei, hello, Millennium. Though the second film in Godzilla's Millennium series following Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is the first to be released on Blu-ray in the United States. The picture certainly sets a tone that's noticeably different from the admittedly tonally uneven but largely identifiable Heisei series. Millennium's Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, as the series' name suggests, pushes the franchise into a new timeframe of moviemaking, still relying on some classic Godzilla structures and stylings but offering a more frenetic, fast-paced sort of experience that's less focused on dramatic subtlety and story nuance and more focused on kinetic action. The end result is a movie that's actually slower than most of its predecessors, a film that's too reliant on motion and less reliant on feeling. It lacks the grit of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, the wit of Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla, the action of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and the splendor of Godzilla vs. Mothra, though it does share something of an origins story vibe with Heisei's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. In short, it's a film with little rhythm and not a lot of purpose, one of the franchise's most forgettable entries.

Things have changed since the deadly attacks on Japan by the monstrous Godzilla. The nation's capital has moved from the destroyed Tokyo to Osaka. Nuclear power plants are offline and never to be constructed again in hopes of preventing future nuclear disasters after a run-in with Godzilla. While the nation relied on water, wind, and solar energies for power, they ultimately proved insufficient to drive the technologically advanced nation. Soon, clean plasma energy was introduced, and with that came the introduction of the technologies necessary to create a plasma weapon capable of opening a black hole that scientists hope will swallow Godzilla and leave the monster permanently trapped inside. While the weapon is under construction and Japan's anti-Godzilla special forces unit known as "G-Graspers" battle the creature, a child discovers and ultimately discards an egg that hatches underground and releases hundreds of young that eventually bring forth the creature Megaguirus and sets the stage for another showdown between Godzilla and an oversized foe.

As Godzilla vs. Megaguirus sets a new tone, it takes a look back at some action from previous installments while at the same time forging its own identity and timeline. A new capital city, closed nuclear power plants, and radical new technologies are amongst the new realities for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, all of which play into not only story structure and specifics but general action, too. Along with its new timeline comes a new look and flow for the franchise. There's an Americanized, big movie structure at play, one where the nuanced is replaced with the exaggerated, where story and pace and depth take a backseat to overkill action and style. The movie doesn't fall completely into Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay territory, but it seems clearly influenced by them and their uniquely identifiable screen rhythms.

Still, the movie hangs onto some core franchise action elements, chiefly in its rather long final battle that's perhaps more chaotic, but at the same time more laborious and repetitive, than most any other end act fight the franchise has seen before. Structurally, action never escapes from classic franchise stylings -- it still boils down to an epic clash between two gigantic opponents and, here, miniatures even more unconvincing than those seen in previous entries -- even as it feels a little bigger in scope and scale but lacks that real sense of dramatic importance that underlines the clashes in many previous installments, hence the rather lazy feel to it. On the contrary, there's a more substantial human element to the film, with an effort to create more dramatic character arcs born of confrontations with Godzilla and the emotions that result and scar. Unfortunately, the film never moves beyond the basics, failing to find much depth in its rather cliché plot lines and character motives that drive the story but don't create any tangible emotions beyond the obvious.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Score: 4.0/5.0

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah's 1080p transfer falls in-line with all of the accompanying Sony Godzilla releases. It's well-defined and filmic, a touch drab and not detailed to the point of replicating real life but certainly a solid all-around visual effort. Though the image features light title wobble and is occasionally peppered with minor occurrences of debris and slightly spiky grain, it offers an otherwise stable watch. Details are satisfying, from basic clothing and facial features to well-pronounced textures on rubbery monsters. City shots show solid clarity, with well-defined signage and building textures. Colors are satisfying in brighter scenes and mostly well balanced in darker scenes. Those same multicored city signs stand apart nicely from darker nighttime backdrops, while clothing and Godzilla's pulsating red flesh offer nice spurts of brighter hues. Black levels are rather deep, favoring light crush at times but generally remaining inky and satisfying. Flesh tones offer no faults worthy of complaint. All in all, this is a good effort from Sony.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Score: 3.0/5.0

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus arrives on Blu-ray with, surprisingly, one of the lesser efforts amongst the eight-film batch Sony has released in this run. That's not to say it's a poor effort. On the contrary, it's mostly on par with the other films of its era, just looking a little flatter -- quite a bit, at times -- and lacking the color definition and moderately intricate texturing of the other films. Light grain is present but so too is some noise. The image also looks a touch smooth in places. The image often lacks pinpoint definition and, in fact, offers some downright muddled and smeary textures, notably seen on clumps of vegetation. Clothing and skin details are only revealing of the most basic lines and definition. Creature close-ups do reveal adequate, detail-revelatory definition. Colors aren't at all bold, but then again this stretch of films isn't particularly vibrant to begin with. This transfer handles basic shades -- a purple car, a red shirt -- well enough in bright light but there's no punch to this palette. Black levels are never too far off in either direction -- crush or pushing a shade of purple or gray -- and skin tones appear natural. The transfer exhibits occasional spots and speckles in addition to its grain structure. This is a watchable transfer but hardly an example of Blu-ray at its pinnacle and certainly a tick below other recently released Godzilla films.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Score: 3.0/5.0

While both of the older Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla featured DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah goes back to the Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mothra specs with its Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Though it obviously lacks the range and immersion capabilities enjoyed by the 5.1 tracks, this one is no slouch, though it's no sonic wonder, either. Music never falls flat and enjoys a good sense of front-side spacing and body, featuring well pronounced lows and weight. Rumbling aircraft and a deep boat horn play with solid presence, but gunfire and explosions range for passable to puny; there's almost no presence at all to an explosion from chapter 13. Dialogue is firm though not quite commanding. The included English dub doesn't fare significantly worse. It features just about the same characteristics as its Japanese counterpart in terms of power and stage presence with regard to action effects and music. Dialogue, too, plays rather evenly, unlike the older, sloppier two-channel tracks from previous films. As usual, English, English SDH, and French subtitle options are included.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Score: 4.0/5.0

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus returns the Sony Godzilla releases to the 5.1 well. The included native Japanese and English dub DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks are the best in the series to date. The Japanese track offers full, rich music, nicely spaced and immersive through the back. Clarity is quite good and there's a tangible weight to the track. Action sound effects are nicely implemented, featuring rockets that whoosh around the stage, creature screeches and other high-pitched sounds that push hard and clean through the system, and heavy crashes and stomps and collapsing buildings that replicate the chaos with the sort of energy that listeners should demand of a movie of this nature. Still, it lacks precision attention to detail; many of the sound effects aren't perfectly defined and come across as structurally muddled, but the effort is commendable. Dialogue plays evenly and accurately from the center. The included English dub isn't far off from its Japanese counterpart, offering much of the same in terms of volume and dynamics and richness of presentation. Even the dialogue plays naturally enough for a dub. As always, English, English SDH, and French subtitles are included.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Score: 0.5/5.0

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah contains only a few teasers and trailers: Teaser 1 (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 0:42), Teaser 2 (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 1:02), and Theatrical Trailer (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 1:37).

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Score: 0.5/5.0

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus contains only the film's Teaser Trailer (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 1:10) and Theatrical Trailer (HD, Japanese DD 2.0, English subtitles, 1:22).

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah / Godzilla vs. Megaguirus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Technically, these releases are fair. Both offer decent-to-good video and good-to-great audio. Sadly, supplements are limited to a small collection of teasers and trailers. Recommended.