The Return of Godzilla Backdrop Blur
The Return of Godzilla Poster
7.2 1h 43m

The Return of Godzilla

"Breaking 30 years of silence comes the anticipated-worldwide latest "Godzilla" work!"

After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese government amid growing political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, who are both willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.

Top Cast

  • Keiju Kobayashi

    Keiju Kobayashi

    Prime Minister Seiki Mitamura

  • Ken Tanaka

    Ken Tanaka

    Goro Maki

  • Yasuko Sawaguchi

    Yasuko Sawaguchi

    Naoko Okumura

  • Shin Takuma

    Shin Takuma

    Hiroshi Okumura

  • Yōsuke Natsuki

    Yōsuke Natsuki

    Professor Makoto Hayashida

  • Eitarō Ozawa

    Eitarō Ozawa

    Minister of Finance Kanzaki

  • Taketoshi Naitō

    Taketoshi Naitō

    Chief Cabinet Secretary Takegami

  • Nobuo Kaneko

    Nobuo Kaneko

    Home Affairs Minister Isomura

  • Mizuho Suzuki

    Mizuho Suzuki

    Foreign Minister Emori

Overview

After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese government amid growing political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, who are both willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.

Rating

7.2 / 10
334 Reviews
2 Popular

2 Reviews

  • John Chard
    John Chard
    7 Jun 7, 2019

    It's good to have the moody atomic beast back! After an extended break, Godzilla as a movie force made its comeback with this the 16th Godzilla film and the first of what would be the Heisei series. It's a reboot that basically follows on from the original Gojira film of 1954. Plot has Godzilla back as a destroyer of mankind, setting its eyes on stomping Tokyo into oblivion. As Zilla goes about its destructive way, and Tokyo attempts to repel the onslaught, there's a backdrop of a diplomatic crisis reaching boiling point as the Soviets and the Americans get ready for nuclear war. Thankfully the Japanese are able to convince the sane politicians that it is in fact Godzilla at the crux of things. Can the world powers join together to defeat the mightiest of lizards? If a Godzilla fan you could be forgiven for going into this one fearing the worst, and yet it ticks many of the boxes for those who prefer Zilla as the destroyer of mankind as opposed to the saviour of mankind that the Showa period ended up as. There's the standard amount of miniatures and sets destruction, splendidly constructed as usual, nifty effects work and a whole bunch of iconic images to take from the experience (Zilla atomic breath destruction, stomping through the city, nuclear reinvigoration, back from the dead with awesome carnage following). There's good sci-fi within as well, such as the Japanese scientists having created a super fortress known as Super X, while sometimes all you need is to hear that brilliant roar followed by lizard devastation. This was a return to the dark roots of Godzilla, complete with anti-nuclear sentiments. It didn't reinvent the wheel, but it did restart it successfully. 7/10

  • Jstewart2007
    Jstewart2007
    7 Jan 14, 2026

    After the campier films of the 1960s and 1970s, this was a great return to form for the Godzilla franchise.

Recommendations

Godzilla 1985

Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.

Godzilla 1985

6.8 1985