The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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The Return of Godzilla
Science Fiction · Action · Horror · 1984
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.
Movie details
The Return of Godzilla
“Breaking 30 years of silence comes the anticipated-worldwide latest "Godzilla" work!”
1984 Science Fiction · Action · Horror 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.8 / 10
3.9K votes
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Return of Godzilla?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Koji Hashimoto
Written by
Tomoyuki Tanaka · Hideichi Nagahara
Keiju Kobayashi
Prime Minister Seiki Mitamura
Ken Tanaka
Goro Maki
Yasuko Sawaguchi
Naoko Okumura
Shin Takuma
Hiroshi Okumura
Yōsuke Natsuki
Professor Makoto Hayashida
Eitarō Ozawa
Minister of Finance Kanzaki
Taketoshi Naitō
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takegami
Court is in session
Put The Return of Godzilla on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.