JAGzilla wrote:Its monster lineup has to be a factor in that initial popularity. Besides Godziller himself (with the addition of a flashy new beam), it resurrected Rodan as an enemy-turned-ally for Godzilla, redesigned Mechagodzilla as a human built 'good guy' with some kickass abilities, and gave us a new Son of Godzilla that wasn't Minya. It's easy to take those things for granted twenty-five years later, but they must've been a big deal at the time.
And for me the best thIng about these "developments" is they feel natural
& earned...like the series was slowly building up momentum & stakes as
it went on.
First Godzilla on his own...
Then Godzilla vs. a clone...
Then Ghidorah returned...
Then Mothra returned with the added twist of an Evil Mothra...
& then MechaGodzilla, Rodan & a new Son of Godzilla...
It felt like a natural escalation of stakes...which is why I find
SpaceGodzilla so lackluster & Destoroyah has its moments...but
its a fairly uneven film carried mainly by an amazing Godzilla suit
& the meltdown threat running throughout it.
I'm not really a Destoroyah fan either...
He's just a recycled version of Hedorah with ties to the oxygen
destroyer...and it feels incredibly forced in my opinion.
I remember reading GvMGII was meant to be the final film of the
Heisei series...but there was a change of plans...and I can honestly
state it would have been a fitting end for the series.