Godzilla 1985

After nine years of absence, Godzilla returned for the franchise’s 30th anniversary with a high-budget, ambitious film that serves as a retcon, picking up from the original 1954 movie and ignoring the 14 intervening films. Godzilla is portrayed as a lone villain whose attacks on a fishing boat and a Russian submarine spark an international crisis, drawing in the U.S. and Russia. The film reintroduces nuclear themes and a dark atmosphere, while human characters and political tension play a central role as Japan resists foreign pressure to use nuclear weapons. With Koji Hashimoto’s direction, Godzilla is redesigned to be more imposing and less anthropomorphic, and Teruyoshi Nakano’s special effects—including animatronics and night-time attacks on Tokyo—deliver memorable, visually striking scenes. At 80 meters tall, Godzilla’s return in 1984 set a strong foundation for a new era of the franchise and has aged remarkably well.