One could easily argue that Godzilla 1985 was keeping a great (well, maybe not great) American tradition alive. The metamorphoses continued into the ‘60s, as Mothra vs. Godzilla became Godzilla vs. The Thing, and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep became Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (and so on). Is Godzilla 1985 really as terrible as its reputation suggests? And though the chin-strokers on Letterboxd might tell you that Godzilla 1985 is inferior to the Japanese original, many of them are missing the point.