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SHIN GODZILLA MOVIE REVIEW
by Scott Burkhart © 2016 Two years ago, 28 year old English wunderkind filmmaker Gareth Edwards gave us a film that was previously unthinkable: an American produced Godzilla film that was genuinely quite good. So good, in fact, that with just a bit more allegorical depth and a pinch more monster action it could have been a masterpiece, perhaps equaling the power of the original 1954 Gojira, or its two years later English language adaptation as Godzilla, King of the Monsters. Even for those of us who are hardcore, longtime fans of this character, it was pretty close to call. Toho Studios, who created and own the character in Japan, are back at it for the first time since 2004’s divisive Godzilla: Final Wars. The new film, Shin Gojira, is directed by Hideako Anno (nominally an anime director who gave us the political conspiracy mecha thriller Neon Genesis Evengelion) and features special effects direction from Shinji Higuchi (the SFX genius who worked on Shusuke Kaneko’s ‘90’s Gamera trilogy; he also worked out the effects for the live action theatrical adaptations of the horrifying instant classic manga and anime Attack on Titan). The two men collaborated so closely on Shin Godzilla they agreed to both take co-director credits on this film. This is the first time that Toho themselves have drawn a line in the sand and rebooted the franchise entirely from scratch. All previous Godzilla films, even while going through distinct cycles, have had some connection to the 1954 original (even if only vaguely, at times). But here, none of the Japanese characters know who - or what - Godzilla is and the origin is reworked to have little, or nothing, to do with the A-bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. The mystery begins when geysers of water and some disgusting mysterious blood sprout up in the middle of a densely populated fishing bay. At first the disaster response team thinks a water main has broken, but this doesn’t explain the strange blood. During these scenes, the movie establishes that this film will be centered on multiple characters rather than a small main cast. Intriguingly, every single character is either a politician or bureaucrat, and instead of having subversive, sinister ulterior motives, they are nationalists who truly love their country. Points for originality there! Before long an entirely new life-form is spotted, and the footage springs up all over the internet. Knowing the public must not be denied the truth, the PM calls a press conference to reassure the public that this creature cannot possibly set foot on land. Que the subordinate who interrupts the press conference to inform the PM that the creature has just set foot on land! It is in crisp, satirical moments such as these when Shin Gojira is at its best, examining Japanese character and identity in the modern era; the movie is as much reflective of their position as a U.S. subordinate as it is a monster movie; that is key to enjoying it. Just as in 2014’s Godzilla, the creature causes displaced water to flood through the streets, and anyone who has watched the Youtube footage of Japan’s 2011 tsunami disaster will immediately recognize the intended allegory. The creature at first appears to be a somewhat silly looking tadpole-type mutant hybrid that causes us to laugh at it more than fear it - in large part because of its enormous googly eyes that never seem to focus anywhere. It is, I think, deliberately designed as a recall toward the early days of suitmation effects, particularly the work of Eiji Tsuburaya and the type of kaiju costumes he had designed in the earliest days of both “Ultra Q” and “Ultraman”. If the FX work wasn’t so damn good, this might be impossible to take seriously. Indeed it is meant to have a light tone to offset the darkness that permeates through the middle of the film. However the creature frequently stops its random rampaging and mutates, indicating that it is both still growing and largely adaptive to whatever environments it encounters. Before long we have the classic, iconographic silhouette of Godzilla, and he looks glorious as ever; it is a far more impressive design than even in Gareth Edwards film, and that is not to denote disfavor there as much it is too truly be awed by the horrific, scarred and deformed, imagery here. (Many people applauded the use of aquatic gills on this design; these same people failed to notice that actually came directly from the 2014 film). Godzilla goes about his usual business of making mincemeat of Tokyo, while the PM and the government figure out just what they are going to do. Their options are pretty limited and by the time the orders filter through the chain of command down to the actual ground and field commanders, the creature has moved on! When our favorite towering kaiju beast displays some new tricks up his sleeve - such as a more articulate radiation blast breath and the ability to shoot lasers out of dorsal spines and tail - it is an example of the how to make changes to an established character that audiences will cheer for rather than groan about all over the internet! During the latter half of the film, the talky-government scenes become a little long in the tooth but fortunately the film seems to recognize this too, and much of it is spent speeding towards a somewhat bizarre climax dealing with their ultimate plan to freeze Godzilla in his tracks, since nothing short of a nuclear strike will kill him (and given his propensity to feed off radiation, even that might not work). Shin Godzilla has proven to be popular both in Japan and abroad, I’m delighted to report, and will mark a turning point in the (no doubt) continuing series of films. While sequels to the Hollywood Godzilla are in development and will move, inevitably, toward a rematch with King Kong, the Japanese Gojira must move forward as a product of Japanese culture as much as being a mere monster character.
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