Shin Godzilla – 3 out of 5
Do we all realize that there have been over 30 Godzilla
films? Let that fact sink in for a
moment because that’s just nuts! That
just goes to show how successful this monster has been as Toho, alongside two
America films, have been churned out and they continue to have staying power and
are loved by the fandom. That’s staying
power, my friends! Well, Toho is back
with a new reboot of the radioactive beast with Shin Godzilla and it is taking
this familiar property is a bold new direction.
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He's got a nuclear hair ball. |
After an incident in the Tokyo Bay causes some flooding and
destruction, the government begins a quick investigation. One representative theorizes that a massive
creature caused it but his theory is rejected; however, it turns out the man
was correct and a mysterious monster emerges from the sea and starts a wave of
destruction through the city. Now the
government must scramble and enlist the help of other countries as this
creature, called Godzilla, starts to evolve and showcase dangerous and
incredibly destructive abilities. The
government must act quickly to stop Godzilla before the entire country is
eliminated and it takes on a new, even more deadly form.
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He's trying to hide behind the trees that scamp. |
If you like your Godzilla movies featuring a lot of scenes of
elected officials discussing how to solve the problem of a giant rampaging
monster and only show the creature during small, fleeting moments until the end
of the movie, well then, my friend, this is the Godzilla movie for you. Despite the movie getting really great reviews
overseas (and just mixed over here in The States), I walked away from Shin
Godzilla a little on the “meh” side.
It’s not a terrible film and it actually has some really wicked new
ideas that kept it from looking just like every other Godzilla film but, in the
end, the new stuff sorta made it feel too different and it missed that fun
magic that makes these films enjoyable.
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The best part about this one is it is missing Matthew Broderick. |
It is undeniably cool to see how authorities and the
governing bodies deal with the colossal beast destroying the city and it adds a
new layer to the mythology that we always knew was there but never was the
focus. The problem for me was that the
novelty of it started to wear thin.
There was a point where I just wanted to see that good old Godzilla
charm and see him tear some stuff down.
This does occur but it happens so infrequently and, this is just me here, to
a very unsatisfying degree. I will
concede that there were some really cool moments of monster destruction action
and a really cool new type of attack from the superstar kaiju but the scenes
just weren’t long enough and they were just too few. The emphasis on governmental reaction to the
terror was definitely interesting and something unique but it just couldn’t
replace the monster movie mayhem.
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THRILL AT THE MONSTER MADNESS! |
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Look at how adorably dumb he looks! |
One thing I really enjoyed about this movie is Godzilla
itself. I liked the new design of the
kaiju and how he evolved from the beginning of the film to the very creepy
final moments that hint to what was coming next. I also liked the special effects that brought
this new Godzilla to life as they utilized motion capture computer effects but
also kept the look of a man in a rubber suit.
There were times, however, that the special effects were kinda weak as
its body didn’t seem to move right. This
was especially noticeable with the legs. There was something just off when it walked as
it seemed the legs were never being raised high enough but rather just moved
slightly up and down as forward momentum occurred. To put it another way, the monster seemed to
move like those toys that are on wheels hidden on the bottom and has legs that
are just there to create the illusion of mobility as the wheels move the thing
forward. Beyond this, however, I really
enjoyed this new, far more menacing Godzilla.
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Such beautiful impending destruction. |
Shin Godzilla has some great acting (except for the American
voice over actors during a couple scenes—holy smokes, they were bad), the
visuals look great and it’s a new take on the old formula. However, when I watch a Godzilla film, I
don’t want to see government officials debating on what they should do and how
they should go about executing an evacuation.
I wanna see monsters fighting and armies being scrambled to stop
them. There were elements of the film I
enjoyed and I really liked this new monster but, overall, I thought the whole
thing was pretty average and wasn’t that impressive.
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