SHIN GODZILLA REVIEW - SPOILERS WITHIN
Summary
Overall Rating: 7/10
Shin Godzilla is a fast-paced, intense thrill ride of a film which takes cleverly crafted shots at a flawed government and boasts a strong message of strength for its native country while wowing us with the spectacle of a giant monster wreaking havoc through the capital and a series of nostalgic attempts at ridding the world of the threat of Godzilla.
Overall, I would not say any part of this film was bad. My impression of it was that it was an enjoyable film with a lot going for it, but similar to Godzilla 2014, there were areas that had potential to be something even more than what it was, and I would love to see a sequel keep the strengths of this film and add to them.
For those trying to get a sense of what sort of Godzilla film this feels like, I would say it’s a modern spin on a mid-60’s Showa era Godzilla film.
Strengths
For me, the biggest highlight of this movie was the CGI. Was it the best possible, certainly no, was it on par with the better efforts that come out of Hollywood, absolutely. Sure there were moments where it came off weaker than others, but overall it held up really well. Some of the areas where I’ve read others citing it as poor CGI, for me, were simply choices for how to animate the movement of Godzilla or a style to his transformation from one form to the next, but I don’t see these as signs that Toho can’t produce quality CGI, just choices by the filmmakers that may or may not sit well with you.
Another strength for me was the mix of visuals and music to capture everything that I loved about the Showa era. There’s just a quality to how Godzilla was shot destroying cities during that era of films and classic I***ube themes over them that just really defined Godzilla for me as a child and I would carry that with me to now in my thirties. I had seen Godzilla’s fourth form arrival on YouTube already, but being spoiled to that did not change the feeling that rushed over me when the shot of him out on the water hit the screen and the classic Godzilla theme started up, or when Form 3 when on his rampage to classic Gojira music and the destruction felt a lot like that film. The Heisei and Millennium eras had their share of introductions and destruction scenes, but they lacked something that seemed unique to the Showa era until now, clearly those qualities resonated with the filmmakers as they captured them perfectly here.
Speaking of music, I thought this was another highlight of the movie. On the album, the I***ube music sounds old and dated against the fresher Sagisu tracks, but at least in a theater setting, they were on an even plain to my ears, maybe on Blu Ray you’ll notice a difference. I felt the choices of what was used and when were just about perfect. Persecution of the Masses over the arrival of Form 2 was very fitting and provide great atmosphere, and the I***ube themes were inserted at appropriate times and moments where you’d have heard them in older films and used very well, much like in the Biollante score. The only point I felt like different music might have been of benefit would be putting something bleaker and more instrumental, less operatic than Who Will Know over the big atomic ray scene.
The final highlight for me was editing/pacing. They did a great job of keeping things moving at a healthy pace, and I really enjoyed the cutting back and forth between what people were doing and what was going on with Godzilla. With all the reports of his minimal screen time, I was concerned how it would play out but they way they cut him in makes you feel he’s there more than he actually is.
Weaknesses
So as I mentioned already, I wouldn’t call anything about the movie bad, but compared to the highlights, there are some weaker areas that have a lot of potential.
I will say this, there was one feature I would call bad and is something that could be rectified, it’s unlikely to be done for Blu Ray even, but time will tell. This is the subtitles. Unfortunately, due to the amount of Japanese subtitles to note characters and locations, there is often conflict of having these translated while also adding dialogue, which put text atop the screen and bottom and at times felt like it was covering the whole picture. With the heavy dialogue, I also felt at times like I was reading the movie so much, I wasn’t seeing the picture. A dub would be a great addition for Blu Ray to then reduce subs to only translating the character and location text, but again, unlikely, variations of sub options on the BR would be a nice option, however, also unlikely.
Now, as far as weaknesses, for me, the biggest was the lack of drama. The focus of the movie is the government responding to the crisis at hand. There is a lot of dialogue about looking out for Japan and protecting citizens, but very little is done to make you feel for the people in danger. We get shots of debris but no deaths or serious injury or a heavy sense of loss and despair that would add a feeling urgency. A key plot point is a 2 week window to evacuate, that's far more than most Godzilla films where there are only hours or even minutes, and the greater threat is US nuclear assault, not Godzilla reawakening. I just feel like a few small touches could have elevated this aspect of the film.
The other big weakness for me was the SFX. My nostalgic side enjoyed classic SFX, but my other side accepts them in the classic movies because that's what could be done at the time. I was excited to feel the stomps and booms of explosions with the theatrical experience and the sound felt flat. I also didn't like the matching of classic roars with Godzilla forms. The visuals with Form 3 against the ‘54 roars didn't work for me, it didn't feel like the right sound for that form, would have been perfect for Form 4. I'm not sure any classic roar would feel right, probably the 60s roar used for Form 4. The movie could have used a little more roaring from Godzilla, it's like a declaration of his dominance as he destroys the world.
Comparison to Gojira, Godzilla 1984 and Godzilla 2014
I know some people are sick of every movie getting compared to Gojira, but, in the whole franchise, Gojira, Godzilla 1984 and Shin Godzilla are the films most heavily used to make a sociopolitical statement in film with a giant monster movie as the vessel. I also add Godzilla 2014 in this mix as the two share a filmmaking approach, neither with a perfect execution.
I don't fault Shin Godzilla for focusing as much on the government as they did, it's clearly the intended focus. However, like Godzilla 2014, this movie feels so caught up in a faithful reproduction of the political process that it almost feels more like a documentary or reality tv than a cinematic story. They try to develop the characters with quick comments here and there implying back stories and motives, but those ideas seem left behind as quickly as they come up to dive back into the crisis handling.
To me, where Godzilla 2014, and Shin Godzilla even more so, went wrong in terms of feeling cinematic was having the core characters be affiliated with government or military. You have no connection to the people who are threatened by the existence of these creatures in the world, no sense of what the decisions made in the story really do to people.
For me, Gojira had a perfect balance of touching upon the political reaction to such an event and an engaging character mix, the key characters represented military, science and the common man and you had Emiko caught in the middle of all sides trying to deal with everything while getting a healthy taste of everyone’s POV. Even Godzilla 1984, while less compelling characters, feature a cinematic character dynamic woven into a mostly realistic depiction of global response to the threat.
Beyond the characters, one thing I found to be touched on, but fell short in both Godzilla 2014 and Shin Godzilla compared to Gojira is the depiction of the human consequence of kaiju existence.
Gojira evokes sympathy for a random child crying over a sick parent recovering after Godzilla’s attack and a woman and her children likely to be burnt to death in Godzilla’s wake. Godzilla 2014 and Shin Godzilla show people being rounded up for evacuation and crowding around shelters, but in Shin Godzilla, one of the biggest moments of that was in silence and music, no voices or cries, no one really showing dramatic expression of emotion over their turmoil and I just feel like seeing that would add a lot of punch to the effect the movie has on the audience.
Where Shin Godzilla did live up to Gojira is in making a strong statement about Japan’s current state and history and it’s a well made film in that regard, where Godzilla 2014 tried but was too subtle. If anything, I’d say Shin Godzilla went to heavy on making that statement and lost sight of what makes movies an escape from the things we face every day.
I understand why this movie was such a success in Japan, I can definitely see where folks there would find this film both a political message to rally behind and a fun monster flick in one, but for those whose daily life is not reflected here, I feel like there will be a mixed reception to how much they can enjoy the story. I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t rave about it, but I enjoyed it because I at least get where it’s coming from and what it’s trying to do and I appreciate all of it.
In closing, if you enjoy Godzilla movies, this is well worth seeing, it might not make your top 5 or even 10, but if you’re a fan who enjoys the 60+ year body of films from the best of the best to the worst of the worst, this is likely to at least fall somewhere in the middle. I’d be shocked if a large number of fans classified this as one of the worst Godzilla movies.
