Shin Godzilla

This movie, hands down, is one of the best representations of Godzilla. I recommend you watch in sub for the best experience because the audio mixing isn't the greatest for the English dub, and trust me, it's noticeable. Suck it up if you don't like to read. I mean, you're reading now, aren't you? Godzilla ultimately steals the show, and you'd hope so from a Godzilla movie. The visuals at times can be shoddy, but in the scenes where the lighting is just right, it's a glorious moment to behold truly horrifying visuals (in a good way). The plot, however, is where it kind of suffers the most for me.

New version based on Japanese classic monster with excessive and modern computer generator FX . An unknown accident occurs in Tokyo Bay's Aqua Line, which causes an emergency cabinet to assemble , but only to say that the creature is so huge it's weight would crush it if it came on land . Nuclear waste and carlessness of man mutate a gilled creature in the Tokyo Bay. As an underwater prehistoric reptile emerges from the depths after he has been awakened from slumber by atomic energy and destroying buildings and people . With social media capturing the footage and with newly acquired appetite for atomic testing , the emergency cabinet meets to find out what the creature is and if it will be a real threat , then Godzilla's destructive power outbursts . They are proven wrong as the creature comes on land horrifying the people of Tokyo and knocking over buildings . Meanwhile , the monster appearance precipites an international incident .The monster scaring towners , terrorizing Tokyo and its streets , breaking buildings and everything to get in its ways. Later it comes back in its next form and is now taller , impressive and indestructable . The cabinet gives it the name "Godzilla". Along the way Godzilla clumsily destroys Tokyo office buildings, skyline , skyscraper and knock commuter trains of their elevated tracks . A god incarnate. A city doomed. Nippon tai Gojira. Reality versus fiction.

This is a roller-coaster ride plenty of destruction , wreak havoc , action-packed , thrills , chills and breathtaking scenes . Fun moments and frightening entertainment when happens appearance Godzilla carrying out an extreme mayhem , confusion and destruction . As Japan is plunged into chaos upon the appearance of a giant monster, then the cabinet sends a defence force to eliminate the monster but it evolves and starts inadvertently overheating with radiation and this causes the monster to run back to the bay, leaving a risk of returning to the cabinet . Based on the original Godzilla , any other bigger-than-life tale that span almost 60 years would have to answer some serious question about plot repetition . Fantastic design creature , being well and brilliantly made by means of state-of-art digital efects .The motion picture was competently directed by Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi . Finale leaves door open for an inevitable follow-up but still no realized.

Other movies about the Japanese monster, always produced by Toho productions and with rubber suits, miniature sets, are the following ones : the classic ¨Gojira¨ (1955) or ¨Godzilla King of the monsters¨ by Inoshora Honda ,commercially hit in the US , being one of the first post-WWII Japanese film to break American boxoffice including ridiculously primitive FX even in its own day ; ¨Godzilla king of the monsters¨(1956); ¨Godzilla raid again¨(1959); ¨Godzilla vs the sea monster¨(1966) Jun Fukuda; ¨Godzilla on mosnter island¨ (1972) , ¨Godzilla vs Smog monster(¨72) , ¨Godzilla vs Biollante¨ , ¨Godzilla vs King Ghidora¨, ¨Godzilla Vs Monster Zero¨ , ¨ Godzilla vs Megalon¨(1976); ¨Godzilla¨ (1985) , ¨Godzilla vs Megagodzilla¨(1993); ¨Godzilla revenge¨, ¨Godzilla 2000¨....

This is an excellent show that differs from the standard hack-and- slash and action-driven natures of other recent films (Independence Day 2 etc.). It is one of the most narrative-driven films that I've watched in the last 2 years.

PROS:

• The acting was great as a whole, comprising of much seriousness and focus, typical of the exigency of a nation-wide disaster, in the top politicians of the diet.

• It is full of political irony, satire of the Japanese government's and bureaucracy's indecision and red-taping. There is great intelligence imbued into movie, and it shows that much research has been done prior to filming. It also shows the way in which foreign and indigenous affairs have been interwoven together in governmental decision-making. I greatly appreciate this as a whole, as the narration is full of meaning and subtlety.

• The special effects of Godzilla were absolutely wonderful, portraying both scale and grandeur in Godzilla's size and style. I greatly enjoyed the four main scenes where Godzilla made its appearance, especially its climax at the latter two.

• The pacing was fast-paced, and little time was wasted. A lot of content had been packaged into a duration of just 120 minutes. While watching, I thought that the film lasted for 4 hours, as there were so many occurrences!

• The style and pace also remains true to the original Godzilla classics. So is the provenance of Godzilla.

CONS

• Ishihara would not have fooled us into thinking that she is a Japanese-American English speaker!

• Overall, it is very dialogue-heavy. This is both a strength and weakness. A strength as there is much character development, but also excessive to the point that it sometimes can be dreary and draggy. This is the greatest setback of the film, and could have been further streamlined. Minus 1 star for this.

CONCLUSION:

• As a whole, I rate it 9 out of 10, and will watch it again.

• Most people who have an appreciation for subtlety and nuance, and also of vivid storytelling will like this film.

• However, those who prefer a CGI roller-coaster like Independence Day 2 or 2012 may be turned off by the extremely heavy dialogue.

After waiting for a whole year, I finally got my hands on the award-winning Japanese film "Shin Godzilla", directed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) and Shinji Higuchi (live action Attack On Titan). With the praise this film got, did it live up to the hype for me? Yes and to an extent no.

The film is a modern-day remake, showing how would the Japanese government (and to an extent other governments) react if Godzilla showed up for the first time today. This film is one of the more politically-charged entries in the franchise and is more of a thriller than a straight-up monster movie. There are lots of characters, a majority of which don't have much personality, but the main ones like protagonist Rando I found myself latching on to. Some the best scenes are when the characters stop acting like politicians and have casual and occasionally humorous dialogue. At least they took the whole situation very seriously with rarely an over-the-top moment much like the 2014 film, a breath of fresh air within the franchise. There's also this mystery element that plays a huge part in the story which I liked very much. Just as the 1954 film was a metaphor for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this one reflects the Fukushima meltdown as well as the tsunami and earthquake Japan suffered a few years back (goes to show that Godzilla will always find a way to stay relevant).

How does Big G himself hold up? Pretty good. His design is more-or-less an update of his original 1954 look, his skin looking like radiation scars. New to the series is that Godzilla EVOLVES throughout, starting out smaller and very odd-looking but growing larger, more powerful, and even smarter as the story progresses, making him unpredictable. I also enjoyed the exploration of his biology, that is how this creature could exist. My complaints fall under a few things, strictly on his main form: his arms are too small and he isn't very expressive, mostly just lumbering along in a straight line. When he does gets mad, however, that's when he really shines. The action scenes are entertaining enough and there's plenty of destruction featured with some surprising moments here and there. The special effects are largely CGI with elements of practical effects, both of which are good; Big G isn't a man in a suit this time (kinda disappointing) but rather motion capture, though there are a few well-done miniatures. Some sound effects are of the old era and the music is a mix of the original's by Akira Ifukube with some new ones by Shiro Sagisu, a lovely combo. There's even a track from Evangelion (Decisive Battle).

My favorite scene: The first time Godzilla uses his atomic breath. Set at night with a mournful choir singing in the background (w/ English lyrics), the suspense that builds to the monster unleashing his power and rage upon the world was epic, chilling even, and has tremendous payoff. It's a truly apocalyptic image.

There are a few issues to address. I admit the pacing isn't the best. The beginning particularly has some rapid editing and there are texts on the screen throughout (often naming a character and political position) that are quite distracting and take getting used to, though I suppose you're supposed to feel as rushed as these politicians. Also, there's a huge gap before the climax where there's no action going on that I honestly think the filmmakers should have cut down a little. I like the characters and what's happening to them, but I would have preferred for the film to cut to the chase a bit.

Overall, this movie has its faults for sure, but I'm still glad I saw it. It was an interesting twist to my favorite fictional character. More films in both Japan and America are on the way and I can't wait. Long live the King of the Monsters!

The film takes a somber, serious tone as to what would happen if Japan were attacked -- in this case, by a seemingly unstoppable foe.

At present in Japan, there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not Japan should amend it's constitution to allow for an offensive military and this Godzilla film plays to exactly how powerless Japan would be in making it's own decisions during an attack of any kind. The reality is that the Japanese Prime Minister would have to ask for permission from the United States President before making an offensive move against a foreign threat and this film plays to that hard reality.

This new Godzilla starts out as an homage to its former man in a monster suit so that when you first see Godzilla, you'll disbelieve what you're seeing, but this Godzilla evolves into something majestic and utterly awe inspiring in its power.

What's more, this film makes it clear people die. In the Japanese release there's a lot of word play about how the government officials up high (on the fifth floor) make decisions that get passed down to people on lower floors that eventually hurt the people. I'm not sure how much will be translated, but the film is deliberately showing the disconnect between the political and day to day realities.

Overall, the performances are good. There is one character who they, for whatever reason, decided to make speak English in odd an inappropriate times.

This isn't a film for US audiences. The aesthetics will turn off a lot of non-Japanese young people accustomed to CG reality. But if you're open to learning about another culture, this is an excellent film, one of the best kaiju-films you'll ever see.