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| Original Artwork by IvanGriscenko on Deviant Art |
Where do we go from here?
Gojira
Over his 60 year history, Godzilla has taken many different shapes and forms. His looks have been altered physically, his purpose has evolved and mutated both farther and closer than what he was intended to be at different points in history but the only constant of the entire franchise, through the good and the bad is that the nothing compares to the original.
With the changing political climate regarding nuclear weapons in modern times, “Gojira” may not be quite as relevant as it once was but is nevertheless a strong statement of the times, a gripping monster movie in its own right and an excellent usage of an effect driven feature to get a message across cultural barriers.
More specifically the uncut version of "Gojira." "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is a decent localization of the film's core events and Raymond Burr's performance as American journalist Steve Martin is charming. Additional kudos are due to the late Burr for his admiration of the film's anti-nuclear commentary, which resulted in him holding the localization team to task on the production of "Return of Godzilla's" 1985 release in the States to produce a more faithful dub after the original script revealed to not be taking itself very seriously. Unfortunately, it cuts out a lot of political commentary that weakens the film substantially.
The tension in the atmosphere, social commentary regarding Japan's international relations on a global scale and the visualization of a grand and dangerous beast to hit home the dangers of nuclear warfare and why they should be avoided have been discussed and debated for years, earning the film its classic status.
"Gojira" has played a major role in the birth of the Kaiju genre and its reputation as an anti-war movie almost goes without saying. However, if you have any substantial interest in Godzilla whatsoever, you owe it to yourself to watch this film before any other. Not simply because its events inform the setting of every film of the series to some capacity (this even includes the American made features) but because it's the only way to truly appreciate the franchise for its entire worth.
I've dedicated quite a bit of space in this series towards criticizing the Showa era. Rightfully so when it produces films that try desperately to present stunts like this in a serious context.
More specifically the uncut version of "Gojira." "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is a decent localization of the film's core events and Raymond Burr's performance as American journalist Steve Martin is charming. Additional kudos are due to the late Burr for his admiration of the film's anti-nuclear commentary, which resulted in him holding the localization team to task on the production of "Return of Godzilla's" 1985 release in the States to produce a more faithful dub after the original script revealed to not be taking itself very seriously. Unfortunately, it cuts out a lot of political commentary that weakens the film substantially.
The tension in the atmosphere, social commentary regarding Japan's international relations on a global scale and the visualization of a grand and dangerous beast to hit home the dangers of nuclear warfare and why they should be avoided have been discussed and debated for years, earning the film its classic status.
"Gojira" has played a major role in the birth of the Kaiju genre and its reputation as an anti-war movie almost goes without saying. However, if you have any substantial interest in Godzilla whatsoever, you owe it to yourself to watch this film before any other. Not simply because its events inform the setting of every film of the series to some capacity (this even includes the American made features) but because it's the only way to truly appreciate the franchise for its entire worth.
I've dedicated quite a bit of space in this series towards criticizing the Showa era. Rightfully so when it produces films that try desperately to present stunts like this in a serious context.
I do not however, wish to imply in the slightest that I detest these films in any way shape or form. Many of them are laughably bad but they ultimately strive for a different feel than that of the more cerebral "Gojira." Toho realized that the only way to keep Godzilla going was to give him mass appeal and the result was a Godzilla that was ultimately lighter in tone than its roots.
The atmosphere of Godzilla at any given time is ever-changing. He can be a tragedy of nature, an argument for nuclear deterrents, a guardian of Earth meant to always keep mankind in check, a comic bookesque matinee action feature, or a live action Saturday morning cartoon. No matter how one manages to process what the character has evolved into throughout the ages, it is my firm belief that the property should never be forgotten for what it was when it started; a recovering nations attempt to cope with and discuss a tragedy that befell them, what that tragedy could mean for the rest of the world and what can we do within our power to prevent such a thing from happening again.
The many evolutions of Godzilla that have come over time can be fun to watch in their own regard but while it can be easy to laugh at a 60 year history of men destroying models in rubber suits, it's important to remember that underneath all of the camp, the character has earned acclaim for a reason that should always be respected, whether the film he's featured in at any given time is about humanity struggling to survive his presence, or if he's using kung-fu and victory dances.
Perhaps the notion of watching a franchise's original installment out of respect more than anything else seems a bit overly emotional and obsessive even. Maybe so but as with everything, whether you love or hate the Big G, do it in an informed context. It's easy to hate something because of a single moment in time when it was less than brilliant; discussion only occurs when actual research is brought to the table.
"Gojira" was powerful when it was released, still stands strong today and it serves as a fascinating anchor when watching 60 years of progression effect the presentation of a product.
And that, brings us to the present.
I've made no attempt to hide my love of this movie. As of the writing of this post, I own it on Blu-ray and have watched it four times.
British director Gareth Edwards' take on a Japanese icon in an American production is not without its flaws but where I began to wonder if I had been too kind toward it back during its theatrical release, I have grown to love it more and more with each subsequent viewing. You know his homage to a Japanese disaster film is going to be reverent to the property and culture if nothing else when said movie transitions from opening credits to first scene with ash falling down a pure white (typically associated with death in Japanese culture) background.
As far as flaws go, first and foremost, the film is a bit emotionally cold. Bryan Cranston's show stealing performance as a father obsessed with finding the truth is powerful alone but also provides Aaron Taylor Johnson with a good proxy for the film's emotional core that he can bounce off of, given his status as a seasoned soldier that understands the importance of compartmentalization. With this in mind, it's baffling why they would choose to write him out so early. Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and the rest of the supporting cast give solid performances that manage to carry the film through but other than Cranston, the film unfortunately doesn't have a stand out human character.
Fortunately, Edwards' true focus was less intimate.
"Godzilla" is about society's struggle to learn when nature has to sort a disaster out for itself and how the can resist and prepare for it without vainly declaring war on it that will only end in loss. It's about how the world would react to and deal with a kaiju threat and whether civilian or military safeguards are actually effective for disaster relief. It's about an out of place creature finding a new place in a world that he doesn't recognize.
Ultimately, "Godzilla" is about taking the best elements of the entire franchise up until now, deconstructing the darker ones and then reconstructing the more fantastical elements into a product that believably addresses the disaster caused by those of the titular character's ilk without being ashamed of the whimsical nature of many of its predecessors.
In this regard, "Godzilla" succeeds with flying colors as a kaiju film, a Godzilla film and an anniversary film.
British director Gareth Edwards' take on a Japanese icon in an American production is not without its flaws but where I began to wonder if I had been too kind toward it back during its theatrical release, I have grown to love it more and more with each subsequent viewing. You know his homage to a Japanese disaster film is going to be reverent to the property and culture if nothing else when said movie transitions from opening credits to first scene with ash falling down a pure white (typically associated with death in Japanese culture) background.
As far as flaws go, first and foremost, the film is a bit emotionally cold. Bryan Cranston's show stealing performance as a father obsessed with finding the truth is powerful alone but also provides Aaron Taylor Johnson with a good proxy for the film's emotional core that he can bounce off of, given his status as a seasoned soldier that understands the importance of compartmentalization. With this in mind, it's baffling why they would choose to write him out so early. Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and the rest of the supporting cast give solid performances that manage to carry the film through but other than Cranston, the film unfortunately doesn't have a stand out human character.
Fortunately, Edwards' true focus was less intimate.
"Godzilla" is about society's struggle to learn when nature has to sort a disaster out for itself and how the can resist and prepare for it without vainly declaring war on it that will only end in loss. It's about how the world would react to and deal with a kaiju threat and whether civilian or military safeguards are actually effective for disaster relief. It's about an out of place creature finding a new place in a world that he doesn't recognize.
Ultimately, "Godzilla" is about taking the best elements of the entire franchise up until now, deconstructing the darker ones and then reconstructing the more fantastical elements into a product that believably addresses the disaster caused by those of the titular character's ilk without being ashamed of the whimsical nature of many of its predecessors.
In this regard, "Godzilla" succeeds with flying colors as a kaiju film, a Godzilla film and an anniversary film.
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| Protagonist Ford and Godzilla share a glance before they return to fighting the enemy monsters. |
While the emotion involved in the human conflict isn't particularly compelling, the human cast does do an excellent job at emphasizing the scale of these creatures while also serving to define what our world means to this alien element. The allegory of the monsters as a force of nature is on display powerfully, serving to demonstrate the fault in man's handling and perception of disasters similarly to "Gojira" but this time from an American standpoint.
Ignoring the knee jerk reaction of military coordination to the appearance of a dangerous outside force, the military frequently conceives and carries out plans which they know will most likely prove futile rather than leave the situation up to the one force that can actually contain it.
The height of this manifests itself in a scene during which the military chooses to open fire upon Godzilla within the immediate vicinity of a bridge of evacuating civilians, including children.
This attack only succeeds in agitating Godzilla to the point of plowing through the bridge that he had no apparent intention of interacting with. This blunder is only their most recent screw up at this point, with the previous failures resulting in the enemy creatures known as the MUTOs obtaining two nuclear war heads, the radiation of which they utilize as sustenance.
Additional problems can be seen in the form of the Honolulu disaster relief after the first showdown between a MUTO and Godzilla. Protagonist Ford Brody's (Johnson) time is diverted when the aid workers ask him to fill out paperwork upon request that he help to find a boy's missing parents. Following through with the bureaucracy would have ultimately proven futile, as the boy's parents were ultimately found within a mere minutes of searching. The notion of this bureaucracy's pointlessness is debatably lampshaded at the end of the film in the resolution of Ford's journey across the destruction of the country to reunite with his own family.
Progress regarding the effort is only made after the military relents and operates elsewhere, accepting that the situation is out of their hands no matter how many resources they throw at it, by taking Dr. Serizawa's (Watanabe) advice to allow the monsters to deal with one another and "Let them fight."
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| The MUTOs find each other and initiate courtship. |
"Gojira" director Ishiro Honda once said regarding kaiju that "Monsters are tragic beings; they are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, they are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy." In no other film have I seen that made more apparent than here.
Once the MUTOs find one another for the first time and begin their mating ritual, resulting in the laying of the females eggs, in one instant the dread surrounding them throughout the entire film had vanished. No longer was I counting the seconds to see Godzilla put them in their place; from this moment to the end credits, I felt sorry for them.
They had to be eliminated for the sake of humanity's future, that much was certain. However, the point was truly hit home that they were not doing anything for the sake of being malicious. These animals that had the misfortune of being unable to live without disrupting our society weren't trying to wipe us out. They were just doing what they're instinctually driven to do; eat, live and mate.
Godzilla's place in all of this elicits equal fascination. This interpretation of the King of Monsters is both in character with his background and yet unique within the franchise.
Rather than lash out at a world that he is confused by in confusion and frustration, he instead adopts an apathy towards it. He isn't fighting for humanity so much as hunting his prey and because humans aren't his prey, he has opted to leave them be rather than pursue them in any capacity. Even when he would have been in the right to fight back against the military, he chose to brush their fire off and move on. He doesn't even mind being tailed by them, allowing battleships to follow him when he could have just as easily wiped them out without thinking about it.
This Godzilla feels oddly older and wiser than any other incarnation of the character. His oddly damage conscious decision making feels rather calculated; as if he wants to leave as little of an impression upon these outsiders as possible so that he can go back to his own life undisturbed.
Furthermore, the motion capture for him is stupendous. After taking on two monsters at once, his exhausted demeanor really nails what he must feel about this entire endeavor. You can practically hear him saying "this day sucks" as he sulks away from battle to find a decent resting place.
Not content to leave it at that, the film even manages to succeed in making Godzilla a hero within a believable context.
In a very Showa-esque move, the people acknowledge Godzilla's efforts to preserve them, as unintentional as they may have been. Despite being actively fired upon, he avoided retaliation against the military. When confronted with the opportunities to sink ships, he goes out of his way to avoid them. Even when his battle in the city has caused countless levels of property damage and casualties, he never caused more damage than he needed to and ultimately heads off without causing any more damage after he was finished.
Regardless of his true intentions, he ultimately protected the world from a great danger. The people honor Godzilla's effort by expressing appreciation for his victory while remaining aware of the fact that he is still more dangerous than the threat that he has engaged throughout the movie, questioning whether his "Savior" status is genuinely earned or a mere coincidence.
Every inch of "Godzilla" feels like a love letter to the King himself and the kaiju genre in general. While the editing is a bit rough around the edges and the human element could have used a little bit more heart, the picture that it paints for the future of the franchise and America's involvement with the genre is something that I never thought I would see and secures it as, in my opinion, the third best film of the franchise (behind "Gojira" and "Godzilla vs. Destroyah").
It may not be the best Godzilla ever made but it is the Godzilla film that I have been waiting for my whole life and I only hope that it means the franchise can see another 60 years of life.
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