In keeping with tradition, I revisit Godzilla in the fall for the 3rd year in a row.
The Japanese title of “Shin Godzilla” carries with it a double meaning in the English language that can be interpreted as “true” or “new.”
While finding the former to be somewhat pretentious and the latter to be rather bland during the film’s production, I must very much admit that both terms are highly appropriate in many different ways for Hideki Anno’s revival of the franchise in its homeland; a film that strips its titular icon of all of its pop cultural bells and whistles in favor of a subdued, meditative, and thoughtful indictment of the sociopolitical state of Japan and the ways that it and the political culture of the modern world can strive for improvement.
In that lone regard, this is unquestionably the single most faithful film to the original 1954 “Gojira” to be released; more so than any other film of the franchise, foreign or domestic.
“Shin Godzilla” hits the ground running, opening with a prelude to the setting’s first appearance of Godzilla, rising from the ocean before gradually wading his way further onto land and it is here that a permeating and potentially polarizing tone is set.
Anno, of “Neon Genesis Evangellion” fame, is no stranger to production heavy tokusatsu or Kaiju disasters, animated or otherwise. Although he’s far from pessimistic and isn’t afraid to inject optimism into stories where beneficial, he is arguably most famous for his deconstruction of high concept science fiction ideas in an almost naturalistic capacity. All of these notions of the man’s creative quirks are brought to the fore front in his “Godzilla” feature.
Godzilla is the only kaiju to appear within the entire movie as his unpredictability and destructive force are more than enough challenge for Japanese society and eventually the governments of the world to deal with and the struggle of politicians and military on the ground level to stop his rampage across a single country that is fairly compact in geographical scope unfolds as a sprawling, tense, perspective shifting, politically charged military procedural.
The most unfortunate aspect of this approach is that it robs the film’s intent of some of its impact through several visual decisions that are tonally jarring in addition to a perpetual sense of emotional coldness that the movie has trouble really shaking off until its final act.
After almost a year of skepticism, my fears regarding this Godzilla’s design were laid to rest by a very creative interpretation of the creature within the story’s context but the goofier elements of it can get downright hilariously distracting when juxtaposed with watching Japanese parliamentary procedure recreated with painstaking detail.
This also effects the characterization of the movie’s burgeoning leads, all of whom are highlighted predominantly in atmospheres of high professionalism.
While this approach does provide a relatively successful grounding for Godzilla’s inevitable trail of destruction, it slightly suffocates the narrative of well conceived characters given solid performances that are meant to give a certain allegorical weight to the film’s primary themes.
Those that found themselves bored throughout Gareth Edwards 2014 offering are advised to look elsewhere, because “Shin Godzilla” takes its treatment of the monster as an allegory to a whole new level ironically more similar to the film that kicked the series off than any of those that came after. However, once this allegory begins to come to a head, the brilliance of its second half serves as a greater payoff than can be encapsulated by a single moment.
A large source of “Shin Godzilla’s” inner conflict stems from cultural and political tensions within the Japanese government. The idea of the old guard having to come to terms with the next generations more worldly perspectives becomes the most recurring theme of the film. The main leads all carry various degrees of political ambition in hopes of improving politics for the good of the people while the older generation in control is shown constantly struggling to apply their own ideologies to a changing world that they aren’t as in touch with as the youth who are shaping the future.
While the movie’s discussion of sociological identity crisis will probably resonate pretty highly with its native country, I couldn’t help but chuckle at just how relatable the allegory was domestically.
The impact of the disaster inflicted upon Japan is devastating but also acknowledges the potential for rebirth that can occur in the wake of a country in desperate need of shakeup, while the solution only came about thanks the next generation stepping up into leadership with both the young and old working in tandem to stop the threat to their species.
It’s a film that aims to be thoughtful of modern day trends by using a scenario that defies our own understanding of the world in ways that the best science fiction is capable of and is bolstered by making very little go a long way.
The most intense havoc that Godzilla wreaks comes in the transition to the third act of the movie, with the revelation of his trademarked atomic breath. The reveal is so jaw dropping in the sheer power and level of carnage dispersed that it I was more horrified at the plight of the film’s fictional citizens and awed at the magnitude of his power than every disaster sequence of big budget American films of the last 2 years or so despite the film’s CGI quality regularly dipping below common Hollywood standards.
“Shin Godzilla” is far from a perfect movie both on paper and in execution but the boldness behind it is something that demands to be seen to be believed. This is a monster movie that occasionally feels like more of a political thriller than anything action oriented or horrific but in fighting for the right cause and releasing at the right time, it manages to work uniquely as an individual film and do right by the legacy of its titular monster.
It’s a bit rough around the edges but this movie definitely earns the name “True Godzilla.”
7 Purposeful Grimaces out of 10
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