Really refreshing take on the old monster. Goes back to its roots and brings fresh new ideas, like how the government's would actually deal with such a threat. Love the depiction of just how devastating and terrifying an actual event like this would be. And all the nods to classic Godzilla was awesome.
Came for the monster, stayed for the administrative bureaucracy (desperately hoping there would be more city destroying action!)
I rate Shin Godzilla above Ankle Godzilla but below Knee Godzilla.
I'm not an expert on Japan's culture or its politics, but yeah...after watching this, Japan's government is a bureaucratic mess. Got it. Statement made.
The first hour of "Shin Godzilla" is pretty good. The endless meetings with people more concerned about public opinion and how it might affect their careers than they are with a giant monster crushing their cities is a bit far fetched. At some point, the filmmakers needed to put a little focus on the beast. For all those that complained that Legendary Pictures's "Godzilla" (2014) didn't show enough of the movie's namesake, they'll be even madder this time around.
The movie starts promisingly with something causing a flood in a tunnel. Next, we see a very odd looking monster squirming its way through canals, displacing boats, cars, overpasses. The look of the thing was weird but in a good way. The boats and cars being tossed around reminded me of tsunami footage from a few years ago. I'm certain that was intentional. Turns out, this is an early stage of an evolving Godzilla. I'm sure that was not a surprise to anyone, but it was a unique way for the king of the kaiju to make a first appearance.
Later, we see even less of Godzilla. What we do see though, is a truly evil looking monster. The look that the filmmakers came up with is off-putting. It's not poorly done but it doesn't seem at all like the Godzilla everyone is used to. And Godzilla is totally malevolent here. Its atomic breath is incredibly destructive. The first time it's used is actually kind of scary. Godzilla retaliates for having a couple of bombs dropped on it by using the breath to absolutely level a section of Tokyo. The way its jaw kind of unfolds to deliver the death ray is really jarring. It was at this point that I started to rethink my opinion that I needed to see Godzilla as a bad guy again.
After that attack, Godzilla sleeps. Yeah, sleeps. Is this a Gamera movie now? While it's sleeping, the Japanese officials continue to try and jockey themselves into positions for their future careers. Meanwhile, an assembled group of brainy nerds come up with a plan to coagulate Godzilla's blood.
The movie wraps up (sort of) with a setup for a sequel.
One of the most boring Godzilla movies I've ever seen (and I've seen all the Toho films). This one makes the most recent US version like Shakespeare. Nothing compares to the original Honda film.
OLD REVIEW:
The second best Godzilla film ever made, right behind the 1954 original. That's quite an accomplishment, but it's Hideaki Anno, so I mean, what did you expect?
Right now, the film is nominated for an astonishing 11 Japan Academy Prizes. It really is one of the most beautiful films I've seen. It's easily my personal favorite film of 2016, just barely ahead of La La Land.
Anno's signature editing and block direction is all throughout this film. His set-up of shots, for example, with electrical poles and train cars framed horizontally, are just so gorgeous, but there are just too many gorgeous ones to list. Godzilla standing in front of a wall of fire, Godzilla blowing non-stop flames out of his mouth while the city around him just collapses, and the final shot with the humanoid creatures coming out of Godzilla's tail gave me nightmares.
But most importantly, I'd like to mention that the reason I rated so high is that it's not a typical monster film. This is an attack on Japan's government and U.S relations. There are plenty of hysterical scenes in this where the Prime Minister and the rest of the senators have to take literally 5 minutes in board room meetings to approve to start firing at the monster. That, and the requirement later on in asking the U.S military for assistance in taking down the monster.
There's also a lot of allusions to the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan. The original 1954 was based off the 1945 atomic bomb droppings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So now, this film has it's own disaster it's based on. Some shots in the movie are exact references to found footage of the tsunami disaster, and Godzilla himself starts out the movie flooding the canals in Tokyo Bay.
Overall, this film is incredible. It's better than the 2014, but in itself, it's a masterpiece. The music by Shiro Sagisu is like a voice from the heavens, and a plea for forgiveness from God. The song "Who Will Know" is actually told from the perspective of Godzilla, telling us he's not just a monster rampaging Japan, but he's a messenger. He's the voice of all the people killed by the incompetence of the Japanese government, and he's here to let them know that.
Shin Godzilla: The movie where people talk about Godzilla. This has to be the most boring movie i have ever seen in my entire life. I fell asleep for an hour, woke up, re-winded the movie, drank some coffee and STILL began to fall asleep again. The editing is borderline cartoonish, the cinematography sucks and the CGI sucks too. Godzilla looks like he has plastic googly eyes for christ sake. The soundtrack is also complete and utter garbage. HOW IN GODZILLA'S NAME DOES THIS MOVIE HAVE AN 84% ON ROTTEN TOMATOES. PEOPLE NEED TO STOP KISSING JAPAN'S ASS AND ADMIT WHEN A SHITTY MOVIE IS A SHITTY MOVIE.
Incredibly slow paced and boring with no character development for the human characters or Godzilla. Some of the buildings in the movie are more active than Godzilla who stands in one spot for 30 minutes of the movie, and the rest of the time he is almost as inactive. The directors focus is upon the actions of government rather than focusing on any human characters or the monster. Imagine watching cspan for 5 hours straight to get a feel for the excitement level of this film. There is also a mix of shaky cam shots added to the film with no real artistic reason that are only more distracting from the attempted story. Godzilla also starts out with a ridiculous kindergarten hand puppet look that suggests the graphic effects artists were mad at the film director. Not the worst Godzilla movie ever made, but very close.
Godzilla as an indestructible force of nature is always a concept that I can relate to more than the light-hearted installments of the franchise. With "Shin Godzilla," that's exactly why I was drawn in from the start. The natural disaster element is even taken to the extreme, as the movie is primarily a bureaucracy drama about the reaction of politicians and authorities to the monster's appearance. I myself have been a photographer at media events concerning natural disasters, most recently when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited some flooded regions. And it is indeed the case that such events are often largely media or PR events. This is also conveyed well in this film.
Ultimately, however, you have to live with the fact that the movie mainly consists of conversations in conference rooms. That was a bit too much for me in the end. Nevertheless, the destruction that is shown in some moments is also very well realized. The computer effects aren't exactly flawless, especially as Godzilla moves rather stiltedly. Overall, however, the monster mayhem is well realized. In terms of the story, the message is perhaps conveyed to the viewer a little too much with a sledgehammer. Still, I would answer whether "Shin Godzilla" is one of the best parts of the series with a clear yes. The movie has something to say and does so effectively. This makes it stand out from the rest in a positive way.
Godzilla makes for a compelling and worthy Angel.
A pretty good retelling of the classic Godzilla story. I will say the CGI was a little rough in some spots and the characters were pretty flat, but everything with Godzilla was great.
Very innovative and original. I Love how tragic Godzillas potrayed.
Definitely takes an open mind to enjoy properly, but this is a solid modern re-telling of the original Godzilla story. The ineffecient, beurocratic government response to the Godzilla threat is the real obstacle here, and is done brilliantly, although Godzilla is properly terrifying in a fresh and unique way, too. The team of underdogs who decide to tackle the Godzilla threat all on their own consists of likeable characters, which is rare in any monster or kaiju movie. The way Godzilla is finally dealt with is both clever and gimmicky; you'll either love it or hate it.
Godzilla himself takes his time to get going and start wreaking proper havoc, but that doesn't mean this film is slow-paced. The scrambling government officials and their comedic antics allow things to move at a speed that should keep one's attention.
I LOVED the first 68 minutes of this film! Imo, they are perfect. Easily one of the strongest 10/10 I've ever given a certain stretch in fiction. They were able to capture the feeling of the original movie when it came to Godzilla's destruction, while also solving my biggest problem with the original movie, the human cast. In the original, I personally thought they were too silly/cartoonish, especially when put side by side with Godzilla, but here, they serve as a critique of the modern politics. They exist as a way to put the viewer into the shoes of the decision makers. How hard and unnecessarily long it is to be the one calling the shots.
As for the rest, I liked it, but it definitely didn't hit as hard as the first half of the movie. It was pretty damn slow and the soundtrack, for some reason, felt very out of place, particularly in the final fight against Godzilla.
Godzilla, deeply rooted into the Japanese culture. Harvests a bit of humor with the snailish and unnecessarily convoluted beaurocratic response to the attack, dabs its feet into the post-war sentiment of Japan all the while consistently flashing some Godzilla action sequences. Has a 'soul' so to speak, devoid in most of the american spin-offs.
Rated 10 by my 19yr old son.
Not great, but hella better than Hollywood fails
Toho does their thing with the famed studio's first-ever complete Godzilla reboot. It certainly feels like a thematic kin to preceding films, with a heavy emphasis on human interest stories and military maneuvers, plus a heavy-handed topical metaphor that clumsily attempts to gaze beyond the superficial story.
This time, rather than alluding to the physical destruction and psychological damage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the mile-high monster provides an example of slow government response and political mismanagement during more recent times of crisis. The Fukushima disaster, for instance. It's an inspired film, with some good ideas (Godzilla's slow metamorphosis from wriggling, serpent-like creature with googly eyes to hardened, lumbering, radiating beast on two legs is particularly cool) but it falls well short of potential. We spend roughly three-quarters of the film in a dull, fluorescent-lit government office, which is just as drab and boring as it seems, and the acting is downright dreadful. Not a lick of charisma or personality to anyone. There's also far too much text on the screen at any given time, with every stiff government suit or slightly-different conference room named with precise, exhaustive detail. Even if I weren't trying to get through the rapid-fire subtitles, that would've been too much.
Most of the visual design work is good enough, although Godzilla never quite feels like he occupies the same plane as his human counterparts and that somewhat shatters the illusion. For the most part, though, he's just window dressing. We dart over to see where he's at for a moment, then get straight back to tedious strategic planning sessions. There was potential here, loads of it, but focus is constantly placed in the wrong spot and the result is about fifteen minutes of really entertaining footage amidst two hours of empty dialog and drab meeting rooms.
King of the Monsters is a superior Godzilla film I think. Yet this was rated much better. Sure there’s less of a silly story here. But there’s much talking and face wise the monsters are laughable.
Still it is pretty well made otherwise. The look of Godzilla is creepy but the eyes look so bad.
Shin Godzilla, or, Godzilla vs The Bureaucracy.
The initial Japanese bureaucrats are worthy of smacks to see if they wake up, then improve, fight the giant bug well and get out a lot, learn new American Godzilla
Really loved this movie. An essence of classic godzilla, really entertaining and really good effects. all round very good
godzilla in this movie looked really cool but there waas to much talking and not enough action for me
Ok, this can be misleading.
If you came in for Godzilla I'm sorry for you.
But this movie has done a well job in portraying the endless pit of burocratic void that is the Japanese government.
The action scenes are great, but as with any other Godzilla movie, you gotta grind through all the "human" scenes first.
Worth it just for the atomic breath scene.
The first form of Godzilla was really freaking weird looking. Seemed like they focused all their CGI money on the later stages and completely forgot about the first part. But after that all scenes involving him look fantastic.
The pacing IMO was way too fast. And the human scenes were kinda boring because it focused on the bureaucracy and politics of such an attack and I really didn't expect that. Very un-american typical monster movie but it worked.
Overall it's a fun movie. Would recommend it. I will definitely check out the older Godzilla movies now.
Review by CookingtonBlockedParent2017-08-09T23:41:26Z
As much as I loved this movie, I would only say to go watch it if you're going in with the right expectations. I watched this movie namely because of Hideaki Anno, who's probably most well known for the Evangelion series. I was expecting something with a lot of drama and horror rather than something action-packed, and that's pretty much what this movie went for.
There's a lot of scenes with the human characters talking and if that's not your cup of tea, it's probably better if you look elsewhere. To me, I rather enjoyed the story and was engaged throughout. Some of the characters make stupid decisions but it never feels unintentional as the movie has an almost satirical look on government and politics. The movie always manages to hold a tight grip on the tension, and consistently kept me guessing at what would happen next.
Again, it's not for everyone, and even then I still had some issues with it. Some of the CG looked off at points, such as parts of the debris. Also the official Funimation subtitles on the US Blu-ray are extremely questionable in quality, with constant name and location info at the top of the screen that were unnecessary and could've been omitted entirely. Also some of the spoken English in the movie didn't seem to be reflected in the subtitles. The subs are decent, but I wish they had more care put into it.
If you aren't familiar with Anno's other works and are expecting a big action movie with Godzilla, you're probably going to be more upset with this movie. But if you're willing to pay attention to the dialogue and immerse yourself, the movie works wonders.