Aww, look… Toho got me a 50th Birthday present:
Shin Gojira (2016)
… in which we learn (as the Japanese did in real life in March, 2011) that the only thing worse than a radioactive menace devastating your country is a hidebound bureaucracy intent on covering its o-shiri. You have never seen a Godzilla movie quite like this one.
I wanted to get this capsule review/reminder posted immediately, since the movie is still being shown domestically. If you’re in the US and haven’t gone to see it yet, you still have time: it’s playing until Tuesday, October 18th at select theaters across the country. Check for the closest theater in your area here.
Will Laughlin is the Braineater.
#1 by The Rev. on October 13, 2016 - 12:15 am
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Well, happy birthday to you, Will!
As I’m sure you’re all simply astonished to hear, I saw this tonight. Threw some quick thoughts on Jabootu’s board and the BMMB for anyone curious. Will is pretty much spot-on with his take here. It’s definitely not going to have widespread appeal, but I enjoyed it for what it was (nice catch on the Fukushima echoes). I did wish for more Godzilla, but then I always want more monster stuff. However, I think it was intentional, since Godzilla’s three appearances mirror the three main ones in the original: first, it comes out, sort of shuffles around Tokyo, then leaves; second comes the destruction of the city; and third, man’s attempt to destroy Godzilla, albeit a longer and more spectacular scene here, though nowhere near as emotional. Given all the other nods to the original, it seemed intentional. On the monster front, it was kind of nice to see a frightening, even disturbing monster (quite a few people in the audience were disquieted by Godzilla’s various forms) that’s a cross between a natural disaster and an unthinking beast, which again calls back the original, although taken to a level previously unseen; and while not as massive as the 2014 version, I believe this Godzilla is even taller, which would make it the tallest version to date. And longest, due to that insane tail it has. While the straight CGI Godzilla is about as good as can be expected from such a thing, the suit/CGI combo work was really well-done. Overall, I think it’s the best one since the Heisei series, with the possible exception of GMK.
#2 by Jason Farrell on October 13, 2016 - 1:42 pm
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“The action of the film begins with the discovery of a small boat adrift in Tokyo Bay”
I ended up thinking of that Fulci ZOMBIE punchline just as I was reading yours.
“Watch .. as the Braineater makes your own jokes for you.”
#3 by Jason Farrell on October 13, 2016 - 1:55 pm
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From the sound of it, an alternate title might be
Godzilla vs, Shinzo Abe.
#4 by Richard on October 14, 2016 - 11:54 am
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Don’t you mean Godzilla vs. Mario?
http://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-japan-prime-minister-as-super-mario-photos-2016-8
#5 by lyzard on October 14, 2016 - 5:26 pm
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Hoping to go on Monday—EEEEEEE!!!!!! 🙂
Strangely, it’s in (comparatively) wide release here.
#6 by The Rev. on October 19, 2016 - 12:28 pm
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Did you get to see it as planned?
#7 by lyzard on October 19, 2016 - 8:03 pm
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Ugh, no; this week went a bit pear-shaped, and now it’s closed near where I live. I’ll need to take a run into the city next week.
#8 by The Rev. on October 20, 2016 - 9:16 pm
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So sorry to hear that, hon. I hope everything is well overall, even if misshapen. At least you’re getting another chance to see it; if that’d happened to me I’d have pretty much been out of luck, as it came and went in less than a week.
And then the streets would have run red.
#9 by Killer Meteor on October 17, 2016 - 6:23 pm
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I doesn’t seem to be hitting the UK at all!
#10 by Doug Hudson on October 19, 2016 - 2:59 pm
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I hope this is just an aberration and Godzilla will go back to his more traditional form–whatever this creature was, it wasn’t Godzilla. More like a shapeshifter pretending to be Godzilla. At least the American version will stay more loyal to the big G (and boy, is that a sentence I’d never expected to type!)
Admittedly, some of this comes from my deep and abiding hatred of Hideki Anno.
#11 by El Santo on October 19, 2016 - 3:25 pm
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One thing that strikes me about this version of Godzilla is that it would be almost impossible to do a “versus” movie with him. He’s both far too powerful and far too vulnerable to be matched against another kaiju in a satisfying way, while being also too mindless and reactive to serve any other narrative function than the one he has here, as a problem to be solved. If Toho intends to keep making their own Godzilla films, it seems to me that they’d almost have to leave this one in its own little pocket continuity– unless, I suppose, they wanted to thaw out one of those budding Godzilla spawn we see at the end, and posit that the next stage in the creature’s evolution was to develop at least as much intelligence as a skink or a tree frog.
#12 by Doug Hudson on October 19, 2016 - 4:59 pm
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Haven’t seen the movie, obviously, but I do think its interesting that the Japanese went back to the original “pure destructive force” Godzilla, whereas the 2014 American version had the “smart, basically a good guy” Godzilla.
While the original Gojira is a true masterpiece, I don’t think it can be replicated. That’s why I prefer movies that go with the later version–you can do more with him. And, frankly, people will cheer for Godzilla anyway, so you might as well make him a good guy.
#13 by The Rev. on October 20, 2016 - 9:24 pm
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Yeah, I had a similar train of thought. It was great for what it was, but that’s all it really can be. This version of Godzilla honestly needs to be a one-and-done. Trying to pit it against another monster means it either stands absorbing damage and then pulls out its “spotlight” attack (for something like Mothra), or two equally large and slow monsters shoot beams at each other. Such a massive, ponderous beast simply wouldn’t work in any sort of vs. film. Unless, as you said, one of its spawn becomes something pretty much unlike its parent.
#14 by Blake on October 22, 2016 - 11:02 am
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Well, the entire Millenium “series” consists of five different continuities spread out over the course of six films, so it wouldn’t be unheard of for Toho to start from ground zero for the next film. Considering that this movie is now in the top 6 or 7 Godzilla movies ever made, in terms of ticket sales, I’m sure another movie is practically a sure thing.