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Shin Gojira Review:
On October 11th, 2016, I was fortunate enough to see Shin Gojira, aka Godzilla: Resurgence, in a theater near me. I was accompanied by my Mom and a friend. And I must say it was quite an experience. Putting aside the movie itself, this particular theater had set up something like a little minni-Godzilla-con. There was a small exhibition of various original posters, some books with the author present, and even a homemade Godzilla suit. And seeing a Japanese Godzilla movie in a theater was something I never thought I’d get to see, so overall it was a very fun time.
As for the movie itself, well, I went into it with a few ideas of what to expect, but also with as little expectations as possible so as to form my own opinion after seeing it. Way back when this film was announced, Toho said they were going to make this the ‘scariest’ Godzilla they could with what they had. Now, Godzilla’s always just been cool to me. And for me, it’s very hard to find something genuinely scary if it’s also cool. The fear factor isn’t really there for me since it’s not something I’d see in the real world. I can understand and appreciate something that could represent real-world fear, but that still doesn’t make it actually frightening to me, at least not in a visceral sense. Sometimes contemplating the reality of something actually happening can be unnerving, but that’s usually it.
So, I saw the movie… And I liked it. In fact, I really liked it. I went to see it again two more times myself during its limited release here in the States to analyze it as much as possible, because there was a lot to analyze and because I wanted to make the most of seeing it on the big screen. After all, kaiju work best when on the big screen. 
Now don’t expect this to be any kind of official critical review. I’m no expert critic. These are merely my own personal thoughts on the movie. Now then, I’ll break up the movie based on Story, Characters, Tone, and of course, the Big-G himself. So here’s why I enjoy this movie so much…
Story: The story could not be more basic. Godzilla shows up, and everyone freaks out and tries to figure out how to stop him. It’s pretty much the story of the original Gojira, updated for modern times and told from a different angle. And this makes sense, given that this film is Toho’s very first true reboot to their Godzilla franchise. And by ‘different angle’ I mean that it’s told mainly from the perspective of people within the government of Japan, and highlights the political, legal, financial, and geopolitical complications that arise in the wake of a disaster that nobody saw coming. And I have to admit, after multiple viewings, certain scenes are a little dry as a result. That’s not to say I didn’t get anything out of them. I actually found many features of these scenes fascinating to watch due to the connections I could make in real life, something I don’t usually see or even look for in movies. This is one of those movies that takes a knowledge of the general state of the world to really appreciate this sort of story angle. That said, at its heart, the story remains very simple and basic, threaded through the complications of how frustrating the real world could be.
Characters: The human characters I can recall include; Main Dude, Main Chick, Army Chick, Old Dude, Noodle Dude, Deadpan Chick, Freak-Out Dude, and Towel Dude… Yeah, the humans have always been one of my lowest points of expectation for a Godzilla movie. And this movie was no different. However, I felt that in this case the characters weren’t developed much due to the movie’s tagline: Japan vs Godzilla. The characters are pretty much only there to represent the inner working of the various government agencies that come together to deal with the crisis. So this was as I expected. I wasn’t thrilled with the characters, but I wasn’t disappointed either. The story wasn’t really one that needed any strong individual characters anyway. If I could change things a little, I’d maybe try to ‘humanize’ them a little more. Like, one of the only examples I saw this in the film was on one guy’s phone where you can briefly see his wallpaper as a picture of what seems to be his wife and child. I’d like to have seen some characters have had bigger, more tangible stakes to worry about other than keeping the country running as it faces potential collapse. Like, maybe have one of the researchers know a guy in the military that go up against Godzilla, or perhaps a clue of them worrying about their families as they evacuate or something. It just could’ve had better human connections, is all. Still, oddly enough I found the few human characters we spend time with to be fun to watch, if only for a tiny little distinguishing feature. That said, I connected most with Freak-Out Dude, and Towel Dude’s my favorite character.
Tone: The overarching tone in this movie is one of very solemn seriousness. This part was actually very effective, in that the movie essentially was critical of the Japanese government’s inability to work efficiently. Hell, that could be said of any overly bureaucratic system; inevitably, it grows too complicated to function in response to a crisis that isn’t in the books. It goes so far as to actually bring up parts of the Japanese constitution, and how it impacts the characters’ options and actions they must take. There are occasional dashes of humor, and I couldn’t help but compare it in some ways with Doctor Strangelove, one of my favorite movies. If it had more of those kinds of scenes, I wouldn’t complain, but I also realize that would start to go against the more serious tone they were going for. I felt this movie did a very cool and interesting job in contrasting the fantastical situation with the realistic response and consequences. Another thing I found interesting were the soundtracks and sound effects used. There are many very respectful homages to the original film in the music alone, some of which hasn’t even been used since the original. And the new music scores themselves are both haunting and very impressive in their execution. I was quite pleased.
Godzilla: And now, for the only thing that really counts in a Godzilla movie; the King of Kaiju himself. I think one of the human characters in the movie sums it up for me best: “This new Godzilla exceeds all my expectations.” The movie’s been out for a while now, so I don’t think any spoiler warnings are necessary. Anyone should know by now that we actually see Godzilla evolve into his most recognizable form in this movie. It was quite shocking to see at first, which was likely very intentional. And then, the more I thought about it… the more I fell in love with Godzilla’s multiple forms in this film. The first form, as bizarre as it is at first glance, is actually quite reminiscent of several real-life animal designs. Most prominently: the frilled shark. Seriously. Look up frilled shark, and then go take another look of Shin Goji’s first form. Not convinced? How about the fact that in 2007, a female frilled shark was recovered in the shallows in Japan and kept alive several hours before expiring, and became a big media sensation? You can look this up on Youtube. So I think Shin Goji’s first form was clearly inspired most by this animal. Which I find cool as hell. Even the odd, bulging fish-like eyes to me resemble those of squid, or ichthyosaurs, suggestive of a creature adapted to the deep sea. I felt it was a callback to how Godzilla is mentioned as supposedly being a ‘transitional creature’ in the original movie; something between the sea and land. He is literally that in this movie. This is kind of ironic because the only other time we see Godzilla in multiple forms was in the Heisei film, Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. And that movie… well, let’s just say it’s not near the top of my list of favorite Godzilla films. One reason is because I never liked the design of the Godzillasaurus. It was just so plain! You could practically stick that thing into any dinosaur story as the generic large theropod, at least from the 50s to the 80s. But Shin’s first form is totally unique, while still being based on real animals. For me, THAT’S Godzillasaurus. I loved every bit of new intel on Godzilla’s biology as well as the mystery associated with him. He is presented in this film as a mostly unknowable, almost eldritch force. I love how whenever they try to explain his behavior, the only thing they’ve got is “it walks.” One of the scenes that stood out to me is when they first send helicopters out to combat Godzilla after he’s evolved into his second, more terrestrially-adapted form. His response is anything but natural. He just… stands still and stares at them. The pupils of his eyes never move here or throughout the whole movie. I know this might sound minor, but it was one of the moments that really stuck with me as a possible revelation into his psychology. It was as if he KNEW what they were. If so, then HOW? There’s only a few moments like that in the movie where it’s indicated that there just might be something behind those dead eyes of his. Seeing this Godzilla in action is a real treat too. This is among the few incarnations where I truly felt like he is the famed ‘Destroyer of Worlds’.
Overall: So those are my thoughts on Shin Gojira, aka Godzilla: Resurgence. Though it still lacks in really effective characters for a Godzilla movie, I think it’s a very well-done film that reflects the modern struggles of a nation just as well as the original, which is the best one to compare it to. If I had to make a prediction I’d even go so far as to say that many decades from now, just as we look back to the original Gojira as a snapshot of what Japan’s general state of being was like post-WWII, so too do I see Shin Gojira as being reflective of modern Japan’s affairs in correlation to the greater world setting.
Just wait till one of those tail-things gets loose…
