When the Japanese coast guard discovers an abandoned boat in Tokyo Bay, their vessel is suddenly attacked by something beneath the waves. Afterwards, the city's most famous aqua-line begins to flood and collapse, causing Japan's government to investigate and ponder as to what could caused such sudden destruction. Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi believes that these incidents were caused by a large, living creature, but his ideas are initially dismissed as nonsense. Later on, the young man's theory is confirmed to be true, as a massive entity makes its way ashore, slithers and crawls across the land, causes massive property damage, and piles up casualties before a proper evacuation can take place. With the Prime Minister reluctant to jump into action, the beast then suddenly stands on its hind legs and returns to the sea. Curious about what to do in the case of a repeat offense, Yaguchi is assigned to a crew that will do extensive research on the unknown monster, who speculate that not only does "Godzilla" as it is dubbed, a product of nuclear fission, but that mutation within its genetics is also a strong possibility. No sooner is this new idea confirmed when Godzilla makes landfall again; only angrier, and much, much larger in size.
Just when I thought that I was out, the powers that be manage to pull me back in.
In the case of the recently-released Shin Gojira/Godzilla (its original distribution title was set to be Godzilla Resurgence, but another feature in the realm of science fiction unfortunately put an end to that), these collective individuals are not just the giants at long-running studio and distributor Toho, but another group of outsiders who have a very respectable reputation of their own. When news first broke of Japan beginning production on the thirty-first entry in the franchise (he has even surpassed James Bond in the numbers department!), excitement was brewing around the world. But who, we were asking, would be helming the project this time around? Before his most recent hiatus had started, the kaiju's last outing in his native country was 2004's rather divisive Godzilla: Final Wars, which despite being led by the very talented Ryuhei Kitamura, is a picture that I personally still go back and forth on. Within a short amount of time, two recognizable names in the realm of niche/geeky culture popped up, and were thusly attached to write and direct: Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi.
For those unfamiliar with the duo, I will give the best summation that someone who is very caffeine-deprived possibly can. During the 1990s, Anno created the immensely popular and influential Japanese animated series titled Neon Genesis Evangelion. The show (and its subsequent reboot films) wore its love for Kaiju Eiga, Tokusatsu, and odd science fiction works on its sleeve, but managed to inject it with a remarkable amount of intensely personal character drama, religious references, existential crises, and philosophical elements that made it stand above the rest of the pack. Yes, it is in essence an anime about giant mechs fighting monsters that have come to destroy our planet and begin the next extinction event, but it really is a fascinating piece of work that was unlike anything else coming out during that time. Higuchi, however, has a bit more of a familiar background in this type of field, having worked on a number of beloved entries in the realm of monster movies such as Shusuke Kaneko's tremendous Gamera trilogy, where he provided direction on their special effects, and sitting in the main man's chair for the live-action adaptations of fan favorite series Attack on Titan. Needless to say, most believed that we were in good hands, and would probably be in for a treat that would most assuredly stand out on its own.
So, there are quite a few questions that come to mind for longtime fans of the Big G in regards to Shin Gojira. The first (and most likely frequently uttered) one is wondering how can you possibly revamp or retool the King of the Monsters to where you don't lose sight of what makes him so spectacular or popular. Well, the very basic way to do that is to once again, make him the symbol of the horrors of war and the nuclear nightmare. For this entry, we are completely back to square one, as Anno & Higuchi's picture is not a sequel of any sort, but a brand new film with absolute no ties to any other flick sporting the name. It is ironic that something which shares a lot in common tonally with the 1954 granddaddy of them all ignores its existence. And yet, it works for the best. Shin Gojira imagines what would occur if a giant, radioactive beast, brought about by our own arrogance and disregard for the planet's safety, appeared above ground for the first time in the new millennium, and how a drastically different political landscape would choose to deal with it. The idea to just immediately rush armed personnel into battle or to drop weapons from the sky onto him sounds fine in theory, but considering how much Japan has gone through over the past several decades (and even dating back to 1945), that is easier said than done. Why risk turning the city into a graveyard again if the potential for a safer, more sensible solution is there? And yet, if we don't take immediate, aggressive action, will the rest of the world view us as weak? These type of questions were also raised in this year's first pick for the marathon, but Anno and his crew explore it MUCH better than even I could describe, with the man even citing 2010's The Social Network as an inspiration for how he wanted his performers to act and speak in regards to body language or speed. This could stand out as perhaps the most talkative, savvy, and (pardon the pun) human version of a Godzilla movie that we have ever seen. Think The West Wing with the main conflict surrounding a fire-breathing creature slowly rampaging across the land.
Of course, the second question is what will Godzilla look like? To say that we have seen some questionable redesigns during his sixty-two years of reigning over earth would be an understatement if there ever was one. Well, once again taking a cue from their previous sources of inspiration, we get the most nightmarish iteration of the colossal behemoth that we have seen in a very, very long time. For the first time in the history of this franchise, we see the gigantic, mutated dinosaur actually......well, mutate. Admittedly, his first form does look a bit goofy (and is a bit heavy on the CGI), sporting some almost comical features in the facial department, but when you come to the realization that this is only its debut "stage" and is a mere infant, the factors of dread and worrying kick in. It is when he makes his return to the land that we see the truly horrific, almost decrepit-looking version that has made numerous appearances on posters and the like. It is yet another throwback to the original 1954 picture, as they are attempting to scare the audience, or at the very least, make them feel a bit uncomfortable. His appearance as decaying, oddly-formed monstrosity could be seen as a metaphor for where society is as a whole in 2016. Godzilla doesn't appear to be dead, but he's just sort of....rotting (can of coke to whoever gets that reference). This version is also portrayed primarily through the means of motion capture, lumbering along like a true force of nature. Of course, he does get a chance to show off his iconic radioactive breath (as well as some other new tricks), and this is where Higuchi's craft shines. While witnessing his absolute demolition of cities and their military forces, it blew my mind that the individual himself has never been asked to head the effects department on any project overseas, as I believe that his work can rival anything that a U.S. film studio can produce. When this reviewer's own dad can muster the phrase "I'll tell you what, those were some incredible special effects," then you know that your grandeur and praise is warranted. Pieces of Akira Ifukube's original scores for Toho also turn up during moments of destruction and preparation (as does a remixed version of Anno favorite "Decisive Battle"), but Shiro Sagisu's (Bleach, Neon Genesis Evangelion) new compositions do the dearly departed composer justice. They feel like a grandiose mixture of intensity and optimism, while sprinkling in this feeling of dread which implies that we could see the end of the world quicker than we expected.
Though it is only playing for a mere week (technically, until October 18th) in theaters, Shin Gojira feels like it should be seen by more than just a small, selective audience. It is not just a unique beast of a motion picture, but is culturally important for Godzilla's country of origin. It is continuously exploring themes and views that could expose some more ignorant moviegoers to just how convoluted and stressful the entire system and government hierarchy can be over there (though it's easy to get lost with just how many human characters pop up; listing subtitles of their position above their heads). When you consider how unpleasant morale and mindsets were in the areas following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that did innumerable amounts of damage to the land of the rising sun, the movie's tendency to boost people's emotions again is admirable. Some of the ideas spread throughout do suggest that we ourselves would not hesitate to jump right in and just bomb the ever-loving hell out of whatever problem arises around the world (the U.S. even sends a Japanese-American woman over as a messenger/negotiator for dropping nukes on her grandmother's country, and she comically speaks just as much English as she does her native tongue), but to be fair, they aren't entirely wrong. In fact, it could seriously benefit some politicians who also fancy trips to the multiplex to see Shin Gojira and analyze some of their own beliefs while they are at it. Even though I enjoyed 2014's stateside Godzilla reboot more than most seemed to (please don't come back to me saying that there isn't enough of him in this either, because if you've ever watched ANY of the prior films, you know that his screen time isn't as prevalent as you would think it is), this feels like more a proper return for one of the most memorable, thunderous, cantankerous, and respected fictional characters in the realm of science fiction. Go buy tickets for this as soon as you can, see it in a theater with great sound, and respect the legend Bubba.
Anyway, if you are one of the types who just wishes to skip to the end of my review, or just don't want to read the whole shebang to finally hear my opinion, I'll just quickly summarize it with a nice YouTube song below.
Tomorrow, we take a trip to Italy with a tale of exploding eggs, gore, and a soundtrack led by legendary progressive rock band Goblin!
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