Day 29: Shin Godzilla (2016)

We have reached the Reiwa era of Godzilla films, which also happens to be the era we are currently living through. There is only two films currently in this era, one of which is today’s film Shin Godzilla (2016). This was the longest gap between films at 12 years, and I think it maybe was because with Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) was a send off to the whole franchise. But you can’t keep the big boy down forever, and he comes back here with a bang. The film is set in a modern day Japan, and a world where Godzilla is not a known quantity. That doesn’t last long, however. When an explosion occurs in the ocean just off the coast of Tokyo, the government scramble to work out what caused it. While the general consensus is that it is an undersea volcanic eruption or an earthquake. However, one member of government believes it to be a huge creature on the ocean floor. Who is proved to be right when a huge tail emerges, followed by a strange creature which pushes itself along the ground of Tokyo using two rear legs, causing mass destruction as it does. The government discusses several tactics to take care of the creature, but the longer they take the more the creature evolves, until it becomes the big lizard, we all love.

I think this film may be a bit of a slog for some people. It is a little for me, and I think if it was slightly shorter I would enjoy it more. But I think it will be a slog for a lot of people because the majority of this film is people talking to each other in offices deciding on the best course of action. There are also a million and one characters to keep up with, so I eventually gave up trying to remember names and positions. I imagine this to be a bit of a turn off for some people, but I actually quite enjoyed it. And that is because it is actually quite funny, at least initially. You have this huge disaster going on and we are set in these board rooms with people in meeting discussing setting up further meetings and press conferences without any action being taken. People are discussing which department each decision falls under, and when ideas are bounced about people bring up articles that would not allow that to happen. And this is where the number of characters also work, because you have so many people all working on the same thing and bouncing off each other that it adds to this mess that the film is portraying. It was clear that it was being satirical, and looking into it more it most definitely was. This film returns to using Godzilla as metaphor, and in this case, it is a critique on the government response and bureaucracy involved after the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster. It loses its way a little towards the end, but initially this works brilliantly.

But as always, Godzilla is the man attraction, and here he is unlike anything you have seen before. This is such an interesting Godzilla as he evolves through the film so we get to see several version of him, from the smaller version who basically crawls on his belly, to the huge version who looks much more like the classic Godzilla. But even then there are some key differences. For one, his skin is rough and almost rock like, and there are massive red marks all throughout which almost look like open wounds. I thought throughout the film how painful it looked like to be Godzilla, which is a brilliant touch to fit with the themes and tone of the film. But the biggest change of all is in his atomic breath. Firstly, when he activates the breath his bottom jaw opens up like a flower which is a great visual and adds to this idea of pain of being Godzilla. And then when he shoots his breath it acts more like a laser rather than actual breath, and he can also shoot it from his tail or in multiple streams from his back. It is a fun addition and makes this Godzilla seem unstoppable. And this is added to by the destruction he causes. There is some great effects and brilliant imagery of the destruction of Tokyo, aided by the enhanced technology. It is huge in scale and brilliant visually, and adds to the feeling of disaster that is throughout this film.

I initially saw this film a long-time ago and I remember enjoying it. But on this rewatch I have found a new appreciation for the film. I have always enjoyed the destruction and Godzilla moments, but when I first watched it all the narrative aspects left something to be desired, and I think that it is because the satirical nature of it just went over my head. But this time it really worked for me and propelled this film into the upper echelon of Godzilla films in my eyes.