Shin Godzilla is one of the two movies of the series that can genuinely be referred to as honest art. After the terrifying realization that Japan will never move past its nuclear history with the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Shin Godzilla came out to a world who needed to realize Japan is a different country and can sustain and keep itself safe. This movie is so good, truly. An incredible movie that changes its history intentionally and tries to do something totally new is not common, but Shin Godzilla does this incredibly. Changing the origins of Godzilla while keeping the nuclear origins the same to the continually evolving design and using classic sound effects as opposed to wholly new ones was simply brilliant. The movie brilliantly mixes horror and comedy to make a movie that feels completely unique while still standing strong with the rest of its series. From the honest performances to its very genuine commentary and stunning sequences of absolute horror, Shin Godzilla is a movie that might actually hit some audiences harder and evoke more emotion that even the original Godzilla of 1954. Shin Godzilla truly is that good.An abandoned yacht is discovered near Tokyo Bay with no semblance of anyone being aboard except a pair of shoes and an envelope. Soon after, a tail bursts from Tokyo Bay as a mysterious creature soon named Godzilla makes its way towards land. After a first attack from the JSDF, it changed into a completely new and equally terrifying form to run to sea. After days with no sign of the creature, it returned again twice as tall as before and still just as dangerous. Now stuck between the United States' attempted intervention and Godzilla's terrible wrath, the new leaders of the Japanese people must come together to save not only their country from Godzilla, but also the world.
Alright, let's start a little controversially with Godzilla himself and his appearance and behavior in the movie. Personally, I absolutely love it, truly. There are some who absolutely deplore the design and can't stand the way he looks or acts, and like with the criticism of Godzilla: Final Wars, I hear it, I get it, I understand it, but I do not agree with it. The thing about Godzilla in the movie (I simply refer to it as Shin Godzilla just to make a distinction), is that yes, it is frightening. Yes, it is not a "traditional" Godzilla in anyway. But the reason I love this over say "Godzilla" in TriStar's Godzilla is because the character is fundamentally the same. Come onto land, cause havoc, return to the sea and comeback later even stronger to cause more damage. The biggest difference between Shin Godzilla and a more traditional Godzilla however is the continuing evolution and not taking a very traditional form until late in the film. And once it does, it still doesn't "look like" Godzilla. Deformed and hideous and looking like Satan's concept of Godzilla, he's hard to look at. And yet again, I love this and think it's perfect for this representation of the character. It's everything about the original Godzilla and cranked up to 11. Now, again, I can see where people take issue with this. Just because it's new, it doesn't guarantee it'll land. But for me, this one definitely does. Bent and terrifying looking mutated and deformed as if out of a horror movie from the most mentally disturbed, this is a MONSTER. Everything is done with sincere effort and attention to make this the most terrifying Godzilla ever, and every move is a success. From the dopey looking second form to its first metamorphosis to the sudden emergence of the fourth form and the frightening glance we see of the incomplete fifth form. Godzilla is more terrifying than ever in this movie, and love it or hate it, that was always the goal. Again, I understand if this is not your cup of tea or how you want a Godzilla to be. When I first saw the design, I felt the same way. But as time went on and I've seen the movie now SEVEN TIMES, I can't see a world without this movie having a design this fantastic. But, so be it. If you can't get down with the design, let's talk about some more of the countless other positives of the movie.
Shin Godzilla has one of the most interesting casts of the entire series because absolutely NOBODY in the movie is a relatable human being that the audience could even come close to using as a stand in. Because with half of the cast we have government officials who don't know what they're doing and make absolutely FOOLISH decisions that cost everyone greatly. The other half of the cast is weirdos so extreme and crazy that without them, there would be absolutely no shot of saving the country. From a thematic perspective, this is a brilliant way to get us to figure the characters out. But from a traditional storytelling perspective, it is a huge risk. But I think that it really pays off. My two favorite characters in the movie are Rando Yaguchi, played by Hiroki Hasegawa (pictured left), and Mikako Ichikiawa as Hiromi Ogashira (pictured right). Both are playing two very different people who ultimately save the day and are both very fun to watch. Rando Yaguchi is the first government official to look towards the people and discover that the first sighting of Godzilla is indeed an animal and is the man who comes up with the plan to ultimately defeat it. Hasegawa puts on a fantastic performance as it's clear just how much everything that happens weighs on him. From being told by superiors that he is thinking too much to having to wait way too long for his plan of Operation: Yashiori to be approved, he has to be told "No" a lot, and he bounces back from every single one, ready to save the world from the dire threat. Hiromi Ogashira is one of the freaks and weirdos who comes out of the wood work to save the day, and she is just great. She moves around kind of odd but joins in some of the best scenes of the movie, working together with Yaguchi to prove his theory over the effectiveness of Yashiori and how they can save the day. She is an oddball, but she does a great job. Honestly all of the cast is weird, but every character is effective and gets in every moment that they need to get in before the credits roll.
The last thing I want to talk about with the movie is the absolutely incredible soundtrack. The head of music on the film is Shiro Sagisu, notable for music in the past he did working with director Hideaki Anno in Neon Genesis Evangelion. What's interesting about the soundtrack is that despite not composing any original music for the movie due to passing away, classic composer Akira Ifukube is credited for the soundtrack along with Sagisu. It makes sense, honestly. A lot of classic music returns for the movie, most notable the theme of the first metamorphosis coming straight from 1954's Godzilla, and with the fourth form emerging to music from King Kong vs. Godzilla. This is not the only classic music however, because Sagisu even used some themes from Evangelion in the soundtrack, which might be my ONLY issue with the entire movie. It's good music, but in some of the scenes it plays in, it just feels out of place. But what never feels out of place is the original music, most notably two songs: Persecution of the Masses, and Who Will Know. Persecution of the Masses is so haunting, truly. The song that first plays when Godzilla emerges on to land the first time, it is a moving and beautiful piece with lyrics sung by a choir over the fear of death and prayers that something can be done over the monster crisis. And as nothing is done, Godzilla just keeps on moving and is left poorly attended to as it evolves for the first time. It is utterly BRILLIANT. But by far the best piece in the movie is tied to one of the greatest moments in film I have ever seen. Who Will Know was the perfect song for one of the greatest and most terrifying moments I have ever seen on film, truly. As Godzilla finally feels pain and lays waste to Tokyo, the lyrics of the song are a solemn prayer to God, or at least some higher power to survive the encounter, keep living, and when death eventually comes, that it can be remembered. It's so frightening thinking of this Godzilla having thought, but it does. It's afraid of dying and does anything to keep itself alive, which is why the Operation works in the end to stop it. It's a moving and tragic piece that really leaves your jaw on the floor. Truly, a moment to be remembered for all time. Not just for Godzilla, but for all of film for the rest of time.It almost feels redundant to sing the praises of Shin Godzilla, truly. At least when I reviewed Godzilla it was 65 years old, but this movie is only three years old and almost has made itself as remembered or as classic as the original. Everything from the effects and horror of Godzilla to performances, music and even the tone make this a movie that is a must see. If you are hesitant to watch or even like the movie because of Godzilla's look, I encourage to put that aside, because in the context of the movie, it is thematically brilliant. Shin Godzilla is a movie for all time that will stand forever as not only one of the absolute best Godzilla films, but one of the best Japanese movies to come out within the last 20 years. And when it's all said and done, who's to say this isn't one of the best Japanese movies ever made in general?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now we're gonna go on a fun detour through the world of Animation! Shin Godzilla successfully reintroduced a brilliant modern Japanese Godzilla, and Toho wanted to keep the ball rolling with the experiments, and so was born the Anime Trilogy. Over the next three days, we will be reviewing each one, starting with Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters. I can feel the days getting longer as we nudge towards King of the Monsters, and I wish these had come out earlier so we could have ended the series with a real bang, but, alas. Onward we march, and please make sure to come back tomorrow for a very indifferent review of the first anime film to star Godzilla.
No comments:
Post a Comment