Shin Gojira Review

     This Godzilla movie probably had the most expectations to be good than any other Godzilla movie I've seen. People would argue that the 2014 Godzilla had pretty high expectations, but as a mass we did not assume it was going to be good from the get go. People expected to hate it and generally the movie is received as okay. Shin Gojira was assumed to be good before they even started filming. So many spouting about "Japan will show us how it's done" or something else to that effect. After Japan had given the movie such praise, many people collectively decided it was good and made way to the theater with somewhat of a Bias. Truthfully, I think this movie is great. Objectively speaking, it is among the best Godzilla films to date in terms of acting and cinematography. Despite the movie being great, it is not without flaws.
     To start, the acting was amazing. The stand out stars being: Rando Yaguchi (played by Hiroki Hasegawa) and Kayako Ann Patterson (played by Satomi Ishihara). Both of them had worked together before under director Shinji Higuchi on the recent Attack on Titan film and it shows. These actors work well off each other and the camera seems to love them. The film did not rely on the strength of these two alone. There were many colorful characters, all of them very welcome additions to the Godzilla series. I really think anybody who aspires to be a leader needs to watch the performances of Rando Yaguchi and Prime Minister Seiji Okochi. These two exemplify the types of leaders we all should aspire to be. They are Decisive, yet open to all options. They are Stern, but have a genuine concern for all people of the country. Most importantly, they are active and assertive enough to do exactly what needs to be done.
     While the acting was superb, there were times where the writing left something to be desired. The script, itself, wasn't terrible, but there were times in the movie where people were talking too fast, too much was happening on screen, or just scenes that droned on for too long. To be fair these were very few and very far between, but I feel affected the pace of the movie just a bit and kept it from being the best it could possibly be. The best example of this is all the meetings in the beginning. Too much time is spent teasing that Godzilla is coming ashore and having board meetings. After Godzilla's tail flapped around and they had those meetings, the spectacle of seeing Godzilla emerge from the depths lessened just a bit for me. Credit where credit is due though. That whole sequence simultaneously displayed the tedious retardation as well as the organized effectiveness of the bureaucracy and its role of keeping things together in a time of crisis.
     Now we come to the big guy himself. I hate to say this but most of the flaws of the movie are centered around Godzilla himself. Yes, there are problems with the design, but there is an in-movie reason for why he looks the way he does. This is excusable to an extent. I can't quite give a pass on when Godzilla makes landfall for the first time. I understand they were trying to show what a realistic Godzilla would look like. The thing that comes on land is clearly of aquatic or amphibious origin, but frankly, it looks silly. So many in the theater laughed when the saw Godzilla make landfall, and I do not blame them in the least. This design was quickly saved however. Even before Godzilla changed for the first time, it was made clear that this was an unnatural and dangerous thing. Blood everywhere, buildings demolished. Many people went from "Teehee" to "...oh shit..." by the time Godzilla changed.

     From here I must say it gets better for a while, Godzilla just seems to be walking and before they start firing on the potential threat (side note: I just realized how many movies name Godzilla as a "potential" threat and its hilarious) Godzilla turns around and heads to the ocean to, as the scientist discern, cool off the rising temperatures of his body. After a while of the Japanese government planning and mobilizing, Godzilla emerges in his "final" form, or at the least the form we are most familiar with for this movie. Once the Military tries to fend off Godzilla, greatness begins. Everything from the pacing, to the way Godzilla is lumbering around, to the camera angles wonderfully encapsulates the terror that is being unable to kill Godzilla. After much Struggle, American allies hit the back of Godzilla with some bombers and hit a sweet spot. I will allow this considering most of Godzilla's flesh is exposed, especially on the back and neck area so it stands to reason that it would be the most vulnerable. Once Godzilla senses the danger, He lets out his atomic breath. The way Godzilla charges his breath is marvelous. The heat from his mouth is condensed from smoke, to fire, to laser and it is crazy powerful.
     The scene is then made weird when Godzilla launches lasers from his back. I still don't get why that is a good idea over a good old fashioned nuclear pulse, or why Godzilla couldn't just use his normal breath to get the planes. This notion is made weirder when Godzilla launches his breath from his tail later on. I can't think of a way to describe it, other than weird. The weirdness continues with the last scene but, I feel this review has enough spoilers in it. I wont go in to detail about how they bring down Godzilla, but it is very clever and very well executed. I know I said no more spoilers but...train bombs are awesome and I love everything about them.
     At the end of the day, this was a very good Godzilla film. I see an argument for this standing alongside the original as one of, if not the best films from this series recently or even ever. The beautiful cinematography, excellent acting, and dark tone really raise this film up to great heights. This movie is flawed, but I recommend it to everyone. Godzilla fans will love this addition to the franchise and new fans will have a great dark monster movie to watch.
     Now, unfortunately this film does have to be compared to the 2014 Godzilla. Many have viewed Shin Gojira as the "proper way to do a Godzilla movie", but I don't think it's that cut and dry. I plan on comparing the pros and cons of both to see which movie is the definitive Godzilla movie.