Shin Godzilla · 7:25am Oct 12th, 2016
Well, it's been a while since I've done...well...anything on this site. Pony-fatigue is still running strong and my mind is catching up from several years of immersing myself in almost nothing but MLP (from a personal entertainment perspective). But now I'm back, fresh from the theater with a review of Shin Godzilla.
...
I'm sure I'll get back to pony eventually...
Warning! Spoilers Ahead!
To start my recommendation, I really recommend that you see it if you can. For those of you in the US, Funimation is doing a limited theatrical release. You can visit their site here for showtimes and tickets. For those of you in other countries...I'm sure someone's doing something. Sorry.
But yes, it really is good, better than the 2014 film by a wide margin, which, in retrospect, I think I was being overly generous to in my review of that one. Firstly, it surpasses the American film by being a Godzilla movie that's actually about Godzilla. And, while it's not the best Godzilla films in the entire franchise, it's easily one of the better ones (one of my personal top-ten for sure). It's also one of the most...bizarre...Godzilla films ever created, though the top spot in that department will probably always be held by the infamous Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Now there's a Godzilla movie where someone in charge was high on something...but I digress.
For starters, I had many expectations and preconceptions for this Godzilla film, to the point where I overhyped it in my own head (which no movie could probably ever live up to). While it was a great film, what I didn't expect was for it to be one of the most topical Godzilla films I've ever seen, the most topical after, again, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, which wields its anti-pollution message with all the grace and delicacy of a rocket-propelled sledge hammer to the cranium. The main topic of this film is, apparently, Hideaki Anno's scathing rebuke of Japan's bloated governmental bureaucracy and the government's fixture on procedure and officials' obsession with the political, rather than physical, repercussions of their decisions, as well as a rather dark take on Japan's relationship with America.
This is not entirely atypical of Japan's Godzilla movies, the roster of characters tending to consist more of scientists and politicians than the "soldier on the ground" focus that American cinema tends to lionize. But it's taken to a very deliberate extreme here. Nearly all of the major characters in the film are government officials of some level, which, in retrospect, was clearly a deliberate choice, set against the bevy of characters from, scientists to soldiers to civilians, that could have been featured in the film. Many of the beats that Anno sets up for the movie are clear subversions, if not outright parodies of the classical and cliche beats of a typical action movie or even a typical Godzilla movie.
To wit, our lead character is Rando Yaguchi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, a maverick whose non-conformist nature is showcased by his willingness to...propose the possibility that the collapse of Tokyo's Aqua Line at the beginning of the movie was the result of a living creature and not some kind of geological event...thus potentially committing career suicide until he's vindicated by live footage of the monster's tail. While the rest of the government continually dithers over what to do about the escalating situation, Yaguchi assembles a ragtag bunch of misfits formed from...people from various departments who are actually willing to cooperate rather than worry more about inter-departmental issues and rivalries...in order to come up with a way to stop Godzilla before he completely ravages Tokyo or the US Military stops him by dropping a nuke on him.
That's the film's brilliant and bizarre conceit, taking the group dynamics of a team of action heroes, removing the action part, and having the roles instead be filled by government bureaucrats. It's not nearly as boring as it sounds and Anno milks the comparison for all its worth. There's a scene shown with the frenetic pace of a group of action stars arming up and assembling for battle, except the scene is actually a bunch of aides putting together a meeting room for Yaguchi's little group. Then there are other scenes that are underscored by a driving electric guitar theme, the kind that would normally play alongside another "soldiers preparing to be badass" sequence, except it's all shots of the various members of Yaguchi's group on phones and computers, hammering out the supplies and logistics of their little plan. It's all a very deliberate spoof of many of the classic action movie cliches, acted out by politicians and the occasional scientist and the main cast spends much of the movie glued to their phones and laptops. The stark contrast between the seriousness of the situation and the measures being taken to rectify it is underscored by shots of Godzilla wreaking havoc being intercut with shots of the characters sitting quietly in meetings or working at their desks, creating many darkly humorous moments throughout the film.
All of this is set up against the larger backdrop and herd of characters representing the rest of Japan's government, showcasing scenes of officials holding countless meetings, press conferences, and briefings, the sheer ponderous bloat of Japan's government slowing down their response to an absurd degree. It includes a very telling scene where military forces in the field are faced with a split-second decision that, instead of actually being made by the soldiers, is instead relayed up through an absurd number of links in the chain of command until the Prime Minister makes his decision and that decision is relayed back down in the same ridiculous fashion. There's an especially telling bit of dialogue when the officials are surveying the swath of destruction Godzilla has cut during his first foray ashore. The Prime Minister muses that it only took Godzilla two hours to cause such an absurd degree of damage. Yaguchi instead reminisces that they had a whole two hours to do something about it, but completely squandered that time.
Then there's the issue of Japan's relationship with America that might come off as unsettling to American viewers. The movie takes a rather negative view of the two countries' relationship, in many ways portraying America as a bit of a bully of a country, especially when they push for the use of a nuke against Godzilla, with Japan turning to France in order to buy the time they need for their people to finish implementing their plan. However, America is not portrayed as being wholly irredeemable as one of the main characters, Kayoko Ann Patterson, is a part-Japanese liaison from the American government, who actually aims to become President of the United States in the future. Granted, the majority of her redeeming features are indicated as being a result of her Japanese ancestry, but she's still portrayed as an American at the end and even rallies the American Air Force who sends wave after wave of drones at Godzilla during the final battle sequence of the movie, indicating that the major issues between Japan and America, much like the issues of Japan itself, are at a governmental level, rather than a personal one.
Of course, it wouldn't be a review of a Godzilla movie without talking about Godzilla. I have to start by saying that this is, unquestionably, the strangest and most deliberately grotesque incarnation of Godzilla to date. Many of the previous movies, especially the original 1954 one, have striven to present Godzilla as a horrifying force of destruction, a portrayal that is undermined by one simple fact...Godzilla just looks too darn cool. He combines the best aspects of dinosaurs and dragons and amps them up to eleven. Thus, even as the havoc he wreaks can be portrayed quite starkly, Godzilla himself has always been too awesome to really be viewed as an object of horror.
Not so with this incarnation. Anno and Shinji Higuchi have instead opted to present the first incarnation of Godzilla designed to be deliberately ugly. They even play off his previous, more iconic incarnations in a strange variant of the Uncanny Valley, whereby Godzilla's form is, at once, both easily recognizable and yet subtly different in such ways as to invoke a clear sense of unease. Godzilla's form is twisted and ill-proportioned, with arms that are too small and a tail that's too long. His mouth has too many teeth, many of which seem to be growing out from his lips. His eyes are beady and sunken. When he opens his mouth to roar and especially when he opens it to cut loose with his atomic breath (and dear God does he ever), his mouth opens way to wide. This is the first time that Godzilla has truly been presented as a genuine abomination, twisted and mutated by nuclear energy. He has the appearance of something warped and unnatural, something that truly shouldn't exist. And that's not even counting the film's final shot...which has to be seen to be believed. In this movie, Godzilla is truly made into something to be feared.
Speaking of my previous mention of his atomic breath, well...holy shit. His signature power is utilized to create one of the most incredible displays of special effects destruction ever put on film. It is both glorious and horrifying as Godzilla uses his atomic beam to completely annihilate a huge swath of Tokyo, turning it into a very literal sea of fire, the single most devastating moment of the entire movie and, indeed, of monster movies in general.
Sadly, the movie is not without its flaws. Much like the government it mocks (though this might be deliberate on Anno's part), the cast is a bloated gaggle of characters who are introduced in mostly rapid succession, with their identities being explained in brief textual subtitles that are flashed over their initial appearance. It's probably easier for the Japanese audience to tell them apart, but I could only remember a few specific people after their intros and almost none of them by name. Anno's application of frenetic, action-scene pacing to conference rooms and backdoor meetings may be quite topical and even on-the-nose for the kind of movie it's aiming to be, but it still makes it very hard to keep track of who's who. It makes it rather ironic that the it's then the scenes featuring Godzilla where the movie takes a minute to slow things down and breathe.
Another issue is Kayoko's character, who is portrayed as American born, a fact that is undercut by the fact that her English is marred by a terrible accent that makes it bluntly clear that she is not a native speaker. However, I'm willing to give that a pass, as I've heard similar criticisms about American movies with scenes where American actors try to speak foreign languages and (according to the people who actually speak said languages) butcher them horribly. That's an issue that runs both ways apparently.
Another issue is the film's tone. Anno's dabbling in dark comedy by contrasting the vividness of Godzilla's rampage against the humorously quiet and placid scenes of the people working to stop him aside, I am left feeling that the tone of the film was not dark enough, a rare feeling for me. The greatest strength of the original 1954 Gojira was not in its special effects, though they were fairly cutting edge for their time even if they don't hold up as well today, but in the sheer devastating somberness of its tone. Godzilla's ravaging of Tokyo is incredible to be sure, but it's true impact lies in other, smaller scenes, like the scene of a mother hugging her two children to her as Godzilla inexorably approaches, quietly informing them that they'll all be with their father soon. The scenes of the aftermath show people flooding hospitals, dead bodies being carried away, and a geiger counter going wild as it's being held up to the face of an innocent child. One of the most devastating scenes in the entire film is the televised sequence of shots lingering over the destruction and the victims, all while being supplemented by Akira Ifkube's absolutely haunting score, creating one of the most poetically tragic sequences in cinema. Even the film's final moments, where humanity has successfully killed Godzilla, are undermined by the sacrifice of the man who created the weapon that destroyed him, which means that there will be no such weapon in the future. As a consequence, the movie instead ends on a note of loss, rather than triumph.
Unfortunately, that was missing from this film, as Anno's biggest weakness is his apparent unwillingness to get personal when it comes to showcasing the impact of Godzilla's rampage on those who are suffering the true brunt of it. Any shots of civilian casualties and suffering pass by with disappointing brevity, with no time taken to allow the impact of their suffering to sink in, instead cutting to characters explaining that millions are dead and millions more are injured and displaced. Even though the ending tries to convey the sense of bittersweetness of the original, with the full implication that Godzilla's defeat is only temporary and his revival will be accompanied by an American nuke to Tokyo as soon as it happens, it doesn't match the solemn tragedy of the original and actually ends on a rather positive note (not considering that last shot, which is horrifying in its implications). It's the film's biggest overall flaw.
All told, Shin Godzilla (the title of its US release) is a fantastic film and well worth watching. It's a great film, even as it is one of the most uniquely bizarre entries into the series. If it's playing in your area, I definitely recommend giving it a look.
Thanks for all your patience and I hope that, at some point, I will return to this site with some actual work on my stories. It might still be a while though.
No rush
And im still sitting here waiting for the link to the RWBY fanfic
Welcome back though, if only temporarily.
I would consider myself lucky to read another series pony written by you anytime within the next few years. A continuation or offshoot of the savage sky series? Id seriously consider a quarter of my paycheck each week to see that. Take as much time as you need. Welcome back, and feel free to hit us up with anything pony or no. Love your work bro. ^.^
given time your battery's will recharge.
we all will be weighting for your return.
It may be permanent.
When I was really little my family loved Godzilla, since is was hella cheep to rent at the grocery store (yup) and it had giant fighting monsters, yeah! I really can't remember them much now but I do remember the opening to Godzilla vs. Hedorah because it seemed to go on forever. Even as a little kid the pandering was really bad, and I watched Captain Planet on the regular.
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This still really want to read your non-pony work!