"'Post-war' extends forever." Shin Godzilla review

Shin Godzilla, directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, is the latest Godzilla motion picture from Japan; it's been appearing in North America in a limited release with subtitles; to my surprise, my home city in dusty ol' Calgary hosted the film in a pair of theatres. I'm not a tremendous fan of Godzilla, but I like the concept when it's executed well - that is, when the film either has a philosophy worth hearing or is tremendous fun to watch. My most learned friend on Godzilla, Craig, told me this was a Godzilla film worth seeing. And so it was.

Like the US versions of Godzilla, this is a complete reboot - nothing, not even the 1954 original, is left in-continuity for the purposes of this film. Thus, we have Godzilla making his first-ever appearance in modern-day Japan with absolutely no one prepared to deal with the likes of he; but this is not only a throwback in the sense of people seeing Godzilla for the first time, it also hearkens back to the spirit of the 1954 film. In 1954, Godzilla, King of the Monsters examined how post-atomic bomb Japan was dealing with its own anxieties about war and atomic destruction. Shin Godzilla does likewise (there are many references to the atomic bombs and "scrap and build") but is chiefly concerned with Japan's 2011 earthquake/nuclear disaster.

I had my doubts about this film due to Hideaki Anno's past as creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yes, it is considered one of the greatest anime programs of all time, but the ending of that series truly soured me on Evangelion (and frankly, much of anime). There are touches in this film which seem much like his vision: the international rivalry over monster killing, Godzilla "evolving" and firing a grid of laser beams from his back, discussions about Godzilla as a "god" ...also: Shinji = Shin Godzilla!!! Wake up, sheeple! Atomic breath can't melt steel beams!

My doubts quickly vanished; this film drew me in immediately with its method of storytelling - lots of dialogue, lots of sets, scene upon scene. The dialogue is at times delivered so quickly (the director was inspired by The Social Network) that the subtitles would nearly cover the screen! This is one non-English film where I think a good dub would be welcome for the sake of those who don't read & absorb too quickly. At any rate, you need to pay attention during this film and the dark environs of a film theater are well suited to it; it's less likely you'll check your e-mail at the cinema (though the person next to me checked a message).

The film is very skeptical of leaders, be they interlopers from the U.S.A. who are convinced they can solve Japan's problems, to the bureaucracy in Japan's own government. At the times the film is much like a political farce. In one instance, the word is given to engage Godzilla; word travels through all the appropriate ranks until the helicopters mobilize and surround Godzilla; now the pilots ask for authorization to fire; word travels back up through the ranks until it reaches the Prime Minister, who authorizes firing; when bullets prove ineffective, the pilots ask for authorization to use missiles; one more, the message is relayed through channels until the Prime Minister agrees! It's very unlike a typical Godzilla picture.

Outside from leaders, the film also has it in for unimaginative thinkers; the ultimate solution to defeating Godzilla is very creative (and involves hitting Godzilla in, appropriately, the shin), but all other avenues are proven to be ignorant, thoughtless or ill-considered. There is a particular anxiety about using nuclear weapons against Godzilla which all of us who have seen Godzilla films know won't work, and are thus better able to see the use of nuclear weaons as a mistake - something which the franchise has always been on-point about.

Shin Godzilla has probably wrapped up its North American trip by now, but I encourage you to seek it out on video when it arrives.

Young Fears 27: Godzilla vs. Gigan

Each October I like to run a series of Halloween-themed posts on this blog. All this month, I'll be telling anecdotes about things which frightened me while growing up.

Somehow, the line of Godzilla movies didn't play in my family's house. I do recall watching bits of Godzilla vs. Megalon during a TNT Monstervision marathon, but that film wasn't exactly geared to make anyone want to watch those films. Earlier than that, however, I rented my first Godzilla movie from the local Red Basket: Godzilla vs. Gigan! Yeah, a giant metal monster with a buzz saw in his chest and hooks for hands! What kid wouldn't like it?

And yet, I was still repulsed by the film. Not because of Godzilla himself (he did his best with the material, I have great respect for him as an actor) but because of the aliens who were pulling the strings behind Gigan: a couple of giant cockroaches! Ewww! Yuck! Bugs! It may have been years since Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but I still had no love for big bugs. Those stinkin' cockroaches ruined the movie for me.

People looking at things: my short Godzilla review

I heard enough about Gareth Edwards' Godzilla to have my expectations set pretty low; I went to see the film more to spend time with my friend Alastair rather than any genuine interest in the movie. I'm afraid my thoughts on the film echo much of the criticism I'd heard.

Being that Edwards is a first-time director, you might wonder if he's any good. Having seen his film, I couldn't say - his background in visual effects serves him well as he spends most of the time creating set pieces. Otherwise, he's clearly a Spielbergian fellow - much of the film consists of people staring at things. Poor Ken Watanabe seems to spend 80% of his scenes with his mouth open like a guppy.

Spielberg also comes to mind when one thinks of his War of the Worlds picture (2005), an incredibly somber and truly post-9/11 film which took the excitement of an alien invasion and transformed it into depressing sludge. Likewise, Godzilla is somber and morose about the business of giant monsters fighting. 9/11 destruction porn is trotted out (as in so many films) against slow-motion footage of buildings collapsing while sad music plays; precisely what the Godzilla audience demographic wants to see, am I right?

The film frequently devotes its running time to establishing a set piece - the locale, the people, the cute kids in peril (re: Spielberg) leading up to the arrival of the monster at which point destruction commences - for about 1 minute, then it's back to slowly setting up the next action scene. It's quite a languid pace. When Godzilla made his first full appearance confronting one of the film's villainous monsters I began to grow excited - but then the scene pulled away and the fight was simply glimpsed on television. Consequently, when the film began setting up the next monster fight, it's hard to get excited. Godzilla and the other monster are going to have a rematch? I didn't even get to see the first fight! Oh, will it be another brief shaky cam action scene followed by 10 minutes of people talking? I wouldn't bet money against it.

In his review, J. Caleb Mozzocco described the cast of characters as "generic character types cut from an Emmerich-like disaster/apocalypse film." He's being far too kind; Emmerich's casts of easily-identifiable stereotypes and comic reliefs are deeply-honed figures of meticulous craft compared to the human cast of Godzilla; any attempt to recall the cast will only put you to sleep. I did find myself transfixed by Watanabe, but only because I assumed his character would eventually justify his presence in the film; spoiler warning: he doesn't. Did you ever see Red Letter Media's review of Star Wars: the Phantom Menace where he challenged people to describe the personalities of the film's cast without talking about their jobs or physical appearances? I defy anyone to do the same with the cast of Godzilla and come up with words other than "bland," "dull" or "sepia." The only dynamic character dies about half an hour in. Good thing Edwards is the next Star Wars director, huh?

What I liked: The atomic breath, both times it was used (I actually said "right on!" aloud when the Big G's tail began glowing the first time - I was afraid he might not use it in the film considering how it had been going); I liked that the film involved Godzilla fighting other monsters rather than being a Godzilla vs. army film; I liked a lot of the visuals, especially Godzilla's spikes sticking out of the ocean.

OTHER THOUGHTS

Exiting the theater, Alastair informed me there's new military technology which is proof against EMPs - he tells me modern military jets can survive an EMP without losing control of their vehicle; if he's right, that would have buried a lot of this film's "nothing stops EMPs" science.

My friend Craig and I have opined the real test of how good any Godzilla movie is whether the humans' plot is any good; if the human plot is terrible then the movie is lousy (Godzilla vs. Megalon); if the human plot is passable then the movie is good (Godzilla 1985); if the human plot is actually interesting, then the movie is great (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla). In this instance, the human plot is dull; unfortunately, it's also 95% of the film. There's no sense of fun, joy, excitement...

...Wow, after seeing this I'm beginning to realize I really did enjoy Pacific Rim.

"I think Gareth Edwards' Godzilla is dead, but we should check for a pulse."

*shoots film in the head three times*

"No pulse."

Shockingly good: Godzilla - the Half-Century War#1

Here are two selling points: Godzilla and James Stokoe. To the former... I have a passing interest in Godzilla from the movies, but I consider myself a casual fan; I haven't really enjoyed any of the Godzilla comics I've sampled. The the latter... I haven't read any of Stokoe's books despite the rave reviews surrounding Orc Stain (by the time I changed my mind, the early issues were sold out).

However, people on the internet have been talking about IDW's Godzilla: the Half-Century War, so here was a potentially good point to jump into Stokoe's work and find out what I'd been missing. I was prepared to be unmoved by this comic, but I was not prepared to fall head-over-heels in love.

Even a lightweight Godzilla fan such as I can see how much love Stokoe has for the franchise. My favourite Godzilla films are Godzilla 1985 (1984) and Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002). I find the worst part of a Godzilla film is usually whatever plot the human characters are involved in, but these two pictures have very good human plots with characters you actually root for as they stand up against Godzilla (as opposed to yelling at the screen, "Eat them all Godzilla! They're too stupid to live!"). Similarly, Stokoe's Godzilla: the Half-Century War is grounded from the perspective of Ota Murakami, a hapless tank crew member who finds himself living through the events of the original Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956).

Stokoe is a... what, quadruple threat? Writer, artist, colourist, letterer. His Godzilla is loaded with details, but it doesn't overwhelm the characters or the action. Appropriately, some of his cues are from manga (ie, facial expressions, some dialogue balloons). As a minor fan, I certainly appreciated the "krsh!" sound effect as Godzilla powers up his atomic breath...

...But where I caved in was the depiction of Godzilla's roar. It seems Stokoe drew it in the same shape as the wave pattern from an audio recording of Godzilla roaring in the films. This is... wow. Oh, wow. How often do I get to see something done with the language of comic books that's new to me? Something I haven't seen done before? Outstanding.

Godzilla: the Half-Century War will only run five issues, but promises to feature different versions of Godzilla from over the decades. I'm committed to seeing this one through; beautiful art, lettering, colours and likeable characters; I only wish this were an ongoing series! Once again, IDW has a winner in my eyes; the sooner the industry starts taking cues from them, the sooner we can get back fun, quality books of merit across the line.