By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Both my husband and I are fans of the Godzilla franchise. I loved the American Godzilla from 2014 and when I saw the trailer for the new Japanese film, I was hoping it would have a theatrical release in the states. Thank God for Fathom Events. For one day only, SHIN GODZILLA was shown in theaters. It is the 29th Godzilla film released by the production company TOHO and it is their third reboot of the franchise.
First, my film experience was amazing. The theater was packed with an energetic crowd ready to see their favorite monster again. I honestly prefer subtitles over dubbing, because it typically means babies who can’t read are not brought. It also ensures people are reading and not making any noise aside from the occasional “YES” and “Oh My God!”
SHIN GODZILLA is old-school Gojira meets modern day special effects and politics. It opens when an empty boat is found and something attacks the boat. The Aqua Line is flooded and actually collapses putting the Japanese government into one of the worst situations they’ve ever been in.
The Prime Minister gathers a group of individuals who speculate whether it’s an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Every suggestion made is shot down quickly by scientific fact. Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Rando (Hiroki Hasegawa) is the only one who believes it’s a living organism. He is ridiculed and reprimanded for what everyone believes to be a ludicrous joke. When the news reveals an enormous tail, everyone has to eat humble pie.
They bring in biologists who are of no help. Despite having information and an outlined theory of the huge monster, it’s in an encrypted form that cannot be deciphered. The Prime Minister and the request of most of the officials evacuate the area.
Japan reaches out to the US, France, China and Russia for assistance. Per the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, we agree to help. Japan finds out that the US was aware of Godzilla for quite some time and covered it up. A United States presidential hopeful Kayoko Ann Patterson (Satomi Ishihara) is sent to Japan to provide classified documents and share the ideas and demands of the US. The United States takes every piece of DNA that was unused and advised that they would only intervene if they were given full access to study Godzilla. Basically, we were being our normal asshole selves and dealing with foreign affairs in the worst way possible. This film perfectly illustrates the way in which our dealings with other countries, even allies, are nearly always based on a Quid Pro Quo rather than just being humanitarians.
Though dedicated to America, Patterson’s grandmother was a Japanese citizen and lived through the devastation of “little boy” on Hiroshima and “fat boy” on Nagasaki. Therefore, she feels a strong kinship to Japan and is willing to throw away her political aspirations to ensure Japan is not destroyed.
Godzilla meanwhile has emerged from the water. At first, he looked like the cutest large turkey in the world. I must admit, I’m always on the side of Godzilla. He’s just so damn cool and this was not an exception. To the shock of the biologists and government officials, he was able to evolve and re-evolve to different environments. On land, he became the Godzilla we all know and love. He later grew taller.
The group of Japanese government officials, biologists and professors believe they found a theory that may stop Godzilla. At the same time, the United States decides to use a nuclear bomb to destroy him. All of the countries promise to help rebuild if Japan agrees to evacuate the country and allow the bomb.
The decision as to what to do comes down to the wire as the country evacuates every location that Godzilla approaches.
There are so many amazing qualities about this film. First and foremost, Godzilla looks amazing. His evolutions are fantastic. They tease that he may be able to evolve into a flying creature.
The film also gave a nod to Godzilla enthusiasts as there was a protest outside of the Prime Minister’s headquarters of people saying to save Godzilla and that he was in fact God.
The best part of this film is the social and political commentary. The horrific actions we took on Japan in WWII originally inspired Godzilla. Therefore, the focus on the nuclear bombs not only gave a nod to the character, but it also gave the audience some valuable insight into what we (the United States) did.
It also went into how ‘democracy’ can make necessary immediate action impossible. The insistence of having meeting after meeting and going through all the red tape, even in the event of an emergency is something that is often overlooked, both in film and in life. In SHIN GODZILLA, they delve into this problem, head on and even criticize the system. Now I know this sounds pretty heavy, but at its core, it’s still a fun monster movie. It’s just a fun monster movie with a message.
During certain points of the movie, I was thinking of how terrifying the current state of nuclear weaponry is. Our submarine launched ballistic missiles has everyone on edge. When we broke the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, I was petrified. Then, when we continued to break the ABMT despite our Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action/The Iran Deal, I feared the worst. The modifications in development of our Trident Submarines in effort to make them travel from 500km to 1000km makes me think we may be heading for another Cold War. I’m old enough to vaguely remember when Russia became an ally and how celebratory that occasion was. I sincerely wish whomever becomes president that both Russia and the United States honestly agree to the terms within the ABMT.
The United States is the only country that ever dropped the atomic bomb. The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were some of the most heinous criminal acts in history. I often wonder how President Truman, looked at himself in the mirror afterward. I have no words to describe the remorse I have for my country’s actions or for the horrific lasting effects it had on the citizens of Japan. The sympathy I feel for the victims and families doesn’t help or change the situation at all. My apology, though I fully do apologize, does nothing to take it away.
We Americans like to pat ourselves on the back, and though we may have helped financially to rebuild the country and its economy, that minuscule gesture will never take away from what we did to the Japanese people. We should never forget August 6, 1945 and the 170,000 people who perished in Hiroshima. Nor should we ever forget August 9, 1945 where another 80,000 Japanese citizens perished in Nagasaki. These number don’t even include those who died later on, due to the residual effects of the atomic bombs. The fact is the United States used these bombs and sacrificed these lives to scare the Soviet Union into limiting its involvement in the war. If only the Manhattan Project failed, history would be far different.
Off the soap box, it’s so refreshing to see such a smart Godzilla movie. In the states, we are often given mind-numbing nonsense like Michael Bay’s TRANSFORMERS franchise. I’d love TOHO to make a TRANSFORMERS movie.
Overall, SHIN GODZILLA was a near perfect film. The casting and acting were fantastic. The female characters were as strong and as smart as the men. They weren’t sexual objects used for eye candy. Sure, they were beautiful, but in the same way that the men were attractive – no more/no less. It wasn’t a plot point and I appreciate that. The women were there to help stop Godzilla and they had as many great ideas and nearly as much airtime as the men.
I know some have complained that Godzilla wasn’t in the movie enough. I see their point, but this is a reboot and I think the reintroduction was accomplished in the most magnificent of ways. We discovered the origins of Godzilla, its abilities, its weaknesses and the inner-workings of how to defeat it and limit the number of casualties.
Though I adore Bryan Cranston and loved the 2014 American adaptation, this one is far better. Everything from the look of Godzilla, the special effects, the dialogue and the character development is superior.
It’s only showing for a few more days in select theaters, so definitely check around and go if you can! Most likely we won’t see a DVD of it until sometime next year.
Scared Stiff Rating 9.5/10
