Movie Review: Shin Godzilla

directed by: By Hideaki Anno 

5 Stars

Something is rumbling beneath Tokyo Bay. What was reported initially as an underwater eruption turned out to be something far greater. A creature, feeding on radioactive waste dumped due to company oversight, has now grown large enough to make it to land. It is up to Japan to stop it from becoming a nuclear disaster. Will they persevere? Or will government bureaucracy and red tape cause Japan to fail at saving themselves from nuclear destruction for the third time in recent history? This is a great film. It's a modern reboot of the first Godzilla movie, so it revisits themes of nuclear uncertainty with a modern lens. The first Godzilla movie in 1954 depicted the titular monster like a nuclear bomb, but in this movie, Godzilla moves like a tsunami, referencing the natural disaster that caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, the second nuclear disaster to happen to Japan (the first being the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The movie also criticizes the Japanese government quite a bit. The film heavily implies that Godzilla would've been killed in the early parts of the movie if not for the Japanese government's inefficiency and inability to act due to poor planning. The movie is beautifully shot, and even though Japanese CGI is not on the same level as American CGI, Godzilla himself looks great. His most important scene is set during the night, and that hides any imperfections with the effects. In the scenes set during the day, Godzilla is always far away, and while that hides graphical mistakes, it also makes Godzilla seem like a natural disaster that is slowly advancing, which is cool. This movie is a great modern rendition of the original film and just a great film overall, and I would definitely watch it again. 

Reviewed by Gavin 

View in Library Catalogue: DVD | Blu-ray Disc