Shin Godzilla

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Chris Slack
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Shin Godzilla

Post by Chris Slack »

I REALLY liked it with the exception of the Japanese actress who was supposed to be portraying an English speaking Japanese-American. I read no reviews and had no expectations going in. If one goes in expecting a monster mash they will end up being sorely disappointed. This was much more along the lines of the 1954 version, with Godzilla dropped into the post-Fukashima Japan instead of the post-H bomb Japan. This version of the legendary creature starts out really strange looking but evolves into probably the fiercest, most destructive King of the Monsters to date. I am so happy that Funimation did this short theatrical run in the US.
"Regrettable... I was hoping for a colleague, but at least we have
another experimental subject..." -Mesa of Lost Women
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Remo D
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Re: Shin Godzilla

Post by Remo D »

I have been far too busy between rehearsals, performances, Halloween movie binges and anniversary plans to sit down and type up detailed reviews lately, so I'm very glad you started the ball rolling here.

And yes, I'm very grateful that we were afforded the opportunity to see this on the big screen. However...

...I'm burning out a bit on reboot after reboot and I trust that we're still going to get a legitimate follow-up to the superlative revival film we were previously treated to.

Yes, this is very much in the tradition of the 1954 GOJIRA, which of course gave us plenty of buildup before truly unleashing the beast. It's also significantly LONGER, and while I wasn't exactly nodding off, I grew impatient with a Godzilla movie that seemed to be 90% talk. We're treated to board meeting after board meeting, committee after committee, political ambition after political ambition--and yes, it was all very well detailed and researched--a very believable look at how we'd respond to such an event. Good grief, we even got into the details of the "Gojira/Godzilla" debate! Of course, for the umpteenth time we're asked to believe that this was the very first time Godzilla had been seen in Japan or anywhere else... but my experience contains over twenty Godzilla sightings, so I hope I can be forgiven for drifting into "get ON with it" territory?

The new vision of Godzilla took some getting used to... I found the weird 'parade float' creature oddly endearing and was mostly impressed with the final evolution (the skinny tyrannosaur arms were accurate to the species but still a bit disconcerting for the Big G).

On the other hand, the part that hit the plus column first was SO damn good that it belongs in the pantheon... I'm talking, of course, about the film's handling of the traditional 'breath' weapon and its truly inspired evolution and deployment once the American forces unleashed their payload. A truly stunning and awe-inspiring sequence that had the crowd spellbound, and justifiably so.

Then it's... more talk... finally building up to a satisfyingly elaborate ending with one hell of a final image.

I'm always up for experimenting with the Godzilla formula and I'm glad I saw this one, but I hope we return to the most recently-set standard soon.
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Chris Slack
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Re: Shin Godzilla

Post by Chris Slack »

Remo D wrote: On the other hand, the part that hit the plus column first was SO damn good that it belongs in the pantheon... I'm talking, of course, about the film's handling of the traditional 'breath' weapon and its truly inspired evolution and deployment once the American forces unleashed their payload. A truly stunning and awe-inspiring sequence that had the crowd spellbound, and justifiably so.
That scene was a-freaking-mazing. My wife made fun of me for my mind being so obviously blown.
"Regrettable... I was hoping for a colleague, but at least we have
another experimental subject..." -Mesa of Lost Women
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