I've been trying to track this down for a while now, and this is gonna be one of those cases where I'd say you're best off getting the subtitled version with the original Japanese dialogue instead of going with the Funimation dub. Overall this movie wasn't really made with a Western audience in mind, feeling less like an answer to the success of the 2014 Godzilla and more like a true successor to the original that disregards everything American moviegoers are typically after.
Which, as a fan of the original Godzilla, kinda bums me out and thrills me at the same time.
It bums me out because it took me nearly 3 years to get around to watching it, simply because it doesn't get that much attention and I just kept forgetting it existed. But it thrills me because, simply put, the movie is excellent.
So how much do I need to cover about the original Japanese release of Godzilla to make it clear just how awesome this movie is? I sure hope you're already aware that the 1954 introduction of the monster was a geo-political expression of persistent fear among the Japanese populace of the possibility of nuclear war born from the fact that, y'know... they're the only nation that has a real idea of what that would be like to try and live through.
Because they got nuked. Because the home of the brave nuked them. Just so we clear. No weasel words. 1954's Godzilla featured the literal kaiju personification of a nuclear bomb, and there was nothing heroic or relatable about the dude. He was flipping terrifying. There was an American theatrical release of the film which actually features no subtitles or dubbing at all, because parts of it were re-shot to feature an American journalist in Tokyo who was basically just there to narrate in English. It does a pretty good job of maintaining the gravity of the subject matter, but if you're at all interested I'd recommend finding a subtitled version of the original Japanese release. It's better.
So, what does that really have to do with Shin Godzilla? Simply this; if 1954's Godzilla was the fear of nuclear war made manifest, 2016's version is the fear of natural and nuclear disaster all wrapped into one... and then made manifest. It draws heavily on the events of the Töhoku earthquake and tsunami which triggered the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. From a thematic perspective I suppose the 2014 Godzilla did at least start with a manifestation of those fears, with the first effect we see the Mutos have on the world being a literal nuclear power-plant meltdown, but it quickly veers to other themes that allow us as audience members to have our typically-blockbuster chance to revel in some gratuitous destruction.
Shin Godzilla... does not ever make that turn. The motivations driving Godzilla's rampage never reveal themselves as relatable, or even existent. Or at least, the humans in the movie never figure them out. His origin is toxic chemical dumping and other environmental damage in the ocean, and his general effect is an inexorable wake of destruction and no real end goal beyond just wrecking crap up. Lives are visibly ruined and lost, Tokyo and its surroundings are laid waste, and even after the humans are able to stop him, finally, the sense of victory is really heavily colored by how much was lost.
If you've seen the 1954 film, this'll all sound pretty familiar. The one main thematic element Shin Godzilla adds is governmental incompetence, as a nice biting parody of corporate and regulatory incompetence leading up to and during the Fukushima disaster. Shin Godzilla is biting and effective in its delivery of those messages, and in the end has the overall effect of making me, just coming off of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, absolutely horrified at the idea of Godzilla once again. Everything in the movie serves to support that, right down to the way the actors respond to the monster and the model design for Godzilla himself, which veers away from the bad-assery of the 2014 Godzilla hard and barrels straight down the well of eldritch Lovecraftian horror to dredge up the single most terrifying monster in a monster film... ever. And yeah, I'm including stuff like The Thing and Alien in there. This thing doesn't look cool, he looks... unsettling. In every possible way.
The American version is the cool anti-hero. This Japanese version is getting back to his roots as a nightmare inducing force of nature.
And that's really what's important here. The acting has some strong points and some weak points. The script, or at least the subtitles, could use some punching up. The CGI and motion capture, while obviously way better than a guy in a rubber suit, doesn't quite match up to the realism in the 2014 Godzilla. But for all of Shin Godzilla's flaws it is meaningful, harrowing, and effective in what it's trying to communicate, and I would say it is definitely worth a watch.
Also, the inevitable crossover of Shin Godzilla with the American "Legendary" Godzilla will be... ah look, here it is already.
Which, as a fan of the original Godzilla, kinda bums me out and thrills me at the same time.
It bums me out because it took me nearly 3 years to get around to watching it, simply because it doesn't get that much attention and I just kept forgetting it existed. But it thrills me because, simply put, the movie is excellent.
So how much do I need to cover about the original Japanese release of Godzilla to make it clear just how awesome this movie is? I sure hope you're already aware that the 1954 introduction of the monster was a geo-political expression of persistent fear among the Japanese populace of the possibility of nuclear war born from the fact that, y'know... they're the only nation that has a real idea of what that would be like to try and live through.
Because they got nuked. Because the home of the brave nuked them. Just so we clear. No weasel words. 1954's Godzilla featured the literal kaiju personification of a nuclear bomb, and there was nothing heroic or relatable about the dude. He was flipping terrifying. There was an American theatrical release of the film which actually features no subtitles or dubbing at all, because parts of it were re-shot to feature an American journalist in Tokyo who was basically just there to narrate in English. It does a pretty good job of maintaining the gravity of the subject matter, but if you're at all interested I'd recommend finding a subtitled version of the original Japanese release. It's better.
So, what does that really have to do with Shin Godzilla? Simply this; if 1954's Godzilla was the fear of nuclear war made manifest, 2016's version is the fear of natural and nuclear disaster all wrapped into one... and then made manifest. It draws heavily on the events of the Töhoku earthquake and tsunami which triggered the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. From a thematic perspective I suppose the 2014 Godzilla did at least start with a manifestation of those fears, with the first effect we see the Mutos have on the world being a literal nuclear power-plant meltdown, but it quickly veers to other themes that allow us as audience members to have our typically-blockbuster chance to revel in some gratuitous destruction.
Shin Godzilla... does not ever make that turn. The motivations driving Godzilla's rampage never reveal themselves as relatable, or even existent. Or at least, the humans in the movie never figure them out. His origin is toxic chemical dumping and other environmental damage in the ocean, and his general effect is an inexorable wake of destruction and no real end goal beyond just wrecking crap up. Lives are visibly ruined and lost, Tokyo and its surroundings are laid waste, and even after the humans are able to stop him, finally, the sense of victory is really heavily colored by how much was lost.
If you've seen the 1954 film, this'll all sound pretty familiar. The one main thematic element Shin Godzilla adds is governmental incompetence, as a nice biting parody of corporate and regulatory incompetence leading up to and during the Fukushima disaster. Shin Godzilla is biting and effective in its delivery of those messages, and in the end has the overall effect of making me, just coming off of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, absolutely horrified at the idea of Godzilla once again. Everything in the movie serves to support that, right down to the way the actors respond to the monster and the model design for Godzilla himself, which veers away from the bad-assery of the 2014 Godzilla hard and barrels straight down the well of eldritch Lovecraftian horror to dredge up the single most terrifying monster in a monster film... ever. And yeah, I'm including stuff like The Thing and Alien in there. This thing doesn't look cool, he looks... unsettling. In every possible way.
The American version is the cool anti-hero. This Japanese version is getting back to his roots as a nightmare inducing force of nature.
And that's really what's important here. The acting has some strong points and some weak points. The script, or at least the subtitles, could use some punching up. The CGI and motion capture, while obviously way better than a guy in a rubber suit, doesn't quite match up to the realism in the 2014 Godzilla. But for all of Shin Godzilla's flaws it is meaningful, harrowing, and effective in what it's trying to communicate, and I would say it is definitely worth a watch.
Also, the inevitable crossover of Shin Godzilla with the American "Legendary" Godzilla will be... ah look, here it is already.
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