• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

LTTP:Shin Godzilla, finally.

A

Audette

Member
Missing the limited theatrical run, I am now the proud owner of Shin Godzilla. Emphasis on proud.
This movie is way way better than I was was expecting.

I skipped any spoilers, I only saw General reviews and overall didn't see a lot of love coming to it. It had me scared. For the most part new Godzilla movies have been disappointing over the last 15 years and always take a while to really grow on me but this one really stuck me. I'm genuinely surprised. Without going into spoilers I will say that the movies themes really mirrors the Fukushima event and adapts it along with the original "Horrors of the Atomic Bomb" message.

It is plot leans heavy on the troubles of bureaucracy, and stays close to the human characters. That usually is a bad thing for most Godzilla movies if the characters don't interest you but for me it really worked. The top half of the movie is the most exciting and that really guided me to caring for the the characters and their jobs. The last half of the movie is slower and probably the weaker part of the movie, but regardless it's a solid picture that really worked with me.

Overall, I would say this movie scores into my top 10 Godzilla movies. Has some downright incredible moments and stands exceptionally tall as one of the Great Godzilla films. Cannot wait for a sequel and hope the US films look to this for a little bit of inspiration with their version of the monster.
 
O

orochi91

Member
The lead-up and execution of that first atomic-breathe scene was legendary.

The opera that kicks in when Godzilla' s lower jaw split open gave me chills; this film gave me intense Neon Genesis Evangelion vibes, but especially that entire atomic-breathe sequence.

This incarnation of Godzilla was just pure evil, haha
 
Geno Breaker

Geno Breaker

Banned
Best Godzilla movie since Godzilla vs Hedorah. Deserves every single word of praise and awards it got. Such a surprise considering the series has mostly been stuck in mediocrity after the Showa era.
 
B

Bob Coffee

Member
orochi91 said:
The lead-up and execution of that first atomic-breathe scene was legendary.

The opera that kicks in when Godzilla' s lower jaw split open gave me chills; this film gave me intense Neon Genesis Evangelion vibes, but especially that entire atomic-breathe sequence.

This incarnation of Godzilla was just pure evil, haha
Click to expand...

thats anno's directing. in my heart shin godzilla is the true eva 4.444.:D
 
A

Audette

Member
Never got around to watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. I may increase the importance of watching the series (or movies!?) after watching this movie.
 
A

Audette

Member
Well that's neat, the original music was well done so it's neat they brought in the creative talent from the NGE side of stuff.
 
M

MoosiferX

Member
I got to watch this last night as well! I somehow managed to avoid any spoilers outside of the trailer footage. Really, really loved it.

They actually made Godzilla a scary monster again. His appearance/reappearance felt just like the Angels in Eva. Godzilla inspired Eva, and then Anno made a Godzilla movie inspired by Eva. Good stuff!
 
A

ArchAngel

Member
Just saw the movie. Haha, even if I didn't know, it screams Hideaki Anno on all ends. They even got "Captain Katsuragi" :p

Totally different than I expected, but that's why I like it.
 
D

Dingens

Member
Saw it in the cinema a while back and really loved how they didn't focus on some bland military bloke but instead on normal people in an extreme situation. It really made you feel their desperation and what they wnent through to come up with a solution. And especially that the solution required the support of the whole country - trains included.
 
R

Reick17

Member
I got to see it in theatres, and then got the Blu-Ray last night. Unbelievably good movie.

Everybody laughs at googly-eyed Godzilla, but nobody laughs at atomic breath Godzilla.

And that ending shot still spooks me.
 
C

CheeseConey

Member
Have already watched it 6 times since getting the bluray, love it.
My top 5 Godzilla movies now:
1. GMK (2001)
2. Godzilla vs Mothra (1964)
3. Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991)
4. Shin Godzilla (2016)
5. Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
 
D

Daingurse

Member
Yep, this is an excellent Godzilla movie. I rewatched it this week on Blu-Ray, and it was just as good as it was in the theatre. This movie has solidified it's place in my top 3 G-Films.

1. The Return of Godzilla (1984)
2. Gojira (1954)
3. Shin Godzilla (2016)

Godzilla vs Biollante had a good run, but its #4 now lol.
Reick17 said:
Everybody laughs at googly-eyed Godzilla, but nobody laughs at atomic breath Godzilla.
Click to expand...

I don't laugh at either. Googly-eyed Godzilla freaks me out lol.
 
Geno Breaker

Geno Breaker

Banned
Arkeband said:
This is in your top ten? Are there even ten actually good Godzilla movies?
Click to expand...
Yeah. Let's see, outside of Shin we have: Godzilla 1954, King Kong vs Godzilla, Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidrah, Monster Zero, Ebirah, Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs Hedorah, Godzilla VS Biollante, and GMK. Not bad for a 30+ movie franchise. Yeah some of them obviously have aged effects and none of them have amazing human casts, but the ones I listed all have entertaining enough characters and have relevant themes interweaved with their stories. They're certainly respectable films that have earned their place in Japanese pop culture.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
Alright guys, huge fan of Evangelion TV show and original movie, not so much the remake movies. I like Godzilla as a kitschy pop culture thing with a massive influence but the amount of Godzilla movies I'd say were actually good and not super tacky and/or boring are few.

Anyway, literally watching this film right now and I'm just over an hour in. The atomic breath scene just happened.

Got a few thoughts on this movie.

First of all, it definitely feels like Godzilla by way of Evangelion. Of course, a lot of that might be that it's the same composer and that the new music that isn't based on the original Godzilla score is basically straight-up Eva. They even use a version of "Decisive Battle."

Okay, so the other thing is the cuts between talking heads shouting commands and observations directly into the camera. Is that the same font they use in Eva for titles? Very similar.

This movie has pretty much no central character and no character development.

Also: why does Japanese CGI suck? I kind of like that Godzilla looks like a rubber suit but it also looks ridiculous. It's not like it looks like real rubber or real skin, it just looks like a CGI imitation of a rubber suit trying to look like real skin. Some of his movements are super janky and I'm not talking about the ones that are supposed to look janky, i'm talking about Berserk Anime janky. Worse is everything else that is CGI, like boats and debris and explosions and stuff.

Okay, I guess I'll finish the movie now. I think the fact that there is no character to feel any attachment towards causes the stakes to feel very low.
 
R

Razgriz-Specter

Member
HotHamBoy said:
Also: why does Japanese CGI suck? I kind of like that Godzilla looks like a rubber suit but it also looks ridiculous. It's not like it looks like real rubber or real skin, it just looks like a CGI imitation of a rubber suit trying to look like real skin. Some of his movements are super janky and I'm not talking about the ones that are supposed to look janky, i'm talking about Berserk Anime janky. Worse is everything else that is CGI, like boats and debris and explosions and stuff.
Click to expand...
1. It wasn't supposed to look great,
2. Godzilla 2014's budget was like 10x Shin Godzilla, even 1998's was about 8x more.
Even if the current budgets lined up Hollywood has these effect houses constantly getting those ridiculous budgets that keep them so far ahead in general.


The cinematography was actually pretty good which a lot of typical Japanese live action doesn't nail down.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
Yo so that ending with the tail.

ANNO, YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!

Audette said:
Never got around to watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. I may increase the importance of watching the series (or movies!?) after watching this movie.
Click to expand...

Watch TV series for sure, followed by the original movie.

The Rebirth films are interesting "what ifs" but outside of the animation they are thoroughly inferior IMO.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
HotHamBoy said:
Okay, I guess I'll finish the movie now. I think the fact that there is no character to feel any attachment towards causes the stakes to feel very low.
Click to expand...
I don't get this. You have an entire city being completely obliterated, but because you're not attached to a specific character, the stakes feel very low? Why would the stakes of the death of thousands, millions, and a destroyed city be greater because of a focus on a particular person?
 
G

Good Job Bob

Member
More_Badass said:
I don't get this. You have an entire city being completely obliterated, but because you're not attached to a specific character, the stakes feel very low? Why would the stakes of the death of thousands, millions, and a destroyed city be greater because of a focus on a particular person?
Click to expand...

"The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic."
 
O

Ocarina_117

Banned
What is the best way to watch this movie?

Heard something about the theatrical subtitles being different to blu ray release.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
The Broken Ska Record said:
Just finished watching it 20 minutes ago. I loved it, and am absolutely getting the soundtrack. That said, what was the significance of the last shot?
Click to expand...

The main theory is that
Godzilla is continuing to evolve and has incorprated the strengths of humanity into his being. Another theory involves Goro Maki being absorbed into Godzilla, or that he became Godzilla, when he committed suicide off the boat and it's his human DNA.

It definitely has strong parallels to Eva and (Eva spoilers)
the fact that Angels have 99.89% of the same DNA as humans.
 
T

TheSkullPrince

Member
Pre-ordered this a couple months ago off of Amazon, anything to get the stench of Godzilla 2014 off of me.

Shin Godzilla blows it out of the water. It may not be as impressive on a technical level as Godzilla 2014, but the story, plot, and characters are a lot fucking better.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
TheSkullPrince said:
Pre-ordered this a couple months ago off of Amazon, anything to get the stench of Godzilla 2014 off of me.

Shin Godzilla blows it out of the water. It may not be as impressive on a technical level as Godzilla 2014, but the story, plot, and characters are a lot fucking better.
Click to expand...

Godzilla 2014 is an incredibly misguided borefest.

I wouldn't call Shin Godzilla a "great" movie but it was far more entertaining and true to the franchise.
 
C

Cafeman

Member
I saw it last October and mostly enjoyed it. It was challenging to watch with all the Japanese + English subtitles back then. I bought the Blu-Ray at Walmart yesterday and watched it last night with no subtitles (in English), and then again this evening with Subtitles #2. Yes, there are 2 levels of English subtitles. #1 is both top-screen locations/character introductions *and* the bottom-screen dialogue; #2 option is just the top-screen info. You are missing a lot by watching this with no subtitles, I recommend the #2 option. Next I'll watch it with Japanese (original) with both subtitles.

I also watched the extra entitled "Nerds vs Godzilla" where 4 Funimation guys discuss the film and Godzilla and the ending.

So now, I understand the plot a lot more. I have never watched "Evangelion" whatever that is, and I don't know who "Anno" is, so nothing seemed familiar to me.

My review of the film is: I greatly enjoyed it, it is one of the only Godzilla films where I enjoyed the human discussions. I think G:KoM 1956 and Godzilla vs Mothra from the 60's are the other two. Mostly in G films, the human element has frankly sucked, IMO. I chuckle at Shin's government/scientist scenes at times, there exists several humorous moments and the satire on politics is well done, even though I am not familiar with Japan's politics.

I don't chuckle however when Gojira shows up in his various forms. He is creepy and destructive now, I love it. I love the new take on his atomic breath and beams. I love the blood splatters. I love the cinematography. I love the music. At first I wasn't sure I liked the dead fish-eye look to all his incarnations, but now I do think it appropriate and a good idea.

The only criticism I have of Godzilla's look is that he sometimes appears unanimated and frozen standing there in the city, other than his tail. I guess he's just so big that he wouldn't have as much movement as his earlier, smaller forms. Also, is his skin tougher than steel? Because bullets, shells, and missiles bounce off his face like they would off Superman.

Good film, and not overly long either.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
TheSkullPrince said:
Don't even get me started on Aaron Taylor Johnson's boring, lifeless, wooden performance lol.
Click to expand...

It's funny that the most compelling character gets killed like 20 minutes into the movie. It's so fucking boring.

Comparing the human drama between Godzilla 2014 and Shin Godzilla is interesting. G14 focuses so much of the film on that element but the characters are so generic and uninteresting that it bogs the entire movie down. Shin reduces that element to a surface level commentary on bureaucracy and as a result the human characters are equally unmemorable and uninteresting but it serves the film better in the end.

Both movies would have benefited greatly from a couple human beings that were actually interesting.
 
S

SomewhatGroovy

Banned
Saw this last night. Pacing of first 15 minutes aside (which I thought was leading to a punchline of sorts), it was a fun film that got more interesting when the UN and US got involved. Loved how they became the timer and not Godzilla. I don't think any one particular moment stood out to me but I loved how story unfolded .

Also , googly eyes weirded me out.
 
T

The Broken Ska Record

Member
HotHamBoy said:
The main theory is that
Godzilla is continuing to evolve and has incorprated the strengths of humanity into his being. Another theory involves Goro Maki being absorbed into Godzilla, or that he became Godzilla, when he committed suicide off the boat and it's his human DNA.

It definitely has strong parallels to Eva and (Eva spoilers)
the fact that Angels have 99.89% of the same DNA as humans.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's Eva as fuck.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
SomewhatGroovy said:
Saw this last night. Pacing of first 15 minutes aside (which I thought was leading to a punchline of sorts), it was a fun film that got more interesting when the UN and US got involved. Loved how they became the timer and not Godzilla. I don't think any one particular moment stood out to me but I loved how story unfolded .

Also , googly eyes weirded me out.
Click to expand...

Googly eyes were cool. I'm split on the way they made him look super fake. On one hand, it's a really cool stylistic choice that perfectly captures the look of the early rubber suits. On the other hand, I found it silly and lacking any menace.

Atomic breath scene was super cool.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
It could have, yeah. Didn't get there.

Still better than this was.

(This wasn't bad!)
Click to expand...

How was Godzilla 2014 better than this? I got through Shin Godzilla with a smile on my face, stupid as it was. I had to force myself through Godzilla 2014, slapping myself awake throughout the whole thing.

Both are bad movies but Shin is fun. Shin succeeds as a Godzilla movie with far less money.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
HotHamBoy said:
How was Godzilla 2014 better than this?

Both are bad movies but Shin is fun. Shin succeeds as a Godzilla movie with far less money.
Click to expand...

I find the weird arbitrary definitions a lot of people place on what a Godzilla movie can and can't be are counterproductive in a lot of ways considering just how many different (and dumb) things Godzilla movies have been over the course of their existence. So I just set a lot of that shit to the side.

I don't think either movie is a bad movie, either. I don't understand how/why you could call them that. They're both well made films. They're not bad at all. Neither of them are anywhere near as successful as they want to be, for reasons that are pretty obvious to anyone whose ducked their head into a Godzilla conversation here more than once or twice in the past 3 years.

I don't give a shit how much money Shin cost. I didn't pay to make it, so it really doesn't matter to me.

2014 is more successful at what it's setting out to do than Shin is. That's why I like it better. It manages to stick to its tone and execute it just a bit more successfully than Shin does. Plus, even for as wooden as the acting is (and my displeasure at Gareth Edwards' "skill" with actors isn't a secret) the actors (who are mostly wasted) are putting in more interesting work (barely) than what's happening in Shin Godzilla, whose tone whiplashes artlessly from serious drama to horror to mild satire to broad comedy and back again almost as often as it switches locations and castmembers. Some people seem to regard this as a positive because they've watched a bunch of Evangelion, I guess. I dunno. I don't really give a fuck about Evangelion either, so whatever Anno handicap people keep grading this film with doesn't apply to me.

And even if you wanna grade it on a pure audio/visual/action level, 2014 has a better looking Godzilla, who does cooler shit, for a longer period of time.

I've said before, but Shin Godzilla plays like a flat episode of Parks & Rec that swaps out Little Sebastian for Demon Godzilla. And that's weird and cool except for when it's eye-rolling and tedious. Edwards' Godzilla is often dramatically inert, but it's also a movie that doesn't really depend on its people to deliver its punch, either.

I prefer 2014 to Shin. Not by much. But its enough.

1) Godzilla
2) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
3) Godzilla vs. Biollante (this has moved up a LOT since my last rewatch)
4) Godzilla 2014
5) Shin Godzilla
6) Godzilla 1984
7) Giant Monsters All Out Attack
8) Godzilla vs. King Ghidora
9) Godzilla vs Monster Zero
10) Godzilla 2000
 
Geno Breaker

Geno Breaker

Banned
HotHamBoy said:
How was Godzilla 2014 better than this? I got through Shin Godzilla with a smile on my face, stupid as it was. I had to force myself through Godzilla 2014, slapping myself awake throughout the whole thing.

Both are bad movies but Shin is fun. Shin succeeds as a Godzilla movie with far less money.
Click to expand...

I don't think either are particularly bad movies, especially not Shin Godzilla, which won awards like best picture and best director for Anno. Everything in the film works with it's snappy dialogue, fast editing, engaging composition, and some incredibly done allusions to 3/11. G14 has a lot of flaws, and it's essentially just a big budget VS flick, but it has some spectacular visuals and set pieces. I respect it, even if I don't find it particularly good. It's harmless and it brought the franchise back to life.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
I find the weird arbitrary definitions a lot of people place on what a Godzilla movie can and can't be are counterproductive in a lot of ways considering just how many different (and dumb) things Godzilla movies have been over the course of their existence. So I just set a lot of that shit to the side.

==

And even if you wanna grade it on a pure audio/visual/action level, 2014 has a better looking Godzilla, who does cooler shit, for a longer period of time
Click to expand...
Considering the marketing for 2014 and the whole of Shin are both harkening back to the original, I think that first comment is kind of odd. It isnt an arbitrary definition. It's a deliberate definition defined by how closely said movie echoes the disaster movie/man against an unstoppable force of nature/allegorical imagery of Gojira

And the second point is endlessly debatable. Evan's Godzilla is certainly cooler, but Shin's is infinitely more visually striking, unsettling, and awe-some in the literal sense of the word awesome
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
1) Godzilla
2) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
3) Godzilla vs. Biollante (this has moved up a LOT since my last rewatch)
4) Godzilla 2014
5) Shin Godzilla
6) Godzilla 1984
7) Giant Monsters All Out Attack
8) Godzilla vs. King Ghidora
9) Godzilla vs Monster Zero
10) Godzilla 2000
Click to expand...


I need to watch Godzilla vs Destoroyah and Biollante.

I'm going to write a retort to your argument after I finish watching this ep of The Leftovers but thanks for taking the time to write it.

I just watched All-out Attack for the first time last night after watching Shin and I thought it was pretty boring but I liked the goofy monster fights.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Oppenheimer debuts in Japan ༼ ༎ຶ ᆺ ༎ຶ༽
Science
41
3K
Winter John replied
Weird questions about fictional characters that you've thought about...
Community
16
1K
Heimdall_Xtreme replied
Hey Anime-GAF, what are some good recent anime OSTs (Not OP-ED)
0
251
Fbh replied
Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver | Rotten Watch
Community 2
54
3K
jason10mm replied
[IndieWire] As Francis Ford Coppola Seeks ‘Megalopolis’ Distribution, ‘Everything Is on the Table’
21
1K
Jinzo Prime replied
Top Bottom