Godzilla then, has come a long way since men in rubber suits battered each other's prosthetic heads in and stomped on an endless array of cardboard boxes loosely fashioned into an effigy of Tokyo. Need more bad guys? Add more heads, give it wings, make a metal version of something we already have. They were simpler times. Maybe not better, because even though moths are hateful little dusty bastards Mothra was always a bit crap. There was something in that DIY style that Hollywood really failed to capture, something inspiring that lead to me having a whole host of the Toho Godzilla moves on VHS taped off the TV with "Do Not Record Over" written on them. We don't really talk about the shambles from 1998 (although I kinda already did: https://angerinamansuit.blogspot.com/2017/04/just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe-to-go.html), because frankly it was awful and barely a Godzilla movie. 2014 was a much better shot at the big guy but really needed more Godzilla. It probably isn't too surprising that Toho have kind of had enough and decided to fire back. Hard.
Shin Godzilla translates as "True Godzilla" if the Internet hasn't failed me and it might officially be the least subtle two fingers Japanese film-makers have ever stuck up at their American counterparts. The fact that the entire movie is a thinly veiled attack on the US decision to drop several megatons of nuclear death on Japan not once, but twice during World War II is the second least subtle. Love it. Love every minute of it.
If you've ever seen any of the original Toho Godzilla movies then there isn't going to be a lot here to surprise you; it should however tug nice and hard on your nostalgia gland and give you a warm, fuzzy feeling without the need to ingest odd substances your mate swears down are pure but were probably cut with kittie litter and dishwasher salt in the shed of some guy with no teeth, 14 different mobile phones and a pit bull named something preposterous like Tyson or Cassius. There are plenty of panicky people running around in hard hats, hazmat suits but also weirdly casual looking uniforms; at one point the President and his staff are all dressed for action in matching blue outfits that look more like they're about to deliver your mail than strategise against a giant, destructive and previously unknown species of danger lizard. There's an inordinate amount of demonstrating how dishonourable it is to nuke this poor, unassuming God Incarnate when there's a much more peaceable way to freeze him into oblivion instead. Loads better. Maybe.
It is, in places, gloriously silly. As per usual, the one guy who suspects what is really going on is laughed into silence literally moments before an enormous tail starts randomly thrashing about above sea level and everyone suddenly looks real sheepish. They call in zoology and biology experts who determine through pure guesswork that Godzilla could never make land literally moments before he pops up and starts squirming around the bay (and apparently vomiting through his his gills randomly). The American attaché has a Japanese Grandmother, because of course she does and a bunch of rag-tag misfits (all in sort of matching suits) industriously break the code left by the conveniently disappeared Guy Who Knows What's Happening by using origami on his maps, which leads them to the conclusion that Godzilla is a nuclear mutant somehow. Even then then military bellends don't twig what we all know, that nuking him will probably just make him stronger and plan it anyway. Absolutely glorious.
So what of our eponymous protagonist? As you might expect, design-wise this is very much a classic Gojira. I wasn't sure about it when I first saw the production photos because they've gone with this whole evolution idea where he gets bigger and more recognisable as the movie goes on, but it works quite well actually because you get to see him at the same time as you're waiting for his final form so there's still some tension. I'm still not sure about the beady eyes and they sort of pinched the whole separating jaw thing from Blade 2, but overall it's pretty decent. Somehow they've even managed to animate/mo-cap it so it feels like a guy in a suit. There's a fantastic wobbliness to his fins which is in total opposition to the almighty stiffness in his neck that feels really authentic. Even his laser breath (and various other bodily emissions) look like they could have been hand drawn on after the fact, just like the good old days. Best things though? Original roar and original score. There's something about that original music that just hits the spot, conjuring up that anticipation of the Tokyo-bashing to come. Although I also can't help hearing Pharaohe Monch when that chromatic run drops, even if it is vastly sped up. Great tune, the New York City gritty committee can be proud.
Shin Godzilla is exactly what you would expect out of a Toho Godzilla in 2017 and just what you'd want if you have any sense. It is big, even if it isn't that clever but let's face it you didn't come here for Christopher Nolan. It's a crying shame that due to the licencing agreement with Legendary we won't get to find out what the deal with his tail is for another 2 years at least. Go watch the movie and send your answers on a postcard to the usual address. Or just in the comments, your call.
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