“Shin Godzilla” is the thirty-first film in the ever-lasting franchise, so it’s refreshing to see Hideaki Anno & Shinji Higuchi take chances in reformatting the formula and the King of the Monsters himself. Both still follow the common trajectory, but do so in unique fashion. The story is not told through the public’s eyes, but solely from the government’s, cutting between monster mayhem and boardroom discussion. While I won’t pretend to understand all of the political allegory on display, the overall themes are easily comprehensible: in the time of great tragedy, the greed and insecurities of the government will still shine through, with the morally grounded leading the pack in the right direction.
There’s a smorgasbord of government officials making their presence felt, admittedly being too hard to keep up with. Seemingly every few minutes a new official is introduced, made to divulge in information in the area of their expertise, then disappear into the background. This is a realistic portrayal of government assistance during a crisis, with the highest ranking individuals pouring in with their insight. While it’s easy to get lost in the sea of humanity, the objective is never misplaced: rid Tokyo of Godzilla’s wrath as safely as possible.
What’s holding the government up from launching a mission is the inability to come up with a solution to please the masses. Most agree Tokyo should be evacuated first, though there are the select few who jump to an immediate nuking. The environmentally sound want Godzilla to be preserved for study, while some in the army want him exterminated. Throughout all the bickering is a sly sense of humor poking fun at the selfishness of it all. There’s even a few playful jabs at the common tropes in “Godzilla” flicks, most on behalf of human error. This humor goes a long way in humanizing the production and breaking up the monotony of political discussion. Anno & Higuchi are wise enough to never overindulge in it, sprinkling it in throughout when needed.
Don’t let the humor fool you: “Shin Godzilla” is a serious allegory on politics and the dangers of humanity, much like the 1954 classic. Godzilla’s arrival and a lot of his accompanying imagery is reminiscent of both the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami from 2011. At one point, Tokyo is in ruins, the personification of Hell on Earth. Buildings are demolished, with only fire standing tall. Godzilla himself is viewed as God Incarnate, a monster created by man via nuclear weapons and punishment from God himself. He is viewed by some as a necessary evil sent to punish the world for its sins.
Godzilla himself even has an overhaul of sorts. He is still the result of nuclear radiation, but his growth is more slow and gradual. He washes ashore at the outset, only but a crawling specimen that looks slightly cartoonish with his googly eyes, but also unsettling. This is only his first form, as he next sprouts arms and the ability to walk upright. He towers over the city, wrecking yards of land with a simple step. As he continues to self-mutate, he develops the ability to breathe fire with an atomic breath and shoot what can best be described as laser beams from his spikes. At one point, he shoots multiple laser beams at once from his spine, acting as the world’s most dangerous and terrifying disco ball.
Godzilla’s mutation is creepy to witness. At first, he’s slithering through the city like a snake, dripping heaps of blood all over the place. As he morphs into his next form, his skin is scarred with burn marks, almost demonic-looking. In his final form, he’s a destructive hellspawn that’s nigh invincible. Any semblance of goofiness has been shed, as he’s now the force to be reckoned with that we know and love…even more so. Out of all the iterations of Godzilla, this is one of his more terrifying!
Anno & Higuchi pace the film well, kicking things off immediately with Godzilla’s arrival. This film acts as a reboot, so it’s the first time Japan and the world has encountered the beast. This allows the story to go through the motions, but with a different spin. With Godzilla’s new self-mutation and asexuality (taking that stupid angle from the 1998 flop and converting it into something fruitful), there’s engaging exploration to be had. This curbs the routine nature of scientists determining his weaknesses, as now it’s unorthodox and innovative, not tired and rehashed. The destruction plays into the boardroom discussions, with each attack prompting new methods. It’s not a detached cutaway to fill time and deliver the goods, but made to complement one another.
While the full-on governmental perspective offers a distinctive spin, it does hinder some of the drama. There’s no characters representing humans on the ground level to attach to, robbing the film of connectivity. Only governmental officials are allowed to be developed, and not even fully at that. There are some, such as Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa), the Prime Minister’s Aide in Hideki Akasaka (Yutaka Takenouchi), and the Special Envoy for the President of the United States in Kayoko Ann Patterson (Satomi Ishihara), that are engaging and relatable, but they succumb at times to the political stereotypes.
There is so much going on in the way of political allegory and symbolism in this film that I’d love to return to it someday with a deeper knowledge of it all. In the case of the original, a rewatch after research into its deeper meanings for a school project prompted an even greater admiration for the film. I feel the same would occur for “Shin Godzilla.” On its own, it’s an excellent monster movie with a smart script and terrific special effects (with the CGI only rarely being dodgy)! With a more astute awareness to the political goings-on, it reaches the pinnacles of greatness! Much like the original, which is good company to be in.
Final Rating: B+