Movie Review – Shin Godzilla (2016)
Today we’re taking a look at Shin Godzilla, a 2016 Japanese film that happens to be the 31st film in the popular Godzilla monster movies. Also known as Godzilla Resurgence, Shin Godzilla is a reboot of the franchise and pits the famous lizard monster in modern-day Tokyo.
Directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, Shin Godzilla features a Japanese cast full of people you’ve probably never heard of, unless Japanese films and TV shows are one of your passions.
Shin Godzilla (2016) – movie poster
Set in the present day, Shin Godzilla begins with the Japan Coast Guard discovering an abandoned yacht in Tokyo Bay. Just as the sailors are preparing to have it towed to shore, suddenly the boat is destroyed in a huge spray of water. The disturbance also breaks into a tunnel and begins to flood it, killing an untold number of people. At first the disturbance is seen as just a random event, but when viral videos begin to show a massive creature moving underwater (and straight to the shore), the government officials rush to form a plan.
Ideas are exchanged and options include sitting back and doing nothing, trying to capture it alive so that it can be studied, or exterminating the creature and ending its unknown threat to the city. Government officials downplay the threat of the creature as its believed that the creature’s legs will be unable to support the weight of its tremendous body on land. That theory is quickly dismissed as the creature swims up a river, crawls onto land, and start squirming and smashing its way through streets and buildings. While the creature tears a path of destruction, the government races to evacuate as many people as possible. Read more…
Categories: movie reviews Tags: Godzilla, movie review, science-fiction
Movie Review – Godzilla (1998)
Back in 1954, Japan surprised with world with the release of Gojira (Godzilla), an epic monster movie.
Born from the side effects of radiation from nuclear weapons, Godzilla was a monster of terrifying proportions and sheer power. The monster could easily destroy an entire city and fend off almost any conventional type of an attack. It was easy to see why Godzilla was named the King of the Monsters.
While the Godzilla film franchise dominated the Japanese market, the films tended to have a cult status here in the U.S. People in the U.S. know about the monster and its destructive capabilities, but a small percentage actually know the Godzilla films created in Japan.
But what if there was a big-budget Godzilla film created by Hollywood, and full of familiar faces for the American audiences?
Godzilla (1998) – movie poster
Released in 1998, Godzilla is an American telling of the classic Japanese monster. Instead of destroying Tokyo, Osaka or Yokohama in Japan, this time the monster would terrorize and destroy parts of New York City. Directed by Roland Emmerich, Godzilla stars Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko Tatopoulos. Co-starring in the film are Jean Reno as Philippe Roaché, Maria Pitillo as Audrey Timmonds, and Kevin Dunn as Colonel Hicks.
Godzilla begins by showing a series of images of nuclear weapons being tested in the tropical setting of French Polynesia. At the end of the testing we see that a lizard’s egg was left exposed to the fallout and radiation.
Fast forward to today (1998).
Godzilla (1998) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment
In the southern Pacific Ocean, a Japanese cannery ship is suddenly attacked by a monster of incredible size. The attack on their vessel is deliberate. The ship is easily crushed by the beast, and it looks like everybody is killed in the attack. Read more…
Categories: movie reviews Tags: Godzilla, movie review, sci-fi
Movie Review – Gojira / Godzilla (1954)
When it comes to monster movies, it’s hard to top Godzilla, the towering, dinosaur-like lizard with an atomic breath who likes to destroy Tokyo, Japan.
The 1954 science-fiction / horror film Gojira tells the story of how a monster known as Godzilla rises from the sea and goes on a destruction rampage, destroying much of Tokyo, Japan, and killing an untold number of innocent people. This is a monster that was born from the testing of nuclear weapons. Godzilla is partially radioactive himself. How do you stop or defeat a monster more powerful than an atomic weapon?
It’s up to the scientists to find a way to defeat Godzilla before he destroys the rest of Japan.
Gojira / Godzilla (1954) – movie poster
Directed by Ishiro Honda, Gojira was produced and distributed by Toho, a film and production company that would later go on and release over twenty-five sequels to the original film.
Gojira / Godzilla (1954) – (c) Toho
Gojira begins near Ohto Island off the coast of Japan. The fishing vessel Eiko Maru is out sailing when it suddenly encounters an underwater explosion and a tremendous flash of bright light. The ship manages to send out an emergency S-O-S message before it sinks beneath the water. A second ship, the Bingo Maru, is sent to help the Eiko Maru, but it also disappears.
Not everybody on the Eiko Maru was killed. Three survivors are found and are taken to nearby Ohto Island for emergency treatment. The survivors don’t know what happened except for the tremendous explosion. Coincidentally, the survivors also have radiation burns. Read more…
Categories: movie reviews Tags: Godzilla, movie review, sci-fi