Shin Godzilla

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Sean C Slow burn. Not your typical kaiju movie. Focused heavily on the human aspect. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/12/25 Full Review Andrew Falade Good movie, decent remake.... Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/05/25 Full Review Joe Bustillos 2016s Shin Godzilla is an altogether different kind of monster story beginning with the huge scope of the story, the use of CGI for the monster and a cast of literally thousands. Pretty much the only thing that this film had in common with the 1974 version (and 1954 original) is the use of the Godzilla musical theme and that the story involves a giant creature coming from the sea and tearing up the city. And for some reason, while the first creature seen in Shin Godzilla is a very detailed CGI creature, the film makers kept the plastic looking/unblinking eyes of the previous versions of the monster. There were other aspects of the creatures anatomy that were odd. Its locomotion was weird in that it moved like a crawling creature but it only had a single pair of legs and pushed itself on its belly. But the unblinking eyes were a jarring throwback to rubber-suit creatures, to me. Also very different from the 1974 and earlier versions, this story was not told from the point of view of a scientist and his daughter and her love interest (kind of small group), but was told through an endless series of government meetings and news broadcasts. Eventually a young protagonist (junior government official) would emerge, who would eventually find himself working with a young attractive Asian woman who was rumored to have her sights on some day becoming the President of the United States(???), so part of the story tropes were maintained. But, in as much as this story was about the government's inability to quickly respond to this emergency everything was done with large rooms of people, politely asking for permission to act, even when it came to who was going to speak to the public and what were they going to say about this ongoing story. By the time the designated government official spoke to the public it was too late and they got their information wrong. And while Godzilla was a threat, the real danger to be overcome was the government inefficiency. And the problem got worse and worse the more they delayed, to the point where when they finally authorized a military strike the monster was too powerful and none of their weapons, including missiles was at all effective. They had to figure out a way to neutralize the threat and couldnt use brut force, but the creature was so enormous that it was going to require mobilizing a huge fleet of machinery to get the job done. The solution needed to be government sized but had to be well planned and executed, none of which had happened with prior encounters with the monster. This creature was in the process of wiping out the whole city and nothing militarily could get close enough to do anything to it. It was turning into an unstoppable god that they were about to be unable to do anything about. Shin Godzilla had the realism and damage scale that I "enjoyed" from 2023s Godzilla Minus One, but it lacked the emotional impact of seeing this tragedy through the eyes of its victims and the small group that worked to defeat the threat. I watched a video that discussed that Shin Godzilla was partly inspired by the 2011 Japanese 9.1 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima Power Plant disaster and the governments poor response to the event and this seems to fit with the tone and delivery of this story. Its a huge departure from the 1974 fantasy film, but its well told and an interesting addition to the Godzilla canon. I will probably add it to my personal media collection. Enjoy. JBB Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/04/25 Full Review Ed K After seeing Minus Color, orthochromatic was such a homage experience. It gave more of an ominous feel to it. However it was still as entertaining in theaters as it if it were in color. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/03/25 Full Review Frank C First, Godzilla Minus One is still the gold standard. The story in Shin Godzilla is very compelling with some really great scenes. However, the movie is held back by low budget, which at times can actually be charming, but the story's biggest failing is that it focuses too much on Japanese bureaucracy. I understand the satire here, but it is a Godzilla movie. More nitpicking, the characters are cold and Godzilla, perhaps too stiff. Better human interaction is really needed. For the western viewer, I think alot is lost especially since the subtitles really fly by too fast. Godzilla MInus One proves all these things can be done, regardless of the viewer. Overall, still enjoyed the movie with its demonstration of the power of humans to work together to achieve the impossible. Recommend, but strongly suggest learning the plot before you see. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/01/25 Full Review Andrew Great movie! Enjoyed the black and white presentation, captions, old school feel. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/01/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Shin Godzilla

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