Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

To really understand this film, you have to understand what the film is supposed to encompass. This is not your typical Hollywood kaiju movie with a ton of spectacular action. The original 1954 Godzilla was a political commentary on post-WWII Japan and the fear of the Atomic Age. Shin Godzilla (also known as Godzilla Resurgence) is a spiritual retelling of the original and it’s an excellent film even with its flaws. Shin Godzilla is a commentary and dark satire of the Japanese government’s response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima disaster. Make no mistake; there is a lot of time spent on bureaucracy here, but it’s understandable. This is a Japanese film made for a Japanese audience. It might be tough for your average US/Western movie goer to swallow the fact that there is a good amount of talking, but in terms of Godzilla films, it’s almost par for the course. It’s supposed to highlight the amount of bureaucracy that was involved in the Japanese government’s response to the disaster. Every action required some sort of formal meeting and committee which made the response slower than it should have been. With all that said, does it bog down the movie? Kind of. The pacing was fine and it really depends on whether or not you mind the amount talking there is in the movie. The movie is directed by Hideaki Anno and boy, does it show. A lot of the cinematography is inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion. There is white text overlaid on the screen that gives the viewer information about either the person or the military equipment on screen. A lot of the action shots look like they were ripped right out of the Evangelion Rebuild movies as well. For me, this was great because I like NGE so much. However, some people may not care for it or might even find it lazy or annoying. Really, it’s going to depend on you. Just be prepared to see a lot of shots of power lines, trains, and industrial areas. The musical score was done by Shirō Sagisu who also worked on Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is simply one of the best soundtracks that I have ever heard in awhile. Yes, Decisive Battle is in the movie and it’s used quite a bit. It’s used similarly to how it would’ve been used in an episode of NGE, so get used to hearing it. Some people found this lazy, but personally, because I like NGE and Decisive Battle so much, I loved every time it was used. The late Akira Ifukube is also credited for the music score because there are classic Godzilla songs sprinkled throughout the movie which is an absolute treat for fans of the older films. Each score fit right in with what was going on in the movie and never really felt out of place. Despite how much I liked the film, it’s not perfect. The CGI, especially in the beginning, was not very good. It’s understandable because of the $15 million budget it had. Compared to most Hollywood films with monsters, that's almost nothing. However, there are some amazing shots later on that definitely make up for it. Another minor issue I had with the movie was one character. (Minor spoilers ahead). We’re supposed to believe that she’s Japanese-American, but she’s thoroughly Japanese and when she speaks English, it’s painfully obvious that she’s not American. I don’t blame her for it because English is her second language, but it’s something to note. With that said, I did enjoy a lot of the other human characters which is somewhat of a rarity in monster movies. So, should you watch the movie? The answer is going to depend on the factors I listed above. If you’re already a Godzilla fan, you should absolutely see this movie if you haven’t already. Shin Godzilla is not perfect, but it’s an excellent film and, in my humble opinion, will become a classic.