Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Edit: The blu-ray and DVD both have the original theatrical version with Japanese audio + English Subtitles AND an English Dub. However, the Japanese audio and English dubs are sold separately on Amazon video and on other streaming sites. Original review: Shin Godzilla is the first Japanese Godzilla since 2004 and it had a limited run in the U.S. in October 2016 after opening in Japan earlier in the summer. This movie is unlike any Godzilla film that has preceded it. Briefly, it’s about Tokyo being attacked by a giant monster that starts out looking nothing like Godzilla and appears to be more of an animal than anything malicious. However, the destruction it causes compels the slow bureaucracy of Japan's government to act uncharacteristically quickly. As the government wrestles with the moral implications trying to fight a giant monster, every attack seems to cause the monster to change shape until—finally—it unleashes the kind of destructive force Godzilla is known for. The U.S., not wanting to risk Godzilla raining destruction in other parts of the world, orders a nuclear strike on the beast. Japan must now figure out how to destroy Godzilla to save what's left of Tokyo before America drops another nuclear bomb on it. The film is a critique of Japanese bureaucracy and inefficiency. It balances that critique with moral concerns and intricacies of foreign policy. It is extraordinary fast paced with a surprising amount of depth. It is nothing like either American version of Godzilla, and is nothing like any Japanese Godzilla. It won critical acclaim in Japan and won Japan's Academy Prize for Best Picture (basically Japan's Oscars) plus six other awards from the Academy. As a big Godzilla fan, I found this movie to be excellent, as have the non-Godzilla fans I've shown the movie too. At the screenings I went to, I noticed a lot of younger people who are more anime fans than tokusatsu fans, but they still loved it. If you have any reason at all to think you'll like it, whether your a fan of anime, tokusatsu, either America version, or whatever, the chances that you'll enjoy this move are high and it's worth a watch. Added after receiving blu-ray: The blu-ray has all the Japanese subtitles removed and replaced with English subtitles. During it's U.S. theatrical run, English subtitles were superimposed over the Japanese subtitles, which often made reading them difficult. It also obscured the picture, which was a pity because the cinematography is gorgeous. It also looks like the blu-ray English subtitles are better than the theatrical ones, but it's hard to tell. Lastly, the blu-ray's expository subtitles (i.e., place names and descriptions of new character's duties) are displayed above in the picture. In the digital downloads, the titles are within the picture frame. (But still on top.)