"Shin Godzilla"
Off the coast of Tokyo, something is in the water...
Prime Minister Sieiji Okochi (the late Ren Osugi, who has 445 CREDITS!) and his cabinet are initially perplexed by this. But as the data floods in, and the creature begins to move, it becomes apparent that this is a hereto unknown, horrifying beast from the depths of the ocean, and it has made its way onto land and is rampaging throughout Tokyo. As the government scrambles to figure out what to do, whose jurisdiction this falls under, how to respond and how best to fight this creature; we follow three middling members of government and their colleagues and teams as they contend with the logistics and infuriating bureaucracy of dealing with this creature, and the realisation that they may not be able to stop it at all...
 |
| My love affair began... This woman is the most memable part of the movie. |
This movie is fucking great, and especially pertinent in the midst of a global pandemic. Shot with frequent names and place locations on screen to give it the look of a documentary, it's razor sharp.
Early on there is footage of Godzilla emerging from the water, captured on film and on the news, and when The Deputy Director of the Nature Conservation Bureau Hiromi Ogashira (confined to the corner and played by my home girl Mikako Ichikawa) points out that it's going to step out onto land and begin moving, she is brushed off and dismissed without question. In the very next scene it begins to step on land. Even experts are reticent to offer thoughts and theories for fear of damaging their reputations, the Prime Minister puts on a performative act of requesting a "uniform" of a HAZMAT suit for his speech, there are frequent press conferences; evacuations of city districts are broken down into their GDP and profitability, and even amongst the team of ragtag experts assembled (solely because they are good but no other departments want them, due to being misfits or disrespectful or not playing into the political games) Ogashira is laughed at and there are arguments and pounding of fists against the fenceposts of red tape and holdups from higher ups - the team predict methods to defeat Godzilla but are made to channel it through Rando, then through his buddy Hideki Akasaka (Yutaka Takenouchi) who is an aide to the Prime Minister but still concerned about public response and perceptions to the crisis, as well as his own position. That is not even getting into Kayoco Anne Patterson (Satomi Ishihara), Special Envoy to the United States, whose country withholds help until they get something in return, despite possibly knowing what caused this creature...
There's a scene where a van tells people to evacuate, whilst they run past to get a closer look at Godzilla in crowds.
The Chinese government only offer supplies when they are bought from them.
The government departments plan for future cabinets and positions as a result of their actions here.
It's a savage movie, and rattles along at an electrifying pace, without even getting into how America wants to NUKE JAPAN AGAIN to kill Godzilla, or the excellent shots and effects which evoke old school Godzilla fun. The ending shot is a chilling one.
It's a great movie, and a TAD important to watch in these trying times. It's my favourite Godzilla, tied only with "Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla".
No comments:
Post a Comment