SHIN GODZILLA - MOVIE [DVD] [2016]

Will not work in an American Blu-ray player.

Not since the original Gojira (known in the US by its heavily edited/altered version's title "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" which is a classic in its own right) has Godzilla been depicted as such an absolutely unstoppable and terrible force of nature as he is in this film, especially towards the end. What the writers and director did with this film, very subtly planting clues but never outright stating certain facts about the monster's origin, which if you are clever enough to unravel explain Godzilla's motivations and actions in the film perfectly, was an absolute stroke of genius. To this day I still see tons of discussions, reviews and posts about this film that get it wrong. I'm not going to spoil it here for those who haven't seen the film, but believe me, if you watch this film more than once you will likely figure out what's going on and just why Godzilla does what he does and seems to have a serious hate on for Japan, Tokyo in particular (where our main characters, all of whom work for the Japanese government) and doesn't actually full on "attack" until the U.S. gets involved at which point Godzilla decides to literally scorch earth to take out as many of his perceived enemies as possible. There are also a lot of sequences where Godzilla is observed showing an affinity to trains, railroad tracks and train stations (sometimes negative but mostly positive) and by the end it is revealed that Godzilla had designs to target many more nations than just Japan judging by something that happens just before the credits roll, especially when taken in context with a previous discussion between some of the characters revolving around possible ways that Godzilla might evolve and spread.Any camp that has been a part of the Godzilla franchise is absolutely absent here and this movie takes this character and the events of the film very seriously, so seriously in fact that if you stop to ponder it, you begin to feel sorry for all of the innocent people who surely died as a result of Godzilla's rampage and see the titular monster as a true monster, cold and hateful and without mercy. This Godzilla isn't here to save humanity from some other monster or alien invasion; he's here to lay waste to those he hates in a brutal act of vengeance, regardless of the collateral cost in innocent lives. He truly is a monster in this film, and a terrifying one at that, especially if you figure out his motivations and true origin as I did. There is at least one good thing about him though, which is also revealed near the end of the film. One final redeeming quality which, while not excusing his horrible actions, does at least show an ounce of mercy and hope for the future, both for those living with the devastation he caused as well as others throughout the world should science be able to figure out how he was able to do what he did with radioactive material. I can't go into more detail about that without spoilers so I'll just leave it at that.Fans of the old films will probably enjoy this one, and those who like the Millennium series (the most recent efforts from Toho featuring Godzilla, especially G.M.K.) should enjoy it as well. There is a lot of talking and bureaucracy as others have said, but that's an essential aspect of this particular story and the point it makes about the nature of politics, committee based governments and how these things, while essential to a democratic republic, can sometimes get in the way of providing necessary immediate action in crisis situations.

I saw Shin Godzilla twice during it's theatrical run, and I really liked it a lot. It was nice to watch the movie in the original Japanese with subtitles to really get the movie as intended.Shin Godzilla is a modern, twisted take on the original 1954 movie. Where the 1954 movie was an allegory for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, Shin Godzilla is an allegory for the Japanese government's handling of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. The majority of the movie is spent with government officials, constantly debating what's going on, and how to deal with it. Their reaction is slow and uncertain, giving Godzilla a chance to evolve into an ever greater threat. The characters are often out to cover their butts to make sure they don't do anything that would get them in any kind of trouble, rather than calling for swift action that might actually solve the problem - which leads to even greater problems down the line.The movie never crosses the line into camp or farce territory, but it occasionally pushes towards that line to show just how inept the government can be when faced with a problem that hasn't been encountered before and has no precedent. There are a few intentionally humorous moments, but the movie is played straight for the most part. The main characters are actually interesting and enjoyable to watch - but totally different from the kind of characters we've seen in previous Godzilla movies.The special effects in Shin Godzilla are arguably even better than in the Legendary Productions 2014 Godzilla movie, and the atmosphere and mood of the movie is much more frightening (Shin Godzilla isn't quite a Horror movie, but it has some elements of horror and suspense). This is a stunning movie, visually, and the new take on Godzilla is truly new - it's fresh and unique.The English dub is better than average for a Godzilla movie, while still not quite being world class. It's more than adequate, and some of the performances are quite good. The dub for the character of Kayoko Patterson is a distinct improvement over the original Japanese performance as the actress (Satomi Ishihara) was not an English speaker, and her accent when speaking her many English lines wasn't believable (her performance was pretty good, otherwise, though).The movie slows down a little past halfway, and becomes very dramatic. During its theatrical run I felt it slowed down too much, for too long. On home video, while it still drags just a little for this 30 minute stretch, it felt a little more natural. The actual feeling of tension and time running out for the people of Tokyo seemed stronger, and, given the stakes involved, it played better - and it may have worked better with the English dub, actually.Shin Godzilla is fresh and new and large in scale. It is a little too new and different for some Godzilla fans, but for many others it is a welcome, refreshing take on a classic story.The picture quality on the blu ray is absolutely stunning, too. This is a very well authored/mastered blu ray, as the picture is sharp and clear, the lighting balance is spot on (not too bright, not too dark), there is good shadow detail, and the colors are vivid without being overpowering. The quality of the video never detracts or distracts from the movie, which is what you want in a blu ray - it looks as natural as possible.