On 16th May 2014, Toho’s greatest monster will return to the big screen in an American reboot. With just 22 weeks to go, we here at THN are counting down the GODZILLA back catalogue.
Director: Jun Fukuda
Starring: Akira Kubo, Tadao Takashima, Bibari Maeda, Akihito Hirata, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kenji Sahara, Kenichiro Maruyama, Seishiro Kuno, Yasuhiko Saijo, Haruo Nakajima
Plot: A journalist arrives on an island to do a story centred around some secret experiments. He soon finds a world of giant insects and a mysterious egg which has been calling to Godzilla.
Just the title will make some fans wretch in disbelief. The huge, ferocious, destructive force that was once Godzilla is about to become a family man. Godzilla has been seen as many things over the years, but it’s kind of hard to imagine the epic sized lizard as an icon for Father’s For Justice. A single dad and proud, Godzilla isn’t exactly emasculated, and the bonding does come off as adorable at times, but is this what we want from Godzilla? In the week that the astonishing trailer for Gareth Edward’s reboot has been revealed to the world, where it looks as though serious with a slice of dark is on the menu, watching SON OF GODZILLA takes us back to the mid-60s when the G-man was seen as a family friendly franchise. It was becoming more aimed at children, possibly due to the success of TV shows such as Ultraman which had premiered the year before SON OF GODZILLA’s release. Godzilla was even redesigned as the monster Jirass for a guest appearance in Ultraman, this time sporting a frilly neck crest.
Jun Fukuda once again took on the job of director and was again restricted to action on an island. This time though, it wasn’t a project originally meant for King Kong. The island setting was a way for Toho to reduce the budget as it allowed for smaller casts and less painstaking model building. There are no cities to construct and destroy, so even though this may not be one of the greatest Godzilla features, the savings seem to have gone towards the next project DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, which is as epic as it sounds. For now though we’re keeping things fairly simplified.
As a plane flies over the ocean, their radio signals are soon distorted. Suddenly they see Godzilla traipsing through the ocean. This is the first time Godzilla has been revealed without any amount of fanfare or build-up. Perhaps to portray him as a lovable father it was believed that no mystery should surround the creature. In those terms it works. There’s no tension and it also gives the impression that Godzilla has just been accepted by man. There he is, going for a little wander. We also get a close look at the guy and this is the costume that some fans have dubbed “Frogzilla” for his bulbous eyes and less than threatening features. Some say this was to make Godzilla more child friendly, and others suggest that Minilla (Godzilla’s son) was designed first and the makers wanted Godzilla to resemble the little imp. No matter what the truth though, I’m glad they only used it for one film, apart from its use as a stunt costume for water scenes (a tactic used to save newer costumes from wear and tear).
After this brief little prologue (Godzilla doesn’t return for a long while yet), we head to Solgell Island where a team of scientists are conducting secret experiments. As soon as we arrive on Solgell Island there is a dramatic change in the tone of the music. It’s suddenly all bright and chipper. Some scientists are doing menial checks of capsules across the island, and their flippancy in reporting the findings suggests a bit of boredom and thus lack of progression in their studies. Enter into this scene intrepid reporter Goro Maki (Kubo) who lands on the island via parachute, and not via an awesome Halo drop as seen in GODZILLA ‘s (2014) trailer. Not as impressive, but it was the 60s, any kind of arrival from the sky was pretty cool.
Goro is there to find out about the secret experiments that have been going on on the island. It is soon revealed that the scientists, lead by Dr. Kusumi (Takashima) are trying to manipulate the weather on the island, as this will allow them to change baron wasteland into agricultural sites to provide for the world’s expanding population. I love how the scientists go about their plan in this film. They aren’t advertising or trying to grab funding, but instead working until they have reached their solution. Kusumi says he fears control over the weather could lead to a new weapon of mass destruction. These are obviously a bunch of guys that have thought long and hard about the implications of their research, which echoes the actions of Serizawa in the original GODZILLA. The topic of science and responsibility is a strong one in the Godzilla franchise and is something that is clearly working its way into Gareth Edwards’ film. These themes are also echoed by the large praying mantises that stalk the island, which Goro names Kamacuras.
Goro becomes part of the team as they have no way of sending him home, and during his time he sees a beautiful girl swimming in the ocean despite the scientists’ assurance that there are no native humans on this island. This islander, who later introduces herself as Saeko, is played by the brilliant Bibari Maeda, who has one of the best faces ever put on film. Her face does all the talking, and not just from the mouth. With very expressive eyebrows, eyes, and a wonderful smile, she clearly creates a bond between her and the creatures around her. Goro meets Saeko after the strange radio waves that interrupted the plane earlier, jeopardise the test experiment, which raises the temperature of the island to unbearable levels. Luckily Saeko takes Goro to safety. This leads to some scenes of terrible weather which showcases the great model work of the island structures. They may not be huge cities, but they are still respectable. After the change in weather, things get back to normal, but the Kamacuras are now even larger than before.
The big bugs soon discover an egg and start beating it. Little do they know, this is the egg of Godzilla and the strange radio waves from earlier are actually brain waves that have been calling to the king of kaijus. Baby Godzilla, called Minilla for mini-Godzilla, hatches and is quickly bullied by the Kamacuras. Minilla’s design is both cute and grotesque at the same time. The designers clearly had difficulty finding the right balance, which makes it harder to really take to the little guy. It also doesn’t help that no real backstory is given for Godzilla’s egg. Is there another adult Godzilla out there? How long ago was the egg left? What does it taste like in an omelette? All unanswered. Godzilla arrives with super fast swimming speed and, now in delight, reveals himself in all his cartoony glory. It isn’t a great look for Godzilla as he just looks clueless at times, especially when his eyes start to move mechanically back and forth.
After smashing the scientists’ base, Godzilla goes to aid his son. There’s an excellent fight between Godzilla and the three Kamacuras, which involves bodyslams and praying mantises being burnt alive. Minilla becomes the subject of a lot of slapstick comedy, as he is first hit in the face with a rock (which is hilarious) and is then smacked by his own father’s tail by accident. This sort of clumsy depiction persists throughout and is great for comedy, but does get boring after a while. I suppose it does allow for Minilla to truly grow as a character. The bonding scenes are fairly touching, and would be even more so if you could ignore the fact that this is Godzilla teaching his son to blow atomic breath by standing on his tail, as well as allowing his tail to be used as transportation. Minilla even uses his father’s tail as a jump rope…remember when Godzilla would kill people? As these bonding moments take place, and Goro and Saeko fall in love, a new menace reveals himself. The large spider called Kumonga. As Minilla and Godzilla take on the huge arachnid, the scientists set about freezing the inhabitants of the island. This leads to the exceptionally touching moment of Godzilla and Minilla cradling each other as they go into a deep hibernating sleep.
SON OF GODZILLA is aimed at the younglings, and in that respect it’s very successful. The bonding between father and son is cute, and Minilla’s awkwardness is very funny. But all this comic behaviour is very out of character for a giant destructive lizard. He’s gradually become a bit more human and accessible over the years, but now he’s a father of one. I imagine it’s similar to when heavy drinking party animals settle down and have kids. It’s all helping with homework and attending school plays. I’m sure Ghidorah and Rodan were calling up Godzilla asking him to come for a few pints of mayhem and destruction, but he has responsibilities now. This film is fine to enjoy with a certain mindset, but it’s not one to lure people into the world of Godzilla if they’re past the age of 8.
Dub-Misstep: Not many changes made, other than a missing opening and the change of name from Saeko to Riko, but the vocal talents just aren’t that great overall. The change in monster monikers is also disappointing, as the scientists deliberating what “Spiger” could possibly be, makes them seem very slow on the uptake. Kumonga all the way.
Monsters: A parental and friendlier looking Godzilla teams up and educates his son Minilla. On the flipside of the heroic duo, we have a group of giant praying mantises known as Kamacuras, as well as the big baddy Kumonga, a giant spider.
Notes For GODZILLA (2014): Stay away from this kid-friendly version of Godzilla. If he ever needs to become a father, he can still be an overprotective and destructive monster. If rumours are to be believed though, we’ll be seeing an 8-legged mutant who will perhaps be reminiscent of Kumonga. Giant bugs are always a good thing.
G-RATING:
View all the articles in our countdown right here!
GODZILLA will be released 16th May 2014. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Akira Takarada, and David Strathairn.
