On 15th May 2014, Toho’s greatest monster will return to the big screen in an American reboot. With just 3 weeks to go, we here at THN are counting down the GODZILLA back catalogue.
Director: Masaaki Tezuka
Starring: Yumiko Shaku, Shin Takuma, Kana Onodera, Ko Takasugi, Yusuke Tomoi, Jun’ichi Mizuno, Akira Nakao, Kumi Mizuno, Takeo Nakahara
Plot: Japan faces an attack from Godzilla, a creature not seen since 1954. In preparation, they decide to use the bones of the 1954 Godzilla to create a mechanical bio-robot to fight back.
With the success of the last instalment of the franchise, it made perfect sense to bring back Godzilla’s other well-known nemesis, Mechagodzilla, or as he’s known this time around, Kiryu (Machine Dragon). The name change is purely to avoid comparisons with the previous versions of the character. Mechagodzilla has always been a great battle as far as Godzilla films are concerned. Although his first appearance had him as the villain and controlled by aliens, later iterations realised the potential of having a human controlled robot. It made the battles more personal, and didn’t rely on coincidental arrival of a similar sized monster who didn’t want to destroy everything. It also prevented the humans from merely standing on the sidelines, while also reinforcing the fact that humanity keeps building bigger weapons to solve problems.
Tezuka returned to direct and once again rebooted the franchise, albeit in a very interesting way. This time, although previous Godzilla films bar the 1954 original do not exist, other Toho monster movies are referenced as having taken place. MOTHRA, WAR OF THE GARGANTUANS, and SPACE AMOEBA are all referenced and provide flashbacks to show that we’re now in a world where Japan has been beset by mammoth monsters a number of times. GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, which has perhaps the most forced English title as it tries to avoid using the ‘VS.’ once again, proved to be another box-office success as it nearly doubled its budget.
In response to a series of monster attacks throughout Japan, the Anti-Megalosaurus Team (AMT) have been assembled to counter any future attacks. Once such attack takes place in 1999 when the king of the monsters himself, Godzilla, returns. It starts with a foreboding storm and typhoon, which allows Godzilla to creep up behind a news team as though he’d planned to be on camera upon his arrival. Godzilla’s enormity is presented via use of a rising jib shot ascending into the air. Next up it’s time for a civilians reaction to the monster, and who better to appear than Takehiro Murata, star of many Godzilla features, most notably as Kenji Andoh in GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA. As the AMT get together, we see what is undoubtedly the most organised assault on Godzilla so far. This makes it all the more tragic when things go wrong and a number of soldiers die, resulting in our heroine, Akani Yashiro (Shaku), taking some of the blame and ending up working in the armed forces library. As you can probably guess, Yashiro’s forgiveness of herself is going to be the driving emotional force of the film.
We see the effect monster attacks have on the common man with a quick scene set in a shelter, and this is also used as a time to show respect towards the military as an obviously filthy boy (presumably from Godzilla’s attack and not parental neglect) gives a sweet to a soldier. Genuine heartfelt respect or saccharine propaganda? It doesn’t particularly matter, although this is a much more positive affair in terms of how it handles the military as opposed to the last effort that had Godzilla motivated by the souls of lost soldiers. Elsewhere some shady government officials ask Tokumitsu Yuhara (Takuma) to go with them. He’s a professor who has used bio-mechanics to recreate an extinct trilobite. Yuhara is shown the remains of the 1954 Godzilla, and is asked to create a bio-mechanical version of the monster in order to do battle during any future attacks. After the announcement, the Prime Minister, portrayed by series regular Kumi Mizuno, is hounded by the press in a sequence that asks some of the most interesting questions. “Where will the money come from?” asks one reporter, and I’m all game for a dryer Godzilla film that shows a country hit hard by heavy taxation, but apparently there are monsters that need fighting. The PM shows herself as a cold and hard leader that doesn’t mess about with her exquisite response, “We’re meeting a crisis. Realize it.” Another reporter suggests that the world may be worried by Japan’s rearmament, again touching on very interesting issues, that sadly have no time to be explored.
Yuhara has a very good and joking relationship with his young daughter Sara (Onodera), which again caters towards the more family friendly elements that Godzilla tried to incorporate in the Millennium Series. Fortunately the inclusion of Sara works here, as she goes on to bond with Yashiro making Yashiro easier to connect with than previous female protagonists, the vengeful Kiriko Tsujimori from GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS. We’re then taken on a training montage, see the switching of Prime Minister, now portrayed by Akira Nakao, and shown weather changing in order to make sure we realise that 3 ½ years have passed. During this time Yashiro has been working in the library, but is called out of retirement because she’s the most capable pilot. Unfortunately, as clichés go, the brother of one of her deceased team is also part of the AMT now, and Yashiro gets all the animosity and blame aimed her way. Luckily there’s also the understanding captain who comes to Yashiro’s aid and reminds everyone that if they can’t work as part of a team then they can get out. It’s good to see some human drama, but it’s also very predictable and familiar.
As Godzilla shows himself, it’s time for Kiryu to take to the stage. In classic Ultraman fashion, Kiryu is given a time limit concerning his power, which will obviously come into play later and we’re reminded of the fact that Kiryu contains Godzilla DNA, which will come into play sooner. He’s also equipped with an awesome Absolute Zero gun which freezes and crumbles anything it’s aimed at, although that will use up 40% of the power. Still, it’s another case of a very powerful weapon that could be used at the beginning of a battle rather than being saved due to the need of the script. Kiryu is transported through the air and is intercut with epic scenes of evacuation. Full credit to these scenes as sometimes Godzilla evacuations seem a little half-arsed and the extras barely look miffed, let alone terrified. As Kiryu approaches Godzilla, Godzilla’s roar brings out the monstrous side of Kiryu, who begins his own personal assault on Tokyo. The destruction looks fantastic on screen, and it serves as a stark reminder as to the dangers of building destructive things to stop destruction, and also adds wait to Serizawa’s suicide back in 1954 as he died along with his creation.
Kiryu powers down to a beautiful sunset and the politicians take the flak for the rampage. Meanwhile it’s time for a bit of fluff with the kids as Sara laments that Godzilla and Kiryu should be friends. Thankfully, against all the odds, Onodera completely sells the material that seems as though it may have been cut from a Gamera script. Sara argues that Kiryu has a life too, and her affinity for life stems from having lost her pregnant mother at the age of 4. Yashiro attempts to pick Sara up by claiming that Kiryu’s life is worthless much like her own (obviously she doesn’t get around kids much). But that does lead to a very beautiful line from Sara, “No life can be worthless. To be alive is good enough,” which is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard. It’s so simple, yet so powerful.
With new motivation, Yashiro and her team take Kiryu to battle once more, as he is the only hope we have of getting rid of Godzilla. The fight is an epic one, that mixes a few sneaky CG into the mix, but gives Kiryu more agility. After the Absolute Zero weapon misses and power is lost, Yashiro must enter Kiryu herself, using a maintenance hatch, and redirect power from the grid in order to charge up. Proving her worth is enough to make Hayama, the confrontational brother of the deceased soldier from earlier, sacrifice himself (although he also gets away unscathed). Godzilla survives the freezing, but leaves without a fuss. This epic battle and the brilliant special effects make this an enjoyable action film with all the clichés and predictability we’ve come to expect. These clichés never seem tired or dull, at least not while watching, and the human characters are among the most likable in quite some time. It may try a bit hard to tick all the boxes, but it’s a great addition to the series anyway.
Dub-Misstep: One of the only dubs I haven’t seen. I have failed.
Monsters: Just Godzilla and MechaGodzilla/Kiryu this time around. Making MechaGodzilla a bio-robot just adds a midway conflict. He’s also armed with dozens of weapons, although some will be questioning why the most powerful isn’t used to begin with.
Notes For GODZILLA (2014): The creation of MechaGodzilla is obviously going to be a big rumour for any Godzilla sequel, but seeing how similar such plot points are to the likes of last year’s PACIFIC RIM, the Godzilla franchise will probably avoid a similar path. Although there’s plenty of human interaction here, it’s of the clichéd kind with similar plot points used for years.
G-RATING:
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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.
