Shin Godzilla Review: 4 Powerful Parts Of The Good Film [SPOILERS]

This is the first Godzilla movie I’ve ever seen.

Or at least the first Japanese one from Toho. 

In fact, it’s the first Japanese film I’ve ever watched in general, and it was strange to hear the Japanese speaking regularly, not in the exaggerated way they speak in anime.

Chaos ensues in Japan when a strange, destructive monster emerges. 

This Shin Godzilla review divides the film into four parts:

1. A Strange Monster: The first encounter with Godzilla 
2. Destruction: The second encounter with Godzilla
3. Boredom: Preparation for the final encounter with Godzilla
4. Hope: The last encounter with Godzilla

The second quarter is my favorite, and the third is the worst. I will explain why in this Shin Godzilla review but I must warn you –  There will be SPOILERS. 

After that, I’ll talk about the film as a whole.

Without further ado, this is Shin Godzilla in four parts. 

Shin Godzilla Review: Part 1 – A Strange Monster

Unlike the American Godzilla films, the Japanese know why we’re watching the film. So, Godzilla appeared within the first 8 minutes of the film, which was a nice touch. 

It was cool to see the characters’ reactions — though I still can’t remember any of their names. 

The side characters acted very well, and the main character’s acting was excellent throughout the film. 

The CGI was also great… not always perfect though. Some shots looked like CGI from 2015, but overall, it was fine.

In this quarter of the film, Godzilla is in a state where it can easily be killed. In this fetus-like, vulnerable state, Godzilla lacks flesh, and his organs are exposed so he bleeds everywhere.

His arms are underdeveloped and his eyes bulge from his head since he doesn’t yet have eyelids.

But of course, the writers didn’t want to kill Shin Godzilla within the first 30 minutes of the film, so they had to introduce some obstacles to complicate the situation.

Eventually, Godzilla goes to sleep, and the characters start preparing for his return.

In general, the first quarter was good — not amazing, but not bad either. 

However, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters because the director made a very dumb choice.

Every time a new character is introduced, whether they are going to appear just once or be an important character, they introduce them with the worst method possible — showing their name and role on the screen in big text. 

For example:

“Adham Mohamed, Minister of Defense”

About halfway through the film, I started ignoring the names and memorizing the characters’ faces. 

And eventually, we were introduced to the worst character in the film — an American woman of Japanese descent. 

That girl was so annoying. 

Literally every time she appeared on screen, I felt like closing the film, but I didn’t because I still believed that what this film was building up to would be worth the irritation.

Shin Godzilla Review: Part 2 – Destruction

In the second quarter, Godzilla wakes up again and starts heading toward Tokyo. However, this time the citizens are prepared for him, so everything should go smoothly, right?

…

Wrong!

Godzilla proved them very wrong in fact. 

This is my favorite quarter. 

It was the first time I felt small while watching a movie.

The direction, production, acting, and script were all excellent. 

Even though I had seen a spoiler of this quarter beforehand, the experience didn’t suffer at all.

The destruction that ensues in this portion of the film shows just how small and insignificant humans are and how easily many things in the world can destroy them within seconds.

Whether it’s Godzilla or natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, or volcanoes, etc. – human life can be so frail.  

Shin Godzilla Review: Part 3 – Boredom

In spoiling the events of this third quarter, I will be spoiling the whole film so be warned.

After Shin Godzilla’s destruction in Tokyo, the United Nations got involved and voted to launch a nuclear missile at Godzilla as the only solution. 

The main problem was that Godzilla was asleep in the center of Tokyo, and if they launched the missile, Tokyo would become uninhabitable.

The Japanese task force team tries everything to find a solution to the Godzilla problem, and they actually find a clever theoretical option – freeze him.

However, the UN doesn’t want to give them enough time to map out their plan.

At this point in the film, the writer could have shown Japanese politicians debating in the UN Council to delay the missile strike, but no. 

Instead, all that happened was that the Japanese politicians made some phone calls to several countries who simply agreed to give them more time for their freezing plan with a simple “okay.”

No debating or campaigning necessary. 

I can’t describe how much this frustrated me.

There was also a scene in this quarter that I’m not sure whether it was racist or not.

At one point during this portion of Shin Godzilla, American scientists appear to help with an air of authority and confidence, but the moment they see a video of Godzilla, their courage immediately dissipates. Instead, they all said, “Oh no, we’re all dead” 😂.

They literally said it’s the end of humanity. 

Idk, was there subliminal racism here? Did the Americans think that they were the only nation capable of finding a solution to this massive problem?

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Anyway, this was the worst part of the film and what dragged down the overall rating.

This portion of the film had so much potential for debate and the movie could have benefited from the conflict.

The problem was that it dragged on for so long and the conflict of this act was resolved in such a simple, unamusing way.

Shin Godzilla Review: Part 4 – Hope

In this final quarter of Shin Godzilla, the freezing plan is set in motion, and… honestly, there’s nothing I can say about this quarter that will make you understand why it’s so good. 

It’s about humanity, how weak it is, but also how it can overcome its weakness and conquer challenges. 

But this effect won’t reach you unless you watch this final quarter yourself. You just have to see it to feel its impact. 

Nevertheless, I will still attempt to give you a glimpse of the end of this movie. 

The Japanese army stood in front of Godzilla when it seemed like they didn’t stand a chance. They had the courage to stand in front of such a powerful being and execute what they set out to do in faith.

And even though they witnessed the fall of their comrades they still proceeded with the plan, for the greater good.

During this war, Godzilla woke up two times, yet they managed to put him down – not kill him, more like tackle him two times using some clever methods such as loading the bullet train with tons of TNT and launching it towards him. 

In the end, humanity won. They lost all the previous battles but they won the war, and they were set to rebuild Tokyo after the destruction caused by Godzilla.

Despite the spoilers, I will still leave one thing of mystery:

Although I loved the final quarter, I hated the final scene with Godzilla. Not the literal last scene, but the very last second of it.

Anyone who has seen the film knows exactly what I’m talking about.

And if you haven’t seen the film yet, what are you waiting for?

In Conclusion…

If you’re wondering, “Is Shin Godzilla good?”, I can confirm that overall, Shin Godzilla is a very good film.

It’s a thrilling story showcasing how fragile humans are in the face of greater threats, and how they overcome despite their disadvantages.  

The characters were lacking and it had some unfamiliar content that I’m not used to – since it’s a Japanese movie – but it had strong themes and good execution.

Shin Godzilla is not a particularly scary movie so I wouldn’t recommend it to people who are fans of Monsterverse, because it’s not that.

However, if you like themes of hope such as in the “Shawshank Redemption” or tales of overcoming impossible odds such as seen in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, then I would recommend this movie for you.

Rating: 7.5/10

What did you think of Shin Godzilla? Let me know in the comments below!

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Peace, love, and lots of popcorn,

IMO