Shin Godzilla (2017) [Blu-ray]
Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Tagline: A god incarnate. A city doomed.

In Shin Godzilla, it’s a peaceful day in Japan when a strange fountain of water erupts in the bay, causing panic to spread among government officials. At first, they suspect only volcanic activity, but one young executive dares to wonder if it may be something different… something alive. His worst nightmare comes to life when a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and begins tearing through the city, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. As the government scrambles to save the citizens, a rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster’s weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side—the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.

Storyline: An unknown accident occurs in Tokyo Bay's Aqua Line, which causes an emergency cabinet to assemble. All of the sudden, a giant creature immediately appears, destroying town after town with its landing reaching the capital. This mysterious giant monster is named "Godzilla".

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Neil Genzlinger, October 10, 2016 You either like your “Godzilla” movies slick and high-budget, like the 1998 American version that starred Matthew Broderick, or you like them with a rickety, 1950s feel that evokes the original. Shin Godzilla, the latest revisiting by the Japanese studio Toho, which has been riding the big lizard since 1954, is certainly in the second camp, winkingly so. It’s choppy and full of special effects that seem deliberately designed not to impress — except when they do. The story is so sketchy that it’s hard to follow, with a blizzard of characters and cameos that presumably mean more to a Japanese audience than to an American one. The film is at its best when it’s in parody mode, though it keeps that card too close to the vest for much of its two-hour length. The humor, not the monster, is what you’re left wanting more of. As the story opens, an abandoned boat being investigated by the authorities is suddenly jostled by what seems to be some sort of underwater volcano, or perhaps a water spout. Alone among the bumbling politicians and other officials who try to assess whether the disturbance is significant, a midlevel bureaucrat named Rando Yaguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa) realizes that a giant creature beneath the waves was responsible. Apparently he’s the only one who has seen any of Toho’s more than two dozen previous Godzilla films. Rando and an American envoy (Satomi Ishihara) are the only characters who are given anything close to depth as the creature emerges from the water and marches on Tokyo. The original Godzilla arose from the fearfulness of the early nuclear age, and this 2016 Godzilla has a nuclear component too. The story also plays on Japan’s love-hate relationship with the United States, in a cursory, cheeky sort of way. It all comes down to whether to drop nuclear bombs on the beast — a radical step for Japan — or to try a less conventional idea that is akin to freeze-drying it. Before the destruction ends, there is one particularly tasty special-effects scene. It turns out that when a monster is on the loose, Japan’s ever-present trains are good for more than just transporting people.

[CSW] -2.1- This movie is unlike any Godzilla film that has preceded it. If you were a big fan of the 1954 film Gojira then you will probably like this one. I am more in the camp of the 1998 American version that starred Matthew Broderick. Not that this isn't good in the modernized and updated 1954 styles but it just wasn't the version I prefer. I did likes the "nerds" banding together to work out a possible solution but it lacked the sense of fun that the 1954 version had and the believable battles that the 1954 had. If you are a Godzilla fan you will either like this as homage to the classic version or feel that it was totally lacking in the realism you may have come to expect.
[V4.5-A3.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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