Seeing this pop up on a few friends’ Best of 2010s list promoted me to finally watch Shin Godzilla (2016; Shin Gōjira), which is available to stream on SBS OnDemand. Though I haven’t seen many of the Japanese made Godzilla films, I always think that the American versions have a big flaw to overcome: how do you make viewers care about the human characters when everyone just wants to see the giant lizard destroy things? Shin Godzilla (the 29th Godzilla film produced by Toho) subverts that by offering sharp satire in response, I presume, to the government handling of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. As the long buried reptile erupts from the ocean to cause mass distraction in the cities, the film cuts back and forth to big meeting rooms with perplexed politicians calling for experts and then adjoining to other rooms for more meetings, more and more suits seated at the table and behind them, the continually long job titles that pop up for each new person a running joke throughout the movie. As a commentary on bureaucratic inefficiency, I thought the film was hilarious. Even the initial wacky ‘googly eyes’ look for Godzilla is a strange touch. This eventually evolves into a scarier, reptilian Godzilla, trampling buildings to the sounds of the classic theme score, shooting purple lasers from its back at attacking helicopters in a beautifully atmospheric nighttime sequence. So too does the biting satire make room for communal heroics and rugged cooperation by the Japan Self Defense force headed by Hitoki Hasegawa as our hero. Directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, Shin Godzilla is a compelling, layered and unusual approach to the iconic creature. Recommended.
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