It's been a little while since we've taken a look at the whole Kaiju genre, so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd end up talking about the latest live action Godzilla movie from Toho sooner or later. It's also been a while since the last Hollywood iteration, but it's been even longer since the last official release when the third wave of films ended with the aptly named Godzilla: Final Wars. Did the Gareth Edwards film spur them on to make a come back? Who can be sure. Of course this is a series in which starting over is nothing new. The first reboot led to a second series of films in the '80s and '90s that brought back many familiar faces while making everything bigger and louder. But the Big G always managed to become a heroic figure in some way or another despite attempts to reference 1954's original atomic allegory and several stories that used the first film as a starting point while side stepping all that Monster Zero and Space Hunter Nebula stuff. Where exactly does the newest version stand?
From the outset it's clear that this will be a very clean and clinical take on the material. There are no secondary monsters, in fact there are no chronological links to previous films at all. It's all incredibly sterile and washed out looking, lending it a certain modernised documentary style feel. News reports, found footage moments and captions denoting characters and places all feel like an intentional effort to make this feel big and serious instead of just another monster rampage. A lot of the film is concerned with emergency board room meetings and government strategy discussions, something which makes the creature attack come across as a real threat in ways that haven't been seen for decades. The whole thing is often a clear parallel to real earthquakes and tsunami disasters.
It's certainly a very striking looking film with plenty of stark shoreline architecture being shown as strange sightings and initial reports come in from the coast. It could be a geological event after all. We know better of course, but the central characters have never seen a giant lizard and a giant insect do battle in their streets before. They even have to explain to each other the name of Godzilla itself after it's found that research into such a problem arriving has previously been covered up. But all this deliberation and debate is not a very engaging subject matter for the bulk of the film. It's not that this kind of thing isn't warranted to some degree, but often it feels quite glacial it and lacks real tension. Proper characterisation is impossible with so many sterile meeting rooms and a series of interchangeable bureaucrats.
In some ways this has to be an intentional parody, but sometimes it doesn't quite feel self aware enough to be a true satire on public bodies and government red tape. Early on a team of biology experts are brought in during a scene that is clearly played for laughs as they give vague answers and worry about their professional reputations more than the crisis itself - as one politician remarks it's a waste of time. In many ways indecision and bureaucracy are the real villains in this story. There are certainly some major shots taken at things like American intervention and international co-operation that lend it a certain world weary edge as an endless series of talks about problem solving and political hierarchy goes on. Fortunately all of this gains some momentum when the impending disaster starts to grow, quite literally in some instances.
Godzilla itself is still the star of the show of course, a gigantic oozing mutant that constantly threatens to flatten entire cities and seems impervious to conventional weapons fire. His stiff movement (despite the CGI) and the beady eyes recall original design while boosting his presence as a real force of nature that is nearly impossible to contain. Interestingly there are several references to older films in the series despite it being a clear reboot. The skin of Godzilla is a grotesque mass of grey and red material, much like the meltdown stage seen during Godzilla vs Destoroyah. His birth from mankind's waste products and his evolution through several stages is similar to the titular villain in Godzilla vs Hedorah.
But despite some of these callbacks this is certainly a more disturbing threat than they've shown in these films for many years. Even the eventual use of the atomic breath is both simultaneously a visual spectacle and an unsettling nightmare as entire city blocks are razed. They may push the boat out in terms of these abilities when it comes to fending off all the usual military vehicles, but it's certainly more closely linked to IshirÅ Honda's intention than all the family fare that came afterwards. Some of the classic marches and motifs are included in the score (some in their original state rather than a new recording) but it's still more harrowing than this franchise has even come close to since 1954.
Hideaki Anno's direction certainly leans towards depicting a problem that the whole human race will struggle to combat, and like his work on the animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion it's often bleak and frequently ambiguous. The conclusion is a victory for scientific minds across the globe working together in defiance of political floundering, but there are still darker connotations in the final shot of the film. Like any giant creature feature, it's these human elements that keep the story engaging when monster effects are expensive and a dramatic narrative beyond skyscrapers being trashed has to be served. Unfortunately these inclusions are pretty weak and feel like archetypes and satirical punchlines rather than people. It's an odd choice but they don't include any moralising science experts or any average family groups facing an unknown threat.
Instead there are characters like Cabinet Secretary Yaguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa) trying - and often failing - to keep it together under pressure, and American Envoy Kayoko (Satomi Ishihara) who's role is to offer exposition and talk about how she wants to become US President. There are a variety of others, and many are more convincing presences. But while they all have their names and titles on screen it's often impossible remembering who is doing what. In a way it's a paradox that this version of events treats the story as a true disaster, and yet we never see normal people struggling with the aftermath. There are no ground level scenes with beds full of wounded people or the kinds of truly chilling moments that Honda included to show a direct link to the Second World War.
Ultimately they should be praised for creating a story that feels relevant while regaining a sense of threat. But unless you really have an interest in stylishly shot rooms in which dozens of people argue over policy making and how best to share information between departments, there will be a lot of moments which feel incredibly dry and where the pacing is stopped in its tracks entirely. Godzilla fans will enjoy the callbacks and the explosive set pieces involved, and admittedly those will the main audience here. For everyone else it may prove to be a struggle to stay engaged, but I'd recommend sticking around after the first act to see a story that has evolved once again to reflect modern times.
3/5
BONUS REVIEW
PSYCHOKINESIS (2018)
The frenetic mix of zombies and action found in Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan wasn't entirely satisfying, but it had a solid foundation of horror under all the manic chases that allowed a lot of the film to feel fairly solid. It often dragged and people kept getting off the train which felt like a waste of the premise, but it was still fairly stylish and entertaining. So when the same film maker decided to tell a story about someone who can move things with his mind I was on board. Would it be a horror film or a thriller like The Fury, or perhaps more of a light hearted caper? Well unfortunately the same problems with consistency are still present, this time to a greater degree.
On the one hand this is the story of Shin Seok-heon (Ryu Seung-ryong) a dead-beat dad who drinks water from a spring that has been poisoned by a meteorite. This is a nice simple premise that has a certain amount of levity, it's good stuff. I want to see that movie. He practices with his new found abilities often with slapstick results, and later he decides to help his estranged daughter (Shim Eun-kyung) by earning money as a magician at a night club. Here's where things might have taken off as his powers got out of control or as he receives the attention of nefarious government forces. However it never follows through with this initial narrative thread.
Instead there are various plot strands about his daughter's business closing, her mother's death, and her battle against a development company that wants to tear down her neighbourhood. There are scenes involving hired thugs and riot police attacking the residents who won't leave, as well as a series of clashes between the head of the construction company and the guy leading the goons. Maybe it's all just a homage to *batteries not included? Sometimes it feels like a weird dystopia story, and sometimes it's a ground level superhero plot akin to Chronicle. Whatever the influence it would have been nice if they'd just pick an idea and run with it, instead of trying so much and only partially succeeding at any of it.
2/5
