Godzilla Resurgence or Shin Gojira will be shown in the Philippines on August 31, 2016. No doubt, it will be subtitled but as an anime fan, I really don’t mind. I just saw the latest trailer and it was awesome! It’s the best Godzilla yet. This author’s jaw dropped literally on the latest trailer and Godzilla’s awesome new powers. Couldn’t wait to see it and I promise to write down a review.
Godzilla Resurgence is another response movie from Toho, the original Japanese company that owns the rights to Godzilla. Even though Legendary Pictures has the rights to produce the movie in the United States, Toho retains the rights to produce their own version as they see fit. It’s much like the deal Microsoft had with IBM with DOS (Disk Operating System). Microsoft sold IBM an operating system (PC-DOS) but retained the rights to market a version of their own (MS-DOS). As said, Godzilla Resurgence is a response movie much like Godzilla 2000 was Japan’s response to the dismal adaptation Godzilla 1998 from TriStar. Many people call him Zilla by now, but I’d like to call it The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ‘98.
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Godzilla 2014 from Legendary was a pretty decent film. The origin was okay. Including the Philippines into the origin was intriguing probably for geopolitical reasons. Bryan Cranston’s part was also okay though they cut it short. What would have been a great plot for Mr. Cranston was to have more of an adventure with his son in tracking Godzilla, bonding more with him as both of them realize the monster’s true purpose in defending the Earth against the MUTOs and making peace with that realization. Also, the monster itself was great. We hardly get to see much monster versus military action. There seemed to be more of that in Cloverfield. The military was more interested in nuking the monsters instead of guns blazing.
And Godzilla himself? Godzilla was a lot closer to the original than that iguana TriStar made. But I’ll just have to say that the animated series starring the iguana was a lot better than the movie miles better than the corny dragon in the Hanna-Barbera animated series of the 1970s. Three major critiques of the new Godzilla was that first, he was too fat or muscular. It was Godzilla on steroids but close enough. Second, Godzilla was entirely CG unlike the traditional Japanese man-in-suit monster made real with some great cinematography (Godzilla 1985). Three, Godzilla’s presence and battles didn’t have much screen time. They show the monsters briefly then cut to scenes with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen. It seemed like the Michael Bay Transformers movies where the humans have more of the spotlight, but it’s not really much of a problem considering the human stories are as important in all Godzilla movies. The problem is basically the way they cut Godzilla’s airport battle and shrink the whole thing down to a news report shown on a small TV set.
The whole thing gets better in the final act where we get to see Godzilla and the MUTOs battle in full. The problem is that we hardly see it because of the dark atmosphere. Why does it always have to be dark? Why did Superman have to fight Batman in the dark? Why did DCs Trinity have to battle Doomsday in the dark? The movie theater is already dark as it is. Anyway, Legendary’s Godzilla got as close as it can get to the original with his radioactive breath. True Godzilla fans or those familiar with his Japanese roots all cheered with excitement when he unleashed his radioactive breath. What’s unique about it was he had some sort of countdown like a power meter from his tail to the back of his neck. It hurt the MUTOs but like the dragons in How to Train Your Dragon, they’re not fireproof on the inside.
Whether or not Toho was dissatisfied with Godzilla 2014, they chose to re-invigorate the franchise. Not just re-invigorate but to reboot it completely. All Godzilla films of different generations up to Godzilla Final Wars were sequels to the original 1954 film. Toho probably decided that enough is enough and they had to move on and pass the torch to the younger generation. Reboots and remakes are all the rage anyway. But what about this Godzilla? What makes him different from Legendary Pictures and all Godzillas before it? What makes him so awesome now?
First, this will be the tallest Godzilla to date at 118.5 meters. Godzilla will look fiercer but with odd round eyes in stills but hardly noticeable in action. His skin is very rough and follows the traditional cancerous look of previous films but has red burning areas similar to the one in Godzilla versus Destoroyah. However, his arms are now much smaller, similar to a T-Rex. It’s something Godzilla fans might have to get used to. Finally, there’s more to his atomic breath. In the latest trailer, he initially breathes fire (like in the 1954 version), but it’s merely a charge up akin to an acetylene torch. The real atomic breath comes out later in a very destructive fashion, able to cut through buildings. Plus, Godzilla can shoot radioactive lasers from his tail and from the spikes on his back. It was an awesome sight. Hopefully, the whole movie is awesome as well since the film received positive reviews when it opened in Japan. The film is directed by Hideaki Anno of Gainax, the director responsible for anime hits such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water.
One major concern is what happens if this film gets released in the states? There would certainly be some confusion. What film would be more awesome? There’s still some confusion among the general audience about why Wolverine can’t be in an Avengers film since he occasionally appears alongside the Avengers and vice versa in cartoons and comics. Probably the same level of confusion wherein audiences thought Godzilla 2000 was a sequel to Godzilla 1998. Well, back then they didn’t have the mainstream web like we do today. Got a problem, look it up. But we geeks know what makes an awesome Godzilla now don’t we?