HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: SHIN GODZILLA



It’s day thirteen of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one.

My challenge would not be complete if it did not feature one of the most famous monsters of all times - GODZILLA! The new Japanese movie SHIN GODZILLA had a huge budget, massive advertising campaign and was supposed to reboot the franchise. What came out is an overwrought, overly serious and extremely long movie that will appeal only to the fans.

As the story goes a giant monster resurfaces in Tokyo bay, destroying all in its wake, while many protagonists must decide whether they have to destroy or learn to co-exist with this incarnation of a god.

In an avalanche of characters, an average movie goer will find his bearings only half way through the film. There are many unintentionally funny moments and some supposedly Americans speak with preposterous accents, impossible to comprehend. I never have problems with subtitles, but the machine gun dialogue makes it impossible to catch everything, unless you went to speed reading courses. The patriotic message of the movie is unceremoniously shoved down your throat, which does not sit well with the political satire this movie essentially is. Messy!

On the bright side the monster itself has an interesting design, and the application of practical effects to real life surrounding, while not looking overly realistic, is still awe inspiring. But the effects and explosions are not many. The aimless chats are a lot.

Regretfully I will not recommend SHIN GODZILLA to anyone, unless you are an absolute fan of this monster.


SCORE OUT OF 5:

SCARY SCORE: 👻
GORE SCORE: 🗡
FUN SCORE: 🎃🎃

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