Review of Shin Godzilla (2016) by Andrew B — 16 Oct 2016

I am a fan of the original Godzilla movies, having grown up watching them during their constant repeats on TV during the 80s. However this was possibly not only the worst Godzilla film I have seen, but the worst film I have seen in the last 10 years.

Unless you live in or around Tokyo you will find little enjoyment in this film. Godzilla perhaps has 10 minutes of screen time during the films 2 hour running time. The rest of the movie is spent in bland looking rooms with discussions over what should be done in an overly serious tone (who knew that movie about slow moving Japanese bureaucracy wouldn't be riveting entertainment?!).

However I couldn't tell if this was meant to be a comedy or not. Especially as one of the stars, Satomi Ishihara, was spectacularly miscast as a future U.S. president in waiting, whilst having the ability to butcher any line she was given in English, quite excruciatingly.

Don't get me started on the foreign actors in this film. They had clearly been drafted in off the street. After hiring nearly anyone who has been on Japanese Television in the last 20 years, I don't know why they couldn't have hired a couple of westerners with a modicum of acting experience outside of their childhood school play.

Avoid this film like the plague. That was 2 hours where I felt I was trapped in a cinema and being punished for being an English speaker.