This film is a major surprise. I saw the reviews all giving it praise, so I decided to look it out, and was fully astounded by this.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the big monster movies, most being really just B-movies with shockingly bad storylines & acting, with Jurassic Park being the last truly decent film in the genre. This film though subverts your expectations, taking the basis of the film being both a decent thoughtful story and some decent acting, with the monster being a macguffin to pull everything along.
The story is based in early post-WW2 Japan, which is the real crux of the story. We have a kamikaze pilot who shirks his military role, but then takes the personal blame following a Godzilla attack. Back in war-torn Japan, a lady with a baby move in with him, but he is still not recovered from the war (PTSD). This film then follows this with a Godzilla attack on Japan being the event to shake him up.
The film is just surprisingly heartfelt and cerebral, not something said about any monster movies for many years. If anything this film could reignite the genre and shake up the rest of the movie industry. With so many film genres obsessed with universes full of repetitive movies, this film shows that one with a strong storyline is what can truly work! It's as near a perfect monster movie as you can get.
I don't think I've felt as emotionally invested in the characters of a monster movie as much ever before.
Seriously, give this one a shot, it's truly excellent.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the big monster movies, most being really just B-movies with shockingly bad storylines & acting, with Jurassic Park being the last truly decent film in the genre. This film though subverts your expectations, taking the basis of the film being both a decent thoughtful story and some decent acting, with the monster being a macguffin to pull everything along.
The story is based in early post-WW2 Japan, which is the real crux of the story. We have a kamikaze pilot who shirks his military role, but then takes the personal blame following a Godzilla attack. Back in war-torn Japan, a lady with a baby move in with him, but he is still not recovered from the war (PTSD). This film then follows this with a Godzilla attack on Japan being the event to shake him up.
The film is just surprisingly heartfelt and cerebral, not something said about any monster movies for many years. If anything this film could reignite the genre and shake up the rest of the movie industry. With so many film genres obsessed with universes full of repetitive movies, this film shows that one with a strong storyline is what can truly work! It's as near a perfect monster movie as you can get.
I don't think I've felt as emotionally invested in the characters of a monster movie as much ever before.
Seriously, give this one a shot, it's truly excellent.