STARRING: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Min Tanaka, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Masami Nagasawa, Yuki Yamada and Kuranosuke Sasaki. Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. Running time 135 minutes.
Running ten minutes longer than it's 2023 originator, Godzilla Minus One, this is not so much a sequel more than a continuation, picking up the action two years after the events of that extraordinary first outing that re-introduced Godzilla in a new and utterly terrifying new incarnation. It's 1949, the remains of Godzilla lie at the bottom of the Sagami Bay and Postwar Japan has got on with rebuilding itself, that is until a new and deadly monster named Ghidorah rears its angry dragon-like head and lays waste to Matsumoto City, leading to the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau lead by Kenji Noda to launch a counter attack against this new threat, which only makes things worse, much worse by a factor of three when the single headed Ghidorah is transformed in the triple headed King Ghidorah who proceeds to wreck a trail of destruction across Japan. Teaming up with Professor Kanji Murakami – a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, Meteorologist Makoto Aoyama, kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima, his wife Noriko and the other surviving heroes of the first time to reunite and lead a fight back against King Ghidorah as Godzilla emerges from the depths to continue its reign of destruction. Now all the plucky human heroes have to do is somehow lure KG and Godzilla together for the mother of all fights, but at what cost?
Once again the visual effects for this astonishing film are breath-taking, the sense of scale bewildering and the scope defies exceptations. Somehow, yet again, the human angle of these two films is the brilliant beating heart of the action, it gives the film its drama it's humanity. You find yourself caring for these puny bags of flesh and bones as they somehow fight against these behemoth beasties. Visually this is a truimph and practically seamless. There's a dream sequence when Godzilla destroys New York City and it is simply staggering.
And yet this just doesn't quite reach the same giddy heights of the first film. That first film was so fresh and unique that exploded with power, this time round takashi Yamazaki's scope has grown, as has his budget and it's clear he has a story arc in mind and that there's probably a third film in this arc that's eating away at him. And I hope so. These Toho Japanese Godzilla films of which this is the 34th in the Toho series and 39th in the whole franchise are so fresh and different from the panto nonsense of the Legendary films, those are fun and silly, but this is grown up, powerful and emotionally satisfying.
An exhausting and dramatic film that drags you in with the promise of Kaiju action and then hammers you with some powerful human drama and relationships. Still, deeply satisfying. 9/10
Once again the visual effects for this astonishing film are breath-taking, the sense of scale bewildering and the scope defies exceptations. Somehow, yet again, the human angle of these two films is the brilliant beating heart of the action, it gives the film its drama it's humanity. You find yourself caring for these puny bags of flesh and bones as they somehow fight against these behemoth beasties. Visually this is a truimph and practically seamless. There's a dream sequence when Godzilla destroys New York City and it is simply staggering.
And yet this just doesn't quite reach the same giddy heights of the first film. That first film was so fresh and unique that exploded with power, this time round takashi Yamazaki's scope has grown, as has his budget and it's clear he has a story arc in mind and that there's probably a third film in this arc that's eating away at him. And I hope so. These Toho Japanese Godzilla films of which this is the 34th in the Toho series and 39th in the whole franchise are so fresh and different from the panto nonsense of the Legendary films, those are fun and silly, but this is grown up, powerful and emotionally satisfying.
An exhausting and dramatic film that drags you in with the promise of Kaiju action and then hammers you with some powerful human drama and relationships. Still, deeply satisfying. 9/10
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