Shin Godzilla 4K
Limited Edtion Steelbook
review by Bobby Blakey
There are few theatrical monsters as iconic as Japan’s Godzilla. The King of Monsters has been smashing cities since its debut in 1954 and has since gone on to over 30 films as well as numerous comics, animated series, merchandise and anything else they could think of. While Godzilla is currently a part of the shared monster-verse with Kong in the US it is still firmly planted in Japanese cinemas all its own.
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In 2016 the monster smashed its way back into Japanese and US theaters with the successful Shin Godzilla from directors Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi and was expected to bring a sequel before it seemingly got shelved for the time being with Godzilla Minus One taking over the character in 2023. Now Toho and GKids are bringing the 2016 film to 4K in an all-new Limited Edition Steelbook that will no dobut be a must have for fans of the iconic kaiju.
Shin Godzilla follows the Prime Minister of Japan who pleads with the public to remain calm, as a horrific creature of tremendous size makes landfall in the city, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The government assembles a motley task force to combat the monster when an envoy from the US Department of State delivers a folder of classified documents. On its cover is written “GODZILLA.”
Much like Anno and Higuchi’s other films in their reboots, Shin Ultraman and Shin Kame Rider, they took some liberties with Godzilla to keep the basic idea of the character while creating a new version and history. Thankfully they didn’t veer to far off the path of the iconic kaiju, but it was enough to make it feel fresh and new whether you like it or not. I am hit and miss on the evolution nature
they went with for Godzilla, but all in with the new ways they used his abilities to cause mass destruction.
Of all the versions of Godzilla I feel like this one is the most aggressive and violent. Not in a horror film type of way, but just in the sheer destruction and chaos. There is no redeeming moment to make him a hero, this is a rampaging monster, and he does just that. If I have any issues with this version, it is the insanely long tale that just looks silly to me and off-putting. I like the idea of it and how it was used but needed to be cut down for it to not look so ridiculous. This is a small issue, and I have no doubt some probably dig it, but it just wasn’t for me.
The film itself is vintage Godzilla with the people scrambling to how to stop him and bringing a new variation in his origins, but they stuck to the original idea still thankfully. It is slow paced through a lot of it, but it likely feels longe since most fans are just waiting for the king of monsters to show up and do its thing. When he is on screen it is great fun and looks awesome. There are some enhancement effects that are a bit cheesy at times but fit right in with the history of the franchise.
In the end it is yet another good entry into the franchise that I would have loved to see where they planned to take it especially after the final scene, which clearly was hoping to set something up. This new 4K version looks great and does the character justice for both new and old fans alike.
In addition to the film this release offers up a monster load of bonus features including trailers, deleted scenes, outtakes, featurettes and more. Grab your copy of Shin Godzilla now available on Blu-ray and the all-new 4K limited Edition Steelbook from GKids and Toho.