December 5th, 2023
Common Sense Media Age: 11+ Violence 4/5 Language 2/5 Drinking 2/5
My Age Recommendation: 13+ (Due to intense sequences of mayhem and destruction and thematic elements).
When I first heard of this movie, I originally thought it was a continuation of the American Godzilla films (the ones with where Godzilla fights other beasts and causes insane sequences of mayhem for entertainment), but when I learned this is a fully Japanese film with an emotional story set during WWII, I knew I had to see what this was about. The story follows an ex-kamakaze pilot in Japan who disobeyed his orders as he lands in Odo island. That night, the island is visited by Godzilla who kills everyone but a mechanic and the pilot. After the nuclear bomb dropped on Japan, they try to rebuild civilization only for it to be destroyed by Godzilla's atomic blast. The pilot and other ex-military come together to figure out how to stop the monster before it kills more people, as the death toll has already reached 30,000 people! I absolutely loved this movie, and I was expected it to be overrated and I was wrong. The story was amazing, so much better than the American Godzilla movies, and the characters were some of the best I've seen. The acting was incredible, and this came in handy for the really sad scenes (there were so many), and the chemistry between some of the actors was great. The story itself had great pacing and it was focused a little more on the characters then the monster, which helped make the movie more emotional and high-stakes rather than just senseless destruction for two hours. The effects on this movie were the best to date with Godzilla himself being very realistic along with his blue spikes during his atomic blast sequences being really detailed and incredible. The first atomic blast sequence was impactful due to the massive amount of destruction it left behind in the city, but unlike the other Godzilla movies from America in which these scenes are fun to watch, this one felt almost horror-like in which you see people being blown away with the blast impact and families being obliterated, along with the entire city turning into shreds. I'd say overall this movie was amazing and everyone should see it, although it's not your average American, light-hearted Godzilla film!
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