The Cinematheque

“The King of the Monsters roars back to life in his weirdest movie ever … A critical and compelling addition to the kaiju canon.”

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

Determined not to be outdone by Hollywood’s 2014 reboot, Toho recruited Anno Hideaki and Higuchi Shinji, masterminds behind anime phenomenon Neon Genesis Evangelion, to breathe new life into the Godzilla franchise at home. The outcome: a critical and commercial triumph that earned a bevy of Japan Academy prizes (including for best picture and director) and inaugurated a wave of ​“Shin”-branded reimaginings of other popular tokusatsu (or effects-driven) properties. Shin Godzilla, more interested in the bedlam of disaster (mis)management than the wrath of Godzilla itself, updates Honda’s original premise to engage with Japan’s cataclysmic 2011 earthquake and the ensuing Fukushima Daiichi crisis. The monster, here reconceived as a rapidly evolving doomsday beast, is nothing short of awesome. Ushering in an inspired new era for the kaiju king, Anno and Higuchi’s series-resetting blockbuster re-establishes Godzilla as an allegory of real-world tragedy for a nation once again threatened with nuclear ruin.

In Japanese with English subtitles

“An idiosyncratic take on the kaiju monster … As winningly optimistic as it is pleasurably eccentric.”

Simon Abrams, RogerEbert.com

“For Shin Godzilla, Toho succeeded in not only tapping into what made Honda’s 1954 original so compelling, but also rebuilding Godzilla’s legacy from the foundation.”

Graham Skipper, Godzilla: The Official Guide