Since the 1954 destruction of Godzilla, Japan has been attacked multiple times by giant Monsters. A military force created to battle these threats has kept the country more or less safe (OK, Tokyo has been stomped a few times, but can’t make an omelet…) but cannot deal with a new Godzilla that appears out of nowhere. The government decides the best option is to build a “bio-robot” using the bones of the original Godzilla. When not working on the machine, the lead scientist makes uncomfortable advances on the self-hating, but hot, female pilot who only seems capable of two expressions.
QUICK REVIEW: Once again, the Godzilla franchise reboots, tossing out every series film except the first, which, for a change, is taken in its entirety (including the big guy’s death). It presents an interesting world, where monsters are a mysterious fact of life, and then ignores it. It also ignores Godzilla most of the time. When he’s on screen we can get some enjoyable monster mayhem, but when he isn’t, he barely pops up in conversation. The focus is on the awkward and unfulfilled romance, the trials of the drab pilot (really, did the director tell her not to act?), and a child that blurts out pointless moral mumbojumbo. Tacked on to fill up time is the determined planning of the prime minister and science minister, which should have been cut when the script was in first draft. Sure, Godzilla films have had worse human characters and human subplots, but here they are center stage. It seems someone had Toho thought they were making high drama. He was wrong.
The opening monster attack sets up a great daikaiju flick, but it slips into mediocrity.