SHIN GODZILLA Stomping Onto US Shores In October

After being one of the bigger films of the summer in Japan, Shin Godzilla, aka Godzilla Resurgence, is heading to the US next month for a week long special engagement courtesy of Funimation. The distributor has just released the first trailer for the film and in contrast to the first Japanese trailer released for the film, this is an interesting collision of old and new elements. First off, we get Akira Ifukube’s iconic title theme from the original 1962 Godzilla. However, within the montage of characters going about their business of running for their lives or trying to figure out a way to stop the Big G, there was a couple of shots that for me recalled 2008’s Cloverfield. (Itself, a reaction to the 9/11 attacks the way the original 1962 Godzilla was a reaction to the dropping of the atomic bombs that ended World War Two.)

It is also interesting to note that the trailer pretty much hides Godzilla until right at the end. Is there a question that some potential ticket buyers might not be interested if they saw that this version of the monster is being rendered through the traditional “suitmation” technique rather than via computers? For many Godzilla fans I know at least, that would be a selling point.

I have to admit that I have been shying away from diving too deep into the reviews that have been coming out of Japan for Shin Godzilla. But the general tenor of what I have heard has been positive, which comes as a bit of a relief considering that the the last couple of installments of the franchise were not widely praised. We’ll get to judge for ourselves from October 11 to the 18th. Check out Funimation’s website to determine where the nearest theater showing Shin Godzilla to you will be.