SHIN GODZILLA – Coming to UK Cinemas this Summer – The Many Faces of Godzilla: FAVOURITE GODZILLA MOVIES
When a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and tears through the city, the government scrambles to save its citizens. A rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster’s weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side—the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.
Godzilla is a movie monster that needs no introduction; the radioactive giant has been stomping and roaring since the 1950s, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Most recently, Godzilla can be seen taking on Tokyo in a Japanese production titled Shin Godzilla. Released last year in Japan and America, the film was so successful, it’s being shown in UK cinemas this summer. We’ve decided to celebrate its release by taking a look back on our other favourite Godzilla movies, from the 1950s to recent years...
Godzilla (Gojira) (1954)
We’d be fools not to include the first ever Godzilla movie in the franchise from Tokyo based Toho Studios. The studio invented the monster as competition for the American success of King Kong, and thought up the giant lizard-like monster now famous for crushing cities everywhere. The first film saw Godzilla arrive from the sea killing villagers and eating fishing boats as he went. The storyline suggests that deep-sea hydrogen bomb testing causes the ancient sea monster to awaken and take to land. With an apparently invincible monster at its helm, Godzilla is 96 epic minutes of destruction.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
If you thought Godzilla was cool, wait until you meet SpaceGodzilla. In this film, Godzilla cells somehow make it into space, become radiated by a black hole, and accidentally create SpaceGodzilla. Not long after this outer space catastrophe, the newly born creature crashes to earth, but not before completely destroying a NASA space station. Possibly the best thing about this film is that the world has an organisation dedicated entirely to stopping Godzilla from destroying everything again; the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Centre. It’s definitely a weirder one, but when was the last time you saw a movie about a dinosaur monster fighting a dinosaur monster from space?
Godzilla (1998)
Of all the films on this list, this is probably the one you’ve seen. The 1998 Godzilla was American made, starring Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno and Hank Azaria. If you haven’t seen this version, and that cast in a monster movie doesn’t intrigue you, we don’t know what will. This version makes a lot of changes to the original story, such as a location change from Tokyo to New York City, and a radiated iguana nest as opposed to an ancient sea monster. Despite these changes, this film is packed with action sequences, military intervention, and Godzilla roars. The best thing about this one is easily the promise of Godzilla babies that will one day return to get revenge on the people of New York.
Shin Godzilla (2016)
As we’ve already mentioned, this film doesn’t crash into UK cinemas just yet, but from the trailers we’ve been given, and the reviews we’ve read from overseas, it’s safe to say we’re on to a winner. The film is inspired by the Japanese disasters of 2011, and follows a classic origin story of the monster, this time set in modern Japan. A fresh look at the fictional beast, Godzilla changes and evolves throughout the film in ways not seen in other versions. Perhaps a smarter look at Godzilla than we’ve seen before, Shin Godzilla promises plenty of destruction and atomic warfare for UK cinemagoers to sink their teeth into.
SHIN GODZILLA RECEIVES A LIMITED RELEASE FROM AUGUST 10
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