Gojira is the original, Japanese Godzilla released in 1954 after the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This movie takes the idea that the nuclear weapon testing in the Japanese waters by the American’s caused a lone surviving dinosaur to mutate to a Godzilla. This is a great premise for a dystopian film as it provides a semi-realistic possibility of the near future. This film was especially effective as to when it was released as it came out after the bombings in Japan as a statement against the use of nuclear weapons. Gojira provided a great premise for a dystopian film as it took real events that had just happened in Japan and created a horrible result to it to create an emotional response to the Japanese viewer.
Although the movie came out over 60 years ago, the themes and subject matter are still relevant today and still strike the same message as an anti-nuclear warfare movie. Some of the effects in the movie are a little crude and noticeably fake, but that is completely understandable as the impressive CGI technology we have now did not exist in 1954. Be that as it may, the movie still falls flat with its actors and script. The actors are incredibly corny in their expression and make their overall performance unbelievable and ridiculous. As well the script isn’t written very well (as I infer from the subtitles) as the characters would explain what was happening in the scene instead of just advancing the story through character and plot development.
The character Serisawa was the direct link to the anti-nuclear weapons message as he was able to create an oxygen bomb that is much stronger than even the hydrogen bomb, which when put in water would be able to take all the oxygen and kill all living things in the water. This is where the acting skills go flat for me as the female protagonist in this film was a terrible actress, the gasp that she makes when seeing the oxygen bomb at work alone shows her acting chops. Serisawa, shows as a character, moral struggle as he has developed a weapon of mass destruction but wishes it was used in a peaceful manner, as if there is a safe way of using something that kills everything in its viscinity. Despite this I think Serisawa was what truly grounded this movie from being a completely mindless film as he provides a jab at the American’s decision to nuke Japan. I could only wonder how powerful of a film like this must have been to watch in theatres when it first came out in Japan as it would have had such a strong effect on the people.
The Godzilla theme was also very dramatic and the score they made for this movie really fit the character of Godzilla by creating suspense to the sheer sight of him. The use of music completely gets you excited about seeing Godzilla destroy something and at the same time it creates a suspenseful and dangerous tone to the movie. Overall I think Godzilla is a classic that should be seen by everyone who has ever watched any Godzilla film as they would need to see the original where the movie actually had a message instead of just mindless violence. I would give this movie a 7 out of 10 because although it had a good message, the acting was just comical and the black and white and subtitles will throw a lot of people off. So I would recommend all people to watch this unless they aren’t willing to watch a movie with subtitles.
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