Shin Godzilla levels much of Tokyo as blockbuster with HD special effects comes to U.S.

by WorldTribune Staff, September 12, 2016

Godzilla has engaged in epic battles with the likes of Mothra, King Kong and Mechagodzilla. But the legendary lizard’s toughest fight to date may be against Japan’s technocrats.

Scene from Shin Godzilla. /Toho Co., LTD.
Scene from Shin Godzilla. /Toho Co., LTD.

Shin Godzilla, the latest in the long-running film franchise, pits Godzilla against a cast of over 300 actors, many portraying government officials and business tycoons.

Already a smash success in Japan, the movie will make its U.S. debut in Los Angeles next month.

Shin Godzilla, the 29th film featuring the gargantuan reptile put out by the Toho studio since 1954, is Japan’s highest-grossing film this year. It has been seen by more than 4 million people who have been gripped by the face-off between monster and technocrats.

In the movie, Japan’s main hope is tied to government-corporate collaboration. A list of 250 Japanese companies who contributed to the movie is seen in the closing credits.

Many Japanese were said to have been drawn to the film for its realistic special effects, in which Godzilla destroys much of central Tokyo, giving thousands of moviegoers a chance to see their own places of business or rival companies leveled.

Loss-adjusters even chimed in on the damage wrought by Godzilla, putting the fictional financial toll on Tokyo and Japan at 81 trillion yen.

How that storyline will play in the United States remains a mystery.

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