Shin Godzilla Review (2016)

Shin Godzilla, released in 2016 was a significant entry in the Godzilla franchise. it is reboot for the Toho Studios version of the monster. Due to contractual obligations with Legendary Pictures/ Warner Bros, Toho was unable to release any live action Godzilla films for awhile. In fact, any year a Monsterverse movie was due out, Toho could not release any project related to Godzilla, except for anime projects. 2016 left an opening that Toho took advantage of, using the the 2011 Earthquake and Fukushima disaster as inspiration to reboot the franchise. Godzilla returns to his roots, as a force of nature fuelled by radiation. This version is hideous, scarred, and disfigured. This variant would "evolve" and change forms, often very painfully through out the film.

Shin Godzilla (シン・ゴジラ, Shin Gojira) is a 2016 Japanese kaiju film directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay by Anno and visual effects by Higuchi. Produced by Toho Pictures and Cine Bazar and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 31st film in the Godzilla franchise, the 29th film produced by Toho, Toho's third reboot of the franchise,[8][9] and the first film in the franchise's Reiwa era. It is the first reboot of a tokusatsu series to be adapted by Anno and Higuchi, followed by Shin Ultraman (2022) and Shin Kamen Rider (2023). The film stars Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, and Satomi Ishihara. In the film, politicians struggle with bureaucratic red tape in order to deal with the sudden appearance of a giant monster, known as Godzilla, that evolves whenever it is attacked.

In December 2014, Toho announced plans for a new domestic Godzilla film. Anno and Higuchi were announced as the directors in March 2015. Principal photography began in September 2015 and ended in October 2015. Inspiration for the film was drawn from the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan. Production had a budget of ¥1.3 billion, with advertising bringing the film's total budget to ¥2.19 billion.

Shin Godzilla was theatrically released on July 29, 2016, it received critical acclaim from Japanese critics and mixed reviews from Western critics. The film grossed $79 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film of 2016 and was the highest-grossing Japanese-produced Godzilla film in the franchise, until Godzilla Minus One surpassed it in 2023. It received 11 Japan Academy Prize nominations and won seven, including Picture of the Year and Director of the Year.