Tokyo S.O.S. A Perfect Godzilla Film
After the release of Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004, marking the 50th anniversary of the big-G, Toho took a break with the franchise and the Godzilla mythos were allowed a long needed nap. Since Godzilla's hiatus, Hollywood has been trying to play catch up with the kaiju (giant monster) market over the last decade, pushing out new Americanized Godzilla movies. Among this new wave of American kaiju, Pacific Rim was born. Then Rampage, among other giant blockbusters that are aiming at our wallets through drool inducing CGI. However, among the slew of kaiju films that Hollywood has produced over the last decade there seems to be a consensus among critics and fans: less boring humans, more giant monsters in concern for these films.
Hollywood is known for their lackluster scripts when it comes to their blockbusters. Add that to certain creative decisions, like not fully showing Godzilla in 2014's Godzilla until the last act, or having too much giant monsters creating a screen full of digitalized white noise, it seems that American filmmakers are still struggling to find that sweet spot between story and mayhem. With 50+ years under their belt, Japanese filmmakers have already shown the serious and goofy sides of the big-G and have accumulated numerous movies in Godzilla's filmography that could constitute as great, balanced, and perfect. One of which, was the second to last film before Toho went on their hiatus; Godzilla: Tokyo SOS.
When compared to other films, Godzilla: Tokyo SOS has fairly simple characters. There isn't any depth to them, but they still feel like they matter and drive the story. The writing isn't complicated. It is kept simple and straightforward with sprinkled ideas here and there that will affect how the main character will make a decision later on. On paper, these character are arguably lesser than the human characters in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) when it comes to motivation and character arcs, and yet they're perfect for the story that Tokyo SOS was telling. Each character has a job, even if that job is to accomplish one action. The grandfather provides backstory and the kid summons Mothra, after their actions are done the story rarely comes back toward them.
This way of handling characters leaves the kaiju more time to duke it out. This film is almost one long battle sequence and the characters are there to break it up into simpler, more digestible, segments to highlight the constant change in power. In the Americanized versions, human characters are thought of as bland and having their own character arcs against Godzilla. In Tokyo SOS, the human characters are not trying to oppose Godzilla itself, but trying to diffuse the situation as a whole, leaving their characters more fluid and more important to the plot even though they're only job is to accomplish one or two tasks.
One mistake that Hollywood seems to constantly make when regarding these giant monster movies is mistaking the audience's love for a giant monster as a spectacle and not because of their character. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and all their giant pals have evolved greatly over their decades long cinematic history, and through all that time they've expressed different personalities. These personalities are what drives audiences toward them. In Tokyo SOS, Mothra gives an ultimatum to the human race at the very beginning; Decommission Mechagodzilla or Mothra will declare war on everyone. Godzilla is also not attacking Tokyo willy-nilly. The Japanese government created Mechagodzilla using the bones of the current Godzilla's parent. Godzilla is rightfully angry and drawn to their deceased parent's bones, but the humans don't see this. When it comes to Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), the kaiju are looked at as environmental creatures, they seek to destroy, they seek to protect, they seek to stay alive. These basic functions of living do not make up a personality, and so while it is cool to see a giant leg of Godzilla nearly kill people, there isn't an attachment to this version as a character that you see in the Japanese films.
The American films have simple characters that don't leave much impact toward the plot and, while the special effects are eye catching, the kaiju they have brought to life, and even more so for the ones they created in the MUTOs, have none, if any, personality. With this crippling foundation, it is hard to bring about an emotional response, and a lot of Godzilla films have brought out emotional responses. The first Godzilla back in 1954 was meant to be an allegory to the atom bombs that were dropped, and it was supposed to bring about an emotional response of helplessness, and then one of hope when humans were able to defeat it. In Tokyo SOS, the writers expertly utilized what little screen time certain characters had to make emotional moments pop. The biggest example would be Mothra, and how she sacrificed herself in order to save her babies. Mothra's death is a traumatic image and holds so much emotion for numerous characters in the scene. In the American movies the only scene that has any emotional depth to it, and a scene that is still talked about to this day, was in 2014's Godzilla where Bryan Cranston died.
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS is a perfect film. At a glance, it can be misinterpreted as similar toward the Americans are putting out lately, with its simple characters and long battle sequences, but when it is time to sit down and watch it, it becomes quite clear that the makers of this film are using everything in their arsenal to make every second, every decision, every emotional moment matter. There is tension, the monsters have a personality and tragic lives, the humans are learning about being too preoccupied by what could happen that they inadvertently created a situation for it to happen. The layers of simplicity start to fall across its landscape to paint a marvelous, and tight, film where everything matters and it creates a tear jerking experiencing that any Godzilla fan will love.
