The world of entertainment is constantly changing. Nothing ever stays the same for too long. As new generations come of age, thoughts, feelings and perspectives change, and, as a result, the art and entertainment reflects those changes. This usually leads to studios rebooting their older IPs as a way of introducing them to new audiences.
Reboots tend to be extremely controversial, especially among fans of the franchise. There are multiple reasons for this such as the idea that they lack creativity, a belief that they tarnish the legacy of the original film and the feeling that the studio is motivated solely by commercial interests rather than artistic. These are all valid reasons.
Recent reboots have proved to be disappointing. The 2022 remake of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre’’ and last year’s “Teen Wolf: The Movie’’ are just two recent examples. The live-action Disney remakes we’ve been receiving the last few also deserve a mention. Fans of the originals often criticize the remakes for lacking the same sense of magic and style, stating that the original was just fine the way it was.
There is an expectation for this. Toho’s “Godzilla” franchise has been the subject of about a dozen reboots, something that fans see no issue with. Why is this? Why does Godzilla get a free pass?
Let’s start at the very beginning with the first three movies. 1954 saw the release of “Godzilla” (known internationally as “Godzilla, King of Monsters”). The film’s plot followed Japanese authorities trying to deal with the sudden appearance of a giant monster, whose very presence triggered fears of a nuclear holocaust.
Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese citizens held about the atomic weapons, more specifically the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Humanity didn’t truly discover the true power of Godzilla until we woke him up. All of this and more gave the original film a very clear anti-war message.
The film’s sequel, “Godzilla Raids Again” released a mere year after the first in 1955. This film’s focus was much more action oriented, featuring a second Kaiju for Godzilla to fight. It followed scout pilots for a fishing fleet discovering the existence of Godzilla and Anguirus, waking them at the same time and causing them to fight.
The symbolism wasn’t as strong in the sequel. While the fear of nuclear weapons was still discussed, it took more of a backseat. The fights became the main focus of the film. It only took a single movie for the Godzilla franchise to undergo a major tone shift.
This was the start of what I’ve alway believed to be a key element of the series. Godzilla is a character that works in almost every setting.
To me, there were always two sides to the series. The first side is the serious nature of the series and the second is silly.
Godzilla is often used as a metaphor. While the figure of speech tends to change depending on the movie, it usually relates to one of humanity’s many sins, such as the anti-war message of the original.
Then there’s all the silly stuff. The Godzilla franchise is naturally ridiculous. You can turn on any of the movies and see something outrageous, especially during the classic era.
Ever since the start, Godzilla has been a balance of these two sides. Godzilla is able to be serious and silly, meaningful and nonsense. Godzilla just naturally works as both. This has allowed writers and directors to have an unbelievable amount of creative freedom with their projects. This allows for the different takes of the franchise to still feel true to the originals.
Let’s take a look at the two newest films. Toho’s “Godzilla Minus One” is a movie full of metaphors. The movie follows a failed kamikaze pilot, struggling to move on from his past out of fear of losing everyone he loves a second time.
Then there’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” one of the wackiest movies I’ve ever seen. To give you a quick idea of the general vibe, there’s a scene in this where Kong gets a toothache and visits a giant dentist. This and “Minus One” were released only four months apart.
Godzilla is great because it’s able to handle so many vastly different tones without any problems. The series is built on a set of loose ideas, ideas that can easily be changed and edited to be however you want. Change is welcome when it comes to Godzilla.