Let’s put the bottom line at the top. If you go to movies to watch skyscraper-sized (albeit faithfully redesigned) Toho classic creatures (including Mothra, Rodan and the three-headed King Ghidorah) slug it out while wreaking infrastructure mayhem and killing millions of people, this delivers what’s required. If on the other hand, you prefer in your popcorn movies some sort of narrative cohesion, a modicum of suspense, or a reason care about any of it, perhaps you should give it a pass. Okay, kaiju was never intended to be fine cinema. But this pummeling, overstuffed, and very loud battling-beastie smackdown seems closer to Transformers than any traditional Tokyo-crushing monster mash. It does get points, though, for its spectacularly overqualified cast, which includes Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Ziyi Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins and Charles Dance. But there’s little these mere humans can do when faced with a pointlessly convoluted afterthought of a plot, a thunderingly tedious score, editing that looks like it was done with a flame-thrower, and a near-total lack of excitement. I got bored. (131 min)
Don Morton
Don Morton has viewed some 6,000 movies, frequently awake. A bachelor and avid cyclist, he currently divides his time between Tokyo and a high-tech 4WD super-camper somewhere in North America.You may also like
Tokyo Neighborhood Guide: Thrifting in Shimokitazawa
Where to start your secondhand journey in Tokyo’s thrift city
What is Zakka Style?
A kind of curated coziness
apothéose: A French-Japanese Culinary Fusion in Tokyo
A Michelin-starred journey through chef Kitamura’s French-Japanese fusion
Ramadan in Tokyo 2026: Dates, Iftar Spots and Prayer Spaces
How Ramadan is observed across the city
Pop-Up Stores in Tokyo: September 2024
Editors’ picks for your city views, afternoon teas, and shopping hauls
This Japanese Grandma’s First Day of High School
Baachan's belated back to school at 85 years old
Book Review: The Memory Police By Yoko Ogawa
Which do you trust: your memory or the crowd?