Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)

[GODZILLA 決戦機動増殖都市]

Director: Kobun Shizuno, Hiroyuki Seshita
Starring: Mamoru Miyano, Takahiro Sakurai, Tomokazu Sugita

Synopsis:
Having survived his encounter with Godzilla Earth, Haruo seeks to reunite with any survivors of his unit and continue the fight.

Impressions:
I liked Kaijuu Wakusei well enough and was up for the sequel, but I'll be blunt with you. I'm glad I didn't pay Japanese ticket prices to see it in theaters. It's a rather slow-paced film that isn't as well-balanced as the first entry. There's very little action until the climax, which would be fine in a more cerebral story, but let's not make any bones about why we're here. We want to see fights with Godzilla and we have to sit through over an hour of mostly talking until we get the payoff. There is some interesting material here. It would've been nice if the Houtua were given more development, but at least the simmering conflict with the Bilusaludo gets some play. Some people didn't like how Haruo's monomaniacal obsession with killing Godzilla resulted in everything going pear-shaped before, but he's an Ahab expy, so it comes with the territory. At least we see him called out on it and even he shows a little introspection on his missteps. There's some dissatisfaction in the whole Mechagodzilla City concept versus a more traditional take. I get it, but the route the story takes helps explain why it's still functional 20,000 years later.

It may well be that the third movie closes out the story with a bang and this is just an awkward bridge in between. If you're invested in the story, you'll want to see it, but otherwise, it's a maybe at best. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50