Breaking Down The 'Godzilla: Resurgence' First Trailer Footage

It’s that time again, folks! I'm here to break down a trailer and think way too much about every little bit of information I can glean from it. Toho Pictures released their first full trailer yesterday for ‘Godzilla: Resurgence’ (‘Shin-Gojira’ in Japan) and it actually gave us a great amount of insight into the film for being a one minute and thirty second long trailer. Let’s jump in.

First, we have the good old Toho Scope logo. I believe this is actually a throwback to their older films since most of the time they use the Toho Co., LTD logo. Not much else to say about this image though.

Here we get our first CGI enhanced shot of Godzilla in the trailer. I originally thought this was just a puppet, but on further inspection it does appear to be aided with effects. It weirdly looks like Shin-Goji lost some jaw ligaments with how wide his mouth can open. I also think the roar used here is from the later 90's Godzilla films (end of the Heisei film series). Personally, I hope that this is a placeholder as it doesn’t really fit the design all too well.

Next up, we have a really nice scene where Godzilla’s huge tail sweeps above a suburban area. There is actually some really neat shot composition going on here, and I love how the people in the street are just kind of looking up in awe at the massive object passing overhead. I’m pretty sure I’d do the exact same thing.

First good full look at the design moving at a shuffling pace. This Godzilla definitely seems like he is in a constant amount of pain just from moving around. Whatever happened to him before this movie (or during) must have really done a number on the Big Guy.

“You are one ugly mother----." This design is not easy on the eyes… but in a good way! He has a very sinister grin at all times, and always looks like he is up to no good. I think his face from the front actually kinda looks like a bunch of ground up meat that formed into the shape of a head but…. well, that’s just my opinion. The eyes are super tiny and have a laziness to them, which is actually similar to the original 1954 design. I wish they were a little bigger though.

Great shot of the new design's back! I really love the red accents this design has going throughout it! Makes him look like drying lava and also may be a callback to Burning Godzilla from ‘Godzilla vs Destroyah.' It is interesting that he appears to have five rows of dorsal plates instead of the typical 3 which may also be a nod to the Heisei designs.

This is Hiroki Hasegawa, who is playing "Rando Yaguchi" the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. Pretty sure he is going to be the one running the war room we see later in the trailer.

Satomi Ishihara is playing "Kayoko Ann Patterson" an advisor to the President of the United States. Not sure how she is involved. She is said to be speaking a lot of English in this film, which is not this particular actress's strong suit.

Akira Nakao is playing some sort of military officer. He has been in other Godzilla films before including ‘Godzilla vs. Destoroyah,' ‘Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II,' 'Godzilla: Final Wars,' and ‘Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.'

Not quite 100% on this, but I’m pretty sure this is Kenpachiro Satsuma, a.k.a. the suit actor for the 90’s Godzilla films. I’m just noticing this now, but it sure does seem like they are really harkening back to the Heisei series a lot…

Really cool night shot of people evacuating Tokyo, (I assume). None of the Godzilla shots are from a night sequence except for the first shot of him roaring... end of the film maybe?

Really beautiful shot of the Tokyo skyline! I wonder how much of this will be standing by the time the end credits roll.

Here's war room I mentioned where all the higher ups are going to gather and discuss a way to deal with the threat of Godzilla.

I think this is from one of Godzilla’s first rampages in the film, a.k.a. the scene where the tail shot is taken from. Looks like some great prop work and CGI background matting. This really shows you how much Toho is trying to undertake with their revival of the Godzilla series. Not too sure who this character is… maybe Yutaka Takenouchi? 

CGI shot of some helicopters on their way to assault Godzilla. I think the CGI in this scene is alright, but not the greatest. Then again, we have had some really bad CGI air vehicles in previous Godzilla films, and these are leagues better than those (I’m looking at you ‘Godzilla 2000’).

Once again, some really spectacular cinematography going on here. The camera moves with the tank as it swings around to take a shot at Godzilla.

Take a good look at Shin-Godzilla’s shear size in relation to modern skyscrapers in this shot where he is about to be hit in the eyes. Not the eyes! Anything but the eyes!

Yet another great shot, but Goji’s silhouette looks a little strange here. His arms are super tiny!

(Editor's note: They're not that small. Very reminiscent of 54's arms.)

Another glimpse at the design from the front; not something you’d want to wake up to in the morning!

Really nice scene of Godzilla wading through a city at dusk, possibly heading to his final destination. I’m sure this shot of him is all CGI, but with the way his tail is moving maybe it is a CGI enhanced suit. His tail actually looks really weird in this shot; almost like it has no weight to it at all.

Super close-up look at his leg. The reason I wanted to post this shot is that shows that his hands are so skinny and stiff that they continuously stay in this weird upward facing position. If you look back at any of the other shots where you can see his hands, they don’t really move too much.

Finally, a profile shot showing how messed up he really is. Looks to me like his flesh is in the process of regrowing, which is why we are seeing this glowing redness all around his body. Some of the dorsal spikes seem to have just sprouted once he started regenerating. I’m not claiming that the original rumors about him becoming a fully skinned Godzilla by the end of the film are true, but it is pretty obvious that he is coming back from being injured at the hands of something devastating.

And that’s it for our breakdown of the trailer for Godzilla's latest return to the silver screen. What did you think of the footage ? Do you think some of my wild accusations are correct? Do you like the design of Toho’s new Godzilla? Let us know in the comments below!

'Shin Gojira' arrives in Japanese theaters on July 29th, 2016.