An emerging auteur in Japanese cinema, Satoshi Miki isn't the first name thought of to helm a big-budget, mainstream-ready kaiju film, and he seems up to the task with his latest offering “What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?” Managing to blend together a range of influences from political satire, romantic comedy, and popcorn-style action into a cocktail that doesn't always deliver on the mark, this rousing new genre effort will have its international premiere at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival.
“What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival
Following the creatures' sudden appearance and subsequent death, the carcass of a giant monster is left behind while the joyful citizens celebrate its defeat and the attempt to revert to a normal life. The task of disposing of the behemoth falls to Arata Obinata (Ryosuke Yamada), a member of the fictional Japan Special Forces. He's also a man with a past: He used to date Yukino Amane (Tao Tsuchiya), now secretary to the environment minister (Eri Fuse), only to vanish three years ago in strange circumstances. Yukino's husband, Masahiko (Gaku Hamada), is the prime minister's right-hand man and is less than enthusiastic about the return of his old romantic rival, who's definitely the alpha male in this particular love triangle, tries desperately to assert his dominance over the situation but increasingly finds that they're forced to deal with the mounting crisis whether they want to or not.
One of the strongest elements present here is Miki's strong story that manages to touch on a topic long pondered by fans of the genre. The title question here is finally answered with a generally impressive note detailing a scathing political satire on the ineffective nature of politicians to get rid of it. Knowing that the beast is dead but unwilling to do anything about it, that the beast is left to rot and decompose in the bay where it died is all blamed squarely on the politicians in charge. Shown as bumbling, ineffectual people-pleasers solely looking for whatever monetary or political gain that can swing their influence and disregarding everything else to pass the blame onto other's division is a big touch on the ineffectual nature of bureaucracy. Once the situation changes and it becomes apparent that something must be done with the creatures' remains, the fear that it might be too late due to their negligence adds a rather intriguing air of suspense and tension to the drama.
This tension is perfectly played off with the high-energy finale. This is one of “Dead Kaiju's” better elements as the series of natural disasters brought about by the increasingly ineffective disposal plans are put into play. The initial decision to freeze it turns disastrous when the body begins reacting unnaturally and developing the blister that becomes a prominent part of the storyline moving forward. The later scenes of the soldiers attempting to scale the body to prevent the situation from building into something much more dangerous feature some impressive work, including the humans alongside the monsters' body creating some fun action scenes and unique concepts involving how to deal with the environmental damage being displayed. As well, the final reveal of the method to dispose of the creature in the water is pretty novel and comes across as far better than its joke origin. This also manages to set up some enjoyable spectacle in executing the plans as they get brought up into new and more challenging aspects.
The main issue here is the generally scattershot storyline that feels like it's cramming too many stories and subplots into a singular premise that doesn't need it. The satire found in the politicians deciding on a course of action with what to do with the carcass and the soldiers content to implement increasingly absurd plans in the face of more reasonable and rational options would've been a fine way to handle this. Instead, we get subplots involving Yukino finding her long-lost love in the middle of the operation, personal grudges that emerge not just between the various fields in the minister's cabinet that are attempting to dispose of the creature but the various field personnel involved in the operation. This all provides a slew of dramatic moments trying to impact some kind of characterization that just comes off dull and underwhelming. On top of that, the attempts at political satire and flat-out comedy in the face of the various authority members looking for solutions results in further boredom in the face of viewers looking strictly for giant monster carnage which is the predominant factor in the genre. With it already dead at the beginning of the film and no flashbacks to its rampage beyond stock shots of the destroyed ruins in brief glimpses, the resulting comedy might not be for everyone out there.
With a highly enjoyable concept and plenty to like about it, “What to Do with the Dead Kaiju” is quite likable and enjoyable even though its flaws might end up not appealing to its targeted fanbase. More curious genre fans or those who are generally intrigued by the concept will have a fun time here.
