What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?

What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? (Japanese: 大怪獣のあとしまつ, lit.'Aftermath of the Giant Monster') is a 2022 Japanese comedy-drama kaiju film directed by Satoshi Miki, starring Ryosuke Yamada, Tao Tsuchiya and Gaku Hamada. It is a co-production between Toei and Shochiku, the first between the two.

What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?
Directed bySatoshi Miki
Written bySatoshi Miki
Produced byHiroko Furukubo
Yuta Nakai [ja]
Yasushi Sutô
Umihiko Yamao
Starring
CinematographyHaruyuki Takada
Edited byTakashi Tominaga
Music byKōji Ueno
Production
company
Distributed byToei Company
Shochiku
Release date
  • 4 February 2022 (2022-02-04)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Story

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The great kaiju that struck fear to Japan has died. The public cheers and is relieved. The carcass is nicknamed "hope" for the various potentials it could have. However, the carcass rots as it laid there, and fears of an explosion arose. Thus, in order to dispose of the body, the young men and women of the Tokumutai faces the dangerous disposal as the fate of Japan hung on its success.

Cast

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Release

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What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? was released in Japan on 4 February 2022[1] and on Blu-ray and DVD on 13 July.[2]

Reception

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The film has received negative reviews from both the critics and audience.[3] On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 29% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10.[4] Japanese audiences took to social media and dubbed this movie "The Devilman of the Reiwa Era", another tokusatsu movie that was received poorly.[5][6][7]

Kyle Anderson of Nerdist gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote that it "deftly straddles the line between satire/parody and legitimate disaster film."[8]

Whang Yee Ling of The Straits Times rated the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote that despite its "promising" premise, the film is "at once hectic and plodding" and "fares no better even as a parody of Japan's political inertia and bureaucracy."[9]

James Hadfield of The Japan Times rated the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote that while Fuse "gets the balance just right" and Hamada "has obvious fun playing a villain for a change", the film "seems oblivious to whether any of the ideas it flings against the wall are sticking."[10]

Christopher Stewardson of Our Culture Mag rated the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote that despite the "solid" first 10 minutes, it "loses itself to clumsy comedy and contrived endings."[11]

Yuichi Maeda [ja] criticized this movie on a J-CAST interview; stating that audiences of this movie were expecting a more dramatic political thriller and military thriller similar to those of Shin Godzilla, only to be met with unfunny gags and a screenplay with little to no realism.[3] Hinataka on Netlabo shared similar sentiments, comparing the movie unfavorably to Don't Look Up.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "山田涼介主演映画『大怪獣のあとしまつ』特報公開 濱田岳、オダギリジョーら新キャストも". Real Sound|リアルサウンド 映画部. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Blu-ray&DVD 2022年7月13日(水)発売決定!!さらに山田涼介さん&土屋太鳳さんよりコメント到着! | ニュース". 大怪獣のあとしまつ (in Japanese). 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b "「大怪獣のあとしまつ」酷評続出のワケ 映画評論家が分析「観客の期待に一つも応えていない」". J-cast. 11 February 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  4. ^ What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?, retrieved 2023-03-07
  5. ^ Curry zawa, Kaoru (2022-02-12). "「大怪獣のあとしまつ」に対して「デビルマン」古参としてやってしまったこと". 幻冬舎plus (in Japanese). Gentosha. Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  6. ^ "山田涼介とばっちり! 主演映画「大怪獣のあとしまつ」が酷評祭りでトレンド入り". 東スポWEB (in Japanese). 2022-02-05. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  7. ^ "「令和のデビルマン」「邦キチ案件」とネットで評判の映画「大怪獣のあとしまつ」が肉汁餃子のダンダダンとコラボ! | ガジェット通信 GetNews". ガジェット通信 GetNews (in Japanese). 2022-02-08. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  8. ^ Anderson, Kyle (2 August 2022). "WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEAD KAIJU? IS A RAZOR SHARP SATIRE". Nerdist. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  9. ^ Whang, Yee Ling (22 June 2022). "At The Movies: What To Do With The Dead Kaiju? fails to come alive". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  10. ^ Hadfield, James (10 February 2022). "'What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?': Satoshi Miki's inverted monster movie bites off more than it can chew". The Japan Times. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  11. ^ Stewardson, Christopher (3 August 2022). "Fantasia 2022 Review: What to Do With the Dead Kaiju? (2022)". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  12. ^ "「大怪獣のあとしまつ」レビュー 見た後に怒りの後始末が必要な全方位にスベり散らす怪作ギャグ映画". ねとらぼ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-12-30.
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