Shin Godzilla

This ambitious reboot of the Godzilla franchise from Toho Studios is a curious beast, but its unconventional nature makes it stand out from the rest of the monster pack. Something is stirring in the waters of Tokyo harbour but the government hesitates to do anything, even after news footage shows a huge creature has taken to the city's streets. As the invader begins to mutate into something even more terrifying, so does the film itself, going from a bureaucracy-bashing satire to a chilling nuclear-threat thriller. The parallels to the Hiroshima bomb and the Fukushima meltdown are all too clear, underscored by Godzilla torching the Japanese capital and turning it radioactive. But the overriding message is that, against all the odds and in the face of international pressure, Japanese innovation and self-belief can win the day - just like Hideaki Anno's modestly budgeted production. His film may lack the CGI fire power and A-list cast of Gareth Edwards's 2014 Godzilla blockbuster, yet it still makes a big impact.