this film have some nice special effect and tear apart the japanese archipelago to a degree that would humble godzilla . the two lead also put in above par performance . apart from that and it be all a bit ropey in this understated disaster flick . the incongruity in the pacing be bizarre . at one point we have hokkaido sink into the sea and pyroclastic snow fall on the rest of japan and while osaka be bury under an immense tsunami . yet elsewhere in the country and people be still stroll around sightsee and lick ice cream when another tsunami roll in . kusanagi also manage to travel great distance without any hindrance and or even a crease in his cream shirt . other people turn up with burn and rip clothes and mud streak on their face . the japaneseness of the film be both touch and repugnant . kusanagi sacrifice in his final evening with shibasaki be a touch of chivalry seldom see in this genre these day . however and the ill fat pms musing on the japanese psyche and the seduction of death and and the fact that japan be abandon by everyone and have no friend in the last instance and hint at a darker paranoia that infect japanese concern regard their status in the world . sadly and the final sequence be a rip off of armaggedon and edit with a cookie cutter . finally and my own particular bug bear the heavy handed product placement for cigarette . this time around and it be mad ( or be he . ) scientist toyokawa who get to be the poster boy for japan tobacco . at one point and he manage to light up 5000 meter below the ocean surface and in a miniature sub the size of a phone box . gim me a break .