Godzilla: Minus One

Being heralded as one of the longest continuously running film franchises with a total of 38 films under its belt (which excludes appearances in tv series, video games, comics, and other merchandising), Godzilla has had multiple different outings throughout his lifespan, yet many still believe that no version has ever been able to replicate the same level of magic for the series as the original 1954 film. Though many have attempted (with Hollywood failing miserably with each passing picture), it seemed that the original film would never have someone contend for its crown. However, the latest film released in 2023, Godzilla: Minus One, may have just earn itself a spot on that pedestal. Set in Japan near the end of World War II, kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (played by Ryunosuke Kamiki) feigns technical problems as a means of fleeing from his duties, which is picked up on by the lead mechanic for Odo Island, Sōsaku Tachibana (played by Munetaka Aoki). Out of nowhere, Godzilla attacks the base and kills all the crew members outside of Shikishima and Tachibana, who blames Shikishima for his crew’s death due to his inability to shoot the creature. Suffering from survivors’ guilt (especially after returning to find his parents dead and his home in ruins), a glimmer of brightness for Shikishima comes in the form of a woman named Noriko Ōishi (played by Minami Hamabe) and an orphaned baby named Akiko, whom he reluctantly takes in and slowly starts to form a fractured family with (although he seems unwilling to make the next step). He eventually finds work as a minesweeper along with Shirō Mizushima (played by Yuki Yamada), former Naval weapons engineer Kenji Noda (played by Hidetaka Yoshioka) and captain of the boat, Yōji Akitsu (played by Kuranosuke Sasaki). This task of picking up deadly weapons of war is made even more deadly once Godzilla re-emerges, further strengthen by nuclear tests in the U.S, which results in mass havoc throughout the country. Wishing to make amends for his past failures and seeing Godzilla as a reminder of that guilt, Shikishima decides to work with his crew members to put a stop to this gargantuan threat once and for all, which might force him to make the sacrificial manoeuvre he failed to do in the past. Met with extreme positive reviews on a global front as well as doing fairly well at the box office internationally for a limited release in other countries, Godzilla: Minus One has been unanimously dubbed as one of the best in the franchise, with solid effects, human characters you actively enjoying watching, and a very engaging story and direction. For fans of the franchise and even just newcomers, this seems to tick all the right boxes.

Being unable to release another film after their 2016 reboot film, Shin Godzilla, due to contractual reasoning’s with Legendary Pictures, which stated they couldn’t release a film the same year as one of their films, Toho (the studio responsible for creating Godzilla) planned to release another movie, yet their chance wouldn’t come for another seven years (with stuff like COVID-19 halting preparations even longer). However, this film was definitely worth the wait, with a presentation, plot and scale that feels quite reminiscent to the original Japanese films, yet contains a level of polish, pacing and even grisliness that makes it distinctly modern as well, combining both elements to result in something very effective and very memorable. The plot for the film may not seem like the most fleshed out or in-depth material, but it is very raw in its delivery and this simplistic, yet instantly understandable narrative goal works perfectly in this franchise, providing a conflict and a resolution that anybody can relate with and understand regardless of any language barrier. Taking it back to a post-war Japan and connecting it to themes of sacrifice, duty for one’s country, the purpose of living on through tragedy and even the struggle of overcoming seemingly overwhelming fear results in a much more harrowing film than expected, with many scenes that can be quite emotionally impactful and despite the script not really taking the story in a surprising direction (almost everything that occurs in this film is pretty easy to spot ahead of time), it doesn’t feel like a detriment, but rather just the movie taking every right choice in leading its story. A lot of this film’s praise deserves to go towards Takashi Yamazaki (who directed, wrote, and provided the visual effects for the film). Considered a leading filmmaker in the Japanese film industry, he effortlessly commands this film to be electrifying and gripping without needing to shower it with actions scenes, providing genuinely engaging human characters who have identifiable problems that need to be resolved, manages to portray familiar levels of destruction in a still entertaining manner, and producing a movie that is definitely sad and harsh to watch in many moments, but not to the point of being unpleasant and feels 100% authentic in every second. There are a few touches in the story that require a little ‘’plausible deniability’’ in order for it to fully make sense, but that feels pare the course for this franchise and might only be noticeable due to the more grounded approach this film provides.

The most refreshing thing that can be said about this movie (which is something everybody has also agreed with) is that the human characters are actually well done and are nice to be around (as opposed to any recent American version where you wish they would just die every second they are on screen). They don’t have a lot of stuff to work with either and it can sometimes be hard to remember their names as they barely get mentioned (most people outside of the lead don’t do much outside of their necessary plot reasons), but the writing is solid, the story balances out their scenes with enough action to make it feel like a decent mix, and the acting is truly impression and does a great job making these people feel real and fairly likeable. The true stand out is Ryunosuke Kamiki as the lead, who is so instantly star-power quality with how effective he is as this man struggling with the dilemma of feeling he should’ve died in war and feels responsible for all that die afterwards due to Godzilla. The range he has in this movie going from standard yet fearful, from casual and cool, from hysterical and mentally broken, to still managing to be the action hero at the end, he pulls all of them off perfectly and is definitely an actor worth keeping an eye out for. This can also be said for Minami Hamabe as his support, as while her role is definitely not as intriguing and her screen time is sadly quite small, all of her scenes are also very well performed and these two share a very effective bond on screen when they act together. It’s not necessarily romantic chemistry, but they definitely play off each other very well as some of the best acting is whenever these two are together. Most of the supporting cast are equally well performed and do the best with the little that they have. Shikishima’s fellow workers are all pretty likeable and get enough screentime to leave an impression, Munetaka Aoki as the character of Tachibana gets some nice moments (particularly near the end), even Sakura Ando as a grieving mother who grows from feeling resentment to compassion towards Shikishima throughout the movie for his failures as a Japanese solider, manages to truly convey the hopeless and even pure madness of someone going through that situation.

It was highlighted very quickly that this movie only had a budget of about $15 million in American currency (being about ¥2.2 billion in Yen), which needs to be stated as the effects for this film are pretty impressive given that metric. Being supervised by Yamazaki and Kiyoko Shibuya, this movie manages to still capture the gigantic, world-destroying terror of Godzilla on such a small budget and even if an effect can be easily spotted like an obvious green screen, it never takes you out of the moment. Godzilla has arguably never looked better than in this movie, as even though he doesn’t look completely realistic, he has such personality, presence, and scale that he stands out amongst other version that might look more authentic but are distinctly bland in delivery. It’s nice that he’s allowed to be odd looking and feels more like a uniquely mutated creation rather than just a giant lizard-dinosaur hybrid, with his tiny arms, oddly shaped middle section and his slightly goofy yet still threatening eyes adding to his character and making him feel more like a distinct beast of disturbed nature. His scenes are impressively threatening whether he’s chasing them through the water (in a scene right out of Jaws), or destroying a city in an almost nuclear manner, he has many stand out moments in this. The film could’ve very easily looked ugly and bland due to the grey color palette and dilapidated set design, yet it feels appropriate for the story being told, the time period being displayed and even the mood of the entire picture. Seeing the homes of the leads transition from ruined houses stitched together like broken tents to proper housing units is a small but nice detail that showcases the production design by Anri Jôjô and acts as a useful tool to show the passage of time, the cinematography by Kôzô Shibasaki is mainly straightforward during any standard scene yet proves to be pretty cinematic and even thrilling during any dramatic or action sequence, and even the music (both new and old) has some nice moments throughout. The actual score for this movie composed by Naoki Satô is appropriately tense and unnerving when it needs to be, and the original music sourced from the previous films could feel like a bit of a tonal shift in parts, but they are thankfully used sparingly and even when they are, they can make a scene a hint more effective and cooler (particularly during the climax). Even with the music being as good as it is, some of the most memorable moments in this film are actually when there’s no music, as the silence that accompanies Godzilla reign of terror makes each moment all the more uncomfortable.

Godzilla: Minus One is one of the best movies of the year and has honestly put anything that has come out from Legendary Pictures recent slate (or any American film version for that matter) to shame. While those films can have their solid components and are entertaining from a mindless popcorn blockbuster standpoint, they are hyperactive junk food that only exists to allow people the chance to watch giant behemoths punch each other in the face, whereas this film is able to feel artistic, gritty, and impactful whilst still providing that appreciated monster mayhem. The effects are very impressive given the budget, the acting is extremely strong and help make already likeable and well-constructed human characters even more engaging, the directing is incredible well done and even though the narrative doesn’t have too many surprising or provide anything that different outside of this genre, it is smartly constructed and flows quite well within this space. The 38th entry in the entire franchise may have also earned itself a title as one of the best.