Godzilla Minus One (2023)

[Eric Duncan]

Discuss

[Valencia]

Best Godzilla movie.

[Brainbug]

Pretty much as perfect as a Godzilla movie can be.

 

First of, this movie has the best human characters of any Godzilla movie, including the original. Especially the main protagonist Shikishima is seriously outstanding and gives a highly emotional, believable and gut-wrenching perfomance. This movie's main themes include survivors guilt, PTSD, the meaning of family and despite all that war trauma, the will to move forward and ultimately to survive. Its such a strong emotional core amidst the setting of late 1940's Japan.

 

And then ofc - in this delicate war drama you have Godzilla. Not the antihero, not the flat-out hero, no, here he is a force of nature that deliberately attacks Japan just like in the original or for example GMK (which this movie heavily references at many points). Godzilla is a scary motherfucker in this, a true monster where you might cheer when he destroys the buildings but then you realize that his next stomp could kill our protagonists.

 

And the thing is, you dont want to happen. Because weve spent time with our found family, we care about them, we dont want them to die. Thats why Norikos "death" hits so hard and thats why this is one Godzilla film with real tension and the highest of stakes. And it makes the actions scenes so damn exhilarating, especially every time Godzilla uses his atomic breath - which might be one of the coolest iterations yet.

 

Godzilla Minus One is a triumph for Toho, for the franchise, for the Kaiju genre and for films overall. It proves that even such a long-running series like Godzilla can always be fresh and exciting as well as staying true to the franchises roots and origin. Its the second masterpiece in the Reiwa era after Shin Godzilla and imo, is even better than that film, especially for international audiences.

 

A+

 

Thank you, Yamazaki and everyone involved.

 

 

[Morieris]

Godzilla is not treated as the main event, but an event that causes real devastation to the people of Japan.

 

My only real criticism is, while understandably possible (as much as it is in this movie), Noriko surviving undermines the lesson a bit for me of "Living is hard, but you can do it after you lose people."

[Rorschach]

Far and away my favorite of any of these films. Not only is it a damn good kaiju flick, but it accomplishes what few have done and crafted actual care and investment with its human characters rather than making them an afterthought. Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Himabe deliver two extremely heartfelt, empathetic lead performances that consistently floored me with how much emotional resonance they brought to this entry. It perfectly compliments the destructive spectacle in such a somber yet satisfying manner. And I won’t lie, hearing that classic theme kick in during the climactic battle got me unexpectedly giddy and internally fist-pumping in a way no other blockbuster has this year. Probably could’ve trimmed down a few minutes, but other than that, I have no complaints. Really damn good cinema.

 

A

Edited December 7, 2023 by Rorschach

[Brainbug]

8 hours ago, Morieris said:

Godzilla is not treated as the main event, but an event that causes real devastation to the people of Japan.

 

My only real criticism is, while understandably possible (as much as it is in this movie), Noriko surviving undermines the lesson a bit for me of "Living is hard, but you can do it after you lose people."

 

The ending is a bit darker than that though, since we see a black stain under her neck, so shes been poisened by the radioactivity, meaning she wont have long to live probably. Thats why Shikishima cries so hard at the end, its not only because of happiness that she survived the atomic breath, but also he knows that it probably wont be long until he loses her again.

[Morieris]

4 hours ago, Brainbug said:

 

The ending is a bit darker than that though, since we see a black stain under her neck, so shes been poisened by the radioactivity, meaning she wont have long to live probably. Thats why Shikishima cries so hard at the end, its not only because of happiness that she survived the atomic breath, but also he knows that it probably wont be long until he loses her again.

That honestly escaped my notice!

[filmlover]

Finally caught this over the weekend in PLF (the "Minus Color" edition). I'm not nearly as over the moon about it as most are, but it's certainly a highly well-crafted monster movie in which there are actual stakes involved, instead of providing two hours of nothing but mindless mayhem. It's astounding how this gets the human elements that often end up bogging down the Hollywood-produced Godzilla movies so right for a change (this is also just worlds better than any of those films).

 

Even in black and white, the visual effects are absolutely breathtaking, actually hope this takes home the Oscar. I certainly look forward to seeing it again, but in color.

 

B+