I have been a fan of Godzilla for as long as I can remember. I love almost all of them, including the cheesy ones of the 1970s. Though I have enjoyed the recent string of Godzilla films produced here in the United States, I have always felt they were missing something. After seeing GODZILLA MINUS ONE, I realized what it was. Heart. Instead of focusing on monster destruction, of which there is plenty, this film focuses on a handful of people dealing with the presence of a huge natural disaster, this time in the form of Godzilla.
GODZILLA MINUE ONE was written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. Produced by Toho Studios and Robot Communications and distributed by Toho, it is the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise, Toho’s 33rd Godzilla film, and the fifth film in the franchise’s Reiwa era. The film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki. In the film, postwar Japan deals with the emergence of Godzilla.
In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the King of the Monsters, GODZILLA MINUS ONE was released in Japan on November 3, the same date as the first Godzilla film’s release in 1954. Budgeted at 15 million dollars, this film proves that an effective film can be made for much less than the blockbusters made in the United States, which oftentimes do not live up to the hype. Prior to seeing it, I heard nothing but great things about the film. This makes me nervous; would it live up to the hype? I can say that most definitely it did.
I saw GODZILLA MINUS ONE on a Tuesday night, and it was nice to see it sold out. After what seemed like a never-ending string of trailers, the film finally started, and I got chills as soon as the Toho logo appeared. Some people may think the story starts out slow, but this first part is essential to the movie as you meet the main characters and get to know them and what they are struggling with following World War II. Everyone is struggling with loss, not only from family members being killed but homes being destroyed as well. As they fight their personal monsters, they also have to deal with Godzilla.
In this outing, Godzilla is achieved through CGI, which has not always been a great method in Japanese cinema. One only needs to see the 2004 film GODZILLA: FINAL WARS to see how inconsistent CGI was in these films. Even the fantastic Gamera films of the 1990s used some CGI, which was always apparent and disappointing. In this film, the CGI is really well done, though part of me misses the man-in-a-rubber suit style of kaiju.
The scenes of destruction are absolutely breathtaking in their realism. Seeing people trampled under Godzilla’s feet or being crushed by collapsing buildings is something we really haven’t seen with this degree of realism before. We always assumed people were killed, but to actually see it takes this film to a whole new level. When Godzilla first appears in the city and his historic music comes on, I dare you not to get chills.
Because the characters are so well-developed, you become more immersed in their stories and root for them to survive. You feel their frustration and pain (I got teary multiple times watching it). So, the question is, is this the best Godzilla movie ever? It is far superior to everything produced in recent years in the United States. Even though most Toho films are fun and have charm, GODZILLA MINUS ONE is the best and has set a new standard of how kaiju films can be made. My only complaint was the ending; it was done to set up a sequel. Though I would love a sequel to this film, the end has been done before and shouldn’t have been repeated.
GODZILLA MINUS ONE was initially scheduled for a one-week run here in the United States. Because it did so well, it has been extended an additional week, with the last day to see it now being Thursday, December 14. I cannot recommend this movie enough, even if you’re not a fan of Godzilla.
~David Albaugh