Seventy years of Godzilla movies and we finally have a first for the franchise. It’s the only entry to ever make me choke up. I totally wasn’t expecting that. I was completely unprepared for it. Somehow… someway... Godzilla Minus One got to me.
It's not for a lack of trying either. Writer/director Takashi (Returner) Yamazaki puts you through the wringer emotionally. This is simultaneously one of the bleakest and yet hopeful movies I’ve seen in a long time. I know you aren’t supposed to care about the characters in these things, or if you do, it’s because they are given more to do than just your average broad strokes cliches. This is a harrowing post-war survival movie about not only what it takes to survive during a tragedy, but afterwards as well.
Oh, and of course, Godzilla kicks lots of ass too. I guess I should’ve mentioned that sooner. This is one a helluva Godzilla flick. In my opinion, it’s the best one yet.
Minus One is also refreshing because as the title suggests, it’s a prequel. A WWII period piece starring Godzilla, is frankly a stroke of genius. I hope we’re somehow able to get more of these in different time periods. Can you imagine if Toho takes inspiration from Prey and makes a Wild West Godzilla flick?
Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself here. It’s a lot of fun seeing the G-Man doing battle against old school battleships and planes. Hell, I actually cheered when the army brought out the rinky-dink WWII-era tanks against him. Those fuckers didn’t stand a chance.
Godzilla has always been used as a metaphor for wartime destruction. The ingenious thing about Minus One is that he’s also used as a stand-in for PTSD. Whenever he rears his head, our hero Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is reminded of the War, and not only the War, but his first encounter with Godzilla. Not only is he shellshocked, but he’s plagued by guilt too. You see, he had a chance to kill the monster when it was smaller, and he failed miserably. Now, it’s huge and strutting through the city. The characters are even a metaphor for Japan itself. The scenes of our Shikishima and his makeshift family rebuilding after the A-Bomb attack not only show their resiliency but symbolize the country trying to bounce back after the War.
So far, I’ve used words like “metaphors” and “symbolize” to describe the flick, but down deep it’s still a Godzilla movie. Because it’s a prequel, it’s on a bit smaller scale. Although we only get one scene of the G-Man rampaging through a city, it’s a damned good one, and even contains a great call forward of the iconic train scene in the original. When the Godzilla theme kicked in for the first time, I have to tell you: Goosebumps City: Population: Me.
I also dug Godzilla’s look. He’s sort of thicc, similar to how he’s portrayed in his Hollywood “Monarch” version, but with a distinctly traditional Godzilla maw. The coolest aspect is how he powers up his atomic breath, as his spine plates light up and pop out as he gears up to spew. It’s badass.
The most novel touch is making a Godzilla movie with characters you root for and who are all three-dimensional. Even the supporting characters have flaws and legitimate character arcs. They should’ve been doing this years ago. Okay, so maybe if that was true, we wouldn’t have Jet Jaguar flying around, Godzilla dancing, or Minilla blowing smoke rings, but you catch my drift. It’s just that a Godzilla with actual stakes involved hits different.
If you want a harrowing war movie, see Godzilla Minus One. If you want an excellent monster masher, see Godzilla Minus One. If you’re a Godzilla fan, this is truly something to roar about.
AKA: Gojira -1.0. AKA: G Minus One.
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