Godzilla Minus One (2023) — The Best Gojira Film
And the best movie of 2023 alongside Oppenheimer.
Godzilla has been my favourite Kaiju/Monster ever since I laid eyes on the radioactive behemoth as a kid. That happened with Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla (1998), a maligned and infamous American rendition of the iconic Japanese creation to the extent that fans refer to it simply as Zilla.
I, however, loved that movie and even to this day, after watching several actual Godzilla films, I still enjoy it as a cheesy dumb monster flick. I also understand the hate it received because it’s just not Gojira!
In comes Legendary Entertainment. The American studio acquired the rights from Toho — the Japanese studio that created the iconic Kaiju — to produce a new line of American Godzilla films and put that Zilla business to rest.
The franchise commenced with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014), becoming a commercial and critical hit relative to Zilla despite being criticized for the lack of screen time for the titular character and lackluster human drama (after Bryan Cranston leaves).
It spawned an entire cinematic universe dubbed The Monsterverse that is still ongoing.
While I may have mixed opinions on the different Monsterverse entries since then but, by and large, they are enjoyable for the big dumb monster-mash summer blockbusters that they are. However, I love Gareth Edwards’ take.
It is my favourite Godzilla film: the phenomenal sense of scale, the gorgeous visuals, the masterful sound design and mixing, the reimagining of the legend as a balancing force of nature that I like to call GojiBro, the MUTOs (kaiju antagonists), some of the cast (Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen) etc.
That is until Takashi Yamazaki gave his take.
Godzilla Minus One (2023) is the latest Gojira film produced under Toho since their last outing Shin Godzilla (a recommended watch) in 2016 . Directed by Takashi Yamazaki and co-written by him alongside Ishiro Honda and Takeo Murata, the story is set in the years following the end of World War 2.
Japan is at its lowest point. The devastation caused by the war has thrust the nation back to civilization ground zero, to restart and rebuild anew. Unfortunately, a new nuclear enemy threatens to bring the nation even lower, thus Minus One.
The story revolves around a former Kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima. Haunted by his wartime past, he tries to move forward and build a future with the hand of fate thrusting familial responsibility on him but the radioactive kaiju has other plans.
Godzilla Minus One was showered with endless praise when it hit theatres. Being a Gojira fan (sometimes to the extent of being a fanboy), I waited eagerly for the home media release while also hoping that it doesn’t disappoint (as is often the case with mainstream hype). Blessed be The Almighty because the film easily met those expectations, if not succeeding them.
The Story:
Despite unanimous praise for the human drama in this film, I was still surprised to experience how gripping it was.
From the get-go you’re invested in the story and it only grows deeper. There comes a point that you don’t even want to see Godzilla as that would mean more suffering for the characters. That has never happened to me in a Gojira film before.
An extremely raw and emotional human story that brings you to tears on multiple occasions and soundly explores various themes, combining them in a cohesive and engaging narrative within a Gojira setting.
- PTSD from war, survivor’s guilt and shirking your duties weigh heavily on the protagonist Shikishima, conveyed amazingly by Kamiki Ryunosuke.
- Wartime devastation, most notably and surprisingly the Fire Bombing of Tokyo, something that is often overshadowed by the Atomic Bombings' of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in mainstream discourse. It caused higher death toll and larger destruction than both big bomb drops combined.
- The condemnation of Imperial Japan’s tendency to waste lives easily in the name of war and honor, and the criticism of Government’s inability to tackle crisis situations and their needless censorship or control of information.
- The power of the people and the indomitable spirit of humans to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds for the sake of their lives, heritage, land, culture and, most importantly, families.
Alongside Shikishima, you are treated to several other well-realized characters in secondary and tertiary roles who inhabit the narrative and all of them combined make EVERY SINGLE SCENE count. Zero waste or meandering.
A superbly written, directed and paced drama that, even without Godzilla, is a great film. The cast does an amazing job across the board. You FEEL the pain, the anger, the hopelessness, the strength to carry on, the ingenuity of people, and the fight for survival through and through.
The Technical Wizardry:
Similar to knowing how much the story was praised and yet it still surprised me by how great it was, the technical aspects of Godzilla Minus One follows suit.
It truly is tech wizardry that with a production budget of only around 15 Million Dollars, the film was not only able to create so many practical sets with painstakingly detailed props bringing the era to life phenomenally, but it also has plenty of amazing CGI.
Whether it’s the backgrounds, the wide shots of ruins and rebuilt locations, the action sequences with fighter planes and warships, or the destruction sequences with Gojira, the visual fidelity is shockingly high save for a few clunky VFX shots here and there (understandably).
The visuals are wrapped perfectly with beautiful cinematography by Kozo Shibasaki whether in loud or quiet sections dominated by warm color grading. It’s also the only time since Godzilla (2014) that I received a similar awe-inspiring sense of scale. A treat for the eyes.
Sound is equally as impressive. Both the sound design and mixing is hard-hitting and utilizes the surround-scape properly. Even on an old average home theater, my bones rattled, by ears tingled and my body quivered.
The soundscape is wrapped up immaculately with an amazing musical score that masterfully utilizes the classic Gojira tracks. The original tracks composed by Naoki Sato are sometimes warm, hopeful and uplifting but often, and appropriately, harrowing, evoking powerlessness, fear, anger and pain effortlessly, all the while being just EPIC!
Takashi Yamazaki has said that he enjoys The Monsterverse. He undoubtedly took inspiration from Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla in both the sense-of-scale and sound design department. Also, due to a shortage of hands, he learned VFX and joined the team to finish it. Ultra CHAD!
Godzilla
So, what about The Big G? Did it meet my expectations?
Yes, yes it did, and it also exceeded it. This is not GojiBro. This is GojiFoe fuck you humans.
The epitome of fury and pain from the commencement of the atomic age embodied in a biological nuclear reactor. An unstoppable force in the face of humanity’s arsenal for war. No motive; Only sheer destruction.
The tone of Godzilla is reminiscent of the original 1954 film as far as I can recall (I’ve only watched it once long ago and it was good).
While the size of Godzilla is smaller compared to any other modern rendition, it’s unnoticeable since the story takes place in years 1945–1947 where the lack of towering skyscrapers combined with the aforementioned phenomenal cinematography make it gargantuan. Plus, a smaller Godzilla is still a humungous creature.
The texture detail on Gojira — the scales, the spikes — is so high fidelity that despite being a terrifying unstoppable force wreaking havoc wherever it goes, you kinda want to touch the skin.
While Legendary’s Godzilla design (particularly in Godzilla 2014 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters) still remains my favourite, this one is up there as one of the best.
It’s terrifying with menacing eyes. It’s scalier than its modern counterparts. It’s made whole by the iconic deafening roar.
The film doesn’t mention the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Initially it might feel a bit weird since other American attacks (Tokyo Fire Bombings) is explicitly stated with the aftermath shown.
There’s a good reason for that.
The Atomic Breath — the legendary finishing move of Gojira — simply SHOWS you! In one of the best sequences in any Godzilla film, the sheer raw power and immense scale of destruction renders you stunned as you witness GojiFoe annihilate a city.
A crucial point in the story, a highlight of the film and an analogy for what citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki might have witnessed. *teary eyes clapping*
Out of all the Atomic Breath sequences, Godzilla Minus One version is arguably the best one thus far. I say arguably because Shin Godzilla’s haunting fire-turned-laser one and Godzilla (2014) fatality move are excellent and are up there too.
Flaws
None. I can’t think of a single aspect that stuck out like a sore thumb and reduced the overall entertainment value.
I only have a nitpick with the film: In the final act, a couple of scenes reduce the uncertainty — and thus, the tension — of the finale. Even though I wholeheartedly prefer the ending, it would have been better to be subtle with those two scenes or just cut them out altogether. As it stands, it was predictable.
Overall
Godzilla Minus One is spectacular. It meets the hype and then some. The iconic radioactive kaiju returns from its homeland in a masterfully put-together package. Not only is Gojira itself amazing, depicted in its classic enemy form with a stellar and terrifying design, and a harrowing and arguably the most powerful Atomic Breath, but the human drama is without a question the best one in any Godzilla film to date. It’s not just an amazing Godzilla feature, it’s an awesome human drama, ramming you with both heavy emotions and spectacular spectacle.
The film executes every element of filmmaking splendidly, resulting in being the best movie of 2023 alongside Oppenheimer, which is somewhat amusing since one is about the genius behind the bomb and the other exists because of the bomb.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of Godzilla or not, or which version of the radioactive leviathan you prefer, Godzilla Minus One is an absolute MUST WATCH! And if I were to rate my time with it, I’d give it a 10/10.
I have to re-watch several Gojira films to have a proper ranking of them but currently, here are my top three:
- Godzilla Minus One (2023)
- Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014)
- Shin Godzilla (2016)
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