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Godzilla Minus One Review
Image Credit: TOHO International
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Directed By: Takashi Yamazaki
Written By: Takashi Yamazaki
Runtime: 125 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for creature violence and action
Ryunosuke Kamiki – Koichi Shikishima
Minami Hamabe – Noriko Oishi
Hidetaka Yoshioka – Kenji Noda
Kuranosuke Sasaki – Yoji Akitsu
Yuki Yamada – Shiro Mizushima
Munetaka Aoki – Sosaku Tachibana
Sakura Ando – Sumiko Ōta
Takashi Yamazaki has achieved something incredibly special with TOHO’s new installment of the iconic kaiju movie franchise of cinema’s King of the Monsters, Godzilla Minus One. Yamazaki gives one of cinema’s most iconic figures a much-needed reset; but more than that, the director does something few filmmakers have ever accomplished since Ishiro Honda. Yamazaki succeeds in presenting Godzilla as a terrifying monster again.
In the waning days of World War II, Japanese military airman Koichi Shikishima commits the gravest sin possible: he fails to carry out his duty as a kamikaze pilot. After feigning a mechanical issue during his sortie, Koichi returns to the airfield playing up the ruse, but the lead mechanic at the Odo Island base, Sosaku Tachibana (Aoki), is smart enough to see the con Koichi was working. Their base is attacked by a mysterious, vicious, predatorial prehistoric creature identified by one of the workers as Godzilla. Only Koichi and Tachibana are left alive in the creature’s destructive waste, leaving both men horrendously traumatized.
Koichi soon returns to the sacked post-World War II Tokyo. The city is in ruins. Koichi’s family died during the bombing raids. The people’s morale is in shambles. Everyone is defeated, disenfranchised, and depressed, left shattered by the horrors of war, which has taken a toll on Japan’s civilians. With his family gone, Koichi has no actual life to return to, and other civilians shun Koichi for his dereliction of duty and blame him for their losses during the war.
Eventually, Koichi befriends Noriko (Hamabe), a young woman who lost her family during the war and also became the unwitting caretaker of an infant war orphan. They bond and form a makeshift family unit as they seek to recover following World War II’s devastation. Koichi soon returns to work, joining the crew of a minesweeper vessel. However, while the war is over, a piece of Koichi’s soul never returns, and the guilt of his unsuccessful time as a pilot and failure to fight back against Godzilla on Odo Island continues to weigh heavily upon him, hindering him from finding peace and happiness.
Due to the United States’ recent nuclear weapons test, Godzilla grows bigger and angrier, edges closer to Tokyo, and makes Japan his territory. And now, the people of Japan are forced to endure further hardship as a titanic monster makes its presence known, creating widespread destruction. With the United States unwilling to offer assistance due to growing tension with the Soviet Union, it now falls onto the civilian populace and Koichi to fend off Godzilla and fight for what remains of their home.
Godzilla Minus One is the purest, most impressive iteration of the iconic monster to come to the big screen since the original film was released nearly 70 years ago. This is Godzilla in his pure, raw, unadulterated form. He’s not a hero. He’s not an antihero. He’s not cute. He’s not a protector or a would-be defender. This Godzilla is a walking natural disaster. He is chaos incarnate, pure rage, and instinct given flesh. He is the only monster in this film. It results in Yamazaki achieving what so few filmmakers have done: making Godzilla a terrifying force of calamity once again. Godzilla is a horrifying, suspenseful sight in Minus One. Yamazaki is never too preoccupied with Godzilla’s true origins. He is a dangerous creature who challenges Japan when the country and its people are at a crossroads and trying to recover from terrible loss. A force of nature does not care about emerging from the depths when it’s safely convenient or a nation’s vulnerabilities.
While TOHO’s previous franchise installment, Shin Godzilla was a political satire, Minus One eschews those elements in favor of a post-WWII drama mixed with a disaster feature. Yamazaki uses Godzilla, not only as a destructive creature but as a way to explore post-war trauma. The post-war setting adds a solemn, tragic layer to the story. All the characters are suffering or badly damaged from the war as they struggle to find some meaning in their losses or forgiveness of their guilt.
With Godzilla Minus One, Yamazaki successfully nails the depiction of a compelling, human story. In most Godzilla films, the human characters are often the least interesting aspect of the storyline, and audiences are often left waiting or impatient to return to the monster-crushing action. The human characters in Godzilla Minus One are genuinely likable and sympathetic. They are the beating soul of this film’s story. Ryunosuke Kamiki nails his performance portraying Koichi’s post-war trauma and emotional distress, and it imbues the film with a compelling human element.
While Godzilla Minus One depicts the war and its aftermath as a tragedy, it’s ultimately an uplifting, surprisingly optimistic film. The narrative offers a sense of solace as the survivors of the war band together, finding strength in each other and working together to fight back against a seemingly insurmountable threat. Yamazaki uses these themes to set up strong emotional crescendos, juxtaposing the heightened terror and drama from Godzilla’s devastating attacks on the mainland. A monster movie where the human characters provoke genuine suspense into their fates and well-being is yet another victory for this film.
At a budget of about $15 million, Godzilla Minus One looks sensational and immersive. The CG creature effects may not always be on the level of a Legendary Entertainment Monsterverse production, but Yamazaki never fails to depict Godzilla as a pure, terrifying predatorial force. The way Yamazaki builds suspense in the sequence where Godzilla stalks the diminutive minesweeper vessel is spine-tingling and nerve-wracking. Yamazaki should justifiably receive significant recognition for his superlative direction and staging here. Even when the CG animation looks somewhat rough, the direction and staging around Godzilla always look immersive and exceptional.
Plot-wise, the script could have used some fine-tuning regarding the Japanese government’s absentee role in Godzilla’s attacks. There is a bit of exposition regarding Godzilla’s radioactive nature and the side effects of his attacks that the film merely hints at yet does not expand upon. However, those are minor complaints, and they do not seriously detract from the overall experience.
Naoki Sato does good work with the score, understanding the iconography of Akira Ifukube’s classic music from the 1954 film, which makes a welcome return here. Of the modern Hollywood interpretations of Godzilla, Bear McCreary is the only composer who understood the power behind that music, so it’s nice to see the production crew of Minus One have not forgotten the King of the Monsters’ roots. There is something intangibly special about hearing that music when Godzilla appears in full view for the first time, preparing to wreak havoc.
Godzilla Minus One opens theaters and IMAX in the United States on December 1, with special Early Access Event Screenings starting on November 29. The best way to understand the true terror of Godzilla as a rampaging force of nature is to see Godzilla Minus One on the big screen. Yamazaki has constructed an experience where the theatrical format is not only preferable but essential.
Godzilla Minus One is an amazing cinematic achievement. It is the best Godzilla film since the original.
