by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
In recent years, live action Godzilla films have been dominated by Americans. In the last decade, Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse has put out three films featuring the world’s most famous city-destroying lizard, with another one, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, set to release next year. The last live action Japanese Godzilla film came out seven years ago. Before that, nearly two decades ago in 2004. So it’s really been a minute since we got a proper Japanese Godzilla film, especially seeing as the recent American entries like to use the character as an anti-hero protagonist. It’d be nice to actually fear this creature once again…
Luckily, Godzilla Minus One is here to retell the original Japanese story, flush with heavy themes about nuclear destruction and humanity coming together to fight for survival. It’s here to dazzle us with live action spectacle. It’s here to make us appreciate the simplicity of kaiju monster films, while having some sense of purpose and meaning to the film. And it… is… awesome!
Godzilla Minus One is not only one of the best Godzilla movies ever made, but one of my favorite movies of the year. Once again, we get to see our favorite big lizard boi doin’ big lizard things, and I’m all here for it!
What makes Minus One so exceptional is that it takes the franchise back to its roots, while telling a human story. Because the story goes all the way back to World War II, it gives the film a canvas to connect to its deeper themes about humanity’s destructive habits, as well as its ability to persevere and save itself from said destruction. But WWII also gave this film the setting it needed to observe sheer terror, make intense action sequences, and serve as the perfect time to explore the nuclear threat. I feel this film would actually be a great double feature with this year’s Oppenheimer, as they both explore these themes, but in two vastly different ways. And yet, they come to the same conclusion. Man is broken, and we are haunted by our past failures. But when we coalesce, come together, and understand each other, our shared humanity can save us all when we choose not to push the button.
The themes of Godzilla are a big reason why it works, but it’s also the narrative: A kamikaze pilot looking to cleanse his soul of his perceived lack of honor makes for a compelling central figure. Especially seeing as his own personal failures mirror the larger thematic failures of humanity. Seeing this pilot come to terms with himself in a post-war environment, with his family situation, and with his shell shock, is spellbinding. There are several moments that are so emotionally rich that they could bring you to tears. That’s something you’d expect from a WWII film like Grave of the Fireflies, not Godzilla Minus One, but it’s here in spades nonetheless. It speaks to the quality of this script that it can generate so much empathy with its character work in conjunction with its thematic work. From believable motivations, to hard hitting dramatic scenes, and all rounded up with convincing dialogue, this script cooks. And that’s before you even account for how funny and entertaining the movie can be, too, on a surface level.
I feel that some of these performances are worth lauding as well. Our lead, Ryunosuke Kamiki, is a genuinely tortured soul. His character, Shikishima, feels like a real human being trying to buy his conscience some kind of solace. His transition into reluctant fatherhood is fascinating, and it blossoms into some truly powerful moments. Kamiki’s conflict with Munetaka Aoki’s Tachibana is also great. Though it’s not the primary focus through most of the movie, you can sense and feel it haunting Shikishima. Seeing their conflict come to a head in the third act, and the beautiful resolution they come to, speaks so much to what this movie tries to accomplish. They become the embodiment of moving beyond trauma. Even Hidetaka Yoshioka and Kuranosuke Sasaki are great as narrative scientists and engineers, as thematic moral compasses, and as entertaining comic relief; they’re a bunch of fun to watch.
But let’s be honest here — you came for kaiju action. You’re here for the big guy. The monster, Godzilla. And damnit, Godzilla doesn’t disappoint. He is menacing and powerful. He serves as the thematic representation of nuclear armageddon, while just being a towering action and entertainment force. It is worth noting, though, that his design is more in line with the traditional Japanese look of the character. This means a shorter snout and human-like eyes. Not lizard-like as he is in the American films. In some instances, this makes some scenes look a little goofy, though I’d argue that’s kind of the charm of the character model. And none of that even matters when Godzilla stomps on dozens of people, whips his tail into a building, or uses his atomic fire breath. In fact, the atomic breath scenes are some of the most incredible scenes in the movie. I rarely feel like I’m in awe of something in a movie, but with these? Wow. It’ll blow your hair back and scare the hell out of you, it’s so well crafted.
Beyond the epic lizard action, the technicals are solid too. Godzilla looks great, and you can tell this is where the bulk of the CGI budget went. So much so that some of the other CGI elements, like boats or buildings, can look a little rough. But the action, destruction, and explosions still look so good that it’s a minor quibble. The production design is solid as well — the look of post-war Japan is visceral. Even the original score by Naoki Satô is quite endearing. The musical chords and swells work very well. In fact, just about everything in this film works exceptionally well.
The only thing that’s really holding this movie back from being arguably perfect is the closing minutes, where it reverses a decision that was of great narrative purpose. A moment that caused terrific character motivation, and character anguish. The movie loses the courage of its conviction. So much so, in fact, that several members of the audience in my auditorium were audibly groaning, moaning, and laughing. I even caught one patron exclaiming, “There’s no way! C’mon…” and then another movie goer proudly responded, “Thank you!” It’s disappointing that the movie makes this cheesy, unnecessary, and almost character undercutting decision. But, luckily, everything else is so damn awesome that it still ends up being a great experience.
Rating: Loved It
Godzilla Minus One is currently playing in theaters
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