A film review by Craig J. Koban December 29, 2023

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

2023, PG-13, 125 mins.

Ryunosuke Kamiki as Koichi Shikishima  /  Minami Hamabe as Noriko Oishi  /  Yuki Yamada as Shiro Mizushima  /  Munetaka Aoki as Sosaku Tachibana  /  Hidetaka Yoshioka as Kenji Noda  /  Sakura Ando as Sumiko Ota  /  Kuranosuke Sasaki as Yoji Akitsu  /  Mio Tanaka as Captain Tatsuo Hotta  /  Yuya Endo as Tadayuki Saito  /  Kisuke Iida as Akio Itagaki  /  Saki Nagatani as Akiko

I have to be completely honest.   

I had next to zero desire to see this film.   

I mean, what could any new possible GODZILLA film in this day and age - and nearly 70 years after this beast's cinematic introduction in the original 1954 Toho production - bring to the table?  

There have been so many countless films over the decades featuring this atomic infused monster that I grew dizzy just contemplating them all.  That, and Toho just recently released SHIN GODZILLA (missed by me) in 2016, not to mention the so-called MONSTERVERSE franchise from America that was spawned in 2014's GODZILLA and has featured the titular titan in two more follow-up entries.  

Maybe it's the Godzilla fatigue talking, but what newfangled freshness could GODZILLA MINUS ONE evoke now?  

It's abundantly clear very early on in Takashi Yamazaki's GODZILLA MINUS ONE that this is not just another mindlessly schlocky monster thriller.  

Instead, he utilizes some outside of the box thinking and some thanklessly perceptive scripting to unleash a film that echoes elements of past GODZILLA films without feeling wholly slavish to them.  The two pronged attack here in GODZILLA MINUS ONE is that (a) it's set in post World War II Japan and delves into how ordinary citizens there dealt with its aftermath and (b) it presents real flesh and blood characters that we become emotionally linked to for over two hours.  Yes, GODZILLA MINUS ONE gives us this monster in all of his city and humanity decimating might, to be sure (and via some flawlessly executed VFX on a super thin budget...more on that in a bit), but the film does what great science fiction films of the past do in terms of using a fantastical premise to comment on weighty real world matters (in this case, showcasing Japan after surrender that's still reeling from the ravages of war and the fears of nuclear proliferation).  So many GODZILLA films (even recent ones) have characters that are essentially cardboard cutout props that are at the mercy of their films' large-scale city decimating carnage, but GODZILLA MINUS ONE finds humanity in the proceedings and makes us care for these tormented souls.  

It's rare to have a GODZILLA film as heartfelt and terrifying as this one.   

Again, setting this new film during this crucial period right after WWII is a masterstroke move, especially because of how the emotional and physical wounds that the Japanese endured are so ever-present.  The film has a superlative opening sequence set in 1945, which introduces us to a kamikaze pilot named Koichi Shikishima (an intense Ryunosuke Kamik), who has just landed on a Japanese base on Odo Island.  Something seems off about Koichi right from the get-go, and some of the men stationed there think that he has failed in his sworn duties as a kamikaze pilot (Koichi pleads that he has engine issues with his plane, which isn't the case).  Then, without warning, Godzilla arrives (albeit in smaller, but still impossibly lethal form) and begins to decimate his way through this Japanese camp, leaving nearly everyone dead...except Koichi (oddly, he was unable to pull the triggers of his plane's machine guns to slow down the monster, which led to him being knocked out of the plane unconscious).  Reeling from his horrifying experience, Koishi decides to return home to Tokyo.

Unfortunately, things are no better for him upon his return to his mostly bomb-flattened city.  His community, home, and remaining family have been hopelessly wiped out.  He's all alone and with little hope for the future.  As he walks through the rubble of Tokyo, he has a chance meeting with Noriko (Minami Hambe), another fellow survivor who is caring for a baby that has lost her mother and father during the war.  Slowly, the pair find ways to bond out of survival necessity, and as the months and years go by, they decide to raise the baby - now a child - Akiko (Sae Nagatani) together as platonic partners.  Koichi also takes up a job on a sea vessel combing through the ocean for leftover war mines (mostly out of survival guilt for not committing to his duties in the war).  A much more fully formed and dangerous Godzilla emerges from the ocean and makes it on land and unleashes even more devastation on an already war-devastated Japanese city (it appears that the monster evolved further via U.S. nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll).  Realizing that Godzilla needs to be stopped to save Japan and the world (and without having much in the way of outside nation aid), elements of a ragtag Japanese government and military launch an ingenious plan to stop Godzilla, quarterbacked by one of Koichi's new friends and allies in an ex-weapons engineer, Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka).   

Part of the greatness of GODZILLA MINUS ONE is how it uses kaiju for social commentary and metaphor.  Of course, past GODZILLA films have done so as well, but not to the same emotionally gut-wrenching level as on display here.  Witnessing post-war Japan at its most futile and when hope is a nearly unattainable luxury hits profoundly hard in this film's opening sections (it also wisely reminds viewers that - in any war - there are innocent people one both sides that suffer in incalculable ways).  The manner that Yamazaki makes his GODZILLA simmer with ample dread and dives headfirst into themes of war, death, loss, and survival is noteworthy.  The epic scaled action sequences that we come to expect out of films like this do come, but Yamazaki trusts the patience levels of his audience and allows us to get into the traumatized headspaces of his characters first and foremost.  Koichi and Noriko have lost seemingly everything because of the war, but they cling together in an effort to rebuild a new life and raise Akiko as one of their own.  Godzilla almost becomes a frightening manifestation of post-war hopelessness and fear in these people.  They have all gone through hell and back...and now they have to go through it again (and then some) with this creature making its presence felt.  

And I cared for Koichi and Noriko.  I can honestly say that I didn't feel the same about any of the other characters in other recent Godzilla pictures. GODZILLA MINUS ONE embraces its well-nurtured human drama and reminds us why films of this ilk desperately need some heart and soul infused into them.  This film is a lot darker and more depressing than I remember any other GODZILLA film being, mostly because it shows us in harrowing detail how both WWII and the creature have wreaked such unspeakable horrors on normal people hopelessly caught in their path.  Koichi's arc is fascinating in the sense that he technically failed as a kamikaze pilot in order to stay alive and is then burdened with guilt and shame for his perceived inadequacies as a soldier pilot (many back home in Tokyo lambaste him when he returns).  The intense shame he experiences drives him into a surrogate parental role with Noriko, during which time he gets to experience a return to some form of family normalcy back home.  And then, just when he has attained a form of peace, Godzilla appears and threatens not only his new partner and child, but the Japanese as a whole.  This springs Koichi back into action with a newfound patriotic fervor to eradicate this new enemy...or die trying.  Throughout the entirety of GODZILLA, I was locked into this character's challenging arc and willing to go anywhere with him.   

As for the Godzilla action itself?  This film delivers...oh...does it deliver.  The monster has been presented in everything from men in rubber suits to CG creations (some good - like in Gareth Edwards' GODZILLA - and some awful - see Roland Emmerich's 1998 GODZILLA), but here he's legitimately more panic-inducing and menacing than ever before.  He's ferociously unhinged and the furthest thing away from being a protector of humanity.  In essence, he's a merciless killing machine.  When this colossus finally unleashes his atomic breath, it instantly levels vast chucks of a city, kind of akin to the A-bombing of Hiroshima (definitely an uneasy experience to have to go through again for these people).  What truly blew my mind while watching GODZILLA MINUS ONE is what Yamazaki (also serving as VFX supervisor on top of his directing and screenwriting duties) achieves on screen here with a reported $15 million budget, which might not have covered the catering on GODZILLA VS KONG.  We get completely convincing shots of Godzilla in water...or mowing his way through cities...or (as is the case in the film's opening) stomping and biting his way through Japanese soldiers.  The sheer scope and scale of this film is staggering considering its relatively miniscule budget, and it confidently holds up to any recent American Godzilla film that cost upwards of ten times more.  This is one of the most impressive technical cinematic achievements (minimal resources or not) of recent memory, all things considered.

Everything builds to a spectacularly suspenseful grand finale that props up scientists like Kenji (with Koichi figuring in heavily in another crucial role) into a heroic prime leadership position who uses a keen knowledge of psychics to unleash a compelling plan to kill this monster (it's equal parts crazy and scientifically sound).  I love it when a monster film isn't mindless and instead blends state-of-the-art visuals, fantasy-based mayhem, and grounded storytelling intelligence in equal measure.  When I left my screening of GODZILLA MINUS ONE, I simply couldn't get over how well this film succeeds where oh-so-many bloated and soulless Hollywood blockbusters have failed over the years.  Yamazaki seems to have wisely learned from the countless mistakes of past GODZILLA efforts (and monster films in general) and has retooled this decades-old mythology into a genuinely awe-inspiring creature feature that deftly balances its horrifying scope, well-developed characters worthy of rooting interest, surprisingly potent heart-wrenching drama, and sobering reminders of the incalculable toil of war on humanity.     

This is not only one of the best films of 2023, but maybe the best GODZILLA film ever made.     

I'm glad I saw it.