Godilla Minus One (2023)

[ゴジラ-1.0]

Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada

Synopsis:
A former pilot making ends meet as a minesweeper in the aftermath of World War II encounters the monster that has been haunting his nightmares that is heading for the Japanese mainland.

Impressions:
Due to Toho's deal with Legendary so that the Japanese and American sides of the Godzilla franchise don't clash with each other, Toho has brought out the 70th anniversary project a year early. When weighing whether or not I wanted to spend the 2000 yen on a ticket, I told myself that I've always liked Godzilla ever since I was a kid, so why not give it a go? Well, let me cut the suspense and say that I'm glad I did. Not just in Godzilla films but most any big creature feature, the human drama side of the story tends to be weak, practically if not literally an afterthought to prop up the scenes of carnage and destruction. However, in this film it really feels like the focus was first writing a strong character story and then weaving it into a monster story. I would argue this is one of the strongest if not the strongest examples of human drama in a monster movie. Hopefully that's piqued your interest if you're the sort of person who feels there's not enough to chew on in the subgenre. If, however, you're just here for the monster action, I expect you'll find the set pieces to be quite satisfying. The effects are really quite impressive, so you really do get the complete package.

Going back to the characters and the plot, we get a nice arc for main character Shikishima. He's a coward racked with survivor's guilt who can't move on from the trauma of the war, and his story is linked to other veterans struggling in the postwar situation. The way the final confrontation has an interesting thematic element, though I feel it's somewhat undermined by certain aspects (which I won't get into to avoid spoilers). I can also quibble about the ending a bit, but these are minor things in what's overall quite strong writing. All told, I was thoroughly satisfied with this entry in the franchise and happily recommend you see it when/if you get the chance. Godzilla fans will definitely want to give this one a place in the collection.

Rating:
Own It