Godzilla Minus One Review (Minus Color!)

So technically this movie came to our theaters last year, and I did see it when it came out. But they did a limited rerelease of the movie in black and white instead of color, and I wanted to talk about it. I like kaiju movies, but I had no idea that this movie was coming until a few weeks before our theater got it. I avoided any trailers as well, so I went in as blind as possible. And, well...

What's The Movie About?

A kamikaze pilot abandons his mission in the waning days of World War II, returning home laden with survivors guilt and tries to navigate surviving and rebuilding a Post War Japan while taking care of a young woman and her adopted daughter. Also, it is a Godzilla movie, so the big lizard blows up parts of Japan.

What I Like.

My summary of this movie is shit. That's because it would take several paragraphs to fully encapsulate the full relationship with Godzilla and the lead. This isn't just some wartime Japanese drama with Godzilla slammed in there, Godzilla is an embodiment of the main character's guilt and his chance at redemption. Most kaiju movies (old sci-fi/horror movies in general, honestly) follow a formula that is kinda boring human stuff setting up the backstory and having some slightly dull drama before we get to the stuntmen in rubber costumes drop-kicking each other in the face or CGI models lazer a city to ruins. This is because of it costs a lot of money to make bring giant monsters to the screen, and while it is a staple, it does turn some would-be fans from enjoying these movies. (If the prospect of giant lizards and apes stomping all over model cities didn't already.) Godzilla Minus One avoids this issue with one simple change: the human characters are actually super interesting. There's not other kaiju movie where I get upset when the human characters might die. Not only is the lead and his family interesting, but his friends that make up the supporting cast are extremely entertaining in almost every way. The themes of the story are just *chef's kiss*. It made me curious about the Japanese citizen's perspective after WWII and is an interesting pairing with the original Godzilla's more glowing view of the Japanese government. (It's almost like comparing the government response in Them! to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, although not for the sake of parody.) Oh yeah, and Godzilla is fucking amazing in this movie. He looks so cool, this might be may favorite design I've seen for him. (Admittedly, I haven't seen Shin Godzilla yet.) The dorsal plates extending out as he charges his atomic breath is a great touch. His eyes give me shudders. And there is plenty of destruction in this movie! Godzilla attacks a city, swims around chasing boats, romps through the country side, and wrecks up an island. There's even some pretty gnarly carnage when Godzilla gets a mine to the face. And my god is the black and white version worth seeing, even if you've seen the color version. I was expecting the boat scenes with Godzilla to look good in black and white, and was not disappointed, but there were a surprising amount of simpler moments that looked really cool. There is a shot of the professor explaining the plan to take out Godzilla that almost glowed when watching it. And all the atomic breath scenes, MMM *chefs kiss again*. This may been just my brain playing tricks on my, but it also looked like film grain was added to certain shots, and if that is the case well done with that attention to detail.

What I Don't Like.

I literally cannot think of a single thing I dislike about this movie. It's as perfect as the G-Zilla's dropkick.

Final Summation.

I don't think I'll mean this more about any other movie, but GO SEE GODZILLA MINUS ONE. Even if you aren't a kaiju fan. If you've already seen it, watch it again. This movie is perfect. It shot to the top of my list of movies I saw in 2023. It barged it's way into my top 10 movies of all time. (I gotta refine that list, most of what was on there I haven't seen in so long. Would people be interested in me posting that here? Lemme know.) AND I WANT MORE.

The director, Takashi Yamazaki, wants to make a sequel that follows the human cast dealing with the aftermath of the first movie. Toho should let him, I'm fully in support of that idea, it sounds great. I want to see Koichi and Noriko married before everyone starts dying of cancer. But what I really want is the Minus One treatment to be given to every Kaiju Toho has made/acquired. 

Seriously. I want Mothra Minus One, where Mothra is a metaphor for a mother's place in society versus protecting their children. I want King Ghidorah Minus One that takes place during the space race and is like a cautionary tale of colonization. I want Rodan Minus One, and it's all a metaphor for expansionism versus natural living. Fuckin' Zilla Minus One and it's basically just about American foreign policy or some shit. Then eventually the different monsters all met up and bash each others' heads in! Most of those ideas are terrible but you get my point. Keep making the themes and the characters interesting, as well as the monsters super fucking cool, and this could be the best kaiju series in existence. Suck it Monsterverse! (But gently, I still like you Monsterverse. Kinda.)