Movie Review: Godzilla Minus One

I have loved Godzilla movies since I was a kid, and so am probably biased towards enjoying them at least a little bit no matter what. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the wild swings in quality that the franchise has experienced across nearly 40 movies, rather that I tend to appreciate them regardless. In their latest live-action outing since 2016’s excellent Shin Godzilla, Japan’s Toho Company has kept the pendulum on the quality side of things, having released one of the best entries the series has ever seen.

As is typically the case for these, the opening sequences set us up for a first glimpse of Godzilla himself. Instead of the usual fishing boat attack though, we are introduced to kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who has landed his plane at a repair base on Odo Island rather than follow through on his assigned attack as World War II is drawing to a close. Later that day the garrison, which is comprised almost entirely of mechanics, is attacked by Godzilla, who is here portrayed as being far more vicious and frightening than he has been in a long time, and who proceeds to devastate the base, leaving only Kōichi and mechanic Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki) as the sole survivors.

When he returns home to Tokyo, Kōichi finds the city devastated by the bombing raids that had taken place earlier that year and learns that his parents were among the victims. Wandering the rubble-strewn streets and racked with survivor’s guilt (only further exacerbated by Japan’s strict culture of honor) he encounters Noriko Ōishi (Minami Hamabe) as she flees from a policeman, leaving him to watch over her baby. After waiting and waiting he finally encounters her again and learns that her parents were also killed in the bombing and that the baby, Akiko, is an orphan she has been taking care of. The pair wind up relying on each other to survive and to take care of the child.

In 1947, Kōichi is working on a minesweeper crew while Noriko begins a job of her own, leaving Akiko (Sae Nagatani) in the care of neighbor Sumiko Ōta (Sakura Ando). A now much larger Godzilla has been detected headed towards Tokyo, and while the government waits for one of their last remaining warships to arrive the minesweepers are tasked with stalling the monster. The effort is doomed to fail however and so Kōichi must do what he can to protect his newfound family, while the government of the weakened nation struggles to formulate a plan to stop Godzilla’s path of destruction.

Superbly melding together two seemingly disparate stories, Godzilla Minus One is a darkly thrilling example of just how good a kaiju movie can really be. On the one hand it tells a story of a man and a country healing from the choices they made during World War II, trying to rebuild what they can while still dealing with psychic traumas, sadness, and guilt. The human characters are often mishandled and underdeveloped in these types of films but here they become the lifeblood of the story, pushing the plot forward and building up strong emotional connections with the audience, aided by the cast’s memorable performances.

On the other hand, the filmmakers didn’t forget what people come to a Godzilla movie to see, delivering some truly stunning set pieces that remind us that this is a creature to be feared. This isn’t the semi-friendly Godzilla that might turn up to save Japan from a giant, extraterrestrial robot, though they have retained enough of the quirky movements and dimensions to remind fans of the days in which he was portrayed by a man in a suit, stomping through intricate model cities. Utilizing musical themes from classic series entries is also a nice callback that should bring a nostalgic smile to many faces. If I hadn’t already posted my list of my favorite things this year, this would rank very highly, as writer and director Takashi Yamazaki has crafted a film that isn’t just a great Godzilla movie, but a great movie period. ★★★★★