Godzilla Minus One (2023) – 8/10 – Great Godzilla Film with Human Aspect and Good Story
World War 2 is ending. The Japanese are desperate to turn the tide of war. Shikishima, a Japanese Kamikaze pilot, does not have the will to ram his plane into an American ship in a suicide run. Instead, he chooses to live by diverting his Mitsubishi Zero to a nearby Japanese airbase on Odo Island. There, he runs into Godzilla, who destroys the base, leaving Shikishima as one of the few survivors. He returns home to a Tokyo that was firebombed by American bombers, leaving his family dead. He runs into an orphan baby and a lady, Noriko, who is caring for the baby, and he takes them in. A year later, Godzilla reenters the picture once again. With America at odds with the Soviets over the Cold War and the Japanese fleet disbanded, the Japanese public has to stop Godzilla with what they have at their disposal before he continues his rampage.
This film delves into the human aspect, which is deep. Other Godzilla films before this had no feel over tons of remakes. In all those decades of remakes, they somehow missed one of the most crucial things to a good story: character development. The characters were shallow, lifeless, underdeveloped, and present to only prop up Godzilla. This film took a different, fresh approach. In this one, the human aspect is central to the film, at least concerning the main characters and as crucial to the story as Godzilla himself, which is refreshing. The acting, story, special effects, cinematography, and pacing are very well done. There are questionable moments you can nitpick about, but overall, nothing is worth complaining about. I will add the film is in Japanese, but with English subtitles. You get used to it without feeling like you are missing details.
Would I recommend this? Yes. I have not seen most of the Godzilla films, but the few I have seen were disappointing. I can’t recommend any other Godzilla film or TV show until ‘Godzilla Minus One’ came along. This is perhaps the first Godzilla film to date that I would consider a quality film.
