On May 3, six months after exit The acclaimed Japanese kaiju blockbuster «Godzilla Minus One» has finally received its official digital premiere. This is the 37th film about the iconic lizard, and it was released to coincide with its 70th anniversary. In this review, we compare the local and Hollywood Goji, and tell you why this movie is considered one of the best in the series in its history.
Genre epic kaiju movie, disaster movie, drama
Director Takashi Yamazaki
Starring Kamiki Ryunosuke, Hamabe Minami, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Ando Sakura, Kuranosuke Sasaki
Premiere Prime Video
Year of issue 2023
Website IMDb
Japan, 1945. The Second World War is almost over, its outcome is obvious. Kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima is not ready to die in vain during his mission, so he lands at a base on the island of Odo, citing technical problems with his plane. Suddenly, a huge scary monster known as Godzilla visits the base, and while Koichi is considering whether to open fire on it with a machine gun, almost all the local mechanics die.
Feeling completely devastated, the man returns home to destroyed Tokyo and learns that his parents were killed in the bombing. However, he does not have to be alone for long: Shikishima meets a suffering young woman with a baby in her arms and agrees to provide them with a roof over their heads, or rather what’s left of it. But Godzilla’s reappearance brings even more catastrophic destruction, forcing Koichi and other war veterans to fight the roaring ground.
«Godzilla Minus One» became not only an international hit, earning more than $100 million on a ridiculous budget, but also a real sensation with «Oscar» for special effects in your pocket.
It has been called the best Godzilla film ever made and is praised by leading media and respected Hollywood filmmakers. For example, The Hollywood Reporter journalist Gavin J. Blair noted that «Godzilla Minus One», along with «The Boy and the Heron» Hayao Miyazaki or «Shogun» contributed to the recent popularization of Japanese pop culture in the West. And this is the truth.
Filmmakers also spared no expense in their kind words. Gareth Edwards, the director of the 2014 Hollywood «Godzilla», admitted that he felt envious while watching it and believes that a «Godzilla movie should be exactly like». One of the authors of «Pacific Rim», Guillermo del Toro, in his book X, called the film a miracle. Steven Spielberg said that he watched it three times. Christopher Nolan characterized a picture as «an amazing movie». One of the best projects of 2023 «Godzilla Minus One» named by Joe Dante, Jason Blum, director «Godzilla x Kong» Adam Wingard. Kevin Smith and Hideo Kojima were also impressed.
The director and screenwriter Takashi Yamazaki really has a lot to be proud of, given such complimentary reviews from Hollywood colleagues and true masters like Nolan and Spielberg. From «Oppenheimer» «Minus One» is related to the theme of nuclear tests and strikes by the United States (here, the «Crossroads» operation appears in the frame, which influenced the plot and followed «Trinity» and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). And the cult Spielberg’s blockbusters, such as «Jaws» or «Jurassic Park», was inspired by Yamazaki himself.
And you know, while watching it, you come to the clear realization that all these many admirations are quite justified. Now, the creations coming out of the wings of Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. and known as the MonsterVerse will finally be the Godzilla of a smoker, while «Minus One» — Godzilla of a healthy person.
One of the script’s greatest merits is its harmonious combination of the acutely social and the purely entertaining, the mundane and the fantastic, the action and the drama. Despite his imposing figure, Goji does not in any way replace the intimate human drama that you genuinely care about. And vice versa, the characters do not interfere with the kaiju in all its glory. At the same time, the protagonist, Shikishima, manages to get a good character development, having gone through powerful trials, and his fate is not indifferent.
The Japanese are once again talking about how much they are in pain, but they can be understood because today they are not the only ones in pain. Godzilla is 70 years old, and he primarily symbolized the atomic bomb, personified the most acute fears and traumas of Japan after the war (see the first film in 1954). Perhaps it is not worth reminding you once again that nowadays narratives about the use of nuclear weapons are heard from every Russian dump. And this is not to mention that the theme of a nation traumatized by war will resonate with us for a very long time.
It’s better to watch the movie with the realization that there are still certain conventions in the plot, and a purely Hollywood blockbuster twist a la The Avengers: Endgame» — is a bit much. And the sentimental ending looks more like a manipulation to cause an emotional outburst than a reasonable dramatic move. But these little things can hardly spoil the overall impression.
«Godzilla Minus One» is definitely worth the generous epithets that have been hurled at it, and is at least a head above its Hollywood counterparts. Gareth Edwards was right — this is exactly what a Godzilla movie should be.
