MOVIE: Godzilla Minus One

SCORE: 9.5/10

This is my first minor review so expect it to be a bit shorter and go less in-depth on certain things. Minor reviews are mainly just when I don’t have much to say about the media for better or for worse. And Godzilla Minus One was just so good there isn’t a ton to say. Minor reviews are also gonna mean no graphics because I don’t want to have to think about that stuff sorry! Also this should be my first real review going onto my Letterboxd. If you’re reading this on Letterboxd, go check out my blog https://lightsoffshowerthoughts.com/ cause it has my better content with better formatting.

Now that I’ve started to dip my toes into the film industry, it didn’t take too long for me to realize that filmmaking is fucking HARD. Like I knew that beforehand but to have to see all of it come together and the amount of people on the backend, it really gives you more perspective. And then I decided to go and watch Godzilla Minus One. And wow this movie was just wow. It reminded me that filmmaking is fucking EASY. Godzilla Minus One is an effortless success of simple storytelling with powerful themes and some of the most well written characters modern film has seen.

I think a lot of people get caught up in the glamor of celebrity star power, marketing value, and the cultural importance of a film. It’s really not about all that. At the end of the day it’s all about telling a story worth telling. Fundamentally, if a story can’t stand on its own without the bright lights and pretty faces, it probably isn’t worth your time. Godzilla Minus One uses classic Japanese tropes to tell one of the most human stories and it all starts with the characters.

Characters

One of the first things you’re taught in any storytelling or screenwriting class is that it is ESSENTIAL to torture your characters ESPECIALLY your protagonist. Conflict is the driving force of any film. Big or small. Can you have a non-tortured protagonist be very interesting? Absolutely. But when it comes to sticking to the fundamentals, you need to have a protagonist with problems.

So, what kinda problems are we dealing with in Godzilla Minus One. Oh. OH GOD! WHAT THE FUCK. No one told me the premise of Shikishima before the film so let me sell you on him really quick. A kamikaze pilot who backed down from his mission then fails to save an entire platoon of mechanics because he was too much of a coward. He then has to return home to find Tokyo and his parent’s home ravaged and all he gets is berated by his neighbor for not completing his mission. 

Uhm, fuckin owwwww

While other stories rely on telling you why a character’s life is tragic or what issues they may have, Godzilla doesn’t waste any time showing you that Shikishima is flawed and fucked up. And the absolute worst part about his situation is that nobody is in the wrong. Is it wrong for Sumiko to be mad at Shikishima? Absolutely not! Might I remind anyone who doesn’t remember or didn’t have their history class on kamikaze pilots, but being a kamikaze pilot was considered an honor and had some religious glory to it. And while sure Sumiko is going a bit far, she has suffered the devastation of a lifetime and now FINALLY has somebody to blame for it. I don’t think there’s anything more human than to make a sensible error like that. Tachibana even has more reason to be angry because he was letting Shikishima off the hook and then his cowardice causes the loss of all of his friends. Sure the gun may not have killed Godzilla, but not even trying is a slap in the face of humanity’s will to live. Once again, flawed but sensible. What’s worse is that not only are we told about Shikishima’s cowardice but we see it manifest throughout the entire film. From the start on the island where he fails to pull the trigger, to the chase with Godzilla, and even his inability to share his feelings with Noriko. There is no better way to show a character’s flaw than to make him constantly have to run up against it. And you want to know what the crazy thing is? Shikishima is loved. Even if he can’t accept it. He has a wonderful situationship with Noriko, a crew that supports him, and eventually a place he can call him. What could possibly be wrong with him?

His war isn’t over yet.

This line KILLED me in the theaters. It’s crazy to think such a simple yet beautiful line hasn’t been utilized to this effect before. Shikishima doesn’t simply just suffer from PTSD. It’s a heavy case of survivor’s guilt alongside the burden of KNOWING there is something still out there that could hurt you. Shikishima’s PTSD episodes are fucking bone chilling. Kamiki Ryunosuke puts on the performance of a lifetime that brought to life a character that is incredibly hard to properly portray. His scream in the black rain scene was an absolute fucking dagger to the heart. 

Honestly, the entire cast had incredible performances. Tachibana’s expression during the radio part at the end of the movie. Noda’s calm yet somber demeanor of a man who’s probably committed atrocities. And Noriko’s sweetness and longing for something better. All of the characters are so incredibly well written and performed and interesting and just AHHH. It’s so rare to have a cast of characters both be this well written and performed despite such a simple story. And that’s why it hurts so much to see them suffer. Because just as things seem to get better, they suffer another tragedy. Why?

Because that’s just how war is. Everyone loses.

Themes

When we talk about Godzilla films there always is the underlying themes of World War 2 and the atomic bomb present. Despite how Kaiju films have evolved and become their own thing, that will always be what they are gonna be about in one way or another. And not only are they about war but they are just fundamentally about terror. 

Hi, Yes it is I, ZephJDJ once again back to talk to you about terror in Japanese media. Japan is a very vulnerable country. After having their military stripped post World War 2 and being a country that suffers from earthquakes, tsunamis, and even tropical storms, Japan is a scared nation. I shit you not the day before I went to see it in theaters Japan suffered from a big earthquake. Godzilla’s emergence from the ocean, destruction of roads, and evisceration of buildings all represent the damage that Japan has suffered. Whether that’s from war, acts of mother nature, cruel acts of pure destruction Japan will always feel vulnerable. 

The sequence in the Ginza district is one of the most horrifying scenes of terror I have ever seen in film. Seeing what was Japan’s only safe district be wiped out in mere minutes and the horror of the Japanese people. It was genuinely hard to watch. And it ends with the way it had to end. A nuclear explosion. The landscape looks so disgustingly similar to Hiroshima and just the absolute devastation of a nation that had just suffered a loss in the war was just fuckin painful. And this is why the film is called Godzilla Minus One. Because it is often said that after World War 2 Japan was at its lowest. Absolute zero. And yet somehow, Godzilla (the atom bomb) made things even worse.

Things can always get worse.

Despite what nationalism tells you about war it isn’t something to be proud of. Godzilla’s Minus One messaging about war is fucking crystal clear. Yamada’s utilization as this device may seem a bit overly simplified but I won’t lie I fucking teared up hearing how he wanted to fight and Noda and Sasaki just walk away. Because once again NEITHER OF THEM ARE WRONG. Conflict where both sides are right yet flawed are the most human stories you can tell. It is absolutely a privilege to not go to war, you shouldn’t want to potentially throw your life away. War isn’t worth it. But at the same time, standing idly by doing nothing when you could be helping makes you feel horrible. Hell that’s what survivor’s guilt is all about. 

And oh god the survivor’s guilt. The fact that Tachibana doesn’t berate Shikishima on the boat back to the mainland and just hands him the photo of the deceased mechanics is FUCKED. Like it is totally fair but it is FUCKED. Feeling like you should be dead is something I am all the too familiar with and let me tell you it really fucks with your brain. The whole “wait am I actually dead and you’re a dream” thing is not an exaggeration. It has absolutely happened to me before and I had it way better off than Shikishima. Shikishima’s fragile mental state keeps you on the edge the entire film. His mental breakdowns are excruciating to watch and his isolation rips at your heart because ultimately no one can save Shikishima but himself. It has a Shinji like quality but it’s not fair for me to compare everything to Evangelion. Shikishima is his own person and his own tragedy. And his choice to choose to live at the end of the film is fucking hard. Because wanting to die to atone for your sins can seem noble, but there’s nothing noble in throwing your life away. And it takes a lot of courage to choose to live. Despite me knowing that of course he would, it was still tense and scary and sad. Godzilla Minus One is incredibly predictable narratively, but the fact that it has some key twists and masterful control and execution of the important moments is what makes it simply spectacular.

Godzilla Minus One is exactly what a Godzilla film should be about.

Execution

I’ll talk about the CG first cause it’s the most boring part to talk about. Yes, there were parts of the film that looked kinda rough. Yes, the fact that this film was made with a $15 million budget probably means people were overworked. Yes, some shots are not always the best economically budgeted for CG. 

But god damn does Godzilla look good. And every single important shot with him looks good. The chase scene is terrifying, his spine is insane, and watching him destroy things is both satisfying and disturbing. I won’t say I’m a Godzilla expert, but this might be the best Godzilla has ever looked. 

And beyond the CG, from a filmmaking perspective, Godzilla Minus One is one of the most effortless films there is. Sure that’s because the structure of the story is tried and true, but mastering this format AND utilizing it for the right story takes skill and determination. The writing is incredibly sharp. Arguably not a single wasted word in the film considering the many scenes with little dialogue. The way the story flows from place to place feels natural and serves what the characters need at any given moment. And the music, oh god the music. The music is so incredibly powerful though occasionally out of place. Although I found some pieces to be a bit misplaced but still effective. My biggest complaint with the score is the usage of the original Godzilla theme not being fully integrated into the sound font of the film. It’s reorchestrated but not to the right tune of the film for me personally. But other than that, from a production standpoint there is nothing to complain about.

In a world where I truly believe franchise films are killing the art of filmmaking, Godzilla Minus One finds a way to give us one of the most human stories I’ve seen from a franchise desperately needing an overhaul. The film’s characters are some of the most well written and well utilized characters to tell the incredibly impactful story of Japan during and post World War 2. This film is simply a miracle for existing and I don’t have much else to say but watch and prepare yourself for some of the most visceral emotions in the most cathartic movie experience of 2023.

– Jared/Zeph