Godzilla Minus One

Are Godzilla fans being spoiled right now or what?  The seismic trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire dropped yesterday, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is currently streaming on Apple TV+ (I'd be all over it if I wasn't already subscribed to a million services), and of course, we have been gifted Godzilla Minus One, which stands as Toho's contribution to all of this kaiju commotion.  It seems I'm a bit late to the party, as all I can do is parrot the obvious.  This movie is epic!  I'll be honest.  I questioned the need for yet another origin story.  And the fact that the film is a period piece is hardly novel, despite the promotional material playing up the historic setting.  However, I was rewarded for coming in cautious.

If you don't know, Minus One starts in post-war Japan.  We follow Shikishima, a kamikaze pilot who sheepishly bails on his delegated assignment.  He reports back that his plane is faulty, but we know the truth.  That's just the tip of the iceberg as it relates to internal character dialogue, by the way.  There is a lot going on here, and I'm sharp enough to know that I didn't catch everything that bubbled beneath the surface.  But this isn't a thesis paper, so I'll pass on a commentary breakdown.  The rudiments of the plot find Shikishima burdened with the responsibility of supporting a homeless woman and the orphan under her employ.  He works as a minesweeper, a vocation that has very little to do with the computer game, as it turns out.  Talk about a culture shock.

Suddenly, a giant monster goes on a rampage.  Rough transition, huh?  It's actually more subtle than a paragraph break allows.  Director Takashi Yamazaki strikes a healthy balance between quiet exposition and combustible action.  When the expletive does hit the fan, watch out.  Dude, these are some serious scenes of destruction.  I'm talking incendiary demolition on a massive scale.  When the building-smashing violence is supported by Akira Ifukube's classic score, Minus One goes into kill mode.  If you're a kaiju nerd and you don't see this thing on the big screen, you have failed at life.  It's that simple.

I won't anatomize each individual performance, but suffice to say, the acting is superlative.  These characters are three-dimensional people who win your sympathy.  As for Godzilla, he looks awesome.  No silly complaints.  Speaking of which, I don't have complaints of any real merit.  Sure, Godzilla Minus One feels like it's two hours long, but guess what?  It's two hours long!  This is the most substantial kaiju spectacle since 2001's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.  FACTOID: Yamazaki cites GMK as his favorite Godzilla movie.  Very interesting!