Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla Minus One
Starring Ryuonsuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
In the final moments of World War II, kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) feigns technical issues and lands on a small island to have his plane inspected, but in reality he didn't want to die. That night the creature Godzilla wreaks havoc on the island, and Koichi freezes when he's about to shoot it, resulting in the deaths of pretty much all the soldiers on the island. After returning home, he finds his town completely decimated by the bombing of Tokyo, and his parents are dead. Desperate and alone, he takes in Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe) and an infant named Akiko that Noriko rescued. He gets a job as a minesweeper to provide for his new family, and learns that Godzilla has become stronger due to nuclear tests conducted by the Americans, and is making its way to Tokyo. Given another chance to be a hero, Koichi struggles with his own guilt as he now has people worth fighting for, and sets out to join a ragtag team of Japanese private citizens to stop Godzilla once and for all.
The Good:
"Godzilla Minus One" is exceptional in every aspect, and is much more than a mindless destruction film. In fact, the titular kaiju takes a backseat to the human drama happening on screen that's all the more palpable. Still, when he is on screen, this Godzilla is no child-friendly cuddly beast: he's a force of nature, and worse than that, a force of destruction. He has no quarrels destroying everything in its path with extreme prejudice, and the visuals are downright nightmare-inducing. From seeing him totally decimate the town of Ginza to his terrifying water battle, there seems to be no stopping this behemoth, and it's all the more scary to think about. He towers over everyone, destroying high-rises like they're one-room cottages, and stomps on people like ants. All the weapons they throw at him are like mothballs, and once he releases his atomic breath it's all over.
Speaking of, there's nothing more terrifying than seeing Gozilla prepping his nuclear attack as his scales pop out and turn blue, like the ultimate roller coaster ride as it slowly ascends to the top before the spiraling downward trajectory. The visuals are awe-inspiring, and Godzilla has never looked more menacing. His eyes show a true hatred - or possible a true disdain, which is far worse. While he lumbers across Ginza it's interesting to see how the VFX people did it. It looks almost comical, like seeing how he used to lumber around when he was a giant figure in the 1950s that crushed small miniatures of cities. Yet it's also polished and shining with fascinating CGI that somehow makes it believable as well - which makes sense because Godzilla is a water creature who's not used to walking on land. Every time he arrives on screen, the goosebumps elevate like the scales on his back.
Then when the heroes take the battle to the water, Godzilla somehow becomes even more intimidating. The water is his home turf, and he swims around effortlessly and way too fast for a creature of his massive size. When a small boat tried to drop mines on him, you see his eyes through the water dead-set on the boat and its inhabitants, and you put yourself in their shoes: it's something beyond terrifying.
Yet more than just a destruction film, "Minus One" really focuses on the perils of the Japanese after World War II. While they were against the Americans (and their unforgivable attack on Pearl Harbor), not everyone in Japan wanted it to happen. As it is with war, there's casualties who had no purpose in the war, and these people are the ones we meet here. There's even a moment where the civilians are gathered together that one mentions how the Japanese government has treated them terribly, making them nothing more than numbers to be slaughtered in the name of their own desire for victory. The whole concept of "Minus One" refers to the fact that, after the War, Japan was at zero when it came to resources and recovery, and then with the addition of Godzilla it goes into the negatives - minus one - with its resources already depleted to nothing. There's a continual sense of hopelessness that permeates the screen, where you feel almost as helpless as the characters on screen. They've already been through the biggest war in history, and now they have to stop the biggest creature in history as well.
This bleak feel is personified in our hero, Koichi Shikishima, played wonderfully by Ryunosuke Kamiki. He endures the hero's journey in a way that's exhausting mentally, as you feel his every emotion to their fullest effect. At first he's a kamikaze pilot but is not willing to die for his country, and then is wracked with survivor's guilt after freezing up when he had the chance to possibly take Godzilla down early in the movie, resulting in numerous violent deaths. You feel the weight Koichi carries with him in his performance, as he often wonders if he's even alive or if he's really dead and enduring a purgatory worse than hell. He exudes emotion in a way that's not over-the-top, but feels very organic and relatable. He went from a man not wanting to die to one who welcomes death, but then turns back into someone who wants to live again, and when he confronts Godzilla again, he's willing to die not for his country, but for the people around him, to make up for his previous cowardice.
The Bad:
If you go into this thinking Godzilla will be some sort of antihero good guy, you'll be solely disappointed. Also if you go in thinking you're watching an American film, you'll also be solely disappointed, as it's Japanese with English subtitles - and when we went there was a father, mother and young son sitting in front of us that got up and left not even halfway through because of it.
The Summary:
Showcasing Godzilla in all its destructive glory, "Godzilla Minus One" is also a deep character introspective into finding out what it means to live, to fight, and to go to any lengths necessary to protect those you love.
The Score: A+
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