Title – Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Director – Takashi Yamazaki (The Fighter Pilot)
Cast – Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Sakura Andô, Kuranosuke Sasaki
Plot – In the aftermath of World War 2, a group of dedicated ex-soldiers must band together to tackle a new threat in the form of the monstrous sea creature known as Godzilla.
“Godzilla looks really ticked off”
Review by Eddie on 22/05/2024
2023 didn’t have a lot of cinematic stories to celebrate outside of the Barbenheimer craze that swept the cinema scene across the globe but one of the rare positives was the surprising success of the Japanese Oscar winning Godzilla Minus One which managed to secure over $100 million dollars the worldwide box office.
Working off a budget that has been estimated to be no more than $15 million, Minus One was virtually made for the catering budget of a big Hollywood monsterverse film with Takashi Yamazaki’s passion project showcasing to all that there’s life still in the Godzilla brand and that not every film needs to have exorbitant budgets allocated to them to make them feel like an “event” picture.
It’s hard to say without doubt that the world needed yet another Godzilla film, with 38 officially sanctioned Godzilla films having made their way into the public realm since the first venture was released all the way back in 1954 but with Yamazaki and his team allowing their Godzilla offering to focus on and around the human element more than the eye-candy or giant lizard element, Minus One manages to (pardon the pun) breathe new blue life into a property that had long grown stagnant in many of its ideas and deliveries.
Set in the tail end of World War 2 and spanning the immediate years following the aftermath of Japan’s surrender and rebuilding, Minus One covers a lot of ground in its two hour runtime as we are given significant time with Ryunosuke Kamiki’s one time kamikaze fighter pilot Koichi Shikishima who is struggling to come to terms with his time in the war and new life, made all the more difficult by the arrival of a supercharged Godzilla who appears destined to cause more pain on Japan if he isn’t stopped.
A film whose inventive almost Dunkirk like set-pieces and character beats are best left discovered by unsuspecting viewers, Minus One neatly balances spectacle with heart, no better displayed than a stunning segment featuring Godzilla’s first large-scale public land appearance, offering up an experience that is sure to appease diehard fans and newbies alike while also gifting jaded Godzilla sufferers something to get excited about rather than more of Hollywood’s recent lazy Godzilla entries.
There are clear flaws to this critical lauded and audience favourite, some of the films script work leaves a lot to be desired while some of the performances in the film are wildly overplayed but the flaws on display aren’t enough to stop one from having a great time with a film that against all the odds proves there’s more still to mine from the Godzilla space that for years has felt like it was entirely depleted.
Final Say –
A masterwork of low budget film-making masquerading as a major tentpole event, Godzilla Minus One isn’t perfect but it’s absolutely one of the best Godzilla films we’ve ever had and a far better example of savvy filmmaking than many recent Hollywood efforts that have been shown up badly by this surprising success story.
3 1/2 wooden boats out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
How do we see this here Ed? I’d love to see it on the big screen.
I was lucky to see this one back in December in its limited run at cinemas mate, I had a review drafted up for a long time waiting for its home release here but it appears as though there’s no firm date for a home release in Aus yet which is really surprising.
E
Shame, would have been awesome on the big screen. I’ll have to catch it on dvd then. Cheers mate.
Absolutely recommend a HD/Blu Ray copy if you can find one here when its out. I am really surprised its taking so long to get to home media here, it had a lot of hype!
E
It’s been a hit in Japan and you understand why. As you said, it’s one of the best Godzilla film. Absolutely amazing with a low budget comparing to the american blockbusters. Hope it will come back in blu-ray.
I think it’s only going to grow its fanbase once the worldwide release rolls out on home media, such a fun film.
E
Yeah, really loved this! Sure, some melodrama on a high drama scale, but generally lovely grand work
So nice to see a film like this make so much time for the human element without it losing its focus. A great cinematic underdog story.
E
Agree, it’s a great film. I think setting a lot of the action at sea really helped sell the special effects; the only time I felt they looked stilted and awkward were during the Tokyo attack, otherwise it did feel like a bigger film than it was.
They did really well covering the corners they may have had to cross to achieve what they did with their budget. It’s really impressive what they delivered.
E
This movie was such a pleasant surprise. I never imagined I’d ever be interested in a Godzilla movie, or be invested in the human story when it’s usually the weakest part of a monster movie. I agree though that it’s not perfect; the lead actor definitely had a few overacting moments that took me out of the movie. Overall though it was pretty great.
Totally agree!
I do think some of the acting and script work wasn’t always top notch but it was a highly entertaining film and one that reminded us just what can be achieved with smaller and smarter filmmaking not just huge spectacle and budgets wasted on nothing.
E
Glad to see your review of this one. I had it in my must see in the theater list but unfortunately didn’t get a chance. I’ll try once it starts streaming and see if a budget theater picks it up.
It was great on the big screen mate! I think you’re going to really enjoy it once it finally makes its way to home release.
E
Good review. I wasn’t too keen on seeing this, but I forced myself to go see this movie and I was quite surprised how much I loved it. The visual effects were great and the giant kaiju action scenes were terrifying and thrilling to watch. The movie truly brought the character of Godzilla back to its monster roots. Plus, the human characters, while conventional at times, was actually pretty good and were ten times better than the ones in the MonsterVerse series. Overall, I loved Minus One and hope that a sequel materializes in the near future.