“Godzilla: Minus One” is a Japanese film from director Takashi Yamazaki that was released Dec. 1, 2023, in the US. This film was not only met with high praise from audiences, but also some of the highest praise from film critics for the movies that came out last year. This movie is easily a must-watch not only for monster movie fans, but also viewers that are interested in the aftermath of World War II and how people handle being emotionally knocked down.
Hidden behind a movie about a kaiju wreaking havoc on post-World War II Japan, “Godzilla: Minus One” ultimately symbolizes the greater struggle everyone faces as one perseveres through the hardships of the world. As presented through the protagonist, pilot Kōichi Shikishima, spectacularly played by Ryunosuke Kamiki, presents this everyday human struggle on the big screen as he perseveres through a world that recently lost almost everything. The atmosphere of the world portrays this too, as Japan is internally struggling with being pushed to the point of true despair. When Godzilla arrives, it just furthers this feeling in not only the characters but also the world around them. This is an essential understanding for the film as the “Minus One” in the title refers to the state of a broken Japan as zero following World War II and Godzilla arriving to just push it past that point, hence “Minus One.”
For a budget of close to $15 million, the movie has set expectations high, as compared to recent Hollywood films which have budgets ranging from $200 million to $300 million at times. This has caused recent upset not only in viewers, but also in Hollywood industries as this level of execution for such a small budget has been unheard of. This budget disparity easily forced viewers to question what is happening in modern Hollywood and why such recent low-quality movies have been dropped from the great city of film.
With CGI from modern movies being considerably low-quality in design and there being a recent overall lack of care in movies, “Godzilla: Minus One” has thrown normal conventions and designs aside for a new experimental design. Thus, creating a fresh flow of breath that has helped the movie stand-out from many other films. One spectacular design of the movie is the usage of Godzilla. Despite having plenty of stand-out moments, Godzilla is truly used as an antagonist of the movie to honor his roots as a symbol for nuclear weaponry and its devastating effects on life, but also this dooming despair that disturbs the peace and rebuilding of the rest of the characters and Japan as a whole. There are limited appearances of the infamous kaiju, rather the director strategically used Godzilla at important moments to tell the story, very similar to Bruce the shark in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film, “Jaws.” This creates a spectacular form of storytelling that tells impactful and relatable stories for all audiences to become engrossed in the world of the film and the characters, a mark of true cinema.
Whether you are a fan of kaiju movies, war films, or even foreign films, everyone can find something to appreciate from this movie. “Godzilla: Minus One” is easily a must-watch film from 2023 that should not be glanced over. Everything from the great characters, monster usage, and soundtrack has helped this movie to be one of the best films of 2023. It is currently still in theaters and a recent black-and-white version was released on January 26, 2024, paying homage to the original “Godzilla” that was filmed in black-and-white released in 1954. The film plans to stay into mid-February with a slight chance of staying longer thanks to high support and praise from viewers and critics alike.