GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2023)
The Giant Monster Returns to Postwar Japan
Grade: A
The Godzilla franchise has been around for almost exactly seventy years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Most movies in the series have a connection to the original Gojira (1954), but some are either set in their own, separate worlds. Godzilla Minus One, the latest cinematic offering from the monster’s home country of Japan, falls into the latter category, taking place in the early years following World War II. The title refers specifically to the country’s condition at the time, with the bombings from Allied forces having plunged it into a zero state. Then along comes Godzilla, who takes that zero and bumps it down to a minus.
Back then, Japan was undergoing a transitional period. As its citizens struggled to rebuild their land, they were also beginning to adopt ways of life that value the individual person more than the tradition of self-sacrifice for honor. This is reflected in the movie, as the people hope to stop Godzilla without incurring any losses. Minus One follows Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot who is struggling to learn those values himself. At the movie’s opening in 1945, he is landing on Odo Island (which diehard G-fans will recall as the spot where the monster first made landfall in Gojira) under the pretense that his plane needs repairs. In fact, he is bailing on his duty; he does not want to give up his life, even though it is apparently the honorable thing to do. That very night, he again succumbs to fear when a huge, dinosaur-like creature comes ashore on the island, and he freezes up when about to shoot it with his plane’s guns.
The creature kills everyone on the island except Koichi and a mechanic named Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki). Upon returning to a ruined Tokyo, Koichi is stricken with guilt for his apparent cowardice. But he slowly begins to put his life back together when he crosses paths with a survivor named Noriko (Minami Hamabe), and they start to raise an orphaned baby named Akiko. But the following year, a nuclear test in Bikini Atoll mutates the Odo Island creature into a monstrous radioactive behemoth, and it isn’t long before it starts making its way towards Tokyo….
Minus One succeeds where so many American-produced Godzilla movies fail in providing a compelling human drama to offset the monster action. Koichi is a man trying to find redemption. He blames himself not only for the disaster on Odo Island, but also for everything Godzilla has done since. He believes he must finish what he started and give his life to save Japan. Ryunosuke is very compelling in the role; in fact, the entire cast is good. The movie’s long stretches of runtime dedicated to these people at the expense of Godzilla may put off some viewers (Toho Company, Ltd. is not Hollywood; they do not generate spectacle for its own sake), but the payoff is worth it. One of the most moving moments in the film comes during the climax; without giving too much away, the characters present salute the hero who brings about the outcome.
That is not, however, meant to discount the monster action when it does occur. The CGI effects are among the most incredible this reviewer has ever seen in a Japanese-produced film, and Godzilla’s design (which itself draws inspiration from an amusement park ride in Japan) is quite menacing, especially in scenes when it is close to human characters. When Godzilla inevitably makes landfall in Tokyo’s Ginza district, the destruction is horrifying. Vehicles are thrown around like toys, buildings are deliberately demolished, and the street buckles with each footstep the monster makes. And Godzilla’s trademark atomic breath is more destructive than ever; when he uses it in Tokyo, it generates a literal nuclear explosion which flattens half the city with its shockwave. When the rampage is finished, Koichi is left alone, screaming in grief and rage as black-colored rain starts to fall. All this is enough to make one wish the action lasts longer, though it is compelling enough as it is.
The character of Godzilla will always be relevant. As long as there is war, and as long as the horror of nuclear weapons looms over the earth, there will always be ways to adapt this famous monster into new and important stories. Minus One is one of the most important stories yet, and its quality helps ensure that, much like the monster itself, the franchise will keep coming back.
Director: Takasi Yamazaki
Visual Effects: Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya
Screenplay: Takashi Yamazaki
Producers: Minami Ichikawa, Kazuaki Kishida, Keiichirō Moriya, Kenji Yamada
Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki (Koichi Shikishima), Minami Hamabe (Noriko Oishi), Yuki Yamada (Shiro Mizumisha), Munetaka Aoki (Sosaku Tachibana), Hidetaka Yoshioka (Kenji Noda), Sakura Ando (Sumiko Ota), Kuranosuke Sasaki (Yoji Akitsu)
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