Godzilla Minus One

Alright. I knew nothing about this movie before I went into it. I'm a Godzilla fan but haven't really enjoyed the Western version of Godzilla movies beyond watching them as eye candy/cheap-thrill/forget-as-you-leave-cinema/switch-off-brain type movies.

Very rarely do we see GOOD movies that actually have a good plot and a storyline that sticks to quality script writing, screenplay and keeps you engaged for all the right reasons Vs Throwing a bunch of explosions, music and constant "something happening" to make up for lack of quality filmmaking.

Godzilla minus one... Is just a good movie. Japanese cinema slows things down and focuses on the quality of what's happening in the moment, in every moment. I was drawn to every part of the film and the story was about the humans with Godzilla in it, not about Godzilla.

I don't even know what to say. I don't want to say much. Don't go into it thinking "this is Godzilla a highly rated film".

Just go in, sit down and enjoy the ride.

I often watch low budget movies because the focus is on the story and not having a lot of pointless fillers to flesh out the movie.

This film does exactly that in a way that stays with you and leaves you thinking about the movie for days after you've watched it.

Highly recommended :)

Without spoiling anything, this movie hit different from any other. It felt much more serious and quite a bit darker at times. The movie was amazing, the effects were great. I never thought I'd see a Godzilla movie where people were crying in the theater. It was quite the experience. Godzilla was truly an unstoppable force in this movie, whenever Godzilla would show up it was hard to feel anything but futility. Even in the rare event that Godzilla was injured he was only slowed down. This version of Godzilla might be more evil than Shin Godzilla though his motives are hard to understand where shin Godzilla it became apparent.

Godzilla Minus One is one of the best Godzilla films in recent time. It gave me everything i wanted for the first time ever I was actually invested in the human characters and their story normally you are just waiting for Godzilla to show up but not here Godzilla shows up alot and when he does he is BRUTAL. This Godzilla makes things personal by actively attacking the humans. The movie had great pacing where it doesn't feel like it's going on for too long and it was nice to have a darker story set after WW2. It really goes back to the franchise's roots. There's so much to say but it would give a lot away JUST SEE THE MOVIE ON THE BIGGEST SCREEN POSSIBLE 9/10.

Set at the end of World War 2 and Japan is defeated and in ruins. Our protagonist is Koichi, a pilot who returns to his devastated hometown in Tokyo. He is unwelcome and guilt ridden for sneaking out of a kamikaze raid in the pacific. Japan is at its lowest point and then Godzilla arrives.

This is a brilliant setup for this period story that sees a country without the military might, technology and morale to face this new enemy. The film also leans into the drama and emotion that made the first film so iconic and sets it apart from the family fun films of the 70s and 80s as well as the recent American blockbuster treatments. My Japanese is not good enough to understand all of the film so there will be lots that I didn't get. However it manages to be a strong, emotional story with a scary and ferocious Godzilla. In my mind it is far superior to Shin Godzilla which I found dull and goofy. This is the best Godzilla film in many years and perhaps the best since the 1954 original.

I'm a huge fan of Godzilla, I think the original from 1954 is a genuine classic and a great film (not just a great "monster" movie). The Heisei era is my overall favorite, and I thought Shin Godzilla was weird in all the right ways. It was one of my favorite movies from that year.

This one might be even better. You actually care about the characters. It deals with some very serious topics, such as survivors guilt and the aftermath of war violence on civilians and conflicting emotions around national pride and feeling betrayed by your government. Yet the film is also exciting and optimistic and has some of the best Godzilla sequences ever put to screen. My favorite depiction of Godzilla is as a force of nature, representing the power of the atomic bomb or the fury of war itself. That's the Godzilla you get here. I think this film can very favorably be compared to American classics like Jaws and Jurassic Park, too.

I don't want to say too much, it's best to just experience the movie for yourself. The only part that felt a little false to me was the very end, but I understand why the director wanted to do it that way. The special effects look great for the most part, but there are a couple of shots here and there that aren't perfect when compared to some Hollywood movies. However, it hardly matters. This is an incredible film.

9/10 easily, probably closer to 9.5

My current Godzilla rankings:

1) Gojira (1954) 2) Godzilla Minus One (2023) 3) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) 4) Shin Godzilla (2016) 5) Return of Godzilla (1984)

Special mentions to GMK, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)