After Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005), audience were dying to see a monster movie.In the last decade, people have seen their fair share of monster movies featuring giant creatures, robots and dinosaurs with impressive CGI and sound effects.However, they still failed to capture a real ‘threat’ from monsters in their movies.If you are a Godzilla fan, you know howe the journey of this great monster has been all these years. From its first debut in Godzilla (1954), this monster has been one of the most beloved characters in the history of cinema.
If you are not much familiar with the lore of these monster movies, then you may remember Godzilla (1998) directed by Ronald Emmerich. The movie starred Mattew Broadrick, Jean Reno and Hank Azaria.This movie, to those who have seen, is a passable popcorn flick at best where Godzilla is breeding and city is under a threat. However, it was not a serious movie. Come 2014, a new Godzilla movie is released where threats seem real but characters are shallow. Following Godzilla:King of Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs.Kong (2021) and recently released Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2023) follow the trend. Awakenings Review: Rediscovering Life, Robert De Niro at His Best in This 1990 Movie
So, what changed in Godzilla Minus One? Why is it praised by all who see it and call it one of the best Godzilla movies? Short answer is – Godzilla Minus One treated the characters and the monster well.
Godzilla Minus One – Characters
Minus One treats its characters right unlike most other Godzilla movies.From the gt go, you see a troop of soldiers settling on ground during war. Among them is a Kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (played by Ryuunosuke Kamiki).During World War II, Kamikaze pilot of Japanese Special Attacks units of military were trained to do suicide attacks on enemy. Shikishima, who has lost his family in war, struggles to find purpose in his life. People call him a failure who apparently did not succeed in attacking enemies in the movie.
During the movie, he finds a girl and a small kid (not mother and her child). However, not continuing a boring love story in the middle, teh director Takashi Yamazaki keeps them separate and mentions the real threat in the movie i.e. Godzilla.Koichi Shikishima is broken and purposeless in the movie who is living for the sake of nothing. He tries to avoid getting into trouble and keep himself alive. However, after couple of encounters with the giant lizard, he decides to step up this threat.
The other characters motivate or provide meaning in the life of Shikishima who failed being a Kamikaze pilot and also lost his family. The other characters are also interesting who keep us engaged and thrilled about the threat of Godzilla and keep the plot going. There are hardly any missed or slow moments where the movie feels boring or forced.
Noriko Ōishi who plays Minami Hamabe also does a good job along with others like Sōsaku Tachibana who plays Munetaka Aoki. All of the people keep the threat real and keep us engaged. The movie shows that the lives of people matter unlike most other monster movies. However, it also gives a feeling of being helpless against such a giant monster. No matter how small, humans in this movie do everything in their power to fight against Godzilla.
Godzilla Minus One – The Monster
Godzilla in Minus One, to some extent is a single dimensional character, that has no observable personality or traits that responds to certain situations.However, that is accurate as most of the animals focus on their primal instincts. Godzilla is big, bad and destructive. He is already overpowering to humans and when fought against, attacks furiously with atomic breath. Japan, in the movie, is already at zero due to war and with such a giant threat, it goes to minus one situation as the title explains.
Godzilla is angry and determined to go towards populated cities putting every single person in danger. The destruction caused by Godzilla is scary, gruesome and heart-breaking. The weight of saving the city from utter devastation falls on the shoulders of the military that appear weak and harmless against the monster. Unlike other movies, the fighting and destructions do not make you go “wow” but with every thumping sound of Godzilla’s foot makes you pray he doesn’t hurt more people. Joker 2 Folie à Deux Release Date, Trailer Analysis, Plot Analysis, Main Characters and More
In the original movies, you can feel Godzilla dominating the cities and destroying them; however this time, you care about the humans more.The fighting techniques and plans of humans often seem ineffective to such a big monster but they give their all to keep the monster out of the cities and from harming others.
Made with a $10–12 million budget, Godzilla Minus One isn’t just a monster movie with CGI destruction and cool effects. It is an achievement in direction and visual effects that make the monster a force to be reckoned with and pays homage to all the movies that came before it. In short, Godzilla Minus One gets it all right and keep you feel thrilled, threatened and on edge with the story, visuals and human
