Godzilla Minus One

Let's get something out of the way.

Godzilla Minus One is one of the best films of the year, and perhaps the best Godzilla film ever. There's quite a lot to like about it, but a few commentors like it because it's not a political movie. Did we watch the same movie? Let me spell out a few themes as I summarize it:

Our hero, Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), is a kamikaze pilot who, in the last days of World War II, gets cold feet and detours to Odo Island for "repairs." Godzilla shows up that night and kills everyone except Koichi, who froze up when he tried to shoot at Godzilla, and mechanic Sosaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki). Sosaku and Koichi's neighbor, Sumiko (Sakura Ando), blame Koichi for letting their friends and loved ones die. 

Koichi tries to live in "zero state" Japan, along with his new girlfriend, Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe) and their adopted orphan, Akiko (Sae Nagatani), but his survivor's guilt makes it extremely difficult. He finds some solace as a minesweeper on a dingy manned by engineer Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), captain Yoji Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki) and fellow greenhorn Shiro Mizushima (Yuki Yamada). Godzilla soon returns, bigger and angrier, following Operation Crossroads, and he's out to take it out on Japan. It's up to Noda to rally a civilian army, Koichi included, to deal with the King of the Monsters when neither their own government nor the US are willing to.

What themes did director & writer & co-visual effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki include? One of the most obvious is the mental health of veterans; some of the most unnerving scenes not involving Godzilla are Koichi's PTSD nightmares. That's sure to bring the struggles of modern veterans into perspective. It takes a needed pep talk for Koichi to take on Godzilla. As with Shin Godzilla, it also stresses the importance of the common man defending their country when their government won't. You'll cheer inside when Shiro, who never saw combat experience, rallies a fleet of tugboats that help stall Godzilla long enough for Koichi to finish him off. 

Oh yes, let's not forget some of the biggest. The film makes it clear that war isn't something to be proud of. You'll sympathize with Koichi for his initial desertion, as him only living to die so others may live is a harrowing prospect. To him, there's no point in fighting when the outcome is obvious. A few other guys are understandably reluctant to put their lives on the line again. You'll still rally behind those that stay and fight the unreasonable force of nature. And, as with the first film, it's very much opposed to nuclear weapons. Have I made myself clear?

Koichi is a sympathetic protagonist, but how about his castmates? His familial relationship with Noriko and Akiko is endearing, which makes the midpoint seemingly devastating. The minesweeper crew is a likable and quirky bunch, and you'll be impressed as Noda lays out his plan to kill Godzilla (sink him with freon, and if that fails, float him back up and let decompression take care of him). Sosaku and Sumiko, as harsh as they are on Koichi, are both sympathetic as they deal with their own losses, and they both help him in the end. Their human drama is so compelling that you'll shake in your seat as Godzilla menaces them.

If there's an advantage to creating Godzilla with CGI, as this film does, rather than a man in a suit, it's the expressiveness. This Godzilla announces his presence by throwing the nearest heavy object (ie, a train) and he views the puny humans in the climax with palpable rage. His rampage across Ginza is accentuated by Akira Ifukube's iconic, booming score and is capped off by his atomic breath vaporizing the district. His initial attack on Odo Island has a spectacular jump scare and his initial form, which kind of resembles his 1998 variant, is as imposing as his final form. Overall, Yamazaki and co-supervisor Kiyoko Shibuya's effects are quite seamless, while the new score by Naoki Sato emphasizes the film's gravitas.

Godzilla Minus One is a very serious film whose storyline hits as hard as Godzilla's atomic breath. It's a film you'll want to stay through the ending credits even as it lacks a post-credit scene. Its coda is instead a stunning display of sound design as his booming footsteps draw closer and closer. If I had time to watch films in theaters multiple times, this would be one of them. It's just that great, and hopefully, Godzilla's return to theaters in April's Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is just as good in its own way. That's it for now.