THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Everyone knows what a colossal hit Toho made out of Godzilla since the 1954 original film, making the character go from a threat that reflects nuclear warfare to an unlikely avenger. While it is cool for a monster to defend the planet from worser threats, most fans can agree the Titan was better written as a villain. Shin Godzilla got the grounds going in reverting to the basics, but it was Godzilla Minus One that got the message across.
PLOT
The 2023 film starts at the end of WWII in 1945 and follows kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima fleeing from his duty when landing at a base in Odo Island. The terror does not end yet when he and the mechanics at the island encounter the giant reptilian that was thought to be a myth. Kōichi almost fires at it, but his panic results in him being the sole survivor of the island. When returning home, he finds out his family died in a bombing attack. Plagued by survivors guilt, he supports a woman named Noriko Ōshi and adopts an orphaned baby named Akiko, both of which also lost their families in the same bombings. He quickly gets a job as part of a minesweeping crew to dispose of naval mines. His crew includes: naval engineer Kenji Noda, captain Yoji Akitsu and young crewman Shirō Mizushima aka Kid. Together they find many ships including the USS Redship destroyed by Godzilla, as a result of the beast being empowered by the USA’s nuclear tests in Bikini Atoll. With the Cold War set in motion, the States offers no help save for a few decommissioned IJN vessels approved by General Douglas MacArthur. Not wanting the public to panic, the Japanese government does not notify incoming danger. In ‘47, Kōichi and his crew are tasked to stall Godzilla’s approach to Japan in the waters near the Ogasawara Islands. They release a mine onto its mouth, but it proves itself to be more formidable than expected when it regenerates before destroying the Takao cruiser with its heat ray. When returning home, Kōichi tells Noriko about the creature for the first time and how he fears being trapped in an illusion until she assures him he’s not. Days later, the Titan arrives in Ginza and wreaks havoc as expected. Kōichi would try to save Noriko from the mayhem, but she would be swept away from the shockwave caused by the atomic breath. Presuming her to have died, he vows revenge. With thousands of people dead/injured, Kenji devises his own plan to defeat it. The plan includes luring Godzilla out to Sagami Bay before surrounding it with Freon tanks and rupture them, which would sink it and let the resultant water crush it. If that doesn’t work, Godzilla will be forced back up to be killed through explosive decompression. As Kenji recruits navy veterans to crew disarmed IJN destroyers, Kōichi recruits Sōsaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki), the only other survivor of Odo Island, to help him repair a broken down fighter. The latter is hesitant due to still blaming him for what happened, but puts his animosity aside for the greater good. Kōichi plans to use the jet to kill Godzilla by flying into its mouth and detonate explosive charges, knowing it’s vulnerable through its insights. Before departing, he leaves Akiko under the care of his neighbor Sumiko Ōta (Sakura Ando) should he not return. On the day of the operation, He is able to lure the beast to the trap set by the destroyers, but it breaks free after surviving the initial plunge. The only injury it sustains is barotrauma. Kid leads a fleet of tugboats that haul the beast to the surface. Godzilla almost summons another heat ray, but that is stopped when Kōichi crashes into its mouth and ejects in time, causing the energy of its breath to tear it apart. When Shikishima returns to land, Sumiko shares of a telegram that was meant for him. He rushes to the hospital with Akiko to discover that Noriko survived the Ginza attack, but is still recovering from severe injuries. The film ends in a cliffhanger showing Godzilla’s flesh regenerating while sinking into the ocean.
THOUGHTS
It’s hard for a franchise to be relevant when being 70 years old and over 30 movies have been made because by then, you got to find ways to be refreshing. 49 years apart from the original film, it’s crazy that it took so long for one to have the same emotional impact. Writer/Director Takashi Yamazaki gives a long awaited return to form on why monsters are always going to be terrifying. The Oscar winning visual effects arguably present the best design on the infamous Kaiju because whenever he was onscreen, I felt just as frightened as viewers were in ‘54. Whether he’s swimming towards a boat, stomping around a city like Ginza or summoning a devastating heat ray, it’s hard to not have chills. The sound effects done for its roar was able to be so unique due to being a distorted version of the original film’s roar. The cinematography by Kōzō Shibasaki also was beneficial in showing how grand the terror was made. Seeing how this monster has a negative effect on the characters around, the movie is able to be grounded enough to tell us we can work through our traumas in order to resume embracing the rest of our lives but if we don’t, we’ll remain mentally frozen and everything will flash before we know it. This is the message that incredibly captured by Toho’s best ensemble yet. Ryunosuke Kamiki was goddamn incredible as Shikishima who was undoubtedly shell shocked from all the trauma. Having encountered a giant reptilian after surviving WWII is not something to brush off as both instances had severe casualties he witnessed. With Godzilla however, he has the right to feel blame on what happened in Odo Island when he could’ve tried to fight. At the same time however, he was already sure his actions would’ve not worked at the time. For some people, it sounds challenging to find new meaning in life when a war ends for him, he found such with a blended family and an unlikely group of friends. Minami Hamabe was a delight as Noriko who relates to Shikishima from the trauma of WWII and seek to be better versions of themselves. She quickly does so when adopting Akiko, wanting to give her a better life than what would’ve came from an orphanage. Kōichi couldn’t take her hand in marriage because as he said best, his war wasn’t over. That meant he couldn’t be satisfied with the future ahead of him until Godzilla was defeated which he indeed pulled off. When Noriko was swept away from the shockwave, it was a devastating moment to unfold because she is who motivated Shikishina on wanting to be a better person and there’s no doubt he was before the monster resurfaced. With such a miracle coming from her survival, there’s no doubt they’ll continue to make the best of the future after. Going into friends, there’s also denial in saying Shikishima would’ve not gotten into his comfort zone with people that had minimum judgement towards him as they respect him for his previous efforts. You can definitely relate to Yuki Yamada making Kid the most eager on wanting to make a difference, which he so does when leading the tugboats that benefit the Godzilla before the death blow. Kuranosuke Sasaki also made Yoji a standout for quite opportune of a figure since he never wanted an opportunity that came his way to be wasted and insists his friend to not make a similar mistake. He was of course onboard with the plan against Godzilla, but was also vocal on Shikishima to settle down with Noriko. He saw & knew they have it good in their predicament, thus insisting on them to tie the knot to solidify their equal relationship. Of course when the truth was out on why they weren’t married, he stopped pointing out and accepted nothing else can be said. As long as you speak your mind, you are a good friend and that is what Yoji was. My favorite character however was Kenji because Hidetaka Yoshioka used his intelligence to be resilient. He knew the government wasn’t gonna put a better effort in stopping the Titan, thus paving the way for him to step up to the plate and make a difference. Had he not come up with a plan, it would’ve not transitioned for Kōichi to seek his redemption which worked out for everyone. He knew how precious life is and would be damned if he were to let any more be taken without a fighting chance which he gave. Although Godzilla’s regeneration in the end implies the possible connection to the original film, it doesn’t take away the fact humanity will always find a way to overcome adversity as long as everyone believes in themselves. This movie is great in its own right, but there are still some things that made me scratch my head. For starters, how did the people pursuing Noriko’s sudden handoff with Kōichi about the baby? I mean it’s not like she stole something worse than that, so I don’t see why they didn’t confront him right after. I know Kōichi was hesitant to talk about his relationship with Noriko as it developed, but he should’ve know his friends were gonna ask about it when inviting them to dinner. I’m then glad he talks to Noriko about Godzilla before she sees the monster firsthand, but he was exaggerating when saying he didn’t do anything the second time around because he did still shoot at it after expressing hesitance. Also, how did he reach her in time to try saving her? It feels like a miracle for him to get a babysitter in time before he left compared to her surviving the ordeal. And I’m glad Kenji tries looking out for him when pointing out he could die flying toward Godzilla, but I don’t think it’s any different than everyone else who are gonna use boats to lasso the beast. Other than that, this movie is still effective in what it’s going for. In conclusion, Godzilla Minus One is able to be one of 2023’s finest films for redefining why monsters are not to take lightly. If you are a fan of the iconic Kaiju, see this now.
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