Film Review - Godzilla Minus One (2023)

The newest entry in the Godzilla franchise has finally roared its way to screens but does it live up to the legacy of the cinematic legendary monster that is Godzilla? The answer is a resounding yes as ‘Godzilla Minus One’ is surprisingly a massive plus for Godzilla and the franchise as a whole.

The latest entry in the beloved monster Godzilla franchise, has graciously returned Godzilla to his home in the Japanese studio Toho, this time following former Kamikaze pilot Koichi post World War Two. ‘Godzilla Minus One’ does what has seemingly been impossible in the recent American Godzilla franchise, now known as the monsterverse and that is that you actually care about the human characters. The lead character of Koichi played magnificently by Ryunosuke Kamiki has a surprising amount of depth, single handily suring every single character in the entire American franchise. Koichi is a character of whom many Japanese audiences will be able to relate to and one that may bring emotion to the aspects of the Kamikaze and the history of Japan, making this interpretation of Godzilla even more menacing and perhaps even evil.

‘Godzilla Minus One’ takes a whole new perspective on the franchise being set in the late 1940s. This allows for a unique experience and perspective for the franchise similar to 2017s ‘Kong Skull Island’ as it combines the elements of war and monster together, creating an interesting set of themes within the movie being war, chaos and destruction. These themes create a set of relatable characters, making Godzilla amplify the pain and emotion of when these people you love may or may not perish by the jaws of the titan Godzilla.

The movie having a relatively small budget of only $15 million forces the creatives to be selective with the use of Godzilla however, Godzilla in this movie is a destructive force of nature as he wreaks pure carnage creating a true bloodbath, massacre and butchery on the nation of Japan with for the most part top notch VFX. This all goes to prove that sometimes simplicity in monster movies is all you need to create a visually and story pleasing movie. The American franchise may have to take notes. Though Godzilla does sometimes move like a robot which can occasionally take you out of the movie for the most part you learn to fear him. All of this leads to some tension filled sequences where you fear for the characters of whom you have grown attached to, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ truly knows how to master the monster movie genre.

All this being said ‘Godzilla Minus One’ is not without its flaws as the third act of the movie can get rather ridiculous, undoing key story points that hurt the movie and completely take you out of what was previously an incredible, captivating and downright fun achievement in the realm of Godzilla and the monster genre as a whole. The movie also spends far too long trying to explain exposition when in reality all the audience wants is to see Godzilla create chaos, carnage and pure destruction in Japan.

Overall, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ while not a perfect movie understands what makes Godzilla and the franchise great, clearly showing a ion for its characters, maybe Godzilla does belong back with Japan, proving that the American franchise may have to step up its game if they want to compete and match the quality of their fellow giants. All of this being said, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ definitely deserves your attention in the cinema.