*This story contains minor spoilers for the Godzilla Minus One movie.
Godzilla has once again begun its path of destruction. The gargantuan monster took cities, ships, and box office records by surprise in Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0). As the latest Japanese installment in the beloved Godzilla franchise, this movie far exceeded my already high expectations.
According to Screen Rant, its North American opening weekend grossed over $11 million, becoming “the second-highest debut for any live-action, foreign-language film.” It also had a record-breaking 100% on Rotten Tomatoes before settling down to a 98% as of January 23rd.
The numbers speak plenty about the movie’s quality, but movie critics across the board have also had nothing but praise. Forbes Senior Contributor Erik Kain labeled it as “The Best Godzilla Movie In Years.”
But enough statistics and outside opinions. Personally, many aspects of Godzilla Minus One had my eyes glued to the screen. Like the acting? Phenomenal. The plot? Riveting. The graphics? Absolutely stunning.
“It had amazing storytelling and made me feel compassionate for the characters,” said alumna Jiselle Arevalo. “It had me looking forward to a sequel.”
The captivating storytelling was also one of if not the best aspects of the movie. The opening scene is set during the end of WWII as Kouichi Shikishima (played by Ryuunosuke Kamiki) flees from his certain death as a kamikaze pilot to Odo Island. On the island, he faces another close call with death after encountering Godzilla.
Shikishima returns to a war-torn Tokyo after somehow surviving his monster encounter, discovering that his parents had died during the war. He faces grief, guilt, and PTSD as a kamikaze pilot survivor. As the story progresses, along with the redevelopment of post-WWII Japan (for any history nerds out there), Shikishima finds new connections through a found family, old neighbors, and new coworkers.
Although his inner turmoil prevents him from opening up to those around him, as well as the mounting monster problem, Shikishima eventually learns to accept and love the people who care for him. It’s a tear-jerking conclusion to an emotionally developed story, one you wouldn’t expect given the emotional dryness of recent Godzilla movies.
My short summary by no means captures how moving many of the scenes were. I left out several details for the sake of avoiding big spoilers, so if you want to truly understand my hype for the story, consider watching it when it becomes available.
Another reason why I like the story so much is because it hits the ball out of the park compared to Hollywood’s Godzilla iterations. The cool CGI scenes of a $155 million and more budget may capture an audience’s attention momentarily, but it creates no lasting impression like the emotionally driven plot of the $15 million budget Godzilla Minus One.
“[It’s the] first time I walked out of a Godzilla movie remembering the characters’ names,” said my brother and Salem alumni Simon Straw. I concur in remembering nothing of the plot or characters of Hollywood’s Godzilla series.
Additionally, Godzilla Minus One paid proper homage to the original 1950s-1970s Godzilla movies with the familiar Dun-Dun-Dunnnn soundtrack whenever Godzilla appeared. Every time I heard that track, my excitement skyrocketed and my appreciation for the movie grew.
Speaking of music, the film’s musical score effectively complemented whatever kind of scene was shown, whether it was heart-wrenching loss, heart-warming reunion, or heart-racing action. One particular scene also used a lack of sound to convey a collective tension. This scene made me hold my breath as I waited to see what had happened to the characters.
While there are plenty more reasons why I love this movie, like its social commentary, historical representation, and action scenes, for the sake of avoiding spoilers and not boring you with a rant, I’ll give my final scoring here. In account of the respect to the original Godzilla movies, compelling story, impactful musical score, amazing cinematography, and memorability, I give Godzilla Minus One a 10/10.
A sequel that continues this intricate story was foreshadowed in the ending, so I recommend watching Godzilla Minus One before you have to play a game of catch-up.
