Godzilla Minus One movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Godzilla Minus One

This movie is now playing exclusively in theaters. Toho has not disclosed any streaming information about the film yet.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hour 4 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

Fans of this famous Titan will be very excited to see this; however, it’s important that you know that this film is NOT in English. It features its original Japanese audio track with English subtitles.

There are 38 films in the Godzilla franchise! The original name for this addition to the collection was “Gojira -1.0”.

The story takes place post World War II when Japan is at its lowest point. Godzilla came in the aftermath of the atomic bomb, presenting a new crisis to the Japanese.

The film was written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. It’s already been nominated for 12 awards, winning two: Best International Film, and the Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film by the Las Vegas Film Critics Society. (I live in Vegas, Baby!)

On a personal note, I took my family to Japan a few years ago and we all fell in love with the country and people.

THINGS I LIKED:

One of the nicest compliments about this film came from Gareth Edwards, who directed the 2014 Godzilla movie. He admitted to feeling jealous and stated, “This is what a Godzilla movie should be like!” James Rolfe, an internet celebrity of sorts said this is the best Godzilla movie ever made.
The title refers to when Japan was brought down to zero after WWII, but then dropped below zero (minus one) when Godzilla emerged.
The story does a great job making you really care about the characters.
There is a nice touch of visual and spoken humor.
This is the first Godzilla movie designed to be a period piece, taking place right after WWII. The movie LOOKS old and truly takes you back in time. The melodramatic tone also feels perfect for the time.
One thing that’s unique about this version of a Godzilla movie is the inclusion of the Japanese concept “Tatarigami”, which means “spirits that bring calamity. Godzilla is a monster but also half-god. It could be both good and bad.
The film also utilizes the “suitmation” design for Godzilla, which means that its posture is more upright rather than leaning forward. Some of the CGI moments are pretty cool, such as when Godzilla’s breath creates a nuclear blast. There is a total of 610 CGI shots in this film.
The film immediately earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%. Rumor has it that when the first negative comments were posted on the site, the director said, “Finally (lol).”
The film grossed $11 million in the USA during its opening weekend, which is more than any other Japanese live-action movie. Part of that probably has to do with the fact that The Boy and Heron was also released during the same weekend. Have you seen that one yet? If so, which did you like more?
Some of the original Godzilla music is used in this film.
Even though English speakers will be frustrated that the film isn’t currently available in English, it feels entirely respectful and appropriate that the movie is in Japanese.
Believe it or not, you might actually cry while watching this movie!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some of the nighttime scenes are very dark, which will make it difficult to see what’s going on if you watch this on a small device once it goes to streaming.
The movie starts out VERY slowly with lots of talking.
Sadly, Godzilla only has 11 minutes of screen time in the movie! That’s only 9% of the film’s run time! Nooooo!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Japanese is spoken with subtitles.
Lots of destruction
People are in perilous situations
Talk of death
Portrayal of World War II
Talk of suicide bombers
Talk of the atomic bomb
High dead body count

THEMES:

Kamikaze pilots’ sacrifices
Survivor’s guilt
PTSD
Family
The aftermath of war
WWII
Teamwork
Japan
Japanese military

INTERESTING LINES:

“I forbid you to die!” – Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe)
“Everyone who survived the war is meant to live.” – Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe)
“I’d like to try to live again.” – Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki)