Directed by Takashi Yamazaki — Screenplay by Takashi Yamazaki.
Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One takes place at the end of the Second World War in Japan, and it follows a disgraced, failed kamikaze pilot, Koichi Shikishima (played by Ryunosuke Kamiki), struggling with PTSD. As Shikishima tries to build a life for himself in post-war Japan, the nuclear test-impacted dinosaur-esque kaiju known as Godzilla, which Shikishima first encountered on a Japanese base some years earlier, makes its way to Japan, where it can cause further destruction on the already heavily impacted country. To defend themselves against the gigantic mutated lizard, citizens must come together and find new ways of fighting back.
There is so much to like here. I thought Minus One, for the most part, was sensationally good. Takashi Yamazaki has made a really gripping blockbuster that makes the most out of its story, and which never underwhelms with regard to making an epic spectacle of things. For the reported budget, I thought the visual effects on display were absolutely incredible. The spectacular attack on Ginza sequence takes your breath away. It is incredibly epic and hard-hitting.
Although some of the aspects are relatively simple, I thought the arc of the main character — guilt-ridden coward learns to let go of his shame and figures out what is actually worth fighting for and defending — was very good (even though I will admit I have some notes). I liked the whole found-family element, and I thought Yamazaki, for the most part, did a really good job making this an exciting, gripping, and relatively believable kaiju period-piece (or as believable as a made-up kaiju film can be).
I loved the little nods to, in particular, Steven Spielberg’s filmography here in certain shots and scenes (e.g., Jaws. There’s also a little bit of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk here). But, when it comes to comparing it to its American counterparts, the film surpasses every single one of the American Godzilla films with regard to understanding the proper balancing act of human drama and Godzilla action, but also with regard to making the lead character’s arc stand out. This film is leagues better than most, if not all, of the American Godzilla films, and it instantly shoots itself up to the top as probably my favorite kaiju film.
At the same time, I am somewhat conflicted because I think its politics are muddled and sometimes border on inappropriate. The whole idea that the main character is a kamikaze pilot for the Axis Powers is problematic if handled poorly, and, well, while I think the film succeeds despite the conflicted feelings it brings forth, I think it gets very close to messing up its complex political and historical balancing act. The main character can be read as a symbol of Japan’s national pride post-World War Two with his arc taking him from being full of shame and being traumatized over failure to do his part and give his life so that they maybe could’ve swung the tide and won the war (as unlikely as that would be) to, at the end of the film, restoring national and personal pride through completing his kamikaze-adjacent mission. But while the film does focus heavily on the destructive impact of the Second World War on Japan, the film doesn’t really reckon with the wrongdoings perpetrated by Imperial Japan directly, so the moments of excessive nationalism (heroic shots of the fighter plane, civilians saluting their success rather than merely cheering, etc.) can feel poorly judged.
It is, as mentioned, a muddled political narrative. Because, on the other hand, one character also gives a big speech about how Imperial Japan as an Axis Power was inhumane in its treatment of its own soldiers and lacked some military capabilities (tanks weren’t great, or the like). So it is not totally on one side over the other, but I think it is fair to say that its confused politics on display takes away from the experience of watching the film somewhat, even if it is still an extraordinary film that I very much liked.
I have some nitpicks, like the film losing some steam after the Ginza attack in the build up to the final mission, or how I don’t think the hospital-related reveal at the end works, and that I think it sometimes feels like the film jumps ahead in time a fair bit with some plot developments happening off-screen (the central relationship between Noriko and Shikishima sometimes feels overly fastforwarded). But, on the whole, and despite my feeling conflicted about the confused political balancing act of the film, I still think this is an exceptionally well-made kaiju film that probably immediately jumps straight to the top as the best and most interesting Godzilla film I’ve ever seen.
8 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
