Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 124 minutes
Release Date: November 3rd, 2023 (Japan) / December 1st, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Toho / Toho International
Director(s): Takashi Yamazaki
Writer(s): Takashi Yamazaki / Ishirô Honda & Takeo Murata (character)

I’d like to try and live again.

It’s more a movie with Godzilla than a Godzilla movie as the monster himself is an afterthought. Not because Japan has seen him before, but because the war has them feeling so defeated that their first reaction upon seeing him is “Here we go again.”

And that’s where Godzilla Minus One stands out. It’s not a unique movie and the pacing is very slow with little plot propulsion beyond “We need to stop Godzilla without anyone’s help because tensions remain high between the US and USSR, but thank goodness the handful of characters we introduced to you are just the right people to do so,” but the central nihilism is refreshing. Because it’s not about revenge. Or the bomb. Or outside interference at all. It’s about all the ways Japan let the Japanese down itself.

Government secrets. Sending men to die as kamikazes. Leaving the poor helpless. Takashi Yamazaki is pulling no punches where patriotism is concerned, shifting the focus from sacrificing yourself for country to sacrificing yourself for future generations who shouldn’t have to become cannon fodder like they did. I don’t necessarily think the human interest stuff works perfectly—time passes so quickly that conflict overshadows emotion every single time—but it has for others.

As for the monster itself: this Godzilla is pretty cool with its charged-up heat-ray. And it does look great for having a sub-15-million dollar budget. But don’t tell me it looks like a 300-million dollar budget because it certainly does not. This was shot very particularly to stretch that cash and often reminded me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow aesthetically. The real lesson isn’t about making a little money look good, though. The lesson is that you don’t need a lot of money to be good.

---

A scene from GODZILLA MINUS ONE; courtesy of Toho.