Seven years after Shin Godzilla, Toho is back for another Godzilla movie, this time in Godzilla Minus One.
During the final days of World War II, a failed kamikaze pilot, Kōichi Shikishima, discovers the mythical Godzilla on Odo island. After the encounter with Godzilla, Koichi returns to Tokyo but later discovers that Godzilla is heading there as well. Now Koichi has to relive past nightmares to fight Godzilla.
What makes Godzilla Minus One so captivating is that the characters are introduced in a way that makes moviegoers care for them as if they were their friends. When characters do die, the emotional response of the other characters makes us cry for them and the characters affected by the death. Similarly, in high-tense action scenes, the music and action have the audience at the edge of their seats and rooting for characters to survive the conflict. After the fighting has ended, the destruction and carnage of Godzilla Minus One is awestruck. The soundtrack seems perfect for whatever is happening. sad or happy, helps make the emotional beats even more effective. However, the classic Godzilla theme song does make an appearance to help make Godzilla a fierce enemy.
Godzilla Minus One in a similar manner to Shin Godzilla uses the titular character as commentary on how the Japanese Government controls the flow of information into the public. But the bigger theme is the lack of empathy the Japanese Government had towards civilians and soldiers’ lives and families.
While most of the movie is impressive, one downfall is that in some scenes, the CGI is wonky. The new design for Godzilla, while smaller than previous counterparts, does manage to be more aggressive and imposing, which makes up for that negative.
Overall, Godzilla Minus One, with its use of emotional plot points and awestruck destruction, is one of the best movies in the Godzilla franchise and is overall a great movie.
Currently, there are no announced plans for a home release of Godzilla Minus One other than a tweet from Amazon Prime Video hinting towards a release on their streaming service.
