GODZILLA Minus One (2023)

[Raja]

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.

Wow!

[DesiJF]

I saw this a couple of weeks ago because I was hearing such good things about it, and that it was the best Godzilla movie in years.

I thought it was just OK.  The acting was very week in my opinion, especially the lead with his PTSD.  I did enjoy some of the acting.  The lead scientist and the lead actress were pretty good.

The star of the movie was Godzilla. The CGI was pretty good and Godzilla on a rampage was entertaining.

I'll probably watch it again when it comes out on a streaming service and just skip by most of the PTSD stuff.

[Raja]

I haven't seen much Godzilla besides the one that attacked San Francisco since the 70s. Minus one blew me away. 

The story of those who rode with Japan down to zero and now were heroically stepping up worked my emotions 

[snickers]

I saw this a couple of weeks ago as well. I too thought it was decent but not the best Godzilla movie of all time. 
I did appreciate the old school movie feel to it, but I thought the acting was actually pretty good

[Cress]

I was looking for this thread. Glad to find it!

I saw the movie twice. I think it's excellent in that the human story about Koichi and his found family was so central and emotional. It wasn't just filler between the monster attacks. The movie builds so that Koichi's trauma increases and he feels personally victimized by Godzilla. Therefore he's fanatically dedicated to killing it, and you really root for him to succeed. Other characters like Doc, Kid, and the Captain also get to shine too.

I have seen a few Hollywood Godzilla movies before, but this one from Toho was really outstanding and impressive.

[StatisticalOutlier]

  On 1/2/2024 at 2:43 PM, Cress said:

I have seen a few Hollywood Godzilla movies before, but this one from Toho was really outstanding and impressive.

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I'm hoping to see it, but the stars might not be aligning. 

But if you enjoyed this one from Toho, you should check out Shin Godzilla from a few years ago. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

  On 12/30/2023 at 9:43 PM, Raja said:

I haven't seen much Godzilla besides the one that attacked San Francisco since the 70s. Minus one blew me away.

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I pretty much stick to theaters, and managed to see the original Godzilla a couple of times in past years, and liked it (obviously, if I saw it and went back a few years later).  Then I saw Shin Godzilla, and it was great, so I thought I was a fan of Godzilla movies.

Then I saw Godzilla vs. Kong and it was okay--nothing to write home about, but I enjoy spectacle every once in a while.  So I figured I should stick to the Japanese Godzillas, and did manage to see Godzilla Minus One today.

I thought it was fantastic.  I didn't think any of the acting was weak.  I understood why the lead might be troubled, although I realized he really isn't responsible for all those deaths because even if he'd shot, it wouldn't have killed Godzilla, and it no doubt would have just made him madder, and wished he'd realized that himself.  The kamikaze thing, well, he did chicken out on that, but to no known huge effect.  But the combination of the two no doubt worked against his mental health.

One thing I really liked was the music.  Those choppy strings just really work for me.  During Godzilla's first visit to Tokyo, the music heavily referenced the original in style and sound, but didn't duplicate it, which I thought was a nice touch.  And then in the last battle, it was the exact music from the original for just a little bit, which to my mind is some of the best music in a movie ever. 

And even better, I understood the plot completely.  I don't see a lot of "spectacle" movies, but when I do, I almost never get really involved in the plot, and I never remember it afterward.  This one I did, I think because they didn't throw money at every frame of the movie, and allowed it to breathe a little.

Whatever...I'm super glad the stars aligned and I got to see it before it leaves theaters entirely.  As it was, I had to make a pretty good trek, but it was totally worth it.

[LaurieStokes]

  On 12/27/2023 at 3:30 AM, Raja said:

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.

Wow!

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I haven't watched it yet. Is it worth watching? The last movie, I watched was Godzilla: King of the Monsters. I love it the most.

[Raja]

  On 1/24/2024 at 5:35 AM, LaurieStokes said:

I haven't watched it yet. Is it worth watching? The last movie, I watched was Godzilla: King of the Monsters. I love it the most.

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Besides the San Francisco one I haven't seen much Godzilla beyond the ones that rotated unto syndication in the 70s. And Minus One reminds me most of that first one with Raymond Burr adding the American face. As opposed to the destroy all monsters where he teams up with the moth and the turtle to take down a three headed monster.

It is the story when Godzilla isn't on the screen with the surviving Japanese veterans and citizens who made it through the fire bombings rebuilding a community from zero being knocked back down by the monster that sets this apart. I'm with the highly recommended class of critics

[StatisticalOutlier]

This is being re-released in a black-and-white version called Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color.  I'm a fan of black and white and I loved the color version, so I'll definitely go.  (I also saw the black-and-white re-release of Parasite)

[Raja]

  On 1/24/2024 at 9:46 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

This is being re-released in a black-and-white version called Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color.  I'm a fan of black and white and I loved the color version, so I'll definitely go.  (I also saw the black-and-white re-release of Parasite)

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I didn't know that black and white releases was a thing. I  thought it was to pay further homage to the original Godzilla movie 

Edited January 24, 2024 by Raja

[StatisticalOutlier]

  On 1/24/2024 at 9:50 PM, Raja said:

I didn't know that black and white relases was a thing. I  thought it was to pay further homage to the original Godzilla movie 

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That's what I'd assume, although I'm just guessing that there's no over-arching pattern to doing black-and-white re-releases.  I've seen articles where the director said "The black-and-white images make Godzilla look very realistic and documentary-like, which leads to even more fear."

Nightmare Alley is another one that had a black-and-white re-release.  Here's an article about that one:

https://www.thewrap.com/nightmare-alley-black-and-white-version-explained-guillermo-del-toro-dan-laustsen/

ETA:  The black-and-white Godzilla is scheduled to run for only one week, so don't tarry, in case they really mean it.

 

Edited January 24, 2024 by StatisticalOutlier

[StatisticalOutlier]

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

I saw the black-and-white version and enjoyed it.  I'm old enough to have had Saturday afternoon monster movies on TV, and have warm feelings about black-and-white monster movies.

I do think the parts where those things come jutting out of his back looked better in color, but otherwise it worked really well in black and white. 

[SlovakPrincess]

Ok, I did not expect this movie to be genuinely good?!  I thought the story and acting, and the fact that they tried to say something meaningful about the demoralized psyche of ordinary Japanese people after WWII, were a pleasant surprise.   I really thought it was going to be just a fun monster flick to take my nephew to, but I was pretty impressed.

[jah1986]

Finally saw this over the weekend on Netflix. I really enjoyed it! As others have noted, it wasn't just an action movie, it had real human drama. And you really didn't feel sorry for Godzilla or root for him to succeed.

I don't understand the title though, what does the minus one refer to?

[Raja]

  On 6/3/2024 at 7:12 PM, jah1986 said:

Finally saw this over the weekend on Netflix. I really enjoyed it! As others have noted, it wasn't just an action movie, it had real human drama. And you really didn't feel sorry for Godzilla or root for him to succeed.

I don't understand the title though, what does the minus one refer to?

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I think that the war knocked Japan down to zero and  then comes Godzilla, minus one. I saw it in the minus color version when I hit Netflix got a color and English dubbed version. The voice acting seemed a bit off. And since I knew the story perhaps not needing read caused a lack of attention 

[Affogato]

i appreciate the whuffly nose. Godzilla should always have a whuffly nose. 
 

sometimes I’m not clear. This was a Toho Gojira, I liked that. I’m not sure this didn’t say anything the original (not the horrible Burr cut) didn’t say better.  But it was watchable. 

Edited June 7, 2024 by Affogato

[BetterButter]

 

[BetterButter]

Toho greenlights new Godzilla movie from Godzilla Minus One creator

[aghst]

I watched the old movies as a kid, never had any desire to see any more but saw the reviews for this one.

It’s not the special effects, it’s the survivors guilt from a war which sacrificed so many lives.  Crucially the task of stopping Godzilla falls to citizens, though how did just citizens get access to warships, a prototype fighter and all that equipment?

Shikishima shouldn’t feel guilty, because it made no sense to go on a kamikaze mission  in the final days of the war.

Nor would he have killed Godzilla at Odo island because we see that it’s virtually indestructible — because there will be more Godzilla movies.

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

  On 4/6/2025 at 8:31 PM, aghst said:

It’s not the special effects, it’s the survivors guilt from a war which sacrificed so many lives. Crucially the task of stopping Godzilla falls to citizens,

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Since you have these sensibilities, I suggest you try Shin Godzilla.  The plot is the government trying to deal with Godzilla, and it has parallels to Fukushima.

God damn I love that music.

[Gobi]

  On 6/3/2024 at 7:12 PM, jah1986 said:

Finally saw this over the weekend on Netflix. I really enjoyed it! As others have noted, it wasn't just an action movie, it had real human drama. And you really didn't feel sorry for Godzilla or root for him to succeed.

I don't understand the title though, what does the minus one refer to?

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Per the director, in the post-war era, Japan had been reduced to zero. Throwing Godzilla in the mix reduces Japan to minus one.

[Raja]

  On 4/6/2025 at 8:31 PM, aghst said:

It’s not the special effects, it’s the survivors guilt from a war which sacrificed so many lives.  Crucially the task of stopping Godzilla falls to citizens, though how did just citizens get access to warships, a prototype fighter and all that equipment?

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We have the old destroyers demilitarized by the removal of armament.  I guess that was supposed to keep them in reserve ready to sail in case the US wanted Japan to help in a war against the Soviets or Chinese. The US may have went peace out when Godzilla headed to Japan but it was the least they could do. The occupation troops missing a hidden experimental aircraft that would have been studied is a harder thing to explain.

  On 4/6/2025 at 8:31 PM, aghst said:

Shikishima shouldn’t feel guilty, because it made no sense to go on a kamikaze mission  in the final days of the war.

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Being shamed by the surviving mechanic from the airfield even before Godzilla showed up and civilians when he arrived home does not lead to forgiving yourself.

[tennisgurl]

I'm so glad that this came to Netflix, I had heard great things and this didn't disappoint. I have always enjoyed Godzilla shows/movies, and this was such a unique take on the subject, we got some cool monster action but I was really pulled into the human drama of it all and how war can so badly hurt people on a personal and national level. The original Godzilla was a metaphor for nuclear weapons and attacks, and while that was there too, Godzilla seemed to be more of a metaphor for the way that war tears people apart even after the fighting has stopped. You can end the war but there are still monsters after you. 

Koichi was a great protagonist, he suffered so much and felt so much guilt for his supposed failures, it felt really fulfilling when he found a family and could step up and do what needed to be done and put in the effort to live. The rest of the cast and characters were great too, Noriko, the Dr. the Captain, the engineer who eventually came around on Koichi, they were all really engaging and never made the show feel draggy when we aren't seeing the monster. 

The effects on Godzilla were pretty awesome, I can see why this is the first Godzilla movie to win an Oscar. He wasn't as huge as some past Godzilla's but he was certainly more imaginative than a lot of them. 

This is a really interesting story to be told in the context of post war Japan, especially from Toho itself. So much of WWII era Japan was based on the idea of "honorable sacrifices" that led men like Koichi to think that the best way to protect their country was to take their own lives and to follow orders at all cost, no matter how horrible what they were being ordered to do was, and you could see throughout how much that the people and the nation were traumatized. At the start of the movie people were still angry at Koichi for the crime of not killing himself, and by the end everyone was cheering that he survived, as the people and country started to heal.

Edited April 7 by tennisgurl