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]

1 hour ago, Cress said:

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

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 3:43 PM, Raja said:

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

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 9:00 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]

8 hours ago, 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.

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]

52 minutes ago, 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)

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 by Raja

[StatisticalOutlier]

25 minutes ago, 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 

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 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.