Godzilla Minus One (2023, Blu-ray, Library Rental) Review

[SRW1000]

Studio:  Toho Studios
Release Date: 11/19/2024
Rating:  PG-13
Film Grade:  A-

The Story:  Koichi lands his “distressed” kamikaze plane on a small island outpost at the end of World War II.  While there, he notices groups of dead deep-sea fish floating near the rocky shoreline.  Walking back to the outpost, he finds the reason why – a large prehistoric looking creature breaks through the trees and starts destroying the camp, killing any soldiers and mechanics in the way.

As one of only two survivors of the attack, Koichi makes his way back home, only to find that there’s no place for failed kamikaze pilots.  Eventually he finds a risky new line of work that will lead him to once again cross paths with that fearsome monstrosity.

My Take:  I loved watching the various Godzilla movies on local TV as a little kid.  The early films were terrifying, even with the rubber suits and toy buildings, and always fascinating.  It was also fun to see the evolution of Godzilla over those early years, from terrifying villain to protector of innocent humans.  It wasn’t an arc I could understand, but it didn’t matter.  Godzilla was still destroying stuff, and that was good enough.

As I grew older, the films weren’t as much fun to revisit, and I lost interest.  Then Hollywood entered the picture, and while the special effects might have improved, the plots hadn’t, and the films couldn’t reignite that part of me that loved them when I was just a kid.  If anything, they ended up diminishing the brand even further.

So it was with some trepidation that I watched Godzilla Minus One, and was relieved to find that it was as good as the word of mouth made it out to be.  This is a terrific movie, not just a terrific Godzilla movie.

It works on so many levels, from the different plot twists, variety of well-developed characters, to the visuals, it’s a treat to watch.  Most importantly, the movie is emotionally engaging in myriad ways, while also managing to include themes of family, honor, survival, and heroism.  It all just works in a way that has been absent in so many of the remakes and sequels over the years.

Unlike other recent directors of assorted franchises, Takashi Yamazaki shows deep reverence for the source material rather than finding ways to subvert expectations for a modern audience.  He, along with cowriters Ishirô Honda and Takeo Murata, creates an original tale that gives us a new Godzilla story that also touches on concepts of war, government powers, survivor’s guilt, and redemption, but doesn’t allow any of those concepts to overwhelm or sidetrack the story. 

Each of the actors has a chance to breathe life into their distinct characters.  And, while some may seem to play off of stereotypes, they all have a life of their own that doesn’t make them feel like simple caricatures.  Ryunosuke Kamiki gives Koichi his own personal journey of discovery as he begins the movie feeling like a failure, and viewed as an outcast who must find his destiny.

The one knock I have on the film is that it occasionally lapses over into the melodramatic side, feeling ever so slightly hokey at one point, but that’s a nitpick.  The tone of the movie is both perfect and refreshing.
   
Visuals:  The presentation takes advantage of CGI, and it’s very well done.  My wife took some exception to this, as she had minor issues with the way ships looked while cruising through ocean waters.  Rewatching those scenes, I could see her point, but was so involved in the story and action, that it didn’t stand out to me in any way when originally watching it.  The Motion Picture Academy must not have noticed either, since it won the 2024 award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects.

Colors are rich and deep, from the ocean waters to the lush forests.  Contrast is excellent and blacks nice and dark, but with plenty of distinction.  If the Blu-ray looks this good, I’m eager to check out the 4K disc.

Audio:  The Japanese dialog version comes with a solid, but not outstanding, Atmos track.  Overhead channels easily pass the bird test, but it’s also used for things like planes, music, and other overhead action.  Wides are used occasionally, such as for vehicle panning, but could have been utilized for things like crowd sounds, where they’re left silent.  Subs are used authoritatively for Godzilla’s stomps and roars, reinforcing his absolutely brutal nature and raw strength.

The musical score by Naoki Satô pays tribute to the old-fashioned orchestral compositions from other epic, heroic films.  Drums and brass horns help drive the action, with cues used to aid the emotional impact of key scenes.  This is one of my top-tier tracks for the year.

Special Features:  There’s a whole second disc filled with stuff.  I ran out of time to watch them all, but the VFX shots were fascinating to watch.  I’ll be viewing all of them at some point.

• Behind the scenes; VFX behind the scenes
• Behind the scenes: Godzilla Minus One - Number 30
• Event videos
• Selection of four Takashi Yamazaki talk show appearances
• Academy Awards winner additional screening trailer

Final Verdict:  This is a masterful return to the big screen for a monster adored across the world.  The goofiness of the mid-level 60s films is gone (you won’t find any Minilla here), as are the hollow Hollywood excesses we’ve seen over the past decade.  This is a reverent throwback to the original, savage, threatening force he was back in the first film.

But the spectacle of destruction is only a part of the plot, one that’s used to motivate action, rather than the core of the movie.  The most surprising part is just how effective it is on an emotional and inspirational level, starting from the introduction of the characters to the thrilling conclusion.  I noticed my allergies acting up more than once when viewing.  My wife also enjoyed it, but was slightly less enamored, giving it a B+.

To think that this film was put together for just $15M, as opposed to the reported $135M cost of the latest Godzilla x Kong movie, is as amazing as the movie itself.  It shows that putting a well-developed script into the hands of a talented director can do wonders for the medium.  Hollywood has been courting him to make a domestic picture, and according to Deadline, he’s just signed with Sony Pictures for a project to be produced by Bad Robot.  It will be interesting to see how he fairs under the U.S. studio system.

This movie is strongly recommended for anyone who’s ever enjoyed Godzilla in his earliest roles, or just loves a great action-adventure movie, with bonus points for engaging themes and strong emotional involvement.  I’ll definitely be adding the 4K version to our library.

Fun Fact:  A special prototype aircraft is shown in the movie, with the propeller and main wings at the rear of the plane.  As strange as it looks, it was based on an actual Japanese design that never made it into full production before the end of the war, and perfectly fitting with the timeline and events of the story.

https://youtu.be/r7DqccP1Q_4?list=PLg0UgpeODbGFtBw-X2mcSzfYBAwp19rXg

My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup

[David Vaughn]

Great review Scott. Saw this on Netflix while visiting Ralph Potts' house and we all loved it as well. It's on my Christmas list for the 4K. 

[bmoney]

need to view this one for sure

[Paul Heroy]

Been hearing great things too, and looking forward to watching it soon. It's on Apple TV for $3.99. (I have found, and seen some analysis supporting it, that Apple TV has higher quality for movies than some services. Not sure about Netflix, to which I haven't subscribed in over 2 years now.)

[Paul Heroy]

I actually picked this up on 4K during a sale a few months back, and finally watched it this afternoon.

WOW. This was one of the rare movies that had a lot of hype, leading me into it with strong expectations, and it more than lived up to it. I'm not a huge monster movie fan or buff, and this movie in a lot of ways wasn't really a monster movie. Or to maybe put it another way, like many of the best, the monster is not just a physical enemy but a representation and lens for illuminating inner conflict. 

It had such a well done set of thematic lines with characters that were allowed to breathe and draw you in instead of being pushed and shoved into your face in a forced way. I do wonder if it being a foreign film with subtitles plays a role in that, but whatever the case it had a big emotional impact on me to see the evolution of Koichi having a reason to die, to having a reason to live. A couple of moments had me seriously tearing up. There were also a few critical observations about Japanese society and culture that were pointed but like the character notes, not bludgeoned into the viewer. Hollywood writers should take note!

I also loved that visually it was beautiful though mostly in a rather stark way, and without being overly flashy and CGI dependent, aside from Godzilla itself of course. It felt very grounded and real, as opposed to many of the Marvel or other spectacle type movies that turn the dial a notch or 3 too far, and that very much enhanced the impact of the risks and character journeys.

Hope the coming Godzilla Minus Zero sequel lives up to it - that's a very tall order!

[David Vaughn]

I actually picked this up on 4K during a sale a few months back, and finally watched it this afternoon.

WOW. This was one of the rare movies that had a lot of hype, leading me into it with strong expectations, and it more than lived up to it. I'm not a huge monster movie fan or buff, and this movie in a lot of ways wasn't really a monster movie. Or to maybe put it another way, like many of the best, the monster is not just a physical enemy but a representation and lens for illuminating inner conflict.

It had such a well done set of thematic lines with characters that were allowed to breathe and draw you in instead of being pushed and shoved into your face in a forced way. I do wonder if it being a foreign film with subtitles plays a role in that, but whatever the case it had a big emotional impact on me to see the evolution of Koichi having a reason to die, to having a reason to live. A couple of moments had me seriously tearing up. There were also a few critical observations about Japanese society and culture that were pointed but like the character notes, not bludgeoned into the viewer. Hollywood writers should take note!

I also loved that visually it was beautiful though mostly in a rather stark way, and without being overly flashy and CGI dependent, aside from Godzilla itself of course. It felt very grounded and real, as opposed to many of the Marvel or other spectacle type movies that turn the dial a notch or 3 too far, and that very much enhanced the impact of the risks and character journeys.

Hope the coming Godzilla Minus Zero sequel lives up to it - that's a very tall order!

I'm glad you enjoyed as much as we did. Such a great movie. I'll have to watch it again soon. 

[bmoney]

I actually forgot to even put this in the queue. I’ll do that over Xmas break

[David Vaughn]

I actually forgot to even put this in the queue. I’ll do that over Xmas break

Prepare to be entertained!

[SRW1000]

I actually picked this up on 4K during a sale a few months back, and finally watched it this afternoon.

WOW. This was one of the rare movies that had a lot of hype, leading me into it with strong expectations, and it more than lived up to it. I'm not a huge monster movie fan or buff, and this movie in a lot of ways wasn't really a monster movie. Or to maybe put it another way, like many of the best, the monster is not just a physical enemy but a representation and lens for illuminating inner conflict.

It had such a well done set of thematic lines with characters that were allowed to breathe and draw you in instead of being pushed and shoved into your face in a forced way. I do wonder if it being a foreign film with subtitles plays a role in that, but whatever the case it had a big emotional impact on me to see the evolution of Koichi having a reason to die, to having a reason to live. A couple of moments had me seriously tearing up. There were also a few critical observations about Japanese society and culture that were pointed but like the character notes, not bludgeoned into the viewer. Hollywood writers should take note!

I also loved that visually it was beautiful though mostly in a rather stark way, and without being overly flashy and CGI dependent, aside from Godzilla itself of course. It felt very grounded and real, as opposed to many of the Marvel or other spectacle type movies that turn the dial a notch or 3 too far, and that very much enhanced the impact of the risks and character journeys.

Hope the coming Godzilla Minus Zero sequel lives up to it - that's a very tall order!

I'm also hoping that the sequel is it's equal.

That should prove that Yamazaki is a capable director.  I know Hollywood has courted him, and it would be great to see his sensibilities applied to a mainstream film, assuming it doesn't change him in the process.

[Paul Heroy]

I'm glad you enjoyed as much as we did. Such a great movie. I'll have to watch it again soon.

I watched it while my wife is out of town for a stretch because I didn't think she would care for a monster movie. But this one is like Ford v Ferrari - it's far more of a good movie & story, than it is a "car movie" or "monster movie". So yeah, a rewatch is definitely in my future with her and maybe soonish.

[SRW1000]

I watched it while my wife is out of town for a stretch because I didn't think she would care for a monster movie. But this one is like Ford v Ferrari - it's far more of a good movie & story, than it is a "car movie" or "monster movie". So yeah, a rewatch is definitely in my future with her and maybe soonish.

The phrase "subverting expectations" has been in vogue when referring to entertainment.  Usually, this means twisting or corrupting the original subject matter, flipping its tone and thematic elements.

Minus One did this in the correct way, exceeding expectations but without abandoned its primary elements.  The emotional resonance was a wonderful surprise that can be appreciated beyond the monster-loving audience.  At the same time, it was still thrilling enough for those hoping to see fearsome destruction.