The World's Most Famous Monster Returns To Its Terrifying Roots In Godzilla Minus One

 Terri and I saw Godzilla Minus One on Saturday and I was tempted to rattle out a review of the film right away. Instead I chose to wait a few days to process my emotions about the film so that I could write something that would do this amazing film justice. I was tempted to simply post my initial reaction that I shared on Facebook and leave it at that.

Here is what I shared:

Godzilla Minus One is arguably the best monster movie ever! Heck, it is honestly one of the best movies that I have seen in years. This is nothing like the campy Godzilla films you know. The human drama will make you cry and the monster action is filled with 'OH MY GOD!" moments. Great script, great acting and visuals that will blow your mind. Even if you are not a monster movie fan, this is a must see movie event!

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To expand on that, Godzilla Minus One isn't like any other Godzilla movie ever produced, with the exception of Ishiro Honda's original 1954 masterpiece entitled Gojira. The films that followed over the next seven decades were filled with bizarre aliens, giant monster slug fests and scripts mostly composed of themes that appealed to younger audiences. In Godzilla Minus One director, writer, and visual effects master Takashi Yamazaki took inspiration from Honda and returns the monster to its roots in a film that is filled with scenes of pure horror along with deep human drama about fear, love and redemption. 

Over the past couple of decades I have to admit that I have only been truly excited to see a handful of films. That short list includes Wonder Woman, Roque One: A Star Wars Story, and Godzilla Minus One. The first two movies on that short list are your typical, fun and exciting Hollywood blockbusters. Godzilla Minus One is a far better film than either of those, and that's saying something because I regard those as two of the best genre movies of the modern era. 

As the movie began I was actually smiling from ear to ear with anticipation just as I was when I viewed Roque One where I was actually smiling through the whole movie because I liked it so much. In this case however, my smile soon faded due to the pure emotion of the human drama of the film. I was wrapped up in the emotions of film's hero Koichi Shikishima (played by Japanese actor Ryunosuke Kamiki) who wrestles with his demons throughout the story and the woman he befriends and ultimately falls in love with Noriko Oishi (played by Japanese actress Minami Hamabe). I then found myself gripping the arm rests of my seat for dear life as Godzilla rampaged across the screen destroying everything in site, battled navel vessels and ravaged Japanese soldiers with a ferocity never before seen. 

The emotions continued as the film came to a close where feelings of celebratory exuberance quickly give way to tears of joy. Terri and I actually left the theater trying to wipe our faces so we wouldn't look like the big softies we really are.

To some it up Godzilla Minus One is a true masterpiece and one of the best movies of the past two decades. It is a critically acclaimed film that will be regarded as a classic by future generations.

This will go down as a classic film. It's brilliant . Mark my words...this will be considered a classic monster movie with the ranks of King Kong (1933) and Frankenstein (1931) . Seeing it is the only way to fully understand. This will be studied in film school. - James Baack (Independent Film Maker)

NON-SPOILER "GODZILLA MINUS ONE" FIRST IMPRESSION: MAGNIFICENT! Everyone, RUN! NOW! Do not walk to your local theaters and see this movie immediately! Our 5:00 pm IMAX screening at the Metreon was sold out (500 seats) and the audience loved it. The impact of the film is still rippling inside of my head. While I've learned to accept that not all current Japanese films can attain the technical levels of their American counterparts, Takashi Yamazaki has done it - and in spades.

The narrative is a fairly serious human drama told from the perspective of those who lived through the hell of war, just to face a new kind of hell. Filled with some memorable characters, the story focuses on a solider who returns to Japan in shame and disgrace after the end of the Pacific War, but this does not diminish the specter of a truly fearsome and savage Godzilla that takes out its infernal fury on the devastated nation, it elevates it.

Straight from the gut, GODZILLA MINUS ONE is spectacular, exciting, emotionally engaging, and ultimately cathartic, overflowing with incredible VFX sequences - many set in broad daylight - that rival (and I believe, best) those coming out of the deflated Hollywood machine of late. Takashi Yamazaki has hit a monstrous home run with a film that has set a very high bar for the next Godzilla project, because GODZILLA MINUS ONE has changed everything.

I'm still overwhelmed and will need to see it again before reviewing this at length. Until then, get your tickets - now! - August Ragone (Japanese Film Historian and Author)