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I don’t think I would have ever expected to care or be moved so much by a production that centred around Godzilla. When it comes to Godzilla movies, I think I have seen one or two but I never cared too deeply about them. However, the 96th Academy Award-winning “Godzilla Minus One” film made a huge impression on me. This review will contain some spoilers but to give a quick one, go and watch it, it is amazing.
(image taken from IMBd)
“Godzilla Minus One,” written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, is a 2023 epic kaiju film told from the perspective of a guilt-ridden, former kamikaze pilot, Kōichi Shikishima portrayed by Ryunosuke Kamiki in a post-World War II Japan dealing with the presence of the terrifying monster, Godzilla.
The story progresses at a steady and well-crafted pace and I loved how it was told. I think enough time was given and spaced out to show Godzilla’s rampages as well as the mundane/regular events. Although it is granted that a monster should be scary, for some reason in this film, Godzilla was extra scary and I believe it is because the human characters were such a captivating, focal point of the film. It wasn’t a film about Godzilla reigning terror but one about people who wanted to live.
(image taken from IMBd)
Kōichi Shikishima was a very compelling character and the perfect one to see the events of the film unfold. When the film begins, Shikishima has fled his duty by faking a malfunction with his plane and freezes up when he has the chance to shoot Godzilla, leading to the deaths of all but one mechanic on the island he fled to. Viewers see Shikishima, haunted by nightmares and guilt, steadily do what he can as the film progresses to stand up to Godzilla and help those around him, notably Noriko and Akiko who he begrudgingly took in early in the film. Things looked very bleak for Shikishima early on but the introduction of Noriko’s character, portrayed by Minami Hamabe, and the baby girl she watches at the request of the dying mother, offers a small beacon of light in his life. It seems as if he may move on with his life, but he remains plagued by nightmares of the dead mechanics who haunt him. Other characters that were fun to watch were Shikishima’s fellow minesweepers Shirō Mizushima, Kenji Noda, and Yōji Akitsu who all had a fun dynamic with each other.
(Property of Toho Studios)
Godzilla’s inability to die was also something that made the monster terrifying as was his chilling heat ray. Godzilla’s stubbornness in staying alive left one questioning if the monster could even be killed. When I saw its cheek regenerate… as is said in Nigerian Pidgin, wahala! The original plan to kill Godzilla does not work, as expected, so Plan B was enabled but in the post-credit scenes, it seems Godzilla is going to regenerate. Since we only saw one piece of the monster regenerating… does that mean the other parts could too? Multiple Godzilla’s running around does not sound fun at all…
I was surprised by the direction taken at the end of the film. Shikishima himself had said he wasn’t supposed to be alive so seeing his determination to take Godzilla down once and for all, it felt as if by the end of the film he would lay down his life. It appeared that “the man who wasn’t supposed to live was going to die,” as that seemed to be a recurring motif/idea in the film. Although Shikishima bravely risks his life to bring Godzilla down by flying his plane straight into its mouth which then blows up, the cries from onlookers that the pilot had ejected from his plane were surprising and very relieving to hear. I had to pause the film to wipe my tears.
The visuals of “Godzilla Minus One” were amazing which goes without saying as the Academy Award win can testify to that but I want to talk about the film's colour specifically. It may just be because of the camera used, but for some reason, the colour in this film just looked really good to me. The browns were brown and the blues were blue. I don’t know how to describe it but the colours seemed really accented, deep, and aesthetically pleasing to see. The film looked great visually.
(Property of Toho Studios)
What I saw in “Godzilla Minus One,” at its core, was a story about living. Mixed up in it is the fight to survive but ultimately, it seemed like these characters were fighting to live. To be free of burdens and the guilt that comes from not living up to expectations or choices better not made. Seeing Tachibana, the sole survivor of the opening Godzilla rampage portrayed by Munetaka Aoki, extend grace and forgiveness to Shikishima was really touching to see. Tachibana telling Shikishima to live must have been a really impactful moment for the lead character. Having been insulted and hated by Tachibana for not shooting the monster in the beginning, seeing the very person who hated him, who probably at some point did want him to die now wanting him to live—extending grace and forgiveness to him was so beautiful.
It was also beautiful to hear the speech the captain gave all the men preparing to fight Godzilla. I think the speech really emphasized the theme of the desire to live. When thinking about the message about the desire to live, I thought about the verse John 10:10 in the Holy Bible, where Jesus says that He brings life and life in abundance as opposed to the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I also find it interesting that the human body has a survival instinct. That, by default, it chooses to preserve itself—that it chooses life over death. In life, humans make choices with varying consequences and knowing they can rise and try again and continue living, is beautiful and is necessary for life. I’m also reminded of the famous verse from the Bible, John 3:16 which talks about God loving the world so much that He sent His only son Jesus that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life and not perish. There is also another verse in John 17:3, where it says that eternal life is knowing the one true God and His son, Jesus Christ, whom He sent. There is also another verse where Jesus says He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Life is so beautiful and its beauty can be perfectly seen through knowing the one who gives it. Life can be really difficult but there’s always hope with Jesus. I can testify that true life comes from Jesus—that true, abundant, renewing, and joyful life is through knowing Jesus.
All in all, I give “Godzilla Minus One” a 4.5/5. It was such a well-written, directed, and crafted film. The characters were captivating, the story was compelling, and the music was beautiful. I must commend the soundtrack! Godzilla Suite II and III were just so beautifully put together by music composer Naoki Satō. I had to add the songs to my library after the film ended.
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