Godzilla Minus One — Review

If ever there was any prior doubt, GODZILLA MINUS ONES proves that the long-running cinematic titan, an official citizen of Japan, is at his best when in the hands of his fellow countrymen. Beyond being an enormous technical achievement with a budget more than ten times smaller than Legendary’s most recent kaiju outing, GODZILLA MINUS ONE is a deeply compelling character piece, fusing rich human drama and themes of post-war trauma with sequences of untold devastation, effectively ensuring the picture is just as engaging without Godzilla on-screen as it is when he’s wreaking havoc and ruining lives.

Takashi Yamazaki gifts us a deliciously menacing version of Godzilla; this iteration of the nuclear lizard isn’t in town to protect Tokyo, and just looking at his monstrous face immediately tells us all that and more. Yamazaki shoots Godzilla to look enormous and physically imposing, even though he’s significantly smaller than his American counterpart, while his explosive atomic breath has never been more awe-inspiring. GODZILLA MINUS ONE earns its plaudits for having much more to say than your typical monster movie, using the towering behemoth as a tool of social commentary but presenting the film as a rip-roaring popcorn piece all the same.