Honestly I have not had time for a movie in months. This one was recommended by a cinaphile relative – and what a surprise.
Word is, Spielberg watched it three times.
As the first Godzilla movie I’ve ever seen, I watched Godzilla Minus One after it dropped on Netflix this month – and I think its brilliance may have ruined the rest of the franchise for me. In a surprise release on Netflix, Godzilla Minus One hit VOD and streaming on the same day starting June 1, 2024, exactly six months after its theatrical release in the United States. Godzilla Minus One was a huge box office hit in 2023, earning an impressive $115.8 million worldwide against a relatively small budget of only $10 million. To top off its commercial victories, Godzilla Minus One holds an astounding “Certified Fresh” 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
On the night of June 2, I ended my weekend by finally getting around to watching Godzilla Minus One. In short, I was blown away by the movie. From its Jaws-like restraint with the titular monster to its harrowing chosen family story, entrancing cast performances, powerful themes, and masterfully crafted effects to Godzilla Minus One’s moving ending, it stands apart as one of the best films of 2023. Despite the fact that there have been 38 Godzilla moviesacross 70 years, this also just so happens to be the first film in the franchise that I’ve seen. Though Godzilla Minus One is incredible, finishing this movie makes me nervous about approaching the rest of the franchise.
Agree with your recommendation wholeheartedly. Saw it in the theater with my son. I went in with very low expectations. I expected just another Godzilla movie but was very pleasantly surprised. It is very well done with a definite nod to the old movies, a bit of tongue in cheek, and a nice, albeit corny, love story.
I saw it. For me it garnered a “meh”.
The most interesting thing about it to me was its continuation of this bizarre Japanese meme, evidently as a result of Japanese national guilt over its role as an instigator of WWII, where Japanese men become complete emotional basket cases over everything, whining in upper registers and beating their chests in exaggerated bathos and pathos. Really weird.
The origin story for Godzilla was that it was the result of the nuclear bombs used in Japan in WW2. I don’t think the citizen survivors in Japan were wracked with guilt, considering they themselves suffered so much from the war.
Then how do you explain the weirdness? This Japanese cinematic over-wrought emotional histrionics emerged after WWII. (Well, I think it did.)
It’s all about feelings of guilt. In the above movie, the protagonist is wracked with guilt because he did not complete his kamikaze mission. He redeems himself by flying a kamikaze mission on Godzilla, except he chooses to live by using an ejection seat. What else explains the guilt? This histrionic guilt is an absolute staple of Japanese cinema for many decades now.