It’s a great time to be a Godzilla fan. It may even be the greatest time. Not only are there blockbuster movies and TV shows, but there is also a new Godzilla film by the company that created him, Toho Studios.
Legendary Pictures produced four feature films and a TV series set in their coherent timeline, The Monsterverse. Toho Studios, who made the classic Godzilla movies in the first place, released their own Godzilla film this year, Godzilla Minus One.
This marks only the second time Toho has completely rebooted the Godzilla movie franchise, with 2016’s Shin Godzilla being the first. All previous reboots still acknowledged the original 1954 Gojira film while ignoring all others.
However, unlike all the other movies, Godzilla Minus One is a period piece. It takes place shortly after World War II and depicts Japan dealing with the hardships that came with losing the war. Thus, it is a complete retelling of Big G’s origin. However, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that he was still created from one of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the war.
Where this film excels is its depiction of the protagonists and the “survivor’s guilt” they feel after realizing just how many innocent civilians died. Then, even though they just survived a terrible war, they still have to deal with the monstrous threat of Godzilla with little to no military protection.
The other strong point is its depiction of Godzilla himself. He is most definitely NOT the classic “King Of The Monsters”, nor is he “Earth’s Titan” like he is in The Monsterverse. This is the living engine of destruction seen in Gojira, Godzilla 1985, and the Heisei series in the 90s.
Godzilla Minus One is most definitely not a blockbuster action movie. Nor is it fair to even call it a Monster Movie. It is a story of tragedy, much like Titanic… if the tragedy was a giant radioactive lizard instead of an iceberg. It is a much more humanizing film than its Monsterverse counterparts because it is ultimately about people struggling with disaster after disaster. It makes you care about who lives and who dies.
The fact that it is so different is what makes it fit in the current crop of multi-million dollar blockbuster mega-movies. If you want giant monster action, stick to the Monsterverse. If you want an emotional display of the art of filmmaking, then Godzilla Minus One fits that bill perfectly.
Overall Grade: A