I have seen many of the Godzilla movies, mainly when my son was young, but I never thought of any of them being war movies. I was convinced by a friend to review the newest one as a war movie. “Godzilla Minus One” is the 37th movie in the Godzilla franchise. It was written and directed by the acclaimed director Takashi Yamazaki (The Eternal Zero). He also supervised the visual effects. One of the CGI achievements was the fighter plane that Koichi attacks Godzilla with. It is a replica of the Kyushu J7W Shinden that was developed for use against the B-29 bombers that devastated Japanese cities. The war ended before it could be produced. The only copy in the world is in the National Aeronautics and Space Museum in Washington. Yamazaki based his visuals on that plane. (Oddly, the movie subtitles refer to the plane as a jet fighter, when clearly it is propeller driven.) Yamasaki did not do a remake of the first film, but he wanted his film to be an homage to the 1954 film. The film was made for just $15 million and will end up making a large profit. It was released in Japan on November 3, the anniversary of the release of the 1954 film.
The movie starts at the very end of WWII. Koichi (Ryonosake Kamiki) is a kamikaze pilot who chickens out and lands on an island to fix his fictitious technical problems. That night a monster attacks the base and kills all the ground crew except Tachibana. Koichi had a chance to possibly kill the monster by shooting it with the machine guns in his plane, but he freezes. So, Koichi adds survival guilt to his shame. When he returns to Tokyo, his home has been destroyed by American bombers and his family is dead. He meets Noriko (Minami Hamabe). She is taking care of an orphaned baby. The trio live in what was left of a house. Life is rough for most Japanese. The cities are in rubble and there is a scarcity of food and jobs. Koichi gets a dangerous job on a minesweeper in order to feed Noriko and Akiko. Things get much rougher in 1947 when Godzilla comes calling. He had been a medium size kaiju when Koichi first encountered him, but now, due to the American atomic bomb tests at the Bikini Islands, he is huge. And he has a heat ray added to his stomping. Since the Japanese military is incapable of dealing with Godzilla, it is going to be up to veterans fighting him on their own with some borrowed ships. One of Koichi’s minesweeper crewmates comes up with an audacious plan to kill the kaiju. It will involve Koichi piloting an experimental plane that is put in flying shape by Tachibana.
Is it a war movie? I would put it in the post-war subgenre. Yamasaki was clearly interested in commenting on Japan after the war. The title is a reference to Japan being back to square one (or zero) as a result of losing the war. Now here comes Godzilla and things get even worse. Koichi represents all the veterans with survivor’s guilt. He is doubly burdened with the shame of not being able to do his duty as a kamikaze pilot. The battle with Godzilla will give his mates a chance to earn the right to live. But Koichi is looking for redemption by sacrificing his life. Yamasaki slips in digs at the Japanese government that called for its people to give their all even at the end when it was a lost cause. When they realize that Godzilla is territorial and will be returning to his stomping grounds, they know it will be up to private citizens to take him on. The government is not even going to warn the people for fear of chaos. One man comments: “Information control is a Japanese specialty.”
If you go to a Godzilla movie just to see the stomping, you might be disappointed in “Godzilla Minus One.” But if you want fleshed out characters and a good story, this movie stands out from most of the franchise. The trio of Koichi/Noriko/Akiko are damaged souls. The movie does not push the romance angle, these three were thrown together not for love, but to help each other survive. And then we have the quartet of Koichi and his minesweeping mates. These kinds of men are trying to rebuild Japan and restore its soul. Redemption is a theme of the movie. The acting is excellent. Kamiki will likely be nominated for a Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor. We don’t think of Godzilla movies as showcases for acting talent, but his performance is one of the best in the franchise. Thankfully, the cast does not include any American actors.
The $15 million budget implies a low budget movie, like many of the old school kaiju movies. However, Yamasaki is a wizard with special effects. The visuals in this film are outstanding. His Godzilla is one mean looking monster. He does resemble the original, but CGI creates a much more horrific behemoth. The action scenes are exhilarating. The final battle does rely on a rather bizarre “scientific” solution to the Godzilla problem, but it does create a unique battle. The scenario must have been inspired by “Jaws” as it expertly uses the nautical setting amplify the suspense. The soundtrack adds to the suspense.
I recommend “Godzilla Minus One” to anyone who wants to pair their love of kaiju movies with their love for war movies. Try to see it on the big screen even though you have to read subtitles. Japanese inflections are key components of their personalities. ( Speaking of which, Godzilla’s roar is the same roar used in the 1954 version.) The movie proves you can reinvent Godzilla without junking all the classic elements. This Godzilla begins as a local legend and then man’s search for the biggest bomb amplifies him to a very real threat to mankind. Future movies may go the route of Godzilla versus other kaiju, but for now we are back with the original concept of an evil released by man’s lack of concern for nature.
GRADE = B+
I loved this movie- I like my Godzilla mean and it delivered
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