Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla Minus One
In postwar Japan, Godzilla brings new devastation to an already scorched landscape. With no military intervention or government help in sight, the survivors must join together in the face of despair and fight back against an unrelenting horror.
Razorbitz reviewedFebruary 22, 2025
The King is back.
Growing up with kaiju of all kinds, and a variety of Godzillas besides, this might be the first time I've felt that the big lizard reached his true potential since the original without needing to take any departures from what makes the King the King. What makes it work is in the sublimely told narrative following a post-war japan as it grapples with its own post-war brutality and how to move forward as a nation, providing historically accurate set-pieces that highlighted a rarely observed opposite in tender clarity. Take Godzilla out entirely and you still get an incredible movie--but what is delivered with the Nuclear Titan is something beyond comprehension--and on a budget so pitiful it makes me wonder how so many billions need to be spent before Hollywood realizes how wasteful their current process has become.
As a horror buff I can't ignore that opening; my god what a masterpiece in itself. Cut it out and it made standalone it would still be some of the best Godzilla content delivered in the last 50 years; but working as the inciting incident sets up one of the most emotionally affecting payoffs I've experienced in a long time. What a triumph.
What a joy to be a fan of the big man these days. Can't wait for the follow up in a few years.