Written, directed, and visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus One is the 37th Godzilla film from a Japanese production. Ahead of its release, the film was already get buzz through the visuals from the trailers and the early praise from those who got to see it earlier than others in other countries, such Japan before the U.S. From that alone, I was interested in seeing it. I went to go see it with a friend of mine in a packed theater. From that experience alone, I truly felt happy that so many people were out there supporting a foreign film. I can only hope that this makes more foreign films hit American markets.

I have gotten fairly good at avoiding trailers. Sometimes, I have seen things here and there. Aside from the bits I saw in trailers from this, film critic Chris Stuckmann’s positive review of the film sealed the deal. My friend and I joined the film a little late. As he had to run out to grab his phone that he forgot in my car, I couldn’t help but to just peak into the theater just as the film started. My OCD would have driven me crazy if I missed the beginning of a film. No joke, I think the last time that happened was back in 2002 when I was a kid and my family and I missed the beginning of XXX. What I am getting at is that I am thrilled to announce that I didn’t miss a single moment of the film. It is thrilling, emotional, and most importantly, one of most entertaining blockbusters of the year.

It is perhaps easy to compare this to the 2014 film Godzilla, a film I didn’t care for. It’s easy to compare this film with the other, mostly because Minus One does everything that the 2014 film did and make it better. I was not crazy about the dramatics of the 2014 film. I could care less about the characters and the absence of the titular character felt insulting. Here, I was actually connected with the characters. We catch kamikaze pilot, Koichi Shikishima as he lands on a remote island where Godzilla shows up, killing all but Shikishima & the lead mechanic, Sosasku Tachibana, all because Shikishima didn’t have the courage to shoot the dinosaur-like creature from his plane. I can’t emphasize how much I loved this set up. Not only does it move at a solid pace, it sets the stage for what this Godzilla is like from the way he kills the humans. The film wants the audience to know that this is not the creature you are used to. This one is a cold-blooded killer, allowing the film to balance an action-drama-horror genre.

When Shikishima returns home, he is plagued by survivors guilt from not doing his duty as a kamikaze pilot, as well as not saving those on the island from Godzilla. His home & land are destroyed from a man-made war and those closest to him like his parents died in the war. He finds a sense of normality as he attempts to rebuild his town through a woman that he has built a relationship with, along with a daughter they both have adopted who became orphaned due to the war. This trio of a family through no blood at all sets a sense of relatability as these people show that coming together through war is vital. As time goes on, Shikishima receives a job where he is placed in the waters and discovers that Godzilla is alive and a bigger threat than ever before, because of the U.S. nuclear tests. I truly loved the design of Godzilla in this film. With a $15 million budget, it’s impressive what they do with the design of the character. He feels like a real menace and is not here to play around. It’s a prime example of the ramifications of war and how it can have long-term consequences. Through this, this community on the island come together and take down the island, which brought a sense of peace to them that they couldn’t achieve during the war. The war only brought destruction to them, but through Godzilla, they finally have the opportunity to make things right.

The other way this film relates to the 2014 film is with how little Godzilla is shown in each film; however, it is far more effective in this film, because every time this creature is on screen, it is enthralling and every scene is unlike anything else that I have ever seen. I am in no means a big Godzilla fan. I have enjoyed them through its highs and lows. Minus One is the best one that that I have ever seen and it’s going to be a while until anything comes close. The script between the humans is real and raw during its more emotional moments and intelligent during its more intense moments. I don’t even want to be dramatic about this next statement, but I felt like there were hints of Christopher Nolan through its cinematography and score. The camera work continues to find inventive ways to capture the creature and the score will go down as one of the top 10 best of the year.

Where the film does a hold back, and it is a small one, is with some of the visual effects. Given its budget and what they do with Godzilla, I am impressed. What doesn’t work is the visual effects with specific scenes, such as a random shot of tanks. It’s little things like that that did take me out of the viewing experience. As for anything else, I could see people wanting less of the human drama and more of the action. That personally didn’t bother me as it made me care a lot more for this situation. While I wouldn’t want it any other way, I can still see where that may be something viewers won’t care for.

Overall, Godzilla Minus One is a masterful piece of art through its script (the director did work on the script for three years and it shows) the Godzilla design, and the tremendous score. Every time Godzilla appears, they don’t hold anything back and take a horror approach to the genre, making this film not only terrifying, but emotional. The film has a nice mix of emotions that will satisfy what you want in the modern blockbuster. Please go support this if you can and show that more of these film need to be released in nationwide U.S. markets.

VERIDCT: Amazing