Everyone says they don't make movies like they used to. That wokeness, diversity, and greed have stripped all creativity from the Hollywood machine. This criticism is valid in some sense. Hollywood blockbusters are also facing an end due to a variety of factors, including the rise of streaming services, Chinese audience preferences, smartphones, and a myriad of other headwinds.
The bar is probably very low, but when a movie comes along that is a triumph of old-school blockbuster action and heartfelt adventure, you can't help but leave the theater with a smile on your face. “Godzilla Minus One'' is such a movie.
It's no coincidence that films with this much skill and desire to entertain are being made by foreigners outside the Hollywood factories. In the case of Godzilla Minus One, the Japanese took the crown by producing an intelligent and entertaining action movie that the major studios had left behind.
This movie is a pure Japanese production. STRONG WARNING: There are 2 hours of subtitles. However, if you can handle the subtitles, you'll be left with a rich and rewarding experience from the first frame to the last.
Screenwriter and director Takashi Yamazaki was also in charge of the visual effects. Godzilla: His Minus One is a stunning visual film that makes recent Marvel movies look like clunky video game cutscenes. There is a high degree of skill in the effects and settings, and it shows in every frame of the film. After watching it, I was surprised to learn that the entire movie cost him less than $15 million.
Once again, a relatively unknown Japanese director has made an epic, special-effects-laden action movie on a budget 1/20th the average Hollywood blockbuster. I wonder what they are using this huge budget for.
Image provided by: Toho
“Godzilla Minus One'' is set in the aftermath of World War II and depicts Koichi (Ryuunosuke Kamiki), a special attack pilot who flees a deadly mission out of fear. This neglect of duty troubles him as he tries to survive in the ruins of post-war Tokyo. By chance, he ends up taking in an orphaned infant and the beautiful girl Noriko (Minami Hamabe) who saved the child. These actors are fantastic and bring a level of skill and gravitas that you would never expect from a monster movie.
We are given a glimpse into a rare period in Japan's history, when people struggled to survive and rebuild their ashes. Koichi and his supporting cast find work clearing mines in the Sea of Japan, and the action begins. This movie does a great job of creating characters and relationships that we all care about. It's scary because when the monsters show up, the audience actually cares about these people.
There are obvious nods to “Jaws” and the original Godzilla movies from the 1950s. Despite being set in the 1940s, the film has a lot to say about modern culture, and in many ways is reminiscent of the early Godzilla films, which were all about the fear of nuclear energy.
But the fear explored here is clearly modern, of a broken bureaucracy and society trying to cling to tradition. When the time comes to confront the titular monster, there is no government to save the day, no female boss of color to explain military tactics to the generals. Instead, it's left to ordinary humans to outwit modern-day monsters. It also explores issues of honor and redemption that are not touched upon in contemporary American films. In that sense, it is based on “Godzilla Minus One''. If you want to enjoy a classic action movie while on vacation, run, don't walk, to see this movie.
