User reviews

I'm a huge fan of Godzilla, I think the original from 1954 is a genuine classic and a great film (not just a great "monster" movie). The Heisei era is my overall favorite, and I thought Shin Godzilla was weird in all the right ways. It was one of my favorite movies from that year.

This one might be even better. You actually care about the characters. It deals with some very serious topics, such as survivors guilt and the aftermath of war violence on civilians and conflicting emotions around national pride and feeling betrayed by your government. Yet the film is also exciting and optimistic and has some of the best Godzilla sequences ever put to screen. My favorite depiction of Godzilla is as a force of nature, representing the power of the atomic bomb or the fury of war itself. That's the Godzilla you get here. I think this film can very favorably be compared to American classics like Jaws and Jurassic Park, too.

I don't want to say too much, it's best to just experience the movie for yourself. The only part that felt a little false to me was the very end, but I understand why the director wanted to do it that way. The special effects look great for the most part, but there are a couple of shots here and there that aren't perfect when compared to some Hollywood movies. However, it hardly matters. This is an incredible film.

9/10 easily, probably closer to 9.5

My current Godzilla rankings:

1) Gojira (1954) 2) Godzilla Minus One (2023) 3) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) 4) Shin Godzilla (2016) 5) Return of Godzilla (1984)

Special mentions to GMK, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Those wondering, according to Yamazaki, "Minus One" refers to the level of where Japan had to start when rebuilding Japan after WWII. If the atomic bombing of Japan was the countries lowest point in history ("0"), then the emergence of Godzilla puts them lower ("-1").

As many have mentioned, this movie goes back to Godzilla being the bad guy versus a hero/antihero that Hollywood has been making in the last 10+ years.

Unlike more recent Godzilla movies made in the US, the human story is very specific on how to deal and overcome Godzilla and the aftermath of WWII, which is good; not too overbearing as other Godzilla movies with the human element to it.

If you can ignore the Japanese only speaking and some bad CGI (here and there, not too bad), then this is a good movie to go see during a thin month (Dec 2023) of blockbuster movies.

My biggest criticism, wished the hospital scene was more dire or devastating (you'll know what I mean when you see the film).

And yes, there is a post-credit.

I just saw the advanced screening of Godzilla minus one and I have to say I was very pleased with the final product. If I had any complaints about this movie it is just that the CGI Godzilla often looked weird similar to a video game. However when Godzilla looked good, it was very impressive especially in the water scenes.

Unlike every other Godzilla movie I have ever seen this is the first Godzilla movie where I actually liked on the characters and the storyline actually made sense and touched the human heart. It showed what people were dealing with at that time which was directly after world war II and how people were suffering not only with the after effects of the war but also the trauma from being exposed to a huge monster destroying cities.

Godzilla may be a fictional character but loss and tragedy are real, and people are dealing with it everyday.

Overall I really like this movie and it is obviously a prequel to the original Godzilla movie that came out over 70 years ago. Once you see this movie at some point you will understand why.

What I would really like to see since it is clear that there have been multiple Godzilla's at some point in time is some type of legitimate crossover between toho and the American studios who are producing Godzilla monster verse in America. Last thing I or any fans want to see is a competition on who could spit out different and unique Godzilla's in two different countries.

Since this is a Toho and Japanese produced movie, it would have been nice to have some of the theater edition Godzilla toys for sale like they do in Japan on every release.

From the opening to the ending, I was enthralled by the whole movie. It kept everything that I loved about Godzilla, and was able to make an extremely interesting backstory with the human characters. There was a lot of things that was addressed in this movie that I had never seen before.there was so many things that people will pick apart, but that's upon reflection. I had no criticisms or a reason to dislike this movie the whole time I watched it. So, in that respect, I will give it a perfect score. And I don't go slinging those out just every review. As a Godzilla fan, this was perfection to me.

This is an enjoyable film to watch, and if you're on the tail end of its theater run or considering if it's worth streaming, the short answer is it's worth seeing. I do feel like among certain fan circles the movie is slightly 'overhyped' but that doesn't make the movie bad, it is in fact quite good. I think the exploration of the main character's relationship with kamikaze piloting, and in turn both Japan's historical understanding of that phenomenon as well as the West's, is actually still more poignant and worth exploring than perhaps we might be inclined to give it credit for. It's hard to overstate how culturally significant the kamikaze pilots were during and in the immediate aftermath of World War 2; although we had Oppenheimer to remind us of the cultural impact of the bomb, for soldiers that lived during World War 2, it was the stories of the kamikaze pilots that left a huge impact, even for people not in the Pacific theater. Likewise, Japan has long struggled to articulate its historical relationship to kamikaze pilots, with the memorial there being a kind of hot-button issue for multiple decades now. This film perhaps doesn't offer a searing insight, but rather a kind of wishful alternate path to how Japan and the west feels about kamikaze pilots. I think what's particularly remarkable about this film, frankly, is the way it pushes against the grain--a lot of Japanese cinema, especially that designed for view by western audiences, tends toward a construction of victimhood due to the bomb. This film tries to grapple with the echoes of imperial desire both immediately after the war and, perhaps, now.

Honestly, come for the big cool depiction of Godzilla, but leave with a reflection of Japan's relationship to World War 2.

Without spoiling anything, this movie hit different from any other. It felt much more serious and quite a bit darker at times. The movie was amazing, the effects were great. I never thought I'd see a Godzilla movie where people were crying in the theater. It was quite the experience. Godzilla was truly an unstoppable force in this movie, whenever Godzilla would show up it was hard to feel anything but futility. Even in the rare event that Godzilla was injured he was only slowed down. This version of Godzilla might be more evil than Shin Godzilla though his motives are hard to understand where shin Godzilla it became apparent.

Alright. I knew nothing about this movie before I went into it. I'm a Godzilla fan but haven't really enjoyed the Western version of Godzilla movies beyond watching them as eye candy/cheap-thrill/forget-as-you-leave-cinema/switch-off-brain type movies.

Very rarely do we see GOOD movies that actually have a good plot and a storyline that sticks to quality script writing, screenplay and keeps you engaged for all the right reasons Vs Throwing a bunch of explosions, music and constant "something happening" to make up for lack of quality filmmaking.

Godzilla minus one... Is just a good movie. Japanese cinema slows things down and focuses on the quality of what's happening in the moment, in every moment. I was drawn to every part of the film and the story was about the humans with Godzilla in it, not about Godzilla.

I don't even know what to say. I don't want to say much. Don't go into it thinking "this is Godzilla a highly rated film".

Just go in, sit down and enjoy the ride.

I often watch low budget movies because the focus is on the story and not having a lot of pointless fillers to flesh out the movie.

This film does exactly that in a way that stays with you and leaves you thinking about the movie for days after you've watched it.

Highly recommended :)

Godzilla Minus One is an amazing spectacle on a retelling of a classic Kaiju movie from the prospective of a post-war Japanese veteran who leaves one horror for the next while making an arrangement of "friends and family" along the way. The story was so compelling that it didn't feel like two hours past and I was craving for more. The classic Godzilla sounds design, masterful cinematography, along with the original score from Akira Ifukube made this movie an absolute masterpiece on storytelling! The visuals of the Godzilla update made him more memorable and menacing for the citizens of a distraught Tokyo. Highly recommended!

How many monster movies come with substantial critical claim attached? I was intrigued, even though I've never seen any of the classic Godzilla films. You won't regret seeing the film, but I didn't walk away feeling like I'd just watched the film of the year either.

Godzilla Minus One follows the story of a kamikaze pilot who aborts his mission and lands on a small supply island. Later, Godzilla emerges and wipes out nearly everyone. Haunted by his actions, both in failing to carry out his mission and failing to act in saving the others on the island, the pilot returns to Tokyo and attempts to rebuild his life. Before long though, Godzilla reemerges and he feels compelled to join the defense of Tokyo.

It's a good story, and there's an endearing human element to it all. The movie's not short of political commentary either, whether in subtext or unambiguous comments from the characters, ranging from views of honor and duty, criticism of the government, or even Japan's diminished autonomy in light of defeat in WWII. Notice that no government really does anything in the movie. The U. S. is sidelined because of concerns over raising tensions with the Soviets; the Japanese government is unable to act. Instead, it's the people themselves who have to act and save themselves.

Towards the end, the film veers harder and harder towards melodrama, which detracted from the nice balance of seriousness and humor that had been present throughout the first several acts. Maybe it's a terrific Godzilla film; I can't speak to that. (This reminds me of the 007 films. There are "good" Bond films that still aren't good movies.) I can say that this Godzilla is a good movie and worth your time.

GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2023) **** Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Sakura Ando, Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasake, Hidetaka Yaoshioka, Yuya Endo, Saki Nakatani. Director Takashi Yamazaki's Herculean efforts of reviving the Kaiju franchise is effortlessly awesome and absolutely top-tier filmmaking with the origin story of the gigantic monster showing up off the shores of post WWII Japan as it engages a full-tilt invasion of Tokyo and its environs with atypical destruction and death. Key to the film's strength is the plot involving ex-kamikaze pilot Kamiki (suffering arguably cinema's most poignant PTSD) and love interest Hamabe as a make-shift family attempting to survive with the thread of a palpable redemption narrative laced with surprisingly heartfelt emotion. The clean visual f/x propel the radioactive creature is jaw-droppingly astounding with some neat extras (his spiny back igniting as it re-charges its nuclear energies is eye-poppingly epic). One of the year's best films.

I'm glad Japanese filmmakers are not consumed by the jingoism and blind hatred towards the U. S. They're aware of the incompetent Imperial Japanese authority and are not hesitant to portray their shortcomings.

I've seen some previous Godzilla films as well and all of them are theme park cash grab movies. Godzilla Minus One through its fictional storyline portrayed the situation and crisis of post WW2 era Japan without being too clichéd or associating itself with any other franchise.

I think the other Godzilla movies are not even comparable to this film. I should also mention the superb special effects that were done on a small budget.

If you love the classic Godzilla movies, go see this movie, you'll think it's awesome. Everyone else who's over 18 is going to feel like they've wasted their time and money on something which is no better than a made for TV movie.

The CGI, albeit detailed, is laughably bad and obviously CGI each time you see it; The lighting/shading is all wrong. It would look great in a modern Anime, or something where everything is in CGI, but not this. The only good thing about this movie was the acting, and only if you are used to the acting in older Japanese flicks, where it's a bit over the top and sappy at times, but it felt like everyone was acting in-period together, and really helped set the tone for the movie's classic look and feel.

Other than this, everything about it was rubbish. The storyboard and cuts were nonsensical and felt disjointed and abrupt. There was no seamless flow between scenes or parts, which made it feel amateurish like a pilot of a new TV series sometimes is. Don't even get me started on the cartoonish looking Godzilla, with it's undersized head, googly eyes, and baby t-rex like arms. As if the CGI wasn't bad enough, the director decided to make Godzilla look like a joke on purpose as homage to the original, but it just made me unnerved to watch. It's not scary anymore because of this; the fear wasn't there for me because of the poorly executed cgi, lack of build-up to destruction scenes, or enough shots of Godzilla doing anything.

I can't believe the same director thinks he's good enough to shoot a Star Wars movie because of the feedback he's getting from this movie. Please don't.

Also, save yourself some time and grief and don't go see this movie. I was seriously embarrassed to bring my partner to this after reading all the hype. You can't trust ratings for movies anymore until they've been out for long enough, and definitely not ones with a cult following like this. This movie is a sold 4/10, seriously. It's just not very good.

Set at the end of World War 2 and Japan is defeated and in ruins. Our protagonist is Koichi, a pilot who returns to his devastated hometown in Tokyo. He is unwelcome and guilt ridden for sneaking out of a kamikaze raid in the pacific. Japan is at its lowest point and then Godzilla arrives.

This is a brilliant setup for this period story that sees a country without the military might, technology and morale to face this new enemy. The film also leans into the drama and emotion that made the first film so iconic and sets it apart from the family fun films of the 70s and 80s as well as the recent American blockbuster treatments. My Japanese is not good enough to understand all of the film so there will be lots that I didn't get. However it manages to be a strong, emotional story with a scary and ferocious Godzilla. In my mind it is far superior to Shin Godzilla which I found dull and goofy. This is the best Godzilla film in many years and perhaps the best since the 1954 original.

This is an exciting film. The pace, story, imagination, production are all done expertly. Dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles. I wish I could comment on writing but just be assured that despite my remedial Japanese (and a range of inconsequential translation departures the I detected), the cast's ability to convey agony, loss, hope, love, fear, and anger was appreciated, even with its 'just-right' dose of melodrama. Special effects are superior and well presented.

The film sucks you into a vortex of history, monsters, and surprisingly restores your faith in humanity. It makes you fall in love with the characters.

Then with perfect timing, reflects the singular and exquisite quality of the Japanese people; their acute sense of the cost of war and their abiding commitment to the future.

Because of that, there is nothing in this film that I can criticize.

Godzilla Minus One is one of the best Godzilla films in recent time. It gave me everything i wanted for the first time ever I was actually invested in the human characters and their story normally you are just waiting for Godzilla to show up but not here Godzilla shows up alot and when he does he is BRUTAL. This Godzilla makes things personal by actively attacking the humans. The movie had great pacing where it doesn't feel like it's going on for too long and it was nice to have a darker story set after WW2. It really goes back to the franchise's roots. There's so much to say but it would give a lot away JUST SEE THE MOVIE ON THE BIGGEST SCREEN POSSIBLE 9/10.

Having watched possibly all major monster movies on the planet, I can confidently say that "Godzilla Minus One" stands out as one of the best Godzilla movies ever made. From its compelling story to its impressive screenplay, acting, VFX, direction, and all other departments, this film delivers on every front.

What sets this movie apart is its strong human element and the interaction between the characters. Surprisingly, it's these aspects that resonated with me the most, even in a Godzilla movie where one might expect the focus to be primarily on the monsters.

In conclusion, "Godzilla Minus One" is a must-watch for any fan of the genre. It not only delivers thrilling monster action but also offers a captivating story with well-developed characters and compelling human drama.

This movie was definitely not a masterpiece by any means. 6/10 is maybe the best you can give this movie, it honestly is pretty mediocre most of the time.

The cgi was good, definitely great for a team of just under 40 people, but if we compare it to any other godzilla movie, this looks like fan made. The animation lacks any detail and the low budget is pretty obvious. The acting is not it. The characters are melodramatic and most of the time they lack the emotion needed for certain scenes. There is a whole bunch of clichè and the main character is SO unlikable, also a lot of scenes are so ridiculous... however, the story itself is good. Finally something different from the same old "godzilla and other monsters cooperate and defeat a new monster" thing. It is just a fun watch, do not expect much more.

Saw Godzilla minus one because i'd heard all the hype. With some going as far as to call it their favourite movie of the year. I'm not sure i'd go that far but its a decent watch, and definitely better than the Godzilla remakes/redos the US has been putting out.

The good thing is that the movie actually has a story, and isn't just giant monster effects. The humans are at the heart of the whole thing, and it all feels different being set in the 1940's and feeding off World war 2. While respecting the original Japanese movies with its stylish music. The effects are also great with some of the water stuff looking particularly cool.

But it could of done with a bit more action and Godzilla looks a bit wonky at times. There's alot of chat in the movie which is mostly good. Until it goes on a bit long after the main attack at the centre of the movie. The ending also felt like a massive copout unfortunately in more ways than one.

Lulz Asians generally show little emotion on their faces, but when they see Godzilla, everything changes. They immediately show fear and despair better than anyone else.... Then they decide to shoot their guns at a Godzilla which is as big as ....... 380 feet or so? That's what Google is telling me. But it looks as big as an aircraft carrier. That's a lot more than 120 metres - it looks like it's about 300 metres long, which would be about 1000 feet. 120 meters? No way.

There are incredible scenes in the ocean and when this thing walks through a city and hurls trains hundreds of metres away.....

I don't know if this is the best Godzilla, perhaps it is, but Godzilla vs Kong was also pretty impressive. Go watch and decide yourself.

"This Movie, Painted In Despair, Will Strike You With Fear" - Director Takashi Yamasaki

OH MY GODZILLA!!!!

I'm utterly speechless, this movie was amazing in every possible way imaginable for an audience wanting to be entertained. The Human characters were very well written, the acting was outstanding, the emotions were strong with loss, pride and hope. The main cast were perfect together as a group, even the minor characters were amazing. The music, Oh My God the Music was conducted to fit every scene it was in and the OG theme was incredible to hear in a Dolby theater for the first time. Akira Ifukube would be proud, May he Rest In Peace. Lastly it was very educating in a way to see what Japan was like immediately after the War following the Atomic Bombs. The hardships they went through just to rebuild was very emotional to watch, but the way they climbed out of that pit of hopelessness would inspire any viewer to the franchise both Long Time along with Newer Fans

Now to the matter at Hand, the Star Himself, GODZILLA.

The King of the Monsters is more terrifying in this movie than any other in the 69 year history of the Longest running franchise in the World! Every time he appears on screen he strikes fear into your very soul and leaves you in Awe at the same time. His destruction was unrelenting, the action out of this world, his Power Godly, his portrayal Very Real. At times you almost feel sorry for him because what's happened to him wasn't his fault. I haven't seen a monster movie this well done since Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) and Cloverfield (2008).

My solid review of this movie is a 10/10, and I recommend save notifications of any kind for when this movie hits the Home Media market because I sure will.

Honestly I don't think I've ever watched a movie this perfect before

Last note, The Whole Theater shook everytime Godzilla took a Step and my very bones were vibrating from his Roar #godzilla #godzilla1954 #godzillaminusone #monster #japan.

I could see the obvious progress of quality from "Shin-Godzilla" and other Legendary's Godzilla series. It's no doubt thanks to all new creators' mindset to try to outperform the previous works, based on and standing at the established brand "Godzilla". All the successors can benchmark the prior ones and analyze their successful points and failures. Yamazaki learned a lot from Anno's work and made some improvements and corrections particularly on the point that it couldn't catch on overseas. One of them is the music. He succeeded in taking on Naoki Sato, who is the graduate of Tokyo university of the arts, paying respect to the alumni and predecessor Ifukube and understanding his music deeply. In this film, vision and music are fantastically synchronized. And of course, the main character is Godzilla, but Yamazaki has done well in letting him act simply as a fearful object. Therefore, we can empathize fully with characters competing with Godzilla. Yamazaki who has suffered a streak of bummers in making films looks to be recovering his confidence, and is expected to deliver another sequel of Godzilla film, in which we can see a "real" duel with monsters like Ghidra or Mothra.