70 years into the Godzilla franchise, it seems improbable the best installment, of which there are 38, would end up being the newest, but stranger things have happened.
GODZILLA MINUS ONE sees a post-WWII Japan stumbling towards survival. It's not enough to sustain a thankless war and nuclear fallout, but now, a giant radiation-breathing lizard? If framed this way, it almost reads like a cruel joke, but for people like failed kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), it's all too real, a scene on a spiritual loop bathed in trauma and socially-imposed guilt.
You'd then think the movie would follow the MOBY DICK route of having Koichi go through hell and back to kill this creature, to redeem himself in the eyes of his country's leaders and personal shame, but what GODZILLA MINUS ONE avoids is the notion that one is only responsible to their trauma. Sure, he's gonna carry the wounds of the past forever, but life doesn't amount to an endless self-flagellation. There's way more to enjoy under the sun than can ever be numerated or experienced.
For a film whose genre's defined by its level of destruction and explosive, monstrous action to firmly plant its flag in the side of hope and revival is a necessary breath of balance and grace. Did the lizard chomp boats like chew toys? Yep. Did I also find myself crying at the end? You bet your ass. It's a great time to be a Godzilla fan.
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Music:
"Take Me Home" - Sophie Ellis-Bextor (Hi, Resa!)
