Godzilla is a franchise that punches me in my heart. My oldest son loved Godzilla, he was so excited about Godzilla vs Kong. He was killed in a workplace accident a couple of years before it was released. Every time a new movie comes out I am hit by overwhelming sadness. Still, I will go see it and I know I will feel his presence strongly.
I am so sorry for your loss, and I can relate to feeling that sense of loss and sadness when a Godzilla movie is released. My grandma introduced me to Godzilla, as well as a plethora of other great sci-fi, and she passed away from lung cancer several years ago. I always think how great it would be to catch one of these new movies in the theater like we used to, and how much she would have enjoyed Godzilla Minus One specifically.
I think the lead in this movie deserves award consideration. His performance felt so real, even though some of it came off as goofy. The dude had me in tears on several occasions. I thought he was incredible.
This wasn't just a good Godzilla movie but just a great film overall where you actually care about these characters and where they go unlike other films that have spent over 200 million dollars. The fact that this filmed actually pulled that off on a 15 million budget is absolutely mind-blowing.
@@Cegeto10 While that may be true that still doesn’t take away the fact that this film was better then 75 percent of the movies in Hollywood this year.
It's 5 out 10 max. If people were being honest instead of trying to be trendy everybody would be talking about how ridiculous it is nobody is speaking American. I'm not sure if this was made in foreign to save money or the film makers jumped on the same train as Netflix and tried to make it 'cool' and different by making it foreign. To me I found it very distracting and made it very hard to follow, I've got no idea if Godzilla time traveled, if he was angry because everybody was chatting gibber gabber, or how this fits in with the other movies in the franchise. I also think is a bit cheap to show the orange monkey in ALL the trailers only to find out the orange monkey isn't even in this one! I just don't get it!
I wasnt expecting this at all but wow. This was far and away the most impressive movie of 2023. How the budget was only 15 millions makes zero sense. This isn't just the best Godzilla movie ever made, it's a top 3 movie of 2023.
I'm glad you enjoyed the film. It's my favorite film of the year and I didn't expect it to be. Hopefully more Godzilla movies in the future are more like this.
I'm a couple hours removed from seeing this and I have to say that this movie has stayed with me... I didn't expect that. I hope this one e grows some legs. It deserves it
Now that you've seen your first Japanese kaiju film, there's a few I highly recommend you check out now: Gojira (1954, the grandfather of the genre) Heisei Gamera Trilogy (1995, 1996, 1999) Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) Shin Gojira (2016) GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) Most of the Heisei Godzilla series (1984-1995)
Not going to lie, this movie wasn't on my radar at all...but wow, i thoroughly highly enjoyed this movie. What an absolute delight of a film. You could remove godzilla and this film is still pretty good. The entire time i was getting parallels of Jaws. Just an incredibly done film for the budget they had to work with. 👍 👍. Great review.
Japan has been absolutely KILLING it in the entertainment sector lately. Their Metal scene is leagues better than anything in America these days, and now you've got movies with Minus One quality emerging, its a great time to be a fan of foreign entertainment.
Cody, I suggest you watch Gojira, the original version of Godzilla. The movies are completely different with Gojira being in the same tone as Godzilla Minus One.
I’ve always enjoyed the Godzilla movies for what they are, even though I didn’t watch them until last year. This film has the strongest narrative since the original film from 1954, the best since that film, and it might be in competition of being the best Godzilla movie ever. I can’t wait for further rewatches of it.
This movie blew me away as someone who’s grown up loving these movies (both the Monster-verse and the TOHO classics). I was so surprised that about the human element because that often is not interesting in this movies outside of the original film from 1954. I was so invested in the characters and the design of Godzilla himself is terrifying. And I ended up tearing up at the end even if it felt predicable. I’m one who loves my Godzilla in any form whether he’s campy or a serious threat. This surprisingly became my favorite film of the year. I was hoping to like it. I wasn’t expecting to love it.
Great review. I just saw the movie today. As a 70's kid growing up we were all about Godzilla. Unfortunately, most of those movies, for ME at least, haven't aged well. The only two classic Godzilla's I can honestly say I still like and watch are the original '54 Japanese version and Godzilla vs Astro Monster (Kind Geedorah). To have a modern retelling of the original, done by the original studio, I was on-board from the very start. Well, I saw it today and it was everything I could have hoped for and then some. Great film across the board. Of course Godzilla was the main reason I was there and he did not disappoint. He looked and SOUNDED incredible. What I didn't expect was for it to be built around such a great story. There was more than a few sniffles in the theater towards the end. I do agree on the over-acting but like you said it is more of a Japanese thing. It doesn't go unnoticed but it's not something we haven't seen before. All in all, so glad I dragged myself to the theater to see this because I definitely would've regretted it.
As soon as I saw that preview of G’s atomic breath in the trailer it shot to the top of my list and didn’t disappoint. Such a breath of fresh air after a somewhat rough year for movies
This film went back to Godzilla’s roots as an allegorical film. The best Godzilla films focus on the people and Godzilla, with no kaiju on kaiju fights. This film could stand on its own legs even if you tweaked the story to remove the monster, because above all he represents the monster that is the characters guilt and inability to move on. I am a Godzilla fan and love all the films but my favorites have always been the more serious ones. I recommend Godzilla 1954 and Shin Godzilla with this film as the trifecta of best films. They all only feature Godzilla (he is the tragic villain of each) and all focus on deeper themes. The 1954 original of course started it all and focuses on mans never ending trek of self destruction, Shin Godzilla is a satire which takes a critical look at Japan’s ineffective bureaucracy when dealing with disasters and each form Godzilla takes is a reference to different aspects of the Fukushima disaster. It’s got a lot of exposition so it can be a lot to follow but even that was done intentionally to represent the never ending talking and debating that went on when action was needed.
I actually started tearing up at the end which was a shocking to happen in a Godzilla movie. I felt this movie actually delivered what all those other Godzilla films promised from the trailers and managed to hit me in the feels as well. Music was great as well. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this one of the most fun experiences I had in a theatre in a long time. Still have yet to see Shin Godzilla or Godzilla 2000, but this easily beats the 2013 version for the best Godzilla film I've seen so far.
10/10. Really the only recent movie that 1. made me sawy "wow" out loud, 2. made me cry, and 3. scared me. I have a few nitpicks but the rest of the movie is so amazing it doesn't matter.
I’m truly baffled this film cost $15M & looked as great as it did in all the action sequences when you have CGI-fest in these 150M+ films. This film surpassed my expectations and I thought it was a fantastic monster film!
Would recommend Shin Godzilla, another great one that people didn't expect Minus One to Surpass, I know you werent a fan of 2014 but imo the gold standard for Godzilla is The Original, Godzilla 2014, Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus one
Honestly what makes me enjoy the Japanese films are that there are variety in tone and each resemble the time period that they’re released in. The legendary (American) films are fine in their own right, with Godzilla vs Kong fun to watch from time to time I’ve always been a fan, I know they’re not for everyone though, and that’s ok. Godzilla minus one might be my favorite with the original being better and my 3rd favorite of all time being Godzilla vs destroyah
I'm a massive fan of the Kaiju Genre. My favorite Kaiju Movie is Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), while my least favorite Kaiju Movie is the 1998 Roland Emmerich Remake.
Really hyped to see this. My brothers and I plan on seeing it soon. Just from the trailer alone I can tell it's good. Great review Cody. Now, to U.S. film studios, take notes. Mabey give your effects team more than 6 months to finish VFX. From what I hear, they worked on the effects for a year minimum I believe and it shows. Bravo. Just from the trailer I can see it looks unbelievably real.
I've been hearing nothing but good about this movie. Many are saying this is the best Godzilla film ever. That's good to hear. I always thought most Godzilla films weren't nearly as scary as they should have been. I look forward to it.
I have seen it twice in the theater. The early release with my wife who is not a Godzilla fan like me but she wanted to see this after I showed her trailer and then again on release day with my Godzilla friends. My wife thought it was a really good film despite being a Godzilla film. I think it's the best Godzilla film to date (yes even better than Shin). IMHO it is the best film of 2023 so far.
You can find great performances that are subtle and restrained throughout Japanese film history, especially when you look at arthouse releases, but yeah, the melodramatic style is also very common there and in other Asian movies. I even read that Japanese audiences criticized this movie for some overacting. Not knowing the language, I thought the performances were overall still very good.
OMG, that's why I love you dude. With u on some the acting and acting style . . it's just goofy, I can't get used to it. Good film though. Zilla swimming behind boat w/head above water in 3rd act was bad ass. Great Godzilla scenes.
This movie stands out for the following reasons: 1. The setting of the film from just after World War II was nothing short of _brilliant_ . It makes if surprisingly believable, especially the main character and how he dealt with the circumstances of his survival at the end of the war. 2. Surprisingly good special effects given the movie's US$15 million production budget. As such, by 2023 standards, the movie is just flat-out excellent considering the awful _dreck_ (a phrase many agree with!) from most of the movie releases in 2023. The number of films that we consider a real success can be counted in just little more than five fingers, a *HUGE* warning sign for Hollywood. (It really applies to Disney, who really had one movie that was considered a reasonable success with _Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3_ .)
technically godzilla didn't grow up. Godzilla is basically the causation of nuclear war he has mutated and evolved at an extreamly rapid rate. Godzilla is almost like "mother nature" in a way.
$15M... I've heard Disney lost $750M this year on movies alone.That's just losses, not total budgets. That's 50 films of this caliber, one per week for a year. I know burnout for crews/cgi guys means 50 of these in a year isn't possible, but 4, one per quarter, is. Accounting for heavier Disney marketing, they could make 4 films of this quality for $100M. If, say, just 2 of those 4 were only modest hits, you're still probably making $100M pure profit. Better than losing almost a billion dollars.
In the realm where titans clash and cities quake, A skeptic's heart, in Kaiju's grip, did wake. Cody Leach, with doubts entrenched and strong, Entered Godzilla's world, where he'd been so long. "Godzilla Minus One," a cinematic feat, A departure from the ordinary, a seismic seat. For Leach, a critic with a skeptic's view, This Kaiju tale, a surprise anew. The silver screen, a canvas vast, Where monsters roared, their shadows cast. No stranger to the Americanized lore, Yet this rendition left him wanting more. As Godzilla loomed, minus one to fight, Leach found joy in this unexpected night. A departure from the usual Kaiju score, A departure that left him wanting more. A synoptic dance of monsters grand, Leaving skepticism in shifting sand. For Cody Leach, a revelation spun, In "Godzilla Minus One," newfound fun. A Kaiju world, where doubts dissolve, In every roar, a mystery to solve. Marking the first time, an unexpected twist, A critic embraced, in Kaiju's midst. So, let it be known in cinematic lore, "Godzilla Minus One," Leach did adore. A skeptic's heart, in Kaiju's grace, Found joy in monsters, in a different space.
Always liked Godzilla, I was a 80's kid so we had all the goofy 60's & 70's G movies on vhs. But as an adult I really learned about the serious tone of the orignal Gojira and bieng a methephore for the A-bomb and mans folley. I really enjoy Return Of Godzilla aka G-1984, and more recently Shin Godzilla ( I wish they would have made a sequal ). I never liked the current American mosterverse movies, just cheesy and dumb to me, have absoultly no resblence to what Toho envisioned in 54. Agree with you Cody that the charters in Minus felt real and authentic, had their deep personal issues and problems, very real post war devistation to Japan itself, inventive way to defeat Godzilla, action scenes looked very real. I would give Minus One 9/10 for a G movie and a 8/10 any movie raiting. My only complaint is this wasent my favote G design, I prefer 84 or Shin in that aspect.
Grave of the Fireflies is a good companion movie for this film, it goes into greater depth about how desperate wartime/post-war Japan was for its citizens.
Being born in 1960, I grew up watching and loving Godzilla. Unfortunately for me, as an expat living in the Philippines, none of the theaters here have the film. Guess I have to wait for it to hit a streaming service.
As a lifelong Godzilla and kaiju fan, I'm glad you found one that worked for you. I really enjoyed the movie myself as well and was really glad they FINALLY gave us human characters worth caring about. As others here have said, I would strongly recommend the original Godzilla from 1954 (I know you're likely not going to ever watch that, and I'm not going to try to twist your arm, unlike that guy who keeps bringing up Train to Busan, but I figured I'd just make the recommendation).
Heyy cody! Just me again begging for a train to busan response lol ive watched your videos soooooo many times, i really know youd love that movie. Believe in me!
Sounds like it kinda goes back to the original '54 version (i think thats the yr it came out) the Japanese version specifically. Give it a watch, you'd probably like it
It looks this good for 15 million becuz Japan has been doing this since 1954. I've been hearing so many good things about this film that I'm going to have to see this ASAP! The American Gojira is cool but the OG Gojira MONSTER is awesome. Glad you reviewed this Cody.
Huge fan Cody. How come you haven’t done reviews for the night of the demon series’s. The first two were pretty good. For horror slop lol. I’m a lil biased because I grew up with these
This didn’t even feel like a “Godzilla” movie it could’ve been any monster with any name and this movie would’ve been just as good. Godzilla takes a back seat to the real life grounded aspects of the movie and I was pleasantly surprised how good this movie was.
I think your review is fair. I recommend watching DaiMajin and War of the Gargantuas. Both late 60s kaiju films that are very serious. Treated well. From Daie Studios (not Toho).
@Cody have been a huge Kaiju fan since I was little. The fact that YOU who as you said is not a huge fan of the genre and you liked it as much as you did makes me smile. I also love this film was made for 15 million dollars and looks better then 75% of what the western studio's are doing I hope shakes things up. Thank as always for calling it as YOU saw it
I didn't think you was going to watch it. Even tho it's a Kaiju , it's more of a horror movie but I'm glad you check it out. But I would mind if they do it like this, you got the monsterverse Godzilla and this version of Godzilla. I'm cool with that
Only the Gareth Edwards Godzilla 2014 understood the assignment, even though everyone complained about the movie. Gareth gets kaiju. It is scale, it is slow moving but super destructive. The perspective should always be street level. I find his G to be the most convincing Godzilla ever put to film. Yet, Hollywood freaked and went all Pacific Rim with the Monsterverse crap. Neon colors, all action shot from shoulder kaiju height. For what it is it might as well be people sized creatures in a Nintendo brawl. The Japanese and Gareth get it. We want to be transported into the film, to experience what it would be like were a mountainous creature was in the vicinity. The Monsterverse just want to have dumb action shit to sell toys. The new Godzilla Vs Kong trailer, with the retarded spaceship, does not inspire hope that Hollywood is course correcting. Shame.
I agree that the special effects were absolutely fantastic, but you can see where the difference is between 15 mil and 180 mil. I'm super curious on which characters were over the top
He’s probably talking mostly about the main character pilot guy. He has a ptsd episode half way thru and it comes off over the top but it’s just an Asian acting thing. Koreans do it too. Just cultural differences and it takes some getting used to.
I'm not from Japan but I'm acquainted with people from there as well as other Asian countries. A lot of them feel similarly about American movies. Sure they like them... but admit to chuckling at some of the American mannerisms and behaviors shown on screen as well. Some of these seem a little odd to people from Asia. It's just cultural differences on both sides. I've come around to accepting Japanese mannerisms in their films and TV shows. I would not want them to "change who they are" just to satisfy an American audience. The same as I would not want Americans to "change who they are" in American movies just to appeal to Asian audiences. That is how both sides learn to understand and accept/respect each other's cultures... which is fine if different. The World needs more of that kind of stuff now.
I loved this movie it’s in my top 3 Godzilla films behind the original 1954 film and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (god I love that title 😂😂). I find the best Godzilla films actually have got some deep compelling themes like this film and the two I mentioned above
Great review! I'm having to wait another seven days to see it here in the UK. The wait is killing me. If you liked this then check out 'Shin Godzilla', which is a very unconventional Godzilla movie and probably my favourite one so far. It really leans heavily into satire and allegory as regards the government reaction to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and Japan's shock as regards to it. The Godzilla sequences are pretty great too and he is one menacing incomprehensible force of something. If I were to title the movie? Godzilla vs. Bureaucracy.
Cody I would highly recommend you watch the original 1954 Godzilla titled "Gojira." It's a horror film and Godzilla is the bad guy just like in this one. It's often considered the best although I do have a few doubts as to whether you'll enjoy it I'm sure it will be worth the watch if you have an hour and a half to kill (and for anyone wondering what other goods ones are, "Ghidorah the three-headed monster" and 1964's "Godzilla vs. the thing")
I saw it today, loved it. I don’t usually see subtitled movies and have never seen a Toho Godzilla movie. The characters, story, setting, acting, special effects, practical sets. All great
I very much enjoyed it, with me being a watched of Godzilla since I was little. This film gave us the great action sequences and characters. It did things that haven’t been done in a long time for Godzilla. On that same note, in majority of Monster movies as well. The critic side of my brain is mostly on the third act. It was great and satisfying, but as you mention things were telegraphed. A specific character at the end, should’ve remained gone. At the same time, you get that they just want to make it a happy ending. I agree that the tone and style was great for the film.
Thing is, someone pointed out, and I slightly noticed it myself... that character now has a strange growth on their neck, possibly cancer or something else Godzilla related. 😮
I’ve always had an interest in kaiju movies, they just always focus way too much on humans I don’t care about than the monsters, (Godzilla vs Kong) I am so glad this movie seems to not have that problem.
i LOVED THIS..could not believe and am so glad TOHO decided to et back to making these movies, what comes next i hope is more of the same. with this movie it was just a better RE-BOOT of the original movie but done way better and set in an earlier time, the "OXYGEN DESTROTER" is shown but not called this exactly.
Some of my oldest memories in general are watching the oldddd Godzilla movies and this year was the first time I got to see one of the Japanese ones in theater, I damn near cried at how happy I was 😂
Well, dude as others have said, I grew up in the 70s and love the original Godzilla movie as a kid and to your point they really got silly and over-the-top and created Godzilla some sort of antihero. This movie did a great job with the characters you cared about them, and if I had to say anything negative about it, it was the animated walking of Godzilla. I’m not sure what they were trying to go for here but it seemed very distracting to me but overall this film was awesome and thank you for your great review.
About To See It In Tuesday. Maybe Like A Early Birthday Present For Me As A Godzilla Fan. Love Your Channel And Review. Sending ❤ To The Goat Channel Lol
Nice to see a blanced review of this movie. Sure I liked it but I do think some overpraise it. It is a good use of Godzilla but there have been 40 movies almost so saying 5 of them are good is´t that much of a praise. But yeah I do think the human actors kind of acted extra more like anime characters. I don´t see that in the other Godzilla movies so maybe it´s a modern style. But at the same time I thought the characters had great charm, the boat team especially. But yes this way of acting dose´t work if this was an American movie. They really tried in 2014 to be realistic and in the first part they did it but later it just went of the rails. Anyway yes I don´t think you should suddenly watch a lot of Godzilla movies to see what sticks. But if you would give some a chance I would say the original 1954 just to see how it compares to this. After that they made tons of vs movies and well the themes of the nuclear bomb is lost. Then it turns into Godzilla the protector, gets even goofier. But 1985 Return of Godzilla is a reboot following the first movie, you could try that and see what you think of the tone and acting. There are a couple good ones there but after that no outstanding Godzilla movie from Japan.
Godzilla 1985 was the first Godzilla film I saw on TV. I remember "Mr. Martin" having nightmares about Godzilla. Siskel & Ebert put the film in the "Worst of 1985" category.
Hey Cody, I’m gonna OG Godzilla fan I get why you don’t like the other Godzilla movies I hope you give Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla 1984 those movies don’t have the campy elements and do have good characters and story
