“Have a safe trip!”
Shin Godzilla (2016) and Godzilla Minus One (2023) are two amazing films. I haven’t reviewed them yet, and I’m not sure why I haven’t, but I do highly recommend them. Godzilla Minus One, in particular, is a brilliant film. It blended monster action with an emotionally wrenching plot involving survivor’s guilt, life in post-WWII Japan, and family dynamics. With that in mind, my son and I headed all the way to Baytown, TX to watch Godzilla Minus Zero at Hooky Entertainment. This was the first time that either of us have ever experienced a film in IMAX.
The film opens up with a bang as we are immediately introduced to Ghidorah as he attacks the city of Matsumoto. Two survivors from the attack, Murakami and Hagiwara, bring their research and firsthand accounts of the attack to Kenji Noda, who is now the director of the Large Scale Disaster Response Bureau and a survivor of the events in Godzilla Minus One. He is given the task of devising a way to stop Ghidorah and agrees to a somewhat uneasy alliance with the United States to stop the monster. Also brought into the disaster team is meteorologist Makoto Aoyama, who comes up with a brilliant “Plan B” to stop Ghidorah if the original plan fails. A number of other characters, some new and some old, are brought in as well. The most important of those characters is pilot Koichi Shikishima ,who finished off Godzilla in the previous film. He is also the adoptive father of Akiko, a survivor of the first film, who loves him fiercely.
Both plans fail. In fact, “Plan B” triggers a mutation in Ghidorah, transforming him into King Ghidorah, making him even more powerful. The attempt to destroy Ghidorah also awakens Godzilla. A new plan is developed as a doctor reveals G-cell mutations of certain survivors of Godzilla’s attack in the first film and how they can be used as a tool to lure Godzilla to King Ghidorah. One of those survivors is Koichi’s wife and Akiko’s adoptive mother, Noriko Oishi. A great battle ensues, but I’m not going to tell you how it ends. You’ll have to watch the film for yourself.
I won’t give away anymore of the film, but I will say that the music by Naoki Sato is brilliant and just as much a character in the film as the humans and the monsters. It works on your emotions and gets loud when the movie calls for it. The special effects by Shirogumi were ninety-nine percent flawless, with only one obvious CGI effect that I saw for a millisecond. The cast was amazing as well. Returning from the first film are Ryuunosuke Kamiki as Koichi, Minami Hamabe as Noriko, Hidetaka Yoshioka as Noda, Sae Nagatani as Akiko, and Miou Tanaka as Hotta. Also returning are Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando, Munetaka Aoki, and Kisuke Iida. New to the film are Min Tanaka, Masami Nagasawa, and Kou Maehara, among others.
Min Tanaka gives an amazing performance as biologist Murakami, who is struggling with PTSD and survivor’s guilt from both the bombing of Hiroshima and the attack on Matsumoto. There’s more to his character than this, however, but I won’t spoil it here. Young Sae Nagatani delivers a tear-jerking performance as Akiko, delivering some of the best lines in the film. Also of note are the performances of Kamiki, Hamabe, and Nagasawa.
Go see this film. Director/Writer Takashi Yamazaki has struck lightning twice with this film. He has done it with an amazing story fueled by human emotion, a minute budget compared to Hollywood films, and an epic face-off between two of the most iconic kaiju ever to grace the silver screen.
Thanks for reading my review.
