(I’m biased towards anything that is a serious form of Godzilla media. I am going to glaze this film so much, and unapologetically. The facts remain, I am going to be near right.)
Last year on Godzilla’s birthday we got a nice present for us, official news of a Toho Godzilla film releasing next year. Now, in a few months we will be able to experience this dark and gritty Godzilla film – entirely inspired by the spirit of the original – Being the first Godzilla film to take entirely in the past, and in a completely new timeline. That timeline pre-existing before Gojira (1954) and entering an unknown world of post-war Japan. When Gojira released back in 1954, Japan was in good terms with America. They’ve rebuilt and recovered from the mass tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Without knowing there was such a thing as WW2, you could never tell they were in a war the decade prior. In this setting being present right after the war and bombings, this is why it is called Godzilla Minus One. When Japan was already so low they couldn’t get any worse. Then the one thing that could possibly make it worse, Godzilla appeared.
Trailers/Teasers & Soundtrack
The entire trailer was a perfect teaser, and what other advertisers and movies need to take notes from. The first thing to note is what came to mind when the first ever teaser came out, and that is the soundtrack. Shin Godzilla has my favorite Godzilla soundtrack of all time. Not only did remaster classic 1954 tracks but had created its own soundtrack with tracks such as “Early morning from Tokyo,” “Persecution of the masses (1172) / landing,” and “Who will know (24_bigslow) / tragedy” to name a few. The teaser’s new sound was haunting to hear for the first time, even more so than Shin Godzilla. The trailer only teases what the film has in store without even showing context and the whole film itself. Creating suspense, atmosphere, and texture to the film before it necessarily even starts. The trailer shows just enough and we still have no context of how the movie plays out. This is an incredible way to get seats in a theater, and one trailer I could watch a thousand times and never know what will happen in one scene of the actual movie, well done.
Setting
Just to reiterate, this film is the first ever Godzilla film to entirely take place in the past. It is also the first film to predate the original within it’s time period. The film aesthetic and style works in this new unseen world that we all probably have thought of as a Godzilla fan. The setting is in a world of how Japan may be completely hopeless to endure another monster.
Writer, Director, & VFX
The director, writer, and yes visual effects artist director are all credited under the same name, Takashi Yamazaki. I was trying to prove that this film was already phenomenal based on first impressions and suspense. To note this wasn’t hard to drive this an obvious point to make. To have a full creative vision over a project, and then having the freedom to execute it. In some cases this could be a red flag, but Yamazaki has proven twice that he can take the property (or likeness) (Godzilla) and use the Big G very well. At the beginning of Yamazaki’s most well known movie, Always: Sunset on Third Street it has a 1940s scene with a Godzilla cameo present. The scene was very popular and was shown across the internet as a new Godzilla movie back in the day. The scene perfectly encapsulates how Yamazaki has always wanted to create this film. With it being thought out for almost fifteen years, this may have been a well structured, thought out film. I reiterate this was not just directed, but written. I have no source, but I imagine this is the longest script or thought movie to be made within the franchise. Taking a super talented director alone makes this film promising. Then imagine them being a super fan and wholeheartedly pouring their endeavors into creating their vision. This could be potentially the most freedom and one-man-envisioned film for a franchise. The reason why I believe this movie may be the greatest Godzilla film to date, and that is because I would do the same in their shoes.
The visual effects look great despite the smaller budget compared to monolithic budgeted productions. Information about production and development is still pretty unknown or way too vague. The VFX I feel should have got more time, but they still look great. This might be the best looking Godzilla film to date. Every single scene is in the daylight or is well lit. There is exactly one shot that I want to have more work done to it, that is literally it. Daylight scenes are awesome to see when most kaiju battles are at night, or terribly lit areas. It is something I hope the Monsterverse does more often, and every other kaiju film. Toho always does a great time with the day time settings, and they continue to show some beautiful set pieces – now in CGI.
Cinematography & Editing
Shin Godzilla was critically acclaimed for its cinematography. This may be a stretch, but the cinematography could be even better. Now I am not fully in the impression it actually is just as good. That doesn’t mean the editing and the shots they’ve shown aren’t incredible. I just wonder if they are holding back and savoring it for the film to debut. Editing is a core modifier to how you perceive shots and scenes visually. A well structured scene with the right editing and cinematography can make this film perfectly captivating alone.
Plot & Actors
Not much is beyond what I have discussed, but it deserves to be a point. This is the official plot synopsis, “Postwar Japan has lost everything. The film depicts an existence that gives unprecedented despair.” As the sub headline says, I think this is just the surface of the film. It doesn’t want to comprise the film’s surprises and even more lows that we are still yet to discover. Another kaiju, a phenomenon from Godzilla we don’t know about, something is hidden, but I have no backing evidence – I just know it. The classic Godzilla is here, and we’ve already seen an atomic breath within the trailer. One thing they should have done is make the beam not blue, but white like in reference to the original. It should have been a bright light displaying a ray of empyrean or angelic spectacle of destruction – They can take it or leave it. I can’t believe I’d ever say this, but the characters and actors look great! The shots they chose from their expressions, words, and settings they feel dreadful. I am really interested to see these characters deal with their conflicts.
What Lies Underneath
The last Toho film to release had an incredible amount of teasers and trailers leading up to the film. The secrecy of the multiple forms and especially the unknowns about Godzilla’s atomic breath really set an unexpected turn of events for the audience. Those kinds of expectations to the eventually fully delivering leave an incredible lasting impression. The movie could legitimately be as it’s described. This is where I circle to my original point. Godzilla Minus One is more than just embodying the spirit of the original, it’s more than what it seems. The greatest keeper of all humanity is what we know, — but in perfect balance — the greatest fear is the ambiguity that comes with the unknown. What if there are two monsters, or maybe another Godzilla? The mystery is what is so interesting, and it is leading to my conclusion that there is something underneath. I really hope I am not wrong, but I have set a high bar to be caught off guard or for my impressions to be mislead and amazed. This could be a false depiction of my expectations, and this could be a factor to why I’d be disappointed in the film. If I am right to the slightest degree that would validate my expectations, but the other option would tank my feelings towards the film. If I am misled into my deception, and the film still completely blows me away. It further proves my point this film may be the greatest Godzilla film to date. I am hoping for the ladder, but I am already excited for what is teased. I just love when expectations are set, and they change it up right under your nose – right until they show you what was left out.
Verdict: A film envisioned for well over a decade, now is created into… the (potentially) perfect Godzilla film.
(Now my take on Toho, is that the producers themselves probably want to see his vision also. I think that almost everything could be his decision, but I recall there being conflict with the directors of Shin Godzilla. Not every movie is solely decided by the director and writer, but I have faith in Yamazaki having most of the control within this project.)
