The legendary monster returns in a new film that defines the term epic!

Near the tail end of World War II, kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima lets the fear of war get to him and pretends that his plane is faulty. Arriving at Odo Island to get his plane repaired, he suddenly witnesses a gigantic monster destroying his fellow soldiers. As one of two lone survivors, Shikishima returns home to a war-ravaged Ginza a disgrace. Upon meeting a lowly thief, Noriko, who has been asked to take care of a baby, Akiko, Shikishima reluctantly lets them in his home and a few years pass to where he begins to help rebuild and eventually find work.

In 1947, Ginza has been rebuilt back to its pre-war days and Shikishima lands a job as a minesweeper taking care of mines left by both U.S. and Japanese forces during the war. Along with former Naval weapons expert Dr. Noda and two workers, Mizushima and Akitsu, Shikishima begins to enjoy his job but still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from what happened on Odo Island. His nightmares soon become a reality when the monster, known as Godzilla, has reappeared after the Bikini Atoll explosion gave him nuclear power and has its sights set on Tokyo. 

Kudos has to go out to Takashi Yamazaki, a renowned filmmaker and visual effects supervisor for bringing out not only a new vision of the legendary Godzilla, but a perfect epic film that is set before the 1954 original film. Where some Godzilla films focus more on the human aspect and do not bring enough Godzilla action, this film is a perfect balance between the human story and Godzilla’s action scenes.

Ryunosuke Kamiki is excellent in the role of Shikishima, a former World War II kamikaze pilot whose fears get to the best of him to where he suffers heavily from PTSD. Within the first five to ten minutes, we see him attempting but unable to shoot at the monstrous Godzilla, which leads to a fallout between him and another fellow soldier. We see Shimishika attempt to find happiness, even when he at first helps Noriko and Akiko, but he still is wracked with his demons inside from the war as he tends to shut not only those two out but at times, his new friends and co-workers when they suggest he and Noriko be together. 

While we see Shikishima contend with his survivor’s guilt, we also see his worst nightmare come true when Godzilla return two years later bigger and badder thanks to a nuclear explosion. Yamazaki did an amazing design on Big G meshing elements from the old school Showa era and combining it with a modern-day approach when it comes to the spikes and heat ray. We get to see in action quite a bit here with some devastating effects to both Ginza and the sea. Ships and the city get destroyed like no other and this leads to become a personal fight for Shikishima as the third act involves a Naval mission to once and for all stop Godzilla, which leads to a very amazing finale.  

Godzilla Minus One is a total epic film that takes Godzilla back before his original story, with Takashi Yamazaki showcasing his talents in writing, directing and creating one big bad G! Definitely a must see for fans of the legend.

WFG RATING: A+

A Toho Company production in association with Robot Communications. Director: Takashi Yamazaki. Producers: Go Abe, Kazuaki Kishida, Keiichiro Moriya, and Kenji Yamada. Writer: Takashi Yamazaki. Cinematography: Kozo Shibasaki. Editing: Ryuji Miyajima.

Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yuki Yamada, Munetaki Aoki, Sae Nagatani, Miou Tanaka, Kisuke Iida.