Godzilla Minus One is finally back! On June 1st, without much warning, the acclaimed film finally became available to watch at home on Netflix. Obviously we had to scramble to squeeze in a review as soon as we could.
Back in December of 2023, Godzilla Minus One, produced by Toho, the Japanese studio from which the character originated, quietly came out in theaters in U.S., yet blew up in cinephile and pop culture circles very quickly. Passion for the film grew and grew, yet Oscar pundits weren’t sure if it was enough to garner any nominations for the WWII epic. To the delight of many, the film landed in the Visual Effects category, and went on to win, beating out big blockbusters with budgets that were several times larger than its modest $10 million, according to Deadline.
By the time that happened, however, no one could actually see the movie, as Toho had agreed to leave theaters by February 1st in order to make room for the much less praised American franchise film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. We’re delighted that those who missed it the first time around can see it now.
Takashi Yamazaki’s film follows a kamikaze pilot named Kōichi Shikishima as he miraculously survives the end of WWII and struggles to rebuild his life and home alongside the rest of Tokyo. As if that weren’t difficult enough, a mysterious, powerful creature emerges from the ocean to terrorize the city. How will Shikishima defend his new family and friends while also confronting his wartime guilt and trauma?
In this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg, P.T., and I discuss how dazzling the answer to that question is. In doing so, we attempt to explain how this film capitalizes on all a monster movie genre can do, contemplate how important it is that we have a Godzilla film and a WWII film told from a Japanese perspective, dissect the social and political themes, and, of course, gush over the visuals.
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Image Credit: The New York Times
The Short Take Our overall impressions of Godzilla Minus One. 4:00
The Recommendation Algorithm Do you have to care about Godzilla to enjoy this movie? What other genres or past films might be a good indicator that someone will like this one? 14:00
SPOILER MODE What does Godzilla represent thematically? Why is the story so rich and impactful? How does the film engage with history? 19:00
The Rhetorical Situation How does Godzilla Minus One engage with and influence the monster movie genre? What can it achieve because of the monster movie genre? To conclude, Greg gets on his soapbox about corporations undermining moviegoing. 40:31
Oscars Watch Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar this year for Visual Effects. Should it have won anything else? 59:00
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Godzilla Minus One Review