First thoughts on Godzilla Minus One (2023)

First thoughts on GODZILLA MINUS ONE which I saw earlier today.

In 1945 a legendary monster   rises from the deep and destroys a base set up to repair broken kamikaze planes.  A surviving pilot returns to Tokyo and tries to get back to life with a woman and baby he meets along the way. When the monster returns in an even more dangerous form the pilot must step up and fight for the future.

Simply put this is one of the greatest films in the 70 year history of the Godzilla series. To be certain the film is overly melodramatic (it's intentional and there to heighten the emotion), but it contains some of the greatest sequences in the series (and thus cinema history)  and it is a kick ass meditation about hope and the future.

I don't know where to begin or how much to say. There is so much here and I am still piecing it all together. 

I have to say that Godzilla's first appearance is the greatest first reveal in the series.

I love how the film plays our emotions. The film is structured as a melodrama. The structure is there to make us hyper aware of the emotion and the themes. Notions of  survival, of survivors guilt, of the role of the Japanese government in the war, the FU attitude of the US government toward the Japanese people,  the notions of the family and the celebration of humanity to fight on when it counts are all rolling around in this film. By increasing the emotion director Takashi Yamazaki forces us to confront more than just the giant lizard. 

In an age where Hollywood makes films that are full of false nostalgia in order to get knee jerk reactions and to fill the box office I love how this film doesn't really use nostalgia until it finally finds the perfect moment and hits the volume level to eleven. Since the film is essentially a stand alone there aren't many references to the earlier films, and almost all of them are fleeting. However there comes a moment when film goes all in, with the score kicking in the door when the final battle between Godzilla and the humans begins in earnest and  the emotion soars as the music of Akira Ifukube fills the speakers.  It is one of the greatest needle drops I have ever seen.

I love this film and I can't wait to see it again.

I will be returning to talking about  this film when I finish processing it.

Until then just go see this film