Hubbry Logo
search
logo

Godzilla Minus One

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla Minus One (Japanese: ゴジラ-1.0マイナスワン, Hepburn: Gojira Mainasu Wan) is a 2023 Japanese epic kaiju film written, directed, and with visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki. It is the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 33rd film produced by Toho, and the fifth installment in the franchise's Reiwa era. Set in postwar Japan, the film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki as a former kamikaze pilot suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after encountering a giant monster known as "Godzilla". The supporting cast includes Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki.

Following Shin Godzilla (2016), Toho was unable to produce another live-action Godzilla film until 2020, owing to a contract with Legendary Entertainment. Producer Minami Ichikawa appointed Yamazaki to create the movie upon the completion of The Great War of Archimedes (2019). Principal photography was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Yamazaki three years to work on the script, taking inspiration from previous Godzilla movies and the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Steven Spielberg. In February 2022, Robot Communications publicized that Yamazaki would soon direct an untitled kaiju movie. Filming occurred in Chūbu and Kantō from March to June 2022 on a reputed $10–15 million budget. Shirogumi's Chōfu studio spent eight months creating the visual effects. The film was revealed to be an installment in the Godzilla series in November 2022, and its title was announced in July 2023.

Godzilla Minus One premiered at the Shinjuku Toho Building on October 18, 2023, and was released in Japan on November 3, to celebrate the franchise's 70th anniversary. Toho International later released the film in North America on December 1. Many Western critics praised it as one of the best films of 2023 and among the greatest in the Godzilla franchise. The film grossed $116 million worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2023 and surpassing Shin Godzilla as the most successful Japanese Godzilla film. It also attained numerous accolades, including a leading 12 nominations at the 47th Japan Academy Film Prize (winning eight) and winning Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards. A sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, is set to be released in 2026.

In 1945, near the end of World War II, kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima lands his Mitsubishi A6M Zero for repairs at the Japanese base on Odo Island. Lead mechanic Sōsaku Tachibana deduces that Shikishima is feigning technical issues to flee from his duty. That night, Godzilla, a large dinosaur-like creature, attacks the garrison. Tachibana tells Shikishima to fire at the monster with his plane's cannons, but he panics, fails to shoot, and is knocked unconscious. When he awakes the following day, he finds that the only other survivor is Tachibana, who is furious at him for failing to act.

Shikishima returns home to find his parents were killed in the bombing of Tokyo. Plagued by survivor's guilt, he begins supporting a woman, Noriko Ōishi, whose parents also died in the bombing, and an orphaned baby, Akiko, whom Noriko rescued. He finds employment aboard a minesweeper tasked with disposing of wartime naval mines. Meanwhile, Godzilla is mutated and empowered by the United States' nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll; it sinks the USS Redfish and destroys several other ships en route to Japan. Owing to tensions with the Soviet Union, the U.S. offers no help save for a few decommissioned Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) vessels approved by General Douglas MacArthur. The Japanese government, concerned about inducing panic, does not notify the public about the danger.

In May 1947, Shikishima and his minesweeper crew travel to the Ogasawara Islands and are tasked with stalling Godzilla's approach to Japan. They release a mine into Godzilla's mouth and detonate it, causing significant damage, but Godzilla quickly regenerates. The heavy cruiser Takao then engages Godzilla, but is destroyed when the monster unleashes its heat ray. After returning to Tokyo, Shikishima opens up to Noriko about his encounters with Godzilla. Days later, Godzilla makes landfall in Japan and attacks Ginza, where Noriko works. She narrowly survives the initial attack and reunites with Shikishima. Enraged by tank fire, Godzilla obliterates much of the district with its heat ray, killing tens of thousands. Noriko pushes Shikishima to safety but is herself caught in the blast. A devastated Shikishima mourns her along with his fellow crewmates, vowing revenge.

Former naval engineer Kenji Noda, a crewmate, becomes frustrated by the government's inaction. He devises a plan to destroy Godzilla by luring it out to Sagami Bay before surrounding it with Freon tanks and rupturing them, sinking the monster, and letting the resultant water pressure crush it. Should the plan fail, balloons will be inflated under Godzilla to force it back up, killing it through explosive decompression. To enact his plan, Noda has recruited navy veterans to crew disarmed IJN destroyers. Shikishima recruits Tachibana to repair a broken-down Kyushu J7W Shinden fighter. He plans to kill Godzilla in a suicide attack by flying into its mouth and detonating explosive charges on board. He leaves Akiko in the care of his neighbor Sumiko before Godzilla resurfaces.

As Shikishima lures Godzilla to the trap set by two destroyers, Sumiko receives a telegram intended for Shikishima. Godzilla survives the initial plunge and then breaks free before being forced back up, sustaining serious but nonfatal injuries from the resultant decompression-induced barotrauma. With the help of a fleet of tugboats organized by Mizushima, another crewmate from the minesweeper, the ships haul Godzilla to the surface. Enraged, Godzilla prepares to destroy all the vessels with its heat ray, but Shikishima crashes the plane into Godzilla's mouth and destroys its head, causing the energy of the heat ray to tear its body apart. Having worried about his suicidal inclinations, the crew celebrates as Shikishima ejects before the explosion and parachutes to safety, using an ejection seat that Tachibana installed in the Shinden; despite agreeing to work on the Shinden on the understanding that Shikishima would kill himself to atone for his failure on Odo Island, Tachibana eventually implored him to let go of his guilt and continue living.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.