Film: Godzilla Minus One

This is my first Godzilla film and I’m tempted to go back and watch others.

Japan has just gone through the horrors of war and now a giant monster comes out of the sea to destroy it again.

We meet Godzilla when Kōichi, a kamikaze pilot freezes in shock when it rises before him. He makes his way to Tokyo to find the city in ruins. Befriending a woman who is caring for a new baby, they work together to find food and this motivates him to find work. He signs up in the hunt for Godzilla.

As is always the case, it’s the human story that makes this film as we don't find any redeeming features in Godzilla. The Shape of Water or King Kong this is not.

Godzilla Minus One moves at such a pace and has so much texture from being out at sea, in 1940s rural Tokyo or the newly built city of Ginza. The visuals are stunning everywhere I look.

I love meeting Kōichi, and witnessing him grow to be the man he wanted to become. And seeing all the Japanese minds at work to save their nation. Mostly I loved seeing Japan’s scene-stealing role in this.

8/10