Cinema tip: Brutal sci-fi blockbuster meets harrowing war film – in perhaps the best “Godzilla” film of all time

“Godzilla Minus One” has already received a lot of advance praise in the past few weeks, including from “The Creator” director Gareth Edwards – which made FILMSTARTS editor Daniel Fabian briefly happy, but ultimately also skeptical. Was something big actually on the way here? Should the 33rd “Godzilla” film from the original studio Toho really stand out from the mass of many, many adaptations – or have the first reviews online just been overly euphoric? Well, yesterday I finally saw it for myself – and I couldn’t believe what director Takashi Yamazaki was dishing out for us.

As a long-time fan who has still not seen all of Godzilla’s orgies of destruction, but has at least seen almost 25 films about perhaps the most legendary film monster of all time, I sat there dumbfounded during the credits. In disbelief, I kept asking myself the same question over and over again: Had I just seen the best “Godzilla” movie of all time? I think so – because even after I was able to sleep over the experience for a night, my sheer enthusiasm for the film remains unbroken. Only rarely do I not only find a film terrific, but also have the desire to watch it again immediately afterwards. “Godzilla Minus One” accomplished this feat.

New from today and exclusively in the streaming subscription: Godzilla is once again providing a monster spectacle!

Also, My tip (not only) for all monster fans: Take advantage of the opportunity and definitely go to the cinema for “Godzilla Minus One” while the film is still running. Because that’s exactly where the power of this cracker can fully unfold. Emotionally, but above all visually. You can expect an incredibly brutal and epic, but at the same time deeply touching film that not only shows where the MonsterVerse is at fault – but also wipes the floor with the Hollywood franchise in several respects…

That’s what “Godzilla Minus One” is about

Takashi Yamazaki tells the story of the kamikaze pilot Koichi Shimisha (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who fakes a technical problem at the end of the Second World War in order to be able to land on the island of Odo – where his life soon takes a tragic turn. This is where the young man first meets the legendary creature called Godzilla, who razes the island to the ground – and, last but not least, kills many people after Koichi neglects to open fire on the creature.

Plagued by feelings of guilt, he returns to Tokyo, where he soon leads a new life with Noriko (Minami Hamabe), who has wandered among the rubble of war, and a little orphan girl – until one day Godzilla finally returns and enables the deserter to end his personal war to fight to the end every time.

“Godzilla Minus One”: Before the war is after the war

“Godzilla Minus One” is, first and foremost, an incredibly intense post-war drama that left me close to tears several times – and thus achieves what the MonsterVerse has been struggling with for years: because it tells a shocking story that is as devastating and touching as it is hopeful – and thus creates an emotional core that is practically non-existent in US films. There you tend to be bothered by the stupid script ideas, the crazy dialogues or the annoying characters, whereas here you can understand them through and through and sympathize with them.

Whether it’s Koichi’s relationship to the war, which at times is reminiscent of Jeremy Renner’s character from “Deadly Command – The Hurt Locker”, the sight of a stricken country that is now more than ever looking for cohesion, the scientists, whose ideas are less spectacular and downright simple, because they are logical, or the individual fates of three strangers who grow together to form a family in the face of death: Yamazaki takes the time necessary to make his characters tangible – from Noriki and Koichi to his exaggerated mine defusing command.

Toho Co., Ltd.

While the human side at the latest after “Godzilla(2014) has degenerated into the great weakness of the MonsterVerse, “Minus One” shows that these are ultimately crucial for the emotional and directorial impact of a “Godzilla” film…

Brachial, brachialer, “Godzilla Minus One”

Because the American $200 million blockbusters are bursting with visual show values ​​- and are therefore practically posing as home cinema demo material. If I want to show what my OLED television can do, the 4K Blu-ray of “Godzilla Vs. Kong” is indispensable. But Like David against Goliath, “Godzilla Minus One” also triumphs against the XXL productions from Hollywood – also in terms of action!

Especially when it comes to the fun parts of the series, I particularly like the ones that work according to the more-is-more principle and like to take the madness to the extreme (such as “Godzilla: Final Wars” by Ryuhei Kitamura). “Minus One”, however, takes a different approach, only uses the titular monster in a “Jaws” style in a targeted manner (and also has other similarities with the Spielberg masterpiece) – and does so every moment Godzilla enters the scene becomes a true spectacle.

Godzilla is not invincible: this creature has been able to defeat the King of the Monsters the most times!

When Gojira (the monster’s Japanese name) stomps the ground for the first time, charges his dorsal prongs or fires his heat ray, these are moments that were simply made for the biggest screen and the best sound system. In terms of brutality, it’s hard to beat it – and when the iconic Godzilla scream and the world-famous theme are heard, goosebumps are inevitable anyway. The whole body.

A low-budget blockbuster shows Hollywood how it’s done

And the best part? Similar to football, where money doesn’t score goals, Godzilla’s most recent screen appearance also shows that you don’t need virtually inexhaustible resources like in Hollywood to create a big, visually powerful, but above all rousing blockbuster – completely in style Opposite! All it takes is a certain understanding of the material you are tackling.

“Godzilla Minus One” cost an almost ridiculous $15 million – which was already enough to give fans perhaps the best “Godzilla” film of all time. Sometimes less is more. But maybe people in the dream factory will learn something from this. After all, I wouldn’t mind if the MonsterVerse stayed with us for many more years – and then perhaps at some point it would fully exploit its potential…

The kings of the monsters let it rip: The first trailer for “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is here!