Godzilla Minus One
2023
***
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Cast: Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Andō, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Miou Tanaka, Yūya Endō, Sae Nagatani
In postwar Japan, a monstrous creature - mutated by radiation from atomic bomb tests - heads towards Tokyo. A cowardly kamikaze pilot who survived its attack during the war joins a collective effort to defeat the monster. The 37th film in the franchise doesn't really offer many surprises. I have only seen the awful 1998 and 2014 Hollywood releases, so this Japanese monster movie is marginally better, but it's certainly not worth the enormous hype. As in Bong Joon-ho's The Host, the state is helpless, leaving the citizens to unite in defense. The Academy Award-winning visual effects cost peanuts but look impressive, although Godzilla often appears rather lifeless.
