I have never been a person who likes giant monster movies, I think the only thing I saw in my life related to that genre was in my childhood and it was Power Rangers, they at certain times called the Zords to fight against evil monsters and I must confess that I loved those sequences of transformations, well, I think all children like those things. Now that I remember, I also saw, but by chance, the movie “Pacific Rim”, it was many years ago and the truth is that it didn't leave much of an impact on me. Another content related to giants was Shingeki no Kyojin, but that's different, the plot and the story itself is very different from the monster genre in its purest expression.
So, according to the above mentioned, Godzilla movies or similar never aroused me particular interest, in fact, until now I had not seen any of his movies and look there are quite a few of those, but what made me interested in Godzilla Minus One was the fact that it won the Oscar as the film with best visual effects, that seemed very curious to me since a film produced in Japan would hardly win an award like this, let alone with a film of this type. That's how I set out to watch Godzilla Minus One, a movie from the year 2023 produced by Toho, but that we can currently watch on Netflix. It was produced by Takashi Yamazaki who won the Oscar in the best visual effects category.
And well, I think it goes without saying what Godzilla movies are about, but for those who are not aware, Godzilla is a kind of giant dinosaur with a big tail that occasionally appears in cities or towns causing great damage and deaths in the population. I understand that it is not evil, but I get the impression that it simply does not care about the human race and probably sees them as ants on the road. The truth is that when this monster has appeared, governments have tried to stop it by any means to prevent it from destroying cities, and well, that has basically been the subject of most Godzilla movies, although of course there are different plots, and those are other stories.
Thus, in Godzilla Minus One, we are transported to an island in Japan in the 40s, where a group of soldiers are surprised by the attack of a giant monster unknown to them, they face it, but most of them die because they have no chance against such a beast. Shikishima, a kamikaze pilot who is one of the survivors, returns to his city to find a panorama of destruction produced by the Second World War. There he meets Noriko and little Akiko, as the days go by, these three would strengthen bonds, they have no one else so they became each other's emotional and family support.
Word soon spreads that there is a giant monster that is capable of destroying a city in the blink of an eye, so the authorities set out to plan how to attack and destroy it, but they soon realize that it is not that simple. Godzilla is ultra-powerful and also has the ability to regenerate itself. Hopes are low, but those who are part of the plan to destroy it are inspired by the war and decide to defend their country at any cost. So Shikishima and company set in motion a meticulous plan to eliminate the threat, but did it work? Well, you'll have to see for yourself.
This movie left me impressed on a visual level, the sequences in which Godzilla destroys cities and executes his powers are simply spectacular and make it clear why Godzilla Minus One won the Oscar in the visual effects category. I had seen something similar only in some Marvel movies where the budget is ridiculously high, but I understand that here there was not such a high budget, not even close, so there is great merit for the director who showed that with little you can achieve a lot, I guess it is a matter of resource management and talent.
Godzilla Minus One is an ode to visual excellence, it is not easy to make scenes of massive destruction in cities or in general that really have a realistic and high level impact. This film also rekindles the hope that visual effects technologies can be implemented in an efficient way, without cheap commercialism that only generates disposable films with pitiful special effects that make you want to get out of your seat. This is how I consider that the giant monster genre has a chance to give us memorable movies, I in particular am willing to give it a chance.
Omar wrote to you and it was a pleasure for me to share with you this review, I hope you liked it, see you soon!
