This past weekend, my better half suggested seeing "Godzilla Minus One" at Marquee Cinemas in Toms River, New Jersey. I had no idea that there was a new Godzilla movie released last year and just re-released again. The old Godzilla movies were always fun, complete with their bad special effects and unusual dubbed voices. Even though I always enjoyed those takes on the monster, I was happy that this one was taken more seriously. As a matter of fact, TheWrap reported that the movie just passed "Parasite," which was also a great movie, into being one of the top three highest grossing non-English films. "Godzilla Minus One" grossed over 55 million dollars as of this blog. While I saw the movie in color, there were black-and-white options also available at the theater.
Set in post-war Japan, Takashi Yamazaki served as the director, writer and visual effects supervisor. Not only did the film have a good story but the special effects were amazing. And it didn't bother me having to read the dialogue, especially since it kept me from laughing at the voice not matching the look of the person.
There was great chemistry between Ryonosuke Kamiki, who portrayed Koichi Shikishima, and Minami Hamabe, who played Noriko Oishi. Shikishima was struggling with his own fear of being a kamikaze pilot. He even was blamed for the death of many men when he froze in his landed fighter plane when he had a chance to shoot at Godzilla, who is pictured above in a promotional photo from the movie. The movie was produced by the infamous Toho Studios and Robot Communications.
Shikishima basically ends up with an instant family when he meets Noriko but his head isn't in the right place to take it any further. In addition, he is also mocked by many of the townspeople trying to put their homes back together for being a failed kamikaze airman. That is all I can say without spoiling the story completely, but suffice it to say that this movie is well worth the price of admission and overpriced snacks!