The new Godzilla movie shines a light on the monster as the only threat on earth, and it shows that sometimes the battles with other monsters were not so exciting.
With an amazing narrative twist, “Godzilla Minus One” redefines the essence of the kaiju saga, opting for a more visceral and human approach. This latest installment from Toho emphasizes the importance of a monster, providing an unexpected depth and seriousness in the genre.
The film is notable for its lack of monster fights, focusing on the unique threat of the God of Monsters and its effects on humanity. This decision contrasts with the more colorful and cartoony fights of the previous episodes, where the plot and characters were often relegated to categories.
Kaiju evolution
“Godzilla Minus One” is not only a minimal approach to the presence of kaiju, but also a deep dive into the human characters. The film takes place in the post-war period, which presents a reconstruction of Japan that has to face a giant monster. The narrative emphasizes the gravity of the monster’s actions and how it affects humanity, making it a blockbuster post-war drama.
Over the years, Godzilla movies have varied in tone and approach, introducing more monsters and often leaning towards the cartoonish. “Godzilla Minus One” breaks away from this trend, opting for a more serious and focused narrative similar in spirit to the original 1954 film and 2016’s “Shin Godzilla.” From the beginning, it replaces the atomic bomb with recent disasters like Fukushima, and portrays Godzilla as a mutant and growing threat.
Subtle social criticism.
The new film serves as a critique of bureaucracy and government corruption in addition to its spectacular monstrosity. The film uses Godzilla to move away from the battle spectacle between the kaiju to explore themes of social and environmental relevance.
This return to origins resonates strongly with the franchise. “Godzilla Minus One” proves that sometimes less is more. Avoiding the distractions of multiple monsters, the film focuses on what really matters: the impact of their presence on a world trying to understand and survive. This more intimate, character-driven approach delivers a unique and emotionally-charged cinematic experience that appeals not only to genre fans, but to a wider audience.
Why Godzilla works better as a solo monster
Even in the scenes of Godzilla movies, it is important to maintain an anchor in reality. The image of Godzilla roaming the city and endangering countless people is easy to understand. However, this theory dissolves when more monsters appear. By possessing more than one kaiju, the focus and perspective changes, losing sight of the true horror inherent in the genre.
He’s the only villain and his attacks get the attention they deserve. Films promoting this approach often present the giant monster in an antagonistic role, avoiding the excesses of older films that featured him as a superhero. This depiction, like the atomic bomb allegory, gets away from its roots, reducing it to something far less compelling. Fortunately, movies where he’s the only villain often add a level of dramatic gravity.
Godzilla movies need great characters
Beyond showing what the creature represents, the individual films have time to really develop the human characters. The main focus is simply pitting two or more monsters against each other, which is hard to come by. These films don’t give the human characters the development they need, nor do they give time to deal with the deeper themes of their struggles. “Godzilla Minus One” focuses on people, maintaining tension and intrigue thanks to how well these characters are written, which makes the difference between a good movie and a bad one.
For example, Roland Emmerich’s The 1998 remake focused primarily on the human characters, but was generally not considered a good film. The human characters are uninteresting or unlikable, and lack development. In addition, the film lacks contemporary themes or moral lessons, which can only be done without further exposition. Even the highly acclaimed Gareth Edwards film had similar problems.
“Godzilla Minus One” strikes a delicate balance by keeping the focus on the human characters while being the only monster. This allows the film to tell a good story. This kind of narrative is essential to turning a simple fun film into a cinematic masterpiece, which shows that the characters do their best work when they are the only nightmares of humanity.