Godzilla Minus One (2023) By Takashi Yamazaki

December 21, 2023 Posted in 2023 / Pastor Ted Giese / Redemption / Movie Review / issuesetc.org / Radio Interview

Godzilla Minus One (2023) Director: Takashi Yamazaki Writer: Takashi Yamazaki Stars: Minami Hamabe, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Munetaka Aoki, Yuki Yamada, Runtime: 124min Rated: 14A (Alberta), PG (British Columbia) G (Quebec) PG-13 (MPAA) for creature violence and action.

Listen here for audio of radio interviews about films from a Christian perspective with Pastors Ted Giese and Todd Wilken on IssuesEtc.org where Christianity meets culture. (This review contains some spoilers but avoids the major twists).

Godzilla Minus One is surprisingly one of the most compelling films of 2023. In this IssuesEtc interview Giese talks about the Godzilla films and what makes this one both faithful to its origins and different from recent American style Godzilla films. He also talks about noteworthy theological themes audiences will want to take note of. One additional item to consider, the way Yamazaki shows the destruction and loss of human life created by Godzilla doesn’t devalue life. Over and over again this film says that life if a precious gift worth defending and fighting for.

Set in 1945-47 in post WWII Japan, the nation is at its lowest point when a new crisis arrives in the form of a giant monster emerging in the horrific wake of the atomic bomb.

Surrounded by death and destruction the centre of the story is the plight of Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki). A failed Kamikaze pilot, this cowardly disgraced man is suffering from survivor’s guilt and public disdain. He takes in a woman, Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe), who herself has taken in an orphaned child. His need for redemption both stalls his ability to move on with life after the war and drives him to confront the threat of the kaiju Godzilla which if not stopped will destroy not just Tokyo but potentially the whole of Japan.

American General Douglas MacArthur refuses to assist the people of Japan for fear of creating a conflict with the USSR sending instead decommissioned Imperial Japanese Navy vessels to the people for their self-defence. Shikishima, with the help of beleaguered former naval officers and crewmen, leads a final stand against the monster in a last-ditch effort to save both Japan and their personal honour.

Rev. Ted Giese is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; an award-winning contributor to The Canadian Lutheran and movie reviewer for the “Issues, etc.” radio program. Follow Pastor Giese on Twitter/X @RevTedGiese. Check out our Movie Review Index!