Is Godzilla : Minus One an Overrated Film?

Although the movies in the Monsterverse have a huge fanbase, Toho’s Japanese Godzilla movies were not explored much by our local audience. Godzilla Minus One is the first such film to be discussed here. It was a disappointment that the film, which won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in Low Budget, did not have an Indian theatrical release. Godzilla Minus One is now out for BluRay & OTT release Internationally.

There is a high possibility that this movie will get the title of ‘Overrated’ in the coming days, there are already some people saying so. The reason most people say is that there is no huge power levels, no monster fights, no entertainment as in Monsterverse movies.

I have to say that they missed the whole point of Godzilla character. In 1954, Toho released the first Godzilla movie. The time when Japan was devastated after World War 2 and Atomic Bombings. Godzilla was the movie that came with the horror of war and Anti War message at that time.

Godzilla was another big threat that was as devastating as the Atomic Bomb. In a way, Godzilla was shown in the movie as a metaphor for Atomic Bomb. Along with that war and politics are included in the subtext of the movie.

For these reasons, Godzilla has become a character that the Japanese citizens will never forget. In response to this market demand, Toho later released many subsequent Godzilla films, even in yearly basis at a point, which included many of the weird Godzilla memes and gifs we see often in social media. The truth is that neither the subsequent Toho films nor the Hollywood adaptations could come close to that first film.

But when I saw minus one, the experience I got was much higher than the first film in 1954. Many scenes in Minus One are a tribute to the original film. Even some scenes and shots from the original can be seen in minus one as well.

Godzilla got such popularity in our country because of Monsterverse movies. So if you go expecting such a movie then Minus One should not satisfy you.

I would never say the Monsterverse movies are bad. The Monsterverse movies lack the political subtext that Toho’s original film and Minus One tried to convey. Those movies were released mainly for entertainment in Hollywood. The Monsterverse movies have succeeded in that regard. My opinion is to see both in different ways. Both have their own formulas, audiences, and cater to them. My opinion is to enjoy both as different categories. In that way, both sides have given me a lot of satisfaction.

Coming to the review of Minus One, this is one of the best movies I have seen. From the beginning, it has given more focus on the human portions and brought it to a big emotional level. Godzilla portions had that award deserving vfx and the impact and terror was bigger than any movie when the Kaiju appears on the screen. Minus One is one of the movies that is perfect in everything including Script, Direction, Technical Side and Acting. This movie is an experience that should never be missed. Maybe if there was a theatrical release, it would have taken at least a week for the aftereffect of this movie to change. This movie has not left my mind after watching it.

So like I said earlier, don’t expect monsterverse movies here. This is a different movie in every context.

Tell us your opinions about Godzilla Minus One.

Compiled By Sree Nandan