Godzilla: Minus One

pixelburp

After finally watching Shin Godzilla, which was a surprisingly fantastic movie, I'm suddenly really looking forward to the first live-action Godzilla movie since that 2016 film. (The reason why is, IIRC, 'cos of Toho's deal with Legendary Pictures that they wouldn't clash with the ongoing attempts at American Godzilla flicks). No idea if this will appear in IRish cinemas mind you, but I'll await the digital release if not.

While there doesn't seem to be taking the same satirical angle as Shin... it still seems to be playing it all dead straight with what reads like a social & political angle to things - more in line with the original 1954 film's post-Hiroshima trauma than the later goofier numbers.

https://youtu.be/r7DqccP1Q_4

johnny_ultimate

It looks suitably ominous and sombre, although a bit more effects-dependent than Shin. The director is more of a 'journeyman' type than Hideaki Anno too, but looking forward to seeing it nonetheless.

@pixelburp if you're in a kaiju mood, I'd highly recommend the 1990s Gamera 'Heisei' trilogy, which is on Prime Video at the moment (starting with Guardian of the Universe). Gamera was traditionally a cheapo knock-off of Godzilla, but due to some really smart filmmakers they pulled together something really clever and enjoyable in that particular trilogy - and, in a rare break from tradition, they actually only improve in quality across the course of the trilogy. Probably more in line with OG Godzilla than anything that has followed in the franchise, Shin... excepted.

eightieschewbaccy

Kaiju Preservation society if looking for a Kaiju worshipping piece of fiction... Since we're doing recs. 😂

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121159818#Comment_121159818

I had a look at the first film's trailer; looks goofy as F ... there more to it akin to Shin or Minus One, or just unapologetic Good Times™

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121164502#Comment_121164502

The first one is the most straightforward of them, and the SFX is much more traditional 'men in suits' fare (although with some stunning minituare work and tasteful CG as the trilogy progresses - the SFX lead is the co-director of Shin Godzilla). But each film is better than the last, and the third is genuinely as grounded, thoughtful and surprisingly human as any film about a giant turtle destroying Tokyo has any right to be :) Definitely the best I've seen in the genre outside of OG Godzilla and Shin Godzilla, although I haven't done any serious deep dives because there's a lot of junk to get through (I do like the original Mothra though).

Think it might have been seeing Midnight Eye's (which was the authoritative source for Japanese film coverage) review of Gamera 3 that put me onto them: http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/gamera-3-revenge-of-iris/

"No kaiju movie had ever been as dynamic, action-packed and alive as Kaneko's reborn Gamera."

pixelburp

A new trailer dropped and damn, it looks quite epic. I'm guessing by the setting of there's anything drawn beyond the carnage it'll be Japan's surrender and postwar ruin - think that's the Minus One aspect mentioned.

But just by the action alone it puts the various American attempts in the happenny place.

https://youtu.be/VvSrHIX5a-0?si=ydAKw-TJhbVbAztk

pixelburp

BTW, for anyone interested or curious, this does appear to be getting an Irish release 'cos it's listed at my local Vue on December 15th (Friday) so I'm guessing it's getting a weekend at least. Sometimes films just say "hey, I'll be best enjoyed in the cinema"...

Agent Coulson

Looks great I just saw the budget for this was $23m.

If Hollywood was to make it they would have spent tens times that for something that would not look half as good as that.

Edit the budget was actually $15m.

The box off ice so far is $23m

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440839#Comment_121440839

$30m alone would have gone to Chris Pratt for voicing Godzilla.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440839#Comment_121440839

$23 million? That's madness; I thought Garth Edwards performed magic with his paltry $80 million for The Creator, but Godzilla looking this good on that money? It really does highlight there's something deeply rotten going on in Hollywood's accounting and finances all the same.

Agent Coulson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440860#Comment_121440860

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440863#Comment_121440863

Actually I looked at the wrong numbers the budget was €15m and it has so far made €23m at the box office

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440923#Comment_121440923

Oh my god, I need to sit down. Fifteen?? LOL.

This is getting really positive reviews BTW: it's opening today in the US, albeit as a Limited release

johnny_ultimate

As impressive as the budget is, there's a little more context to be kept in mind. Lots of filmmaking jobs in Japan would be more traditionally a 'vocation'. This is in some ways more sustainable than elsewhere and keeps costs down. Lots of even directors and actors would be 'jobbing' ones. But also means that wages for some creative staff can be very low - in anime, for example, animators are often overworked and underpaid. In some cases, shockingly underpaid. Things aren't always better on the live action side, either.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/business/japan-anime.html

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/yomiuri-editorial/20230508-108366/

Lots to learn from Japan's lean and efficient local filmmaking industry, but also that comes with significant caveats around a very different work culture. And there have been plenty of concerns about the industry voiced by prominent filmmakers - Kore-eda has been one of the most vocal, especially around how low pay and long hours are driving younger people away.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221228-japanese-cinema-must-change-to-help-young-directors-kore-eda-says

Which is not to say Hollywood is the right model, of course. The $200m blockbuster is an unsustainable model, and has hugely negative impacts on the freedom of the filmmakers. But a robust, union-driven model that increases staffing costs is also important to ensure staff across the creative spectrum have a good quality of life and fair pay.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121441077#Comment_121441077

Yarp: I had meant to add that I suspected Japan's notoriously stressful and intense working culture to perhaps be a part of how the costs are so low - still. Given we know that Hollywood FX studios are undercutting each other left, right & centre, it does beg the question where the money does go with these mega-blockbusters. Though @Mr Crispy 's snark about Chris Pratty wouldn't be too wide of the mark either.

silverharp

15th Dec, xmas movie sorted, love that a $15m has moved so many people , a real thumb in the nose to Hollywood's $200m a movie bloated and sub par output

ancapailldorcha

Would you need to have seen the last Godzilla for this? Shin-Godzilla I think it was. I remember thinking about catching it but deciding not to because of the IMDB score (I know, I know).

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121446959#Comment_121446959

Nope it's a new standalone story, and has no connection with previous Godzilla movies.

And you should definitely check out Shin Godzilla. it too is standalone and is a fantastic entry. It's a very wry, very openly politically satirical movie that just happens to have a Kaiju in it.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121447188#Comment_121447188

Ah. It was just after moving to London and there was a screening on but I just couldn't be bothered at the time.

There's one near me in 10 or so days. I think I'll check it out. It's Cineworld so it'll be on literally once.

pixelburp

This is now already, officially the highest grossing live action Japanese film at the US box office. Just under $15 million take isn't exactly gonna give Barbie a cold sweat but that's still amazing work for such a relatively "small" budgeted feature. And if I'm reading the article right, its release is expanding and getting more screens.

https://deadline.com/2023/12/godzilla-minus-one-highest-grossing-live-action-japanese-film-north-america-1235655580/

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121441077#Comment_121441077

Agree with all of this. When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.

Weird to see some of the same people who attack US studios for poor treatment of US VFX staff, while cheering the output of the budget on this.

Out of sight out of mind, I'd guess.

johnny_ultimate

I don’t for a second want to totally dismiss the achievement of getting the film out at that budget level, and looking as good as it does at that. I do think genre films should be aiming for lower budget levels rather than being $200m ‘tentpoles’, even if the price may inevitably rise to the 50-ish million mark when accounting for union rates etc… Especially for something like Godzilla - the series has always excelled when smaller and scrappier, even if modern SFX possibilities have increased massively the potential compared to the ‘man in suit’ days.

But I follow the Japanese industry closely, and there’s just plenty of worthwhile concerns to point out when talking about the filmmaking culture* there. And while Godzilla Minus One is proving a welcome and rare international hit - along with the anime blockbusters that frequently come along, like Suzume or Demon Slayer - sadly a lot of the SFX blockbusters from Japan don’t translate at all to mainstream western audiences (lots of TV spin offs and live action anime adaptations), and often would be of fairly poor to mediocre quality. Lots of good films made every year in Japan, but also loads that’ll never be seen beyond their shores.

*also lots to praise - it’s delightful reading of how The Boy and the Heron was made and Miyazaki and co just taking the time they needed to get it right, even if they’re a peerless studio able to facilitate that.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121475896#Comment_121475896

sadly a lot of the SFX blockbusters from Japan don’t translate at all to mainstream western audiences (lots of TV spin offs and live action anime adaptations), and often would be of fairly poor to mediocre quality. Lots of good films made every year in Japan, but also loads that’ll never be seen beyond their shores.

This is something I had noticed all right: compared with Korea next door, Japan doesn't seem that into original IP blockbusters to the extent Korea would. As you say you just don't see Japanese crowd-pleaser films coming over here as much as Korean flicks - wonder why that is? Obviously cultural differences as wide as the sea separating them are a factor but it's a curious difference. By all accounts Asian cinema seemse dominated by Korean exports while Japan remains kinda insular? A studio Ghibli release notwithstanding.

I don’t for a second want to totally dismiss the achievement of getting the film out at that budget level, and looking as good as it does at that. I do think genre films should be aiming for lower budget levels rather than being $200m ‘tentpoles’, even if the price may inevitably rise to the 50-ish million mark when accounting for union rates etc…

Wasn't the insinuation I picked up from you, just context that wherever you go, the FX houses are clearly getting it in the neck either way - but it's interesting how different the output is here even allowing for relative studio hardships. Why does one crunch yield crap while another yields positively Oscar worthy FX? Bad management, or something more abstract?

johnny_ultimate

Caught this over the weekend and it’s very impressive and engaging on the whole - a classic Japanese melodrama; a stirring anti-war character study; and of course a good old kaiju movie.

It does feel like it’s gotten closer than any other recent monster film to telling a good, character-driven story within the confines of a big old spectacular genre movie. While Shin Godzilla went down the rather different route of sprawling bureaucratic farce, this is pure old-school storytelling, with a strong emotional core and extended family drama at its centre. It’s also, like any good Godzilla story, a reckoning with trauma: in this case, both national and individual. It has a few issues, like some overwrought writing and a few contrivances in act three (the film withholds extremely obvious information once or twice and plays it like a big reveal later on). It’s all fairly straightforward, despite one or two nice little story flourishes and a strong thematic centre. But overall it’s super engaging - clear, potent and even a l’il moving here and there as it focuses in on healing, collective action and trying to overcome deep trauma.

But it’s also a damn good Godzilla movie. There are four main action sequences, and each one lands differently - in a good way. Won’t go into details, but the second one was a particular doozy - just a couple of boats vs the big guy, with a droning soundtrack expertly building tension (reminded me of a Christopher Nolan setpiece in some ways). But all work well, not just as spectacle but as good, solid action scenes driven by the story rather than the other way round.

I’d personally prefer Shin Godzilla, as I think Anno’s more eccentric, go-for-broke sensibilities appeal a little more to my personal tastes. But that’s no slight on this: conventional and melodramatic though it may be, it’s a great day or night at the cinema, and most importantly it does right by the series where many others have failed.

pixelburp

Number 3 at the US box office now sitting at 25 million; and with The Boy and the Heron also topping the weekend charts it's a good day for Japanese film (albeit on an otherwise barren release weekend)

Sudden Valley

Glad it is doing well, it is very well made. Just not a film for me though, Godzilla is just too goofy. I loved the family story teh struggle after the war, survivors guilt.

ancapailldorcha

Absolutely fantastic. One of the best films I've seen in the cinema and all the better for it. Still rue the day I couldn't be bothered to see Shin Godzilla but I had an absolute blast with this. The soundtrack took me back to watching the original at the Duke of York's Picturehouse in Brighton.

My local Cineworld only has the one showing of this which is a travesty.

homerun_homer

I saw this last night, and while I missed out on subtitles for the first 5 minutes, thanks Cineworld, I managed to get past this quickly and enjoy what unfolded. The main character's story is decent though I found him a little grating nearer the end. It could do with a little trimming in the second half but overall it is very entertaining, and the action set pieces are great fun.

winstonia

Anyone know if they odeon are going to be showing it?

pixelburp

Oh shoot, the local Vue isn't showing this after all; just Xmas movie rerun's through the weekend. Shít, that wasn't the plan.

johnny_ultimate

The UK / Ireland distributors have a website with all the screening times. Seems to have at least a few screenings in most of the multiplex chains.

https://godzillafilm.co.uk/

Tony EH

As someone who thinks the whole Godzilla thing is a load of old codswallop and really needs to be put to bed, I have to say that this one has me interested. Primarily because of the time it's set in. Post war, Showa era, Japan seems like the perfect setting for this type of junk. Although I have many, many, problems with alternative histories, just as much as I have with redundant futures when it comes to Sci-fi and monster movies. This, however, looks less goofy than 'Shin Godzilla' (goggle eyed Gojira was fascinating for all the wrong reasons 😛 ), and there was, at least, one wretched performance in that film. But even so, 'Shin Godzilla' was leagues ahead of anything the Americans have tried. Bar some good moments in Gareth Edward's movie, they have been bloody awful to say the least.

This might actually be a Godzilla film worth going to the cinema for.