But what is guilt, if not Godzilla persevering?

First Things First: Is this a safe space to admit that I didn’t know Pharoahe Monch’s “Simon Says” was sampling the Mothra vs. Godzilla theme song — nor have I seen any Godzilla movies released before 1998’s Godzilla with Matthew Broderick — and it’s too late for me to change my perspective on it so the riff will always be associated with Charlie’s Angels (2000) in my mind?

Brief Thoughts: With all the hype around the visual effects of Godzilla Minus One you’d think I would’ve also stumbled upon a warning that this is not a typical giant monster mash film with bare minimum character development and hints of hints of themes of environmentalism, the hubris of man, and/or the price of nuclear war. No one told me to expect tears as I cycled through all these deep feelings inspired by the narrative.

Favorite Line: “Can I put this all to rest? I’d like to try to live again.”

Brief Thoughts (Cont.): Though I 100% appreciate the thematic exploration of the film as it largely keeps Godzilla further down the call sheet, my struggle to attribute certain elements to make it a perfect representation is keeping me from being fully blown away like most seem to be. My basic thought process: “this is a movie about survivor’s guilt. Ok, but if so then what about this part? Hm, ok, in that moment it’s more about the indiscriminate, unflinching apathy of godlike destruction. Ok, but if so then what about this part? Hm, ok, in that moment it’s more about the unsympathetic expectation of what people should be capable of enduring. Ok, but if so then what about this part? Ok that’s just a straight up sequel grab and actually cheapens my understanding of some of the themes I just mentioned. Shrug.”

Easily distractible: Move aside, depression, it’s time to repeatedly get pulled out of the film by my hyperfocus on Godzilla’s ability to stand in the middle of the ocean like he’s wading through a kiddie pool. Honestly the movie deserves to lose a whole star for keeping the visual of Godzilla treading water from us.

Brief Thoughts (Cont. Again): Long story short, I’m coming to realize that I prefer monster movies that have other monsters for our main monsters to fight so I don’t have to see the main monsters as monsters. Especially when they’re cherub-faced cutie patooties with big ol’ spiky boys on their backs. You want me to root against him? Keep dreamin’.

Final Thoughts: It’s just a matter of taste, and unfortunately for me when it comes to Godzilla Minus One, my palate may be a bit too unsophisticated to put this at the very top of my Godzilla rankings list. 

—Bonus Rounds—

Favorite Random IMDB Trivia: Turns out the title isn’t a reference to Godzilla’s screen time (Godzilla minus one Godzilla): “The ‘Minus One’ refers to the fact that Japan had already been devastated by WWII (brought down to zero), but with the emergence of Godzilla, it puts Japan into the negative. This is reflected in the film’s original Japanese tagline, which translates to, ‘Postwar Japan. From Zero to Minus.’”

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Godzilla Minus One is now streaming in Netflix.