Godzilla Minus One /『ゴジラ-1.0』(2023 / 令和五年) (日本) 

On October 27th, 1954, in Nagoya Japan, Godzilla was revealed to the masses. He has gone on to become one of the most famous characters in all of cinema, and now for his 70th anniversary, Toho took the series back to basics and delivered not just a great Kaijū movie, but one of the very best films of the year.

It is well known that Godzilla was originally created as an allegory for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, personifying the nuclear devastation that caused their deaths. Set immediately after World War 2, we follow Kōichi Shikishima, a former kamikaze pilot, who returns to a firebombed Tokyo after his squadron is attacked by Godzilla in the final days of the war. He then meets a named Noriko and an infant girl named Akiko. They then try to carve out a life for each other as a found family, but their lives are endangered when Godzilla returns to enact his wrath upon humanity.

The fact that Godzilla is the least interesting part of the movie is a testament to the film’s quality, with the human storyline being incredibly heartfelt and compelling to watch. However, this doesn’t take away from the action sequences, which are some of the most dread-inducing and visually stunning in the entire series. This is actually the first movie in the Godzilla series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and it is my personal pick to take home the Oscar. The score is also amazing, blending classic themes from past movies with new orchestrations to great effect. I have no issues proclaiming this as my favorite film in the Godzilla franchise. Highly recommended. 10/10.
–Godzilla Minus One is currently playing in theaters.