Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Godzilla Minus One!
Summary
Godzilla Minus Onepulls heavily from the original 1954Godzilla, but also owes a lot of its inspiration to a 40-year-old entry in the franchise. The latest movie in the 70-year-oldkaijufranchise,Godzilla Minus Oneis streaming on Netflix, bringing its emotionally gripping and terrifying story into homes around the world. The movie pulls heavily from the original, delivering a serious, dark story about Japan post-World War II. However, instead of being about nuclear warfare like the original,Godzilla Minus One’s castprovide powerful performances in a story about survivor’s guilt and the heroism of everyday people.
Even with this new lens for the movie, though, the film still touches upon nuclear warfare with its version of the titular monster. From absorbing radiation in Bikini Atoll to launching atomic breath that causes nuclear explosions, Godzilla’s newest rendition is very much informed by his oldest predecessor. Even at theend ofGodzilla Minus One, his presence remains a threat to Japan and the world. However,he also pulls from another version that arrived on the scene 40 years ago, also in the role of an antagonist terrorizing the Japanese.
Why Godzilla Minus One May Be Setting Up The Monster Rematch We’ve Wanted For 35 Years
A tease in Godzilla Minus One’s ending provides the franchise with a way to finally deliver on a monster rematch that it set up 35 years ago.
The Return Of Godzilla Is Closer In Tone To Minus One Than The Original
Godzilla Is Also A Villain In The 1984 Movie
WhileGodzilla Minus Oneowes its successto the original film,the movie more heavily borrows elements from 1984’sThe Return of Godzilla.A direct sequel to the original movie, the film follows the titular monster’s reemergence in Japan 30 years after his original path of destruction. With the world now involved in the Cold War, humanity - including both America and the Soviet Union - have to put their differences aside in hopes of combating thekaiju’s latest rampage. This leads to a bleak movie about humanity needing to come together to defeat a larger threat.
This mixture of a hopeless undertaking combined with people rallying together to do the impossible is similar toGodzilla Minus One’s presentation.Both movies portray a version of Godzilla that’s almost unstoppable, breaking the ground beneath him while using adevastating atomic breaththat levels cities in his wake. Because of how dark both films get before the hope of humanity prevails, many parallels can be drawn between the two entries and how they portray their conflicts with Godzilla. However, this is also only one part of thekaiju’s history that helped make his latest film successful.
The Return of Godzillawas heavily recut and localized in the United States asGodzilla 1985, but kept the basic premise.
Why Minus One Is The Perfect Blend Of Different Godzilla Movies
Minus One Captures Godzilla At His Scariest
As previously mentioned,Godzilla Minus Onestill owes a lot of its success to the 1954 original, whose allegory for nuclear warfare made the movie’s own thematic explorations possible. The film also contains plenty of small references to other past films, such as the smaller version of the monster being a reference toGodzillasaurus fromGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah. It’s also the first TohoGodzillamovie to show him entirely in CGI, taking after Hollywood productions in the Monsterverse in their portrayal of him.
With so many films influential toGodzilla Minus One, it’s important to note just how much the movie owes toThe Return of Godzilla. With a similar premise and tone present in both movies, the newest installment captures the same destruction and fear as its 40-year-old counterpart does. Given this level of influence the Heisei era entry had on the movie, it wouldn’t be surprising if later renditions of the monster also pull from the same time frame.
Godzilla Minus One
Cast
In Godzilla Minus One, set in postwar Japan, an unyielding Godzilla emerges in a landscape already ravaged, leaving survivors to unite against the monstrous threat. With no aid from military forces or government, the community must confront their fears to fend off the escalating peril.
