By: Jesse Striewski

Often times when a franchise as storied as Godzilla gets to its seventh decade, the material can tend to start getting watered-down and predictably stale. Such is not the case with Godzilla Minus One, the latest in the Toho-produced Godzilla films, and perhaps the most surprising entry of the overall series to date.

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, it follows kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who first encounters the monster at a small Japanese island base at the tail end of World War II. The beast wipes out all but Koichi and a mechanic on-hand named Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki), leaving them to live with the truth that transpired, knowing it too unthinkable for anyone else to even believe them.

Haunted by both the knowledge of what occurred that night, and guilt of not taking any action, Koichi slowly begins to pick up the pieces of his post-war life with a live-in, would-be bride (Minami Hamabe) and child who he is reluctant to play the role of husband/father to. Just when things finally start to seemingly fall in to place, their lives are disrupted when the creature shows itself again, eventually attacking mainland, and forcing Koichi to finally recount the horrors of his past.

From start to finish, everything about Godzilla Minus One is engrossing, instantly urging viewers in for the ride. Rather than just being another throwaway cash grab, it’s done with an artistic integrity that hooks you in with its human elements (actually worthy of award nominations) just as much as its action does. It somehow not only manages to be flawless, but hands-down the best film in the entire Godzilla franchise up to this point without a single doubt.

Rating: 5/5 Stars