wandercreature

Confession: Since his earliest works in the form of Juvenile(2000), and RETURNER(2002), director Takashi Yamazaki hasn't been one I could easily connect with as he has steadily advanced his visual effects craft intermingled with almost relentlessly bland popcorn sensibilities (emphasis on the corn). So when I say that Godzilla Minus Zero might very well be his commercial and artistic magnum opus, it comes from a very mileage-may-vary personal bar.

And as cool as it is to see his take on Big G find itself taking place earlier than in the 1954 classic, it becomes especially suspect when it seeks to whole hog function as a stark counterpoint to Hideaki Anno's more nationalistic bent in his grand scale Tokyo stomper from a few years back. By allowing the calamity to play out in the wake of the fresh end of WWII allows the veterans of that conflict another chance to litigate the ending of it, the film takes on a strange, occasionally side-eye inducing air that seems to imply that it might be more prudent to allow citizens to determine the end of the war, as well as pave the path toward a future, which on the surface feels well-intentioned. But having a 1946 without much to any physical sign of US occupation makes for a strange erasing of history along with the events of the original Honda film.

In its bold new choice of time period, the film posits the promise of food for thought, though I'm not sure every needle is threaded outside of the need for the everyperson to have a say in charting new courses.

Making average people the focus this time, is certainly welcome enough. The cast tends to be more than game in this genre that the seasoned blockbuster director has established for just over two decades now. Even as Yamazaki refuses to draw outside the lines of this particular brand of Japanese genre silliness complete with requisite stagey overacting, and attempts at rousing moments of collaboration and improvisation against a virtually unstoppable force, there is enough detail and charm here to make up for what he never seems to be up for doing. - which is to allow the film’s humanity to genuinely breathe in the temerity of this new, horrifying, and ultimately devastating tragedy. And while this may sound harsh, it simply is his brand that has never been something to fully connect with me beyond simple entertainment. In an era of almost uncanny levels of visual wizardry it would just be nice if he allowed his films to possess more emotional backbone beyond the occasional visual grace note. (Of which one at the halfway point left me unable to catch my breath for several seconds. It’s a truly powerful visual gut punch that must be seen on a large screen.)

Which is to say that the action is probably as great as it could possibly be for a project of this scale. And on that level, Minus One excels. What we get here may not rival the original for sheer, real world invading pathos, but it does offer up plenty of jaw-dropping fun with thrills to spare.

There's much to enjoy here, but I might need that much more raw heft and unfettered sincerity to push it over the top. As it is, it's a fascinating diversion as the kaiju genre experiences something of a global surge.