'Godzilla Minus One' Is One of the Best War Movies in Years

If Hollywood movie-making in 2023 was largely defined by the summer "Barbenheimer" craze and growing superhero blockbuster fatigue, then the autumn release "Godzilla Minus One" was something of a sleeper hit for the beleaguered film industry. The 37th film in the 70-year-old "Godzilla" franchise, the movie has grossed more than $81 million on a modest $15 million budget and done so to both audience and critical acclaim. It is, as many critics believe, among the best installments in the franchise's winding history, "a feast for the eyes [and] an entertaining epic in every sense of the word," as The Hollywood Reporter put it.

But this is no silly monster mash or kaiju frenzy, which accurately describe too many past entries into the franchise, nor is it a heavy-handed attempt at intellectual property-friendly world-building like the recent American installments into the burgeoning "Godzilla" cinematic universe. Surprisingly, "Godzilla Minus One" is quite possibly one of the best war movies since "1917," primarily because the film offers one of the most careful and powerful depictions of veteran trauma ever to grace the silver screen.

There are elements of "Godzilla Minus One" that may challenge some viewers -- yes, this is a subtitled film, and the title likely makes more sense to Japanese audiences -- but writer and director Takashi Yamazaki masterfully engages viewers from the first frame. The story is simple: In the aftermath of World War II, Japan has effectively hit rock bottom after near-annihilation at the hands of the United States. Godzilla shows up in the late 1940s just as Japan is starting to rebuild its infrastructure, wreaking even more havoc and essentially kicking postwar Japanese society while it's already down. There is destruction; there is atomic breath.

But the story of "Godzilla Minus One" is, at its core, the story of a man. In the final days of World War II, kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima diverts from his suicide mission and lands at a remote Japanese base on the fictional Odo Island, lying about a mechanical failure. It's there that he and a team of mechanics are attacked by a dinosaur-like creature, which will later mutate from nuclear tests to become Godzilla. Shikishima has the opportunity to kill the monster, but chokes and leaves a dozen fellow soldiers to die before escaping.

When Shikishima comes home after a war, his Tokyo neighborhood is in ruins, with families around him mourning the deaths of those killed in the U.S.-led firebombing campaign. His neighbor immediately scorns Shikishima for being a coward due to his status as the only soldier in the area to return from war, blaming him for Japan's defeat. No, the film isn't pro-kamikaze or anti-American, as some might interpret it: Instead, the script offers a scathing rebuke of Imperial Japan and how its government fought a lost cause during World War II while never caring for its troops, using suicide tactics as a key weapon against American forces.

Shikishima feels immense shame for not carrying out his duties and sadly admits he never saw combat in the war. Throughout the film, he develops feelings for a woman but can't pursue any romantic or physical relationship with her because he feels too emasculated, much to her dismay. In many cases, veteran trauma in film comes across as cartoonish, reduced to a thousand-yard stare or a confusing trip to the cereal aisle at the grocery store. Even when handled carefully, its inclusion is often all too brief, minimized to make room for the cool battle scenes with door-kickers. But Shikishima doesn't get into brawls, he isn't an alcoholic and he doesn't romanticize the idea of dying on the battlefield like Lt. Dan. Instead, he's unnervingly quiet and constantly seeking subtle ways to pay his perceived debt to society, like taking care of a child or taking a dangerous job clearing sea mines.

This is what makes "Godzilla Minus One" more than just a standard kaiju flick. Godzilla has relatively little screen time and is, in many ways, not the point of the movie. The monster is a stand-in for trauma, and not just for our protagonist Shikishima -- every character projects their own experience from World War II onto the towering lizard. One scene shows the aftermath of Godzilla's rampage, which is almost identical to images of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in the aftermath of the 1945 atomic bombings. Of course, there are set pieces of Godzilla stomping on buildings, but those are the least interesting scenes in the movie.

In 2021, I reported on troops who felt guilty they missed out on combat during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's probably a taboo subject and underreported that some troops want to see combat and some feel some level of shame if they never had their opportunity. In "Godzilla Minus One," this anxiety is represented by a younger Japanese man who was too young to fight and "missed out," and is quickly corrected by veterans and told his inexperience is a virtue.

"Godzilla Minus One" is the pinnacle of monster films and will likely be looked at as a leader in that genre for decades, but it also deserves to sit next to "Saving Private Ryan"and "Full Metal Jacket" as a classic war film. More importantly, it is one of the best representations of the experience of military veterans I've ever seen, and will surely be hard to top -- and the only thing that could sully it is a rushed sequel that sees Godzilla sent into space or pitted against a robot version of himself.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.