---
title: "Godzilla Minus One"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/godzilla-minus-one"
fi1m_id: "godzilla-minus-one"
imdb_id: "tt23289160"
tmdb_id: 940721
wikidata_id: "Q115053037"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_score: 84
critics_reviews: 11
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:50.655973+00:00"
region: "PL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki · 2h 05m · PISF 12 · Science Fiction, Horror, Action

## Identity

Godzilla Minus One

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/godzilla-minus-one
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** godzilla-minus-one
- **IMDb ID:** tt23289160
- **TMDB ID:** 940721
- **Wikidata ID:** Q115053037
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23289160/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/940721, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q115053037

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 84 from 11 reviews

*In a sentence:* The monster is the quietest thing in the film, and by some distance the most frightening

> Yamazaki puts Godzilla back in the ruins of 1945 and makes him frightening again, with a boat chase and a night attack as good as anything in the series. The people around him say what they feel at full volume, and then say it again.

## Synopsis

Japan, 1945. Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot, lands on a small island claiming his aircraft has a fault the mechanic, Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki), cannot find. That night something comes out of the sea and through the garrison. Shikishima survives and returns to a Tokyo burned flat, where a neighbour, Sumiko (Sakura Ando), tells him exactly what she thinks of a pilot who came home. A young woman, Noriko (Minami Hamabe), arrives in the ruins with a baby that is not hers and stays. Shikishima takes work on a wooden minesweeper with Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki), Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) and Mizushima (Yuki Yamada). Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki.

## Review

Takashi Yamazaki, who writes and directs, has put Godzilla back where he started and then a few years earlier. It is 1945. Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot, lands on Odo Island claiming a fault with his plane that the mechanic, Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki), cannot find. That night something walks out of the sea. Shikishima is handed a machine gun and does not fire it. He goes home to a Tokyo that has been burned flat, and *Godzilla Minus One* is about what he owes and to whom. It is a war film with a monster in it, and it is the best-made film about this monster we have seen in a long while. It is also louder about its feelings than it needs to be.

Start with the animal. This Godzilla has small eyes, a heavy jaw and fins down his back like broken bone. Kōzō Shibazaki shoots him almost always from the ground, at the height of a running man, so that what we see is a foot coming down, a jaw opening above the roofline, a tail passing a window. The night on Odo Island is lit by flares and gun flashes and nothing else, and the thing comes through the huts like a crocodile through reeds. We were frightened, properly, in a way these films have not managed in years, and the reason is that he moves like something hunting.

The set piece we keep returning to is on the water in daylight. Shikishima’s minesweeper, a wooden boat with a crew of four, is asked to slow the creature down with what it has on board, which is a mine and a length of rope. Ryuji Miyajima cuts it like a chase in a road film: the wake, the faces, the winch, the wake again. There is no music for long stretches, only the engine and the water. We held our breath for most of it, and Kuranosuke Sasaki’s captain, Akitsu, swearing at his own boat, is the only relief the scene allows.

Kamiki plays Shikishima as a man who has decided he is already dead and is annoyed to keep finding himself alive. It is a performance built from a clenched jaw and a stare, and it works until the script asks him to shout, which it does more than once. Minami Hamabe gives Noriko a stubbornness that stops her being a saint. Sakura Ando, as the neighbour Sumiko, has the best scenes among the people: she spits at Shikishima for coming home when her children did not, and then feeds the baby anyway, without softening her face.

The trouble is volume. Naoki Sato’s score swells under every declaration, and there are many declarations. Characters tell each other what the film is about, that the country treated life too cheaply, that this time nobody will be asked to die, and then another character says it in the next scene. The dialogue puts the meaning on the surface and leaves it there. We do not mind melodrama played straight; we minded being told the same thing four times. Then Akira Ifukube’s themes from the original films arrive as a march when the fighting starts, and the hair on our arms stood up. That is the one place the noise pays for itself.

Anri Jojo’s Tokyo is a plain of ash with shanties on it, and Aiko Mizushima dresses everyone in the same brown demob cloth, so the whole city looks like one family that has lost everything. This is a poorer, more domestic place than the one Ishirō Honda flattened in the 1954 *Godzilla*, and Yamazaki’s film is a companion to that one rather than a rival: Honda’s monster was the bomb, and this one is closer to the war itself, the part the survivors carried home. Set against *Shin Godzilla* (2016), which was about committees, this is about a kitchen table. This one is easier to feel and harder to think about.

The last half hour is a plan, and we will not describe the plan or how it goes. We will say that it moved us more than we expected a film with a giant lizard in it to manage, and that the reason was not the lizard. It was Munetaka Aoki’s Tachibana, who has carried a grievance since the first ten minutes, and the way his face changes when he is finally asked for something. See it in a cinema if you can, subtitled, with the sound up. At 125 minutes it earns almost all of them.

*Fi1m score 81, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are unanimous: all eleven are positive, and the spread is narrow. Most critics frame the film as a return to Godzilla’s postwar roots, with the monster once again standing for nuclear trauma and national shame, and they credit Takashi Yamazaki for keeping the human story, a former kamikaze pilot’s guilt, at the centre rather than treating it as filler between attacks. The effects draw steady praise, the more so because the budget is small; several reviews say plainly that Hollywood should take note. The Godzilla design, blending the classic look with modern rendering, is singled out repeatedly, as is the staging of the destruction, which more than one critic calls frightening rather than merely loud.

Reservations are few and mild. Slant Magazine finds the human drama pales beside the monster, and Little White Lies thinks the action finally outruns the film’s meaning, but both still recommend it. Nobody argues against it.

## Straight answers

**Is Godzilla Minus One worth watching?**

*Godzilla Minus One* is worth watching for anyone who wants the monster frightening again, and we scored it 81. Takashi Yamazaki sets it in a burned-flat Tokyo of 1945, and the night attack on Odo Island and a daylight boat chase are as good as anything in the series. The people around the creature announce their feelings loudly and more than once, which is the main reservation.

**How long is Godzilla Minus One, and what is it rated?**

*Godzilla Minus One* runs 2h 05m and is rated 12 by the PISF in Poland. It is a science fiction and horror film.

**Where can I watch Godzilla Minus One in Poland?**

*Godzilla Minus One* is streaming on Netflix in Poland. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Godzilla Minus One, and is it suitable for children?**

*Godzilla Minus One* is a 12A, and it is properly frightening rather than gory, with a monster that moves like something hunting and a night attack lit only by flares and gunfire. It is a war film at heart, set among people who have lost children and homes, so the grief is as heavy as the destruction. Older children who can take sustained tension will manage; younger or nervous ones may not.

**How does Godzilla Minus One compare to Godzilla?**

*Godzilla Minus One* is a companion to the 1954 [*Godzilla*](https://film.one/film/godzilla) rather than a rival: Ishirō Honda's monster stands for the bomb, while Yamazaki's stands closer to the war the survivors carried home. The original is starker and nobody in it is comforted; the newer film is more domestic and more skilfully staged, but tells you what it means far too often. Honda's is the one to think about, Yamazaki's the one to feel.

**What should I watch after Godzilla Minus One?**

After *Godzilla Minus One*, try [*Godzilla*](https://film.one/film/godzilla) (1954, Fi1m 88): Honda’s original, where the monster is the bomb and nobody is comforted. Then [*Shin Godzilla*](https://film.one/film/shin-godzilla) (2016, Fi1m 74): The same monster fought by committee; funnier and colder than this one; and [*Grave of the Fireflies*](https://film.one/film/grave-of-the-fireflies) (1988, Fi1m 94): Two children in the same burned Japan, with no monster to blame.

### Reviews we read (22)

- **Slant Magazine** (4/4): It remains perversely light and fun despite the destruction, a disaster flick helmed by talent that satiates the lizard brain with impressive spectacle and an inspired Godzilla design blending classic and modern styles. The human drama pales next to the monster but the overall effect works. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/godzilla-minus-one-review/)
- **Variety**, Richard Kuipers (Critics Pick): The reboot gets back to basics with engrossing human drama alongside spectacular destruction and marks a high point in the series. The critic praises the emotionally engaging storyline, the emphasis on civilians taking action, and the loving tribute to classic Godzilla films. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/godzilla-minus-one-review-gojira-mainasu-wan-1235805243/)
- **The AV Club**, Matt Schimkowitz (B+): This is a thrilling postwar melodrama where the humans are as compelling as the monster, harnessing Godzilla for a story of survivor guilt and human triumph. The varied action sequences capture Godzilla’s power and terror on the ground better than ever, making it as good as Godzilla films can be. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/godzilla-minus-one-review-the-monster-roars-louder-tha-1851043171)
- **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (3/4/3): Yamazaki delivers a rip-snorting historical action epic that is precision-tooled in structure and features an impressive final showdown. Action ultimately trumps deeper meaning and symbolism, but it remains a rollicking time. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/godzilla-minus-one-review-precision-tooled-fun)
- **Radio Times**, Jayne Nelson (4/5): Yamazaki refreshes the original tale and remembers it should be a horror movie, showing off the beast’s carnage inventively despite a modest budget. The human cast excels, led by a strong lead performance. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-usvsp8/godzilla-minus-one/)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): Yamazaki unleashes a vast, terrifying Godzilla via superbly choreographed sequences that show Hollywood how to make a monster movie. The effects-heavy climax is proof that action films need not feel generic. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/godzilla-minus-one-2023-review)
- **Empire**, Kambole Campbell: The critic praises it as a refreshingly humanist and nostalgic reboot that returns Godzilla to his post-war roots. They single out the convincing, tactile VFX work and emotionally engaging human drama. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/godzilla-minus-one/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh: The film brings Godzilla back to its Japanese and WWII roots as a metaphor for atomic trauma and wartime shame. The critic singles out the classical aesthetic combined with cutting-edge VFX for one of the most striking Godzilla designs in years. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-11-30/godzilla-minus-one-review-toho-takashi-yamazaki)
- **Screen Daily**: Yamazaki’s gripping monster movie returns Godzilla to its roots as a metaphor for postwar anxiety and grief, delivering a stirring spectacle with impressive effects and emotional undercurrent. It is a confident crowd-pleaser that outdoes recent Hollywood remakes. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/godzilla-minus-one-review/5187805.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Kim Newman: Yamazaki’s film acts as a companion piece to the 1954 original, giving space to human stories and national politics while delivering impressive monster havoc. It holds back on essentials for greater impact in spectacular sequences and treats the icon with respect. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/godzilla-minus-one-70-year-old-titan-terror-returns-some-spectacular-city-stomping)
- **The Guardian**: This is one of the very best Godzilla films, on par with the 1954 original and Shin Godzilla, because it centers historical trauma and shows ordinary people banding together to defeat the monster. Director Takashi Yamazaki excels at shifting between intimate human stories and the monster's immense scale, with a rageful, incomprehensible Godzilla. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/13/godzilla-minus-one-review-rageful-monster-is-one-of-the-best-in-the-series)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Frank Scheck: The critic calls it one of the best Godzilla films ever, a roaring comeback that combines spectacular monster thrills with genuine emotion and makes the viewer feel verklempt. It praises the low-budget VFX execution and the personal dimension of the human drama around survivor guilt. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/godzilla-minus-one-review-1235708493/)
- **The New York Times**, Nicolas Rapold: The film returns the franchise to its roots with a sober outlook on postwar Japan and nuclear trauma. The critic praises the sure-handed integration of crowds and effects along with the dour mood that suits the story of citizens banding together. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/movies/godzilla-minus-one-review.html)
- **The Telegraph**: This terrific, old-fashioned monster movie returns Godzilla to his postwar nuclear-allegory roots with frightening spectacle and moving human elements on a shoestring budget that should make Hollywood take notice. The monster mayhem is terrifically staged with clean effects, balancing spectacle and horror. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/godzilla-minus-one-review/)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★☆): The Japanese have delivered the best mega-monster movie since Peter Jackson’s King Kong with an ingenious screenplay focused on a traumatized kamikaze pilot and postwar guilt. It is exciting, outrageously spectacular, and humiliates Hollywood efforts despite its tiny budget. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/godzilla-minus-one-film-review-a-hugely-entertaining-monster-flick-bzg6jmlbl)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith: The critic calls it a gargantuan and resonant epic that is superior to recent MonsterVerse entries. They single out its emotional resonance in portraying national trauma and atonement. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/godzilla-minus-one-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a triumphant new entry and a masterpiece that mixes adventure, love story, war epic, psychological drama and monster movie elements. They single out the inventive low-budget effects and strong performances, especially the lead's emotional work. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/12/godzilla-minus-one-review-tohos-franchise-return-japans-biggest-star-1235647502/)
- **Polygon**, Chris Plante (90/100, inferred): Godzilla Minus One is the throwback the franchise needed, delivering genuine terror and a potent anti-war political message through grounded human stories rather than spectacle alone. It is singled out for recapturing the classic kaiju horror and melodrama missing from recent entries. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23940888/godzilla-minus-one-review-digital-release/)
- **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (8/10): The film is a thrilling take on Godzilla that returns the monster to his roots while balancing sweeping spectacle and tense action with themes of war and loss. It is singled out for its magnificent VFX craft that makes every monster sequence hit hard. [Read](https://collider.com/godzilla-minus-one-review/)
- **/Film**, Witney Seibold (8/10): The movie offers an optimistic post-WWII riff on Jaws that emphasizes survival and the indomitability of the human spirit over cynicism. It delivers exhilarating destruction sequences while highlighting pacifism and persistence. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1442034/godzilla-minus-one-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Daniel Goodwin (4/5): The film excels with its focus on a kamikaze pilot's guilt and postwar redemption alongside spectacular monster action. Yamazaki crafts a near-masterpiece that blends complex drama with outstanding effects and a fresh 1940s setting. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/godzilla-minus-one-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Joe George (4 out of 5): The critic praises the film as a return to Godzilla's roots, focusing on the horror of war and humanity's resilience, with strong human characters and impressive monster effects. They single out the hopeful, life-affirming tone and the depiction of people banding together. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/godzilla-minus-one-review-japanese-king/)

## Details

- **Director:** Takashi Yamazaki
- **Director:** Takashi Yamazaki
- **Screenplay:** Takashi Yamazaki
- **Cinematography:** Kōzō Shibazaki
- **Editor:** Ryuji Miyajima
- **Music:** Naoki Satō, Akira Ifukube
- **Production design:** Anri Jojo
- **Costume design:** Aiko Mizushima
- **Producer:** Go Abe, Kazuaki Kishida, Keichiiro Moriya
- **Cast:** Ryunosuke Kamiki as Koichi Shikishima; Minami Hamabe as Noriko Oishi; Yuki Yamada as Shiro Mizushima; Munetaka Aoki as Sosaku Tachibana; Hidetaka Yoshioka as Kenji Noda; Sakura Andō as Sumiko Ota; Kuranosuke Sasaki as Yoji Akitsu; Sae Nagatani as Akiko
- **Runtime:** 2h 05m
- **Certificate (PISF):** 12
- **Release (Poland):** 1 December 2023
- **Genres:** Science Fiction, Horror, Action
- **Budget:** $15 million
- **Box office:** $114 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSp68m8OJus

## Where to watch in Poland

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2024: Best Visual Effects (won)

## If you liked this

- *Godzilla* (1954), Fi1m 88: Honda’s original, where the monster is the bomb and nobody is comforted. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/godzilla.md)
- *Shin Godzilla* (2016), Fi1m 74: The same monster fought by committee; funnier and colder than this one. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/shin-godzilla.md)
- *Grave of the Fireflies* (1988), Fi1m 94: Two children in the same burned Japan, with no monster to blame. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/grave-of-the-fireflies.md)
- *Jaws* (1975), Fi1m 93: Three men, one boat, one animal, and the rope going tight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/jaws.md)
- *The Host* (2006): Bong Joon-ho’s family versus a river creature; grief, farce and a very wet Seoul.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/godzilla-minus-one