As an honored subgenre in the history of sci-fi movies, kaiju stories like Godzilla have always delivered thrilling adventures that go beyond “larger than life.” It’s been 70 years since Toho’s mythic creation was born, and those decades have seen quite a few imitators taking a stab at their own version of such tales. According to Godzilla Minus One writer/director Takashi Yamazaki, Cloverfield is a huge standout among the crowd, as the film carries some important lessons on how to get a Godzilla movie right.
I learned this fact firsthand recently, as I was on hand to interview not only Yamazaki, but also actor Ryunosuke Kamiki, on behalf of this 2023 movie release schedule entry. As both men possessed a healthy fandom for the lizard god who never met a city he couldn’t wreck, I asked if there was a movie they felt best got the spirit of the 1954 original outside of the Toho canon. It was then that Takashi shared with CinemaBlend these glowing thoughts about producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves’ found footage epic:
As you mentioned, in a kaiju film, the human drama has to be greater than the monster on the screen. So in the ilks of that, actually, I think Cloverfield. Cloverfield has that, it’s almost devastation, and carrying this existential threat/crisis throughout the movie. But that human story, that human drama is bigger than the kaiju that we see, and still don’t end up seeing in Cloverfield.
Honestly, no one could have predicted just how Paramount’s 2008 found footage monster movie would blow people away. Part of that fact was because of how Cloverfield avoided plot leaks, which was through a combination of various factors, including intense secrecy. But as Mr. Yamazaki pointed out in his remarks, the focus on the human story is something that writer Drew Goddard nailed in Cloverfield.
Takashi Yamazaki took the lessons above to heart, and Godzilla Minus One shows that in pretty impressive fashion. Takashi drew huge wells of influence from 1954’s Godzilla, as well as some other kaiju stories from within and outside of the Toho canon, and the movies he selected were pretty huge goal posts for which to aim.
What resulted is a story that plays more like an intimate drama that just happens to include some choice setpieces with Godzilla himself livening things up. And for anyone who remembers their Cloverfield, or even 10 Cloverfield Lane, that’s basically the same basic logline that you could apply to those first two entries. The Cloverfield Paradox, on the other hand, is definitely more of a creature feature, which is definitely ok, but begins to explain the wide gulf of opinions between that threequel and its predecessors.
Centering around failed kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), our hero returns home after World War II to a nation that is picking up the pieces after devastation. With Japan in a vulnerable state, people Kōichi and his fellow citizens need to rely on each other, as Godzilla Minus One introduces the freshly-mutated lizard to humanity in a pretty huge way.
Understanding this approach to the story also helped Takashi Yamazaki both as a director and as part of this Godzilla movie’s visual effects team. Perhaps the most surprising fact about this current cinematic player is the fact that this film was estimated to have cost a mere $15 million. Seeing what Yamazaki and his team crafted for that much money is quite the feat, but it’s even more astounding when measured against the movie’s performance so far.
Going by Godzilla Minus One’s domestic opening weekend numbers, the $11 million brought in so far feels like it’d be pretty impressive; even in the absence of any hidden costs from distributing and marketing the film. However, with this Godzilla movie already being released in Japan before its most recent debuts, the running total of worldwide grosses looks to have hit roughly $35 million.
For most tentpoles, that's a drop in the bucket. However, Godzilla Minus One's scale makes that achievement rather kaiju-sized in comparison. It's also a healthy sign that Toho's Godzilla movies are still pretty valuable on the market, especially as we enter a holiday movie season that's far from a sure fire hit.
Furthermore, it's a good indicator when it comes to Cloverfield's direct sequel, as that sort of success could be in store in the future. All the team involved needs to do is remember what made that first movie a hit, as well as perhaps take a look at Takashi Yamazaki's work in his Godzilla film, and gain some proper inspiration.
While this past weekend’s debut of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s first trailer showcased the continuation of the MonsterVerse variant of such tales, there’s clearly room for multitudes of kaiju-centric stories to be told. Though Warner Bros. and Legendary’s version is a bit more centered on the lighter-toned blockbusters that have appeared from time to time, Godzilla Minus One is a much more sobering experience that explores our favorite creature through a more personal and dramatically-tinged lens.
Having both to behold in theaters right now, and on streaming if you’re an Apple TV+ subscription holder who’s dug into Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, is a beautiful thing, no matter which side you prefer. So if you want to see Godzilla Minus One in all of its glory, you should head to a theater near you and see it big and loud!
