Before you think to yourself, oh, there are so many things going on in the world, why do I care about a movie review for a new Godzilla movie? Well, this is something different, this Godzilla Minus One movie. It makes quite a statement, and it is currently destroying the rest of the films being produced in the world, from Bollywood to Hollywood, all places where the World Economic Forum financing has influenced movie content. I’ve been asked several times this year why I’m not out there producing and making movies, as I have wanted to most of my life. And my explanation was that the whole machine is messed up, it costs too much for unionized labor, so the budgets are wrecked. To get funding for the movies, you must have progressive messages in them. The entertainment media has been filled with more progressive political activists who set limits as to the kind of messages that get out to the public, and the theater owners’ associations are often too sensitive to all these politics to back releases. But then there are times when the market is desperate, theater owners are drowning for good content and Hollywood hasn’t given them the kind of movies that people want to see. Online streaming content is eroding the enthusiasm for in-theater distribution. So a foreign film like Godzilla Minus One gets made under the radar and gets into theaters with great passion and enthusiasm, and people get surprised. This is exactly what Godzilla Minus One is: a magnificent surprise, and what I think is the best movie in the world presently, and certainly one of the best to come along in recent memory. On a budget of only 15 million dollars, it’s everything a movie should be, and audiences are reacting to it in very positive ways, for good reason.
I wasn’t exactly planning to see the movie in theaters, I was going to catch it on Apple+ or whatever streaming service was carrying it around Christmas time. But my grandchildren love Godzilla; it’s been a big part of their childhoods. They were talking to me about the new Godzilla/King Kong movie by Legendary Studios coming out in 2024, probably in March, and they were very excited about it. That’s when I said, “Well, you know, kids, there is a Godzilla movie playing at Liberty Center right now. Do you guys want to go see it?” And I was surprised that my oldest grandson knew everything about it, and yes! He wanted to see it right away. So off we went to watch a movie that I thought might have some cool monsters in it. But it would be filled with subtitles, and I didn’t know if they’d like it much. But, being Godzilla fans, they could at least say they saw it. Well………………what a surprise we were in for. This wasn’t just a great movie, it was a masterpiece. It reminded me of the many past films I have loved, particularly Yojimbo, the great Akira Kurasawa classic. This wasn’t just a movie about Godzilla destroying Tokyo once again. This was a very emotional film about the state of the world and the perseverance of human civilization to overcome the mistakes of governments and live their lives honorably, nobly, and without fear. Godzilla served as the device that brought this out in people and it was Biblical in scope and magnificent in its execution. When the movie ended, I just sat there, stunned by what I had just witnessed. My grandchildren were thrilled, of course, but this was undoubtedly a benchmark in history that I fully realized. Wow!
Now, I get to go to Japan, and I like to share as much of that experience with my family as possible. I love Western culture for all its variety, but I love going to Japan because the Japanese are honorable people with self-confidence and a spirit of perseverance. No matter how many different people I interact with from Japan, that is a foundation assumption about them. When I need to go to the grocery store to get food and snacks while traveling, the people I deal with bow deeply when doing business and treat the meeting like it’s the most important thing they’ll ever do. Even at the airports, everyone you deal with is highly respectful. Walking around Tokyo or any big city, there is no crime, and everything is spotless. The world could learn a lot from their culture, which I talk about occasionally. Japan is a good country with good people who are persistent and honorable. And I enjoy dealing with them on their turf. Godzilla Minus One is a uniquely Japanese film about their culture and the value of honor as an individual. The entire point of the movie was about living up to honorable expectations and being a good person, which has been missing so much from all modern movies filled with progressive political messages imposed by the influence of the World Economic Forum. All that was removed entirely from Godzilla Minus One, and the film had a wonderful sense of freedom that was jaw-dropping in its relief. I didn’t care that the entire movie was in subtitles. It was delightful to watch.
The main character is a Kamikaze pilot who lacked the killer instinct to fulfill his mission, so he ducked out of a fight just as the war ended. He felt tremendous guilt about this, and it haunted him deeply. In the aftermath of the war, he ends up moving in with a young lady and her adopted little girl, all war orphans. None of them are related. But the girl and the guy sleep in the same house but in separate beds. And there is no sex. They lived like this for over three years. That’s not to say there wasn’t love; they grew to love each other deeply. But no sex. In a World Economic Forum-financed film, the girl would have left the guy after three months of no sex, which would have been the dumb plot of the entire movie. Godzilla Minus One is about much more than sex and relationship problems. It’s about overcoming self-doubt, becoming great, and earning the right to lead a family by conquering personal demons. This was great stuff; people lost in the world are soaking up this message like a dry sponge. And you know what’s best about the film? The filmmakers had the guts to give it a happy ending, a real happy ending in every way that an audience could hope for. The movie is undoubtedly about Godzilla, but he served almost like a godly figure, much like Job’s story from the Bible. Without Godzilla, Job would have had no reference point. But because of that reference, greatness had an opportunity to grow, and it brought people together as individuals to achieve beautiful things. What a great message in a world filled with failure. Along comes this little ray of light that is turning out to light the way for the world in ways nobody thought was possible. Yet, there it is. I can’t recommend it enough!
Rich Hoffman
The Overmanwarrior 