Geek royalty Kevin Smith has added his name to the list of acolytes for Godzilla Minus One. In the latest episode of his Fatman Beyond podcast with Marc Bernardin, Smith called the movie not just the best Godzilla movie that he has ever seen, but one of the best movies of the year. Suggesting that Toho should submit the movie for consideration for the Best Foreign Film trophy at the 2024 Academy Awards, Smith lavished the film with praise, saying that the kaiju parts of the movie were scarier than ever before, while the human characters were compelling enough that it didn’t feel like the movie was wasting time when it cut away to focus on their story.
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Godzilla Minus One, which premiered in Japan in November before coming to the U.S. last month, has earned a little less than $100 million so far, against a reported budget of less than $15 million. It has also scored 98% positive reviews, according to the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
“This Godzilla Minus One, kids — by far the best Godzilla movie that I’ve ever seen. Just a clinic in how to make a movie with the giant monster, that keeps the giant monster alive throughout the whole movie, and is compelling on the human level,” Smith said. “You’ve heard me say on this show many times, ‘Oh, a f—ing human story. Why can’t they just show us f—ing kaiju battles? This is the first time I’ve seen a Godzilla movie and been like, ‘Can we move the giant kaiju out of the way? I was very intrigued by the story that’s happening in the background.’ The human drama is as interesting as some of the most horrifying Godzilla scenes. We grew up with this character — a guy in a rubber suit stepping on buildings was never all that scary. That f—ing shot of his head in the water, chasing that f—ing boat, is terrifying. It’s straight out of f—ing Jaws, man. I can’t believe it’s taken someone this long to be like, ‘Let’s do Jaws, but with Godzilla.’ Fantastic.”
You can see the full video below.
Godzilla Minus One was written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki (Stand By Me Doraemon 3, Lupin III: The First) for Toho. Slotting into the Reiwa storyline for the franchise, Godzilla Minus One is teased as such by Koiju Ueda, President of Toho International, “Set in a post-war Japan, Godzilla Minus One will once again show us a Godzilla that is a terrifying and overwhelming force, which you already get a sense of from the teaser trailer and poster…The concept is that Japan, which had already been devastated by the war, faces a new threat with Godzilla, bringing the country into the ‘minus.’”
Godzilla Minus One is in theaters now.
