Godzilla Minus One (2023)

The human drama in Godzilla Minus One sometimes plays like a soap opera with a sea monster parked outside. Characters explain their feelings out loud, the music swells right on cue, and one late surprise is so convenient you can see the strings. It barely matters. Ryunosuke Kamiki plays Kōichi as a young pilot carrying one moment of fear like a stone in his pocket. Minami Hamabe gives Noriko a stubborn warmth, and the makeshift family they build in a bombed-out Tokyo is the real heart. Then the monster arrives, and Takashi Yamazaki shoots every attack from street level, where the people are. A chase involving a tiny wooden minesweeper is pure terror. The film treats the aftermath of war with real seriousness, and the hope it finds feels earned. It made $113.9 million worldwide and holds a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 9.0 because the monster is terrifying and the people are worth saving. $404.23 says you stay for the whole credit roll, then spend an hour looking at photos of postwar Tokyo.

What works: Kamiki’s haunted lead performance, a family pieced together in the ruins, and monster attacks shot from the ground, at human height.

What doesn’t: Characters say their feelings out loud far too often, and one late surprise is convenient enough to soften the ending.

Who it’s for: Monster movie fans who want a story with real weight, and anyone who thought Godzilla films were only about giant wrestling matches.