Postwar Japan. From zero to minus.

Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetake Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sae Nagatani, Miou Tanaka, Kisuke Iida

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"That's why this time I'd take pride in a citizen led effort that sacrifices no lives at all! This next battle is not one waged to the death, but a battle to live for the future." - Kenji Noda

Why watch this? On Godzilla's 70th anniversary, he won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Way to go, Big G!

Plot Summary: In 1945, kamikaze pilot Shikishima watches as his entire garrison is wiped out by a monster of incredible size. This leaves him with suvivor's guilt and PTSD. When he returns home, he learns his parents were killed in the bombing of Tokyo. While mourning, he takes in a woman and orphan child. To get by, he also signs on as a minesweeper. The monster, now known as Godzilla, has mutated (thanks to US nuclear tests) to be much larger. The Japanese Navy deploys Shikashima's boat to lay mines and hopefully deter the beast's onslaught of mainland Japan.

Dad's Preview: As compared to films of this same ilk, Minus One stands out for two reasons: 1) the plot is leagues richer than usual, and 2) the monster visual effects are out of this world! This version of Godzilla is much like the original film (Godzilla 1954). He's angry, murderously destructive, and all but indestructible. In fact, his wounds heal instantaneously. We more than feel for the lead characters as they wage war against their internal demons, while trying to stop the chaos caused by nature's deadliest mutation. 

Robot Communications; Toho Co. Ltd.