‘Godzilla Minus One’ Is One of My Favorite Movies of 2023

 Me and Godzilla? We go way back.

Growing up in Westchester, NY, each summer I would eagerly look forward to WPIX 11’s annual “Godzillathon,” which promised a weeklong celebration of The King of the Monsters and his titanic assemblage of enemies and allies, including Mothra, Mechagodzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah and a giant crustacean named Ebirah, to whom I can easily attribute my lifelong affinity for lobster. I would tape 4-hour stretches of the marathon on VHS and obsess over them … although if I’m being honest, I would mostly fast-forward to the monster fights and skip the human stuff.

Looking back, I wouldn’t say I’ve necessarily carried that immense love of Godzilla to my adult life. I have an immense appreciation for the classic and haunting 1954 original Gojira, I made the 1998 Roland Emerich film my personality for at least a month that summer – thanks in no small part to its incredible soundtrack and not much else – and I’ve had a complicated relationship with the current run of American Godzilla films. I’ve added some of the Bandai and Super 7 figures to my collection, sure, but if someone were to grill me on the ins and outs of The Heisei Era, I would be at a loss.

But something happened when I saw the trailer for the first time a few weeks ago. This looked FRESH. This looked INTENSE. This looked MUST SEE. So, I linked up with a fellow kaiju-curious buddy and ventured out on a cold December evening to absorb Godzilla Minus One and to see if it lived up to the monstrous hype. And … man. This Godzilla Minus One movie is SPECTACULAR. And it’s sad. And I also can’t stop thinking about it one week later.

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus One is a new beginning for The King of the Monsters set in the wake of World War II as a survivor’s guilt-ridden kamikaze pilot named Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) struggles to rebuild his life in war-torn Japan. His internal conflict is magnified by external forces, as an unkillable creature known to locals as Godzilla emerges and begins destroying U.S. warships en route to Japan. Kōichi and his found family are pitted against this unspeakable horror as they fight to defend their homeland against further obliteration.

What immediately struck me about Godzilla Minus One is that it owes as much to Steven Spielberg’s Jaws as it does to the 70-year canon of Godzilla films. It’s hard not to compare Kōichi’s new friends on a minesweeping boat to the crew of the Orca, nor is it a stretch to think of Chief Brody when our heroes were trying to trick Godzilla into catching maritime mines in his mouth so they can shoot them and make them explode in his maw. There is also a satisfying emphasis on suspense, a touching human story, humor that doesn’t feel forced, and some heart-wrenching character moments that make Godzilla Minus One feel like classic Spielberg in the best way possible.

Let’s talk about The Big Guy. At a meager budget of just $15 million, Godzilla is stunningly rendered in CGI that looks better than most major U.S. studio films released this year. His immense scale is felt throughout, and each time he uses his heat ray is suitably terrifying, as it carries with it the force of an atomic bomb. If you can, see Godzilla Minus One on the biggest screen possible. Streaming on TV won’t do the raw ferocity of this new Godzilla justice.

Godzilla Minus One is the first Godzilla movie I have seen as an adult that has absolutely blown me away, and I hope Toho continues this story with more films and more monsters.

‘The Marvels’ Had the MCU’s Worst Opening Weekend and It Deserved Better

 

I caught and quite enjoyed Marvel Studios’ The Marvels Friday night … but I guess not a lot of people did.

Deadline reports that the film – directed by Nia DaCosta and starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani and Samuel L. Jackson – is posting a $47 million three-day opening, which is the worst opening weekend in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And with a $200 million+ budget, one has to imagine that Kevin Feige and the key stakeholders at Marvel Studios are putting plans in place to ensure it’s only up from here.

But here’s the thing – The Marvels is actually pretty good, and is absolutely not deserving of the “worst opening” distinction. It’s far from the worst Marvel project released this year, even! 

Yeah, that’s right! I liked it! And judging by its 62% Tomatometer Score and 85% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, I’m not alone. It’s fun, has a lot of Marvel wackiness that I tend to enjoy, and the three titular Marvels shine. But with all its interstellar action and kinetic power-swapping fight scenes, it somehow feels small for a Marvel movie, so the folks clamoring for the next Avengers: Endgame-level epic will find nothing like that here (although my theater ERUPTED during a certain character’s mid-credit scene appearance). But it is just “pretty good” in my eyes, and it wouldn’t crack my MCU Top 10 or even come close to it. That’s fine.

If the movie is actually enjoyable, though, then what exactly went wrong? Some will say the brand recognition for Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau isn’t very strong, and that it’s asking a lot of casual fans to expect them to absorb two or three different streaming series to understand how we got to this point (in reality, the film does a pretty good job bringing people up to speed). Some will also note that the SAG-AFTRA strike ended just one day prior to the film’s release, which didn’t really allow for the type of media blitz and celebrity appearances that this type of film typically entails. And, still, there will be those out there – you know the type – who will say that people don’t want female-led blockbusters and that Marvel Studios’ “pandering” has caught up with them, even though Barbie and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour proved otherwise in big, big, sparkly ways.

My hypothesis? If a film isn’t publicly perceived as a massive cultural event, which was the case for Barbie, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Oppenheimer and, more recently, Five Nights at Freddy’s, audiences will choose to skip the theater and remain in the comfort of their home because it’s A) cheaper and B) where they can see everything eventually by employing a small amount of patience. The economy still stinks, movie tickets are more expensive than ever, and the options people have for entertainment at home are staggering. Unless any of those factors change, “pretty good” superhero movies like The Marvels will continue to struggle finding those Endgame audiences, perpetuating the false narrative that the MCU is “dead” and that the only way to save it is to either bring back the original Avengers roster – including deceased characters Iron Man and Black Widow – or to reboot the universe entirely. I hate both of those options, for the record. I think it boils down to making bigger swings in theaters and reserving “smaller” stories that don’t have universe-shattering implications for streaming. Audiences have changed since 2019.

But as I said earlier, The Marvels is fun, and if you’re able to cut through the static and the negative press, you’ll find an entertaining movie that’s full of heart. The MCU is alive and well, despite those reports of its demise, but their theatrical strategy is still struggling to adapt to a post-COVID, pro-streaming entertainment landscape. Slowing down – both for the benefit of the audience as well as the people working behind the scenes – and strategically building to must-see theatrical events could be the key to saving the universe … at the box office, at least.

 

‘Spider-Man 2’ is My Game of the Year

 SPOILERS AHEAD

As someone with limited “free time,” I’m not ashamed to admit that I completed Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man 2 twice since its Oct. 20 release. Yes, I’m aware that was only two weeks ago as of this writing, and yes, I’m aware that there are other games out there worthy of my time, including Baldur’s Gate 3 and the spectacular-by-all-accounts Super Mario Bros. Wonder on Nintendo Switch. I’ll get to those, surely, but after an initial jaunt through Insomniac’s lovingly crafted Marvel epic, I needed to swing through it again. But I had a legitimate reason to run it back … honest.

Last week, after spending just a few hours with the game, I vowed to take my time with it. But, of course, certain story and gameplay elements – nearly all of which involved some ridiculously fun, slimy, Symbiote powers – compelled me onward. I ignored prompts to explore optional side stories as I launched myself toward an inevitable and emotional confrontation with Venom/Harry Osborn. Ignoring chances to gain and upgrade abilities for both Peter Parker and Miles Morales (including those tied to health, enemy damage and all-important Focus meters), I haphazardly turned a relatively straightforward action-adventure game into a white-knuckle Dark Souls-like experience. I made it through the story on the default Amazing difficulty, but with no shortage of expletives or urges to hurl my controller across the room. The thrill of completion (which happened 3 a.m. last Wednesday, by the way), quickly turned to regret, as my desire to complete the game before it got spoiled for me on social media robbed me of the fun I could have had with it. Congratulations, Past James, you played yourself.

So, the next night, I started a new game determined to explore as much of the optional content as I could and to level up both Spider-Men accordingly. I was introduced to a pre-Symbiote Cletus Kasady. I helped a woman find and reconnect with her grandfather. I experienced the world as Miles’ Deaf love interest Hailey, in one of the coolest and most thoughtful side missions I’ve ever played. Oh, and I also saved New York City and the world from alien slime monsters. All in a work for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man(s).

I’m certain we’ll get more content via DLC, as was the case with 2018’s Spider-Man, and perhaps we’ll even get a shorter follow-up like Insomniac’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which brought the franchise to the PS5 for the first time. But even as it stands, Spider-Man 2 is my favorite game in this series and, for me, is the best game of 2023. From the intricate story to the satisfying traversal to the ways in which the combat gets increasingly fun the more you play, I have not had more fun with any other game this year. And I might even play through it again before the New Year. 

 Granted, I’m wearing Spider-Man socks and staring at a shelf of Spider-Man action figures as I type this, so take all of this with a massive grain of Spider-Salt before you come at me on X (formerly Twitter). Thwip, thwip.