Another Plea To The Academy...Godzilla Minus One

 I'm a huge fan of horror, as some may have picked up on. Classic horror has always been my jam. From the great Universal Monsters era of the 1930's and '40's to the Hammer Studios horror of the late '50's. And, of course the movie monster giants like King Kong and Godzilla. The films never really frightened me but I was riveted by the characters and spooky ambience. And even though modern moviemakers don't seem to know what to do with these legendary characters, they still seem to have some juice in them. Which is impressive in this social media led, short attention span generation that consumes content these days.

But with current releases like "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," which I thought was fantastic but didn't light the box office on fire, I was wondering if these classic properties had the same kind of relevance that they had back in the day. They've been trying for years now to resurrect the Universal Monsters Universe to no avail. I've rooted for every film that tried bringing back my favorite characters, but it was either just not good, not in sync with the other films, or untimely. I was beginning to lose all hope.

And here in the States they brought back King Kong and Godzilla in a super smash up and all we fans got was a very convoluted mess of special effects and storyline that focused on human characters that we didn't care about. It was successful enough to green light a sequel, but we already know what to expect with these films.

So when I saw the glowing reviews for this smaller release, "Godzilla Minus One," on social media, I was curious but mildly enthused. It was the thirty seventh Godzilla film after all. How good can this one possibly be, so far into the franchise? Well...though I wasn't super hyped for it, it was still a Godzilla movie. That I was going to see on the big screen. And what better time can you have than to go to the movies to see a classic monster movie?

Well. The film was magnificent. A triumph. Not just better than I expected, but a film worthy of the greatness of this character. A story that brought back the deeper meaning of the character. A story of trauma. Of conquering your fears to fight the great fight. Of family, even the ones that weren't blood. Of rethinking a country's legacy. Of victory. A great, great film.

And as we close 2023 and head into 2024 I am once again making a plea to The Motion Picture Academy. If there's a film that truly touches AND thrills audiences, with a recognizable film property? Well...isn't that a win win situation? We went through that last year with "Top Gun: Maverick." A film so good it was undeniable, while having the name recognition that people could root for. Here it is again.

We probably WILL see that popular film recognition with "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer." But if we can make room for ONE MORE...a scaly fire-breathing lizard who destroys Tokyo? That would be lovely indeed.

By Jess Solis