This article contains mildOppenheimerandGodzilla Minus Onespoilers.
The most terrifying sequence inChristopher NolansOppenheimeris one that never occurredat least anywhere beyond J. Robert Oppenheimers own mind.
He tells the victors that he bets the Japanese didnt like being thrust into a nuclear holocaust!
Look out, here comesGodzilla.
Although he is definitely that too.
IfGodzilla Minus Ones titular monster is any kind of deity, it is of a demonic and Lovecraftian variety.
He isnt sickly though.
He is wrath made scaly flesh.
Godzilla Minus Oneis a visceral cinematic experience.
And he did not falter out of a sense of moral objection or due to some mechanical issue.
His parents are dead.
His friends are dead.
Such tokens of affection would mean he is a man who deserves happiness.
What Yamazaki achieves is extraordinary for not only a Godzilla movie, but almost any blockbuster.
Hes created a character drama as compelling as the monster attack scenes.
Minus One or Oppenheimers Legacy Sequel?
The originalGodzillamovie is a classic of Japanese cinema for obvious reasons.
That only comes once Godzilla arrives in Tokyo.
InGodzilla Minus One, the monster is restored to the nuclear war traumas that originally inspired the characters creation.
He screams into the void as ash of those who were just vaporized float into his hair.
Like the U.S.,Minus Ones Godzilla arrives above Tokyo unannounced and leaves flame and anguish in his wake.
To be sure,Godzilla Minus Oneis acidly skeptical of the American impact on Japan.
When we meet Koichi at the beginning ofMinus One, he is a kamikaze pilot who wants to live.
It uses parable and metaphor to even begin grappling with the consequences of nuclear annihilation.
Together, their perspectives are two sides of the same war fog.
