Godzilla Minus One Gets Kevin Smith and MonsterVerse Creators’ Assessement

Godzilla fans have been getting the best of all worlds in the last few years, with the MonsterVerse delivering a big, loud and dumb Titan-on-Titan extravaganza of monster battles and Toho’s 2023 release of Godzilla Minus One bringing out Japan’s big guns. Therefore, it is not surprising that geek culture icon Kevin Smith has finally given his opinion on the latter of these; the surprising, record-breaking Godzilla movie that Smith proudly proclaims “the best Godzilla movie that I’ve ever seen.”

Smith has become almost as well known for giving his view on big franchises as he has for making movies, so it is not surprising that he should want to dip his critical finger in the kaiju pool. Speaking on his Fatman Beyond podcast, Smith joined many others in being unable to find fault with Godzilla’s latest outing from the iconic Toho Studios, and urged for the film to be submitted to the Academy for Best Foreign Film at the next Academy Awards. Smith said:

“This Godzilla Minus One, kids — by far the best Godzilla movie that I’ve ever seen. Just a clinic in how to make a movie with the giant monster, that keeps the giant monster alive throughout the whole movie, and is compelling on the human level,” Smith said. “You’ve heard me say on this show many times, ‘Oh, a f—ing human story. Why can’t they just show us f—ing kaiju battles? This is the first time I’ve seen a Godzilla movie and been like, ‘Can we move the giant kaiju out of the way? I was very intrigued by the story that’s happening in the background.’ The human drama is as interesting as some of the most horrifying Godzilla scenes. We grew up with this character — a guy in a rubber suit stepping on buildings was never all that scary. That f—ing shot of his head in the water, chasing that f—ing boat, is terrifying. It’s straight out of f—ing Jaws, man. I can’t believe it’s taken someone this long to be like, ‘Let’s do Jaws, but with Godzilla.’ Fantastic.”

Related:How Godzilla Minus One Provides a Blueprint for American-Made, Big-Budget Movies

MonsterVerse Creators Share Their Assessment of Godzilla Minus One

Matt Fraction and Chris Black, creators of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, also recently shared their thoughts on Godzilla Minus One. Having brought the most recent installment in the MonsterVerse to a thrilling and successful close on Apple TV+, their take on a movie that is a very different Godzilla to that seen in the Hollywood franchise is one that many people are interested in hearing.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Fraction was quick to praise the biggest Japanese Godzilla movie ever as being a hugely impressive achievement, both with and without Godzilla on screen – something that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters also achieved within the MonsterVerse. He said:

“I loved it and having worked with Toho and heard how they viewed their characters, I think it was such a human story told in a way that was unique to the Japanese character. It was a story that could only be told by Toho using their own materials. I’m thrilled that it exists because it gets at all of the things that they would talk about in a very real way. It’s an incredible story of survivor’s guilt, courage, common cause, duty, dignity, and redemption. It’s beautiful, it’s fantastic, and the effects are incredible! It is a compelling, fascinating, involving, heartbreaking, thrilling story to watch, even without Godzilla.”

Legacy of Monsters co-creator Black added that with parallel Godzilla projects coming from both the original home of the creature and Hollywood, everyone gets a version of Godzilla that they want to see. He said:

“I can only endorse and second what Matt is saying. It’s been a big year for the MonsterVerse and Godzilla Minus One shows how effective this story can be told. You have this movie, our show, you have the Legendary universe, and they’re all very different. They tell the story in very different ways but I think they do it equally successfully. There’s a Godzilla for everyone! It’s a testament to why the character has endured for over seventy years.”

Godzilla Minus One stands out as a significant entry in the history of Japan’s biggest export, not only for its unexpected and record-breaking box office results, but for its near-perfect reviews from both critics and audiences. After 70 years and as the 33rd movie in Toho’s Godzilla catalog, this is the kind of achievement that other franchises can only dream of. With a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a box office collection of over $100 million against a modest budget of under $15 million​​, Godzilla Minus One continues to be the true King of the Monsters among both fans and filmmakers alike.

Godzilla Minus One is yet to have a streaming date revealed, but the MonsterVerse movies and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters can be streamed on AppleTV+ and Prime Video.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Release Date

November 17, 2023

Seasons

1

Studio

Legendary Television, Safehouse Pictures, Toho Company