Why 'Godzilla Minus One' Could Be The Dark Horse Of The Upcoming Awards Season

Produced as part of the iconic Kaiju's 70th anniversary celebrations, Godzilla Minus One has become a surprise hit, earning huge profits against it's modest budget, and glowing reviews fom critics worldwide. Now, as awards season approaches, it looks like Minus One may be a contender, with Toho submitting the film for consideration for the 2024 Academy Awards, for which it has already been shortlisted for the Best Visual Effects category.

Here's why Godzilla Minus One could be the dark horse of Awards Season.

The film's human story is top-notch

One of the biggest issues fans have had with the Western Godzilla films produced by Legendary is the amount of screen time given to the human characters, at the expense of the monsters. They argue that nobody goes to a Godzilla film for the human drama. They want to see Godzilla on a rampage, or fighting other monsters. However, the problem may be that the human story in the Legendary films is simply not that interesting. Too often, it seems like the humans are only there to kill time between monster scenes.

This is not the case in Godzilla Minus One. Here, the human story is the true core of the film. We follow Koichi Shikishima, a failed WWII Kamikaze pilot who witnesses Godzilla's slaughter of a mechanic outpost's residents. Crippled by PTSD and Survivor's Guilt, Shikishima finds himself unable to commit to a future with Noriko and Akiko, the homeless young woman and orphaned child he takes into his home after the war. Things worsen when Godzilla re-emerges.

Despite the destruction and growing body count Godzilla causes, the Japanese Government attempt to deny the creature's existence in the name of avoiding panic. This leaves a ragtag group of former military and navy personnel, including Shikishima and his colleagues, to mount a secret, desperate attack on Godzilla themselves, all while grappling with what the war cost, and continues to cost them. The film has been praised for including countless powerful quotes which have deeply resonated with fans.

Godzilla is onscreen for only a little over twenty minutes of Minus One's two-hour runtime, but the human characters are so engaging that the film, unlike Legendary's Monsterverse, does not suffer for the Kaiju's absence. The film's impressive performances are also likely to see the cast recognised in some Acting categories.

'Godzilla Minus One's' modest budget proves Hollywood films have no excuse for sub-par VFX

In recent years, many big-budget Hollywood films have been slammed for less than stellar visual effects, the above scene from DCEU's The Flash being an often-cited example. The effects here have taken a rather unpleasant detour into the uncanny valley.

Godzilla Minus One's effects, on the other hand, are unpleasant for another reason.. Their eerie realism. Some viewers claim to have become queasy in the theatre at the near photo-realism of Godzilla's gruesome injuries at some points in the film.

Some would argue that this isn't a fair comparison, due to the fact that, as mentioned earlier, Godzilla only appears onscreen for twenty minutes in Minus One, while The Flash, like most films of it's genre, is hugely reliant on special effects. However, this argument fails to take into account that The Flash had a $220 million budget to work with. Minus One, on the other hand, was made on a budget of under $15 million. If Toho can produce such impressive visual effects on a pittance compared to most blockbusters, the big Hollywood studios have no excuse for shoddy visuals.

Minus One has defenitely earned it's place on the Oscars shortlist.

International Films are earning greater recognition in major Awards Shows

As time passes, some film awards ceremonies, most notably the Academy Awards, aka Oscars, have struggled to remain relevant in the eyes of modern day film-goers. One major attempt to remedy this was made in 2009, when the Best Picture Category was doubled from five to ten nominees, the idea being to open up the floor for notable films in categories that had often been overlooked when there were only five slots available, such as animated films, and International/Foreign Language films.

Prior to the expansion of the category, only eight Foreign Language films had been nominated for Best Picture, and even after the expansion, that number has only grown to fourteen. Of those fourteen, only one Foreign Language film, the 2019 South Korean film Parasite, went on to actually win Best Picture. However, Parasite's win has shone a light on International films deserving to be recognised by Awards shows.

Godzilla Minus One is one of those films, and many fans will be surprised and disappointed if it does not snag a Best Picture nomination in 2024. If it does, film buffs could be in for a surprise.