Not to be confused with the recent American line of Godzilla movies from production company Legendary Pictures, “Godzilla Minus One” comes from Japan’s celebrated Toho Studios. It’s Toho’s first Godzilla movie since 2016’s “Shin Godzilla”. And it’s their 33rd Godzilla film since first creating the iconic King of the Monsters in 1954. And what better way to celebrate the franchise’s upcoming 70th anniversary than with a new Toho production?

Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki (who also served as visual effects supervisor), “Godzilla Minus One” has the feel of some the earliest Toho classics both in setting and style of storytelling. But don’t worry, today’s state-of-the-art visual effects and production design are on prominent display. As expected we get some jaw-dropping wide-scale destruction, and the encounters with the eponymous kaiju are exhilarating. Yet it’s the undercurrent of humanity that may catch audiences by surprise.

Takashi’s story unfolds in the years immediately following World War II. Japan’s infrastructure, economy, and morale has been decimated. Its people struggle to put their lives back together, living in makeshift homes and barely able to provide food for their families. The government offers little help leading to an unstable and vulnerable country. It’s a setting that fans of Toho’s earliest films will immediately recognize – one that’s still rich with political and cultural undertones.

Disgraced kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) returns home to Tokyo only to find his parents were killed and his neighborhood decimated from air raids in the waning days of the war. Not only is Koichi overwhelmed with grief, but he also struggles with PTSD and survivors guilt. We learn that two years prior he feigned a mechanical issue with his plane, landing on Odo island rather than carrying out his mission. While there the small outpost of mechanics is attacked by a massive prehistoric creature dubbed “Godzilla” by the locals. Koichi is one of only two survivors.

In Tokyo Koichi reluctantly takes in a young woman named Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and helps her care for an orphaned baby girl whose parents were also killed in the bombing. This family (of sorts) have a difficult time getting by, leading a desperate Koichi to take a dangerous government sanctioned job detonating sea mines left over from the war. But he and his eclectic boat crew come face-to-face with a danger far greater than mines. Yep, Godzilla returns and has the Japanese mainland in its sights.

The government tries to keep the discovery from going public, but you can only keep a giant lizard the size of a skyscraper a secret for so long. Inevitably Godzilla reaches land allowing Yamazaki to let loose with some stunning effects-drive set pieces brought to life through an array of visual wizardry. We witness devastation and destruction on a visually epic scale. And then there is Godzilla who’s presented as a terrifying force of nature yet remains a powerful metaphor for nuclear weapons.

While the kaiju action he delivers is immensely satisfying, Yamazaki never loses sight of the humanity-rich stories being told at the same time. These two facets remain inseparable throughout this surprisingly heartfelt and artful throwback. “Godzilla Minus One” offers a crash course on how to make a great blockbuster. It has the signature thrills and big screen spectacle. But it’s the deeply ingrained human element that make it stand out. It certainly left me wanting more. “Godzilla Minus One” is in select theaters now.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS