![Godzilla]()
Talk about starting the new month off with a bang. In addition to all the
excellent titles coming to Netflix in June, the streaming giant saved one big reveal for its own standalone announcement. In the wee hours of the morning on the East Coast came news that the international smash hit,
Godzilla Minus One, is now playing.
https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1796799088429514827
Hell yeah.
For anyone who hasn't seen the latest flick from the long-running kaiju franchise,
Godzilla Minus One was one of the best movie theater experiences I've had in recent years. Go into the movie as in the dark as you can, because it's so surprising in so many ways. At its core, it's an exceptional, character-driven World War II period drama that just so happens to have Godzilla in it. Not that you get any shortage of the iconic mutant monster, but what makes
Godzilla Minus One stand out from its predecessors is the focus on the humans who propel the narrative. Ryunosuke Kamiki gives a killer lead performance, and the rest of the ensemble is excellent across the board.
One of the more mind-blowing aspects of the movie is that it was made on only a budget of $10 to $12 million. It wound up being a massive commercial and critical success, raking in almost $116 million worldwide thanks to near-unanimously positive reviews and, of course, because it's Godzilla. When the big boy does show up, you really feel the terror.
Godzilla Minus One won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Visual Effects thanks to their excellent work at making the titular menace as dread-inducing and destructive as ever. Prolific Japanese director Takashi Yamazaki not only wrote the excellent screenplay, but he was also in charge of creating and supervising the VFX. That makes the modest budget and technical achievements all the more impressive.
With all that praise came an equally mystifying post-theatrical run situation. There was a lot of confused speculation amid a long wait to see when
Godzilla Minus One would be available to stream or digitally purchase. Once Netflix dropped the 'Zilla pun-intended bomb, fans were delighted that the blockbuster was finally available.
https://twitter.com/HardFactorNews/status/1796809609254162551
https://twitter.com/Preetam_M_Rao/status/1796803836121948513
https://twitter.com/EricPellinen/status/1796799788706590806
https://twitter.com/vivekgirotra/status/1796830476600262840
https://twitter.com/flyingglunt/status/1796859644297859447
https://twitter.com/BASINGSEGRAPS/status/1796801092870615158
https://twitter.com/ne0mega/status/1796845554355372381
https://twitter.com/MegnaMiga/status/1796799480647573961
https://twitter.com/HailPrabhas007/status/1796799543155286455
Little doubt in my mind that
Godzilla Minus One will skyrocket to the No. 1 spot on Netflix's Top 10 in short order.
PS, if you want to check out a black-and-white version of the film, the aptly titled
Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, that's a-go for digital purchase/rental as of Saturday, too.
https://twitter.com/Godzilla_Toho/status/1796801383481421898
Now all us physical media heads are waiting for is a 4K release, rife with special features goodness. Praying that won't be another lengthy exercise in patience!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7DqccP1Q_4
