Given the umpteen sequels and remakes and reboots and spinoffs that followed the original Godzilla from 1954, one might think not much remained left to explore about our favorite giant lizard. 2023's Godzilla Minus One proved otherwise.

Toward the end of World War II, kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryûnosuke Kamiki) claims technical problems prevent the completion of his mission, though mechanics find nothing wrong with his plane. While on this base, enormous monster Godzilla attacks and Koichi fails to act as a distraction, an error that leads to more deaths.

Later in 1945, Koichi returns to a Tokyo left in ruins and suffers from massive "survivor's guilt". When Godzilla comes to threaten this area, Koichi finds the possibility of redemption if he can help stop the beast's destructive reign.

With a worldwide gross of only $114 million, Minus One doesn't approach the highest sales in the franchise. However, it came with a dinky $10 million budget and clearly turned an enormous profit, all while it enjoyed arguably the strongest reviews of the series.

That happened for good reason. With so many movies under the franchise's belt, it becomes tough to pick a theoretical best, but Minus certainly belongs in that discussion.

I tend to like Godzilla movies more in theory than reality. The concept always remains great but the execution winds up as tremendously erratic.

As mentioned, Minus delivers one of the best - and maybe the best - of the series. Unlike most of its predecessors, it becomes more of a drama with a monster than a movie that revolves around a monster.

That seems like a crucial difference. Not that Godzilla seems superfluous here, but human character development comes to the fore and that pays off well.

Of course, other movies in the series went down a path that left Big G on the sidelines for extended periods. The US 2014 reboot occasionally made me wonder if they finally created a Godzilla film that forgot to include Godzilla.

The difference between Minus and the 2014 production stems from the development of the roles. While 2014 highlighted humans, it never made them especially compelling, and that meant Godzilla's infrequent appearances feel all the more problematic.

We don't encounter such issues with Minus. In particular, Koichi offers a flawed but intriguing lead.

Koichi comes across as eminently real and the film doesn’t overdo his emotional scars. Kamiki delivers a natural take on the part and helps ground the piece.

Of course, we want action from a Godzilla flick, and when Minus offers its sporadic reveals of the title beast, it delivers the goods. Whereas the infrequent appearances of Big G in the 2014 film frustrated, here they add to the tension and impact.

Minus stages its violence in a dynamic manner and even makes a nod toward Jaws when the mine-sweeping boat on which Koichi works comes under attack. In the wrong hands, this would feel like a cheap ripoff but here it feels organic.

I also appreciate that Minus lacks the comedy and camp that can undercut Godzilla flicks. Yeah, I’m one of the few people who enjoys the goofy Roland Emmerich version from 1998, so this implied criticism of less-than-dramatic takes on the character might sound weird from me.

I can’t muster much of a defense here! Whatever the case, I like that Minus treats matters seriously. In the real world, an enormous violent lizard would lack room for giggles so the tone suits the material.

This side of Minus comes with only one notable misstep. During the finale, we learn an apparently dead character survived.

This feels like a cop-out that semi-negates this person’s heroic sacrifice. Maybe test audiences didn’t like the finality of this role’s demise but it leaves a sour taste that the “death” doesn’t take.

Despite that, I find an awful lot to like about Minus. I hope the sequel can live up to it.

Footnote: an audio-only tag appears at the conclusion of the end credits. It doesn’t add anything noteworthy.

Godzilla Minus One appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. From a true 4K source, the Dolby Vision image looked great.

At all times, sharpness appeared positive. I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined from start to finish, with virtually no signs of softness on display.

I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked any edge haloes. Source flaws also remained absent.

Like most other modern action flicks, Minus favored stylized colors, and as usual, those colors tended toward blue/teal and amber/orange. Within these choices, the hues looked positive, and HDR gave them a boost.

Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque. HDR added impact to whites and contrast. The 4K UHD became a strong reproduction of the film.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, I felt just as pleased with the impressive Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Minus. A movie packed with mayhem and action, the mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner.

Vehicles, weapon-fire, monsters, and similar elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape. This meant nearly constant material all the speakers.

The back domain delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.

Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.

Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. People invest major bucks in home theaters for flicks like this, and Minus delivered the goods.

All the set’s extras appear on a separate Blu-ray, and we open with a documentary simply titled Behind the Scenes. It spans one hour, five minutes, 27 seconds and provides remarks from writer/director Takashi Yamazaki.

The filmmaker covers his approach to the Godzilla property, story/characters, cast and performances. However, we only hear a little from Yamazaki, and all his comments appear early in “Scenes”.

Instead, “Scenes” primarily offers a “fly on the wall” view of the production. It does well in that regard as it gives us a nice look at the shoot.

In the same vein, VFX Behind the Scenes occupies 19 minutes, 26 seconds and shows various effects shots at different stages of completion. I wish this program came with some narration to explain the work but it nonetheless turns into a decent glimpse of these areas.

Something entitled Theater Release Commemorative Special Feature lasts 22 minutes, 26 seconds. We get some remarks from Yamazaki, producer Kazuaki Kishida, animator Yuki Kawahara, VFX director Kiyoko Shibuya, and actors Minami Hamabe and Ryûnosuke Kamiki.

Basically a promotional affair, “Feature” comes with a lot of overwrought chatter and not a lot of substance beyond some movie-related basics. We do get some glimpses of the shoot but since “Behind the Scenes” already gave us so much of that, “Feature” feels pretty superfluous.

Under Event Video Collection, we get seven segments that show publicity showcases. We find “September 4, 2023 Movie Completion Press Conference” (11:37), “October 18, 2023 World Premiere Red Carpet” (7:45), “October 23, 2023 Tokyo International Film Festival Opening Red Carpet” (3:05), “November 1, 2023 Tokyo International Film Festival Closing Stage Greeting” (10:30), “November 3, 2023 Theatrical Release Stage Greeting” (16:06), “November 8-10, 2023 North American Premiere” (12:28), and “November 29, 2023 Sapporo Event” (6:58).

Via “Press Conference”, we find panel that involves Hamabe, Kamiki, Yamazaki, and Toho’s Minami Ichikawa as they look at the film’s development, casting, and story/characters. The other reels offer more purely publicity-related pieces without real informational value.

Honestly, I could live without any of these. Even the press conference – which easily becomes the most informative of the bunch – remains less than deep, so don’t expect a lot from the various reels.

Within Takashi Tamazaki Selection Talk Shows, we get four segments. From the director’s promo appearances, we find “September 15, 2023 Godzilla Screening Event #1” (12:56), “September 29, 2023 Godzilla Screening Event #2” (15:45), “October 13, 2023 Godzilla Screening Event #3” (17:03) and “October 27, 2023 Godzilla Screening Event #3” (18:47),

Each one pairs Tamazaki with a guest. In order, we find Shin Godzilla co-director Shinji Higuchi, creature modeler Keizo Murase, filmmaker Shusuke Kaneko and Shin Godzilla co-director Hideaki Anno. They talk about genre flicks in general and some specifics about the movies as well.

All four chats work well, especially when we get the more veteran folks involved. Unlike much of this disc’s content, these reels don’t feel promotional and they give us entertaining discussions between Tamazaki and peers.

What the disc bills as Academy Awards Winner Additional Screening Trailer promotes a Japanese reissue of the film. It’s only 35 seconds and not much of a promo.

A reinvention of the long-running franchise, Godzilla Minus One becomes a terrific take on the topic. It brings real drama in addition to the expected action to update the series in a satisfying manner. The 4K UHD offers excellent picture and audio as well as a mix of supplements. Let’s hope 2026's Godzilla Minus Zero lives up to this one’s high standards.