It only took 70 years, but Godzilla has finally gone home with the gold. Godzilla Minus One made history at the 96th Academy Awards, securing the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, a first-time win for the Godzilla franchise. Given how important Godzilla has been to nearly a century of international film, it’s a long overdue accolade that couldn’t have gone to a more deserving entry. Minus One isn’t just a great movie, but a prime showcase of director Takashi Yamazaki’s strong artistic vision and proof that Godzilla’s ability to change with the times is unparalleled among film characters.
But there is another lesson that Hollywood should take away from Godzilla Minus One’s landmark achievement. How did a movie with a small VFX team of 35 artists and a frugal budget of $15 million show up the entire Hollywood blockbuster apparatus? Part of the answer lies in the film’s leaning into a distinctly 1990s way of depicting CG effects.
More so than resources or manpower, I would contend that the issue ultimately comes down to attitude, and how Hollywood has spent the past couple of decades denigrating the entire field of visual effects artistry. What was once a brand new field of exciting technology that was supposed to expand what was possible within the medium by a wide margin has instead spent much of the 21st century being treated like a laborious obligation that many filmmakers and audiences wish would go away. Even though it’s now virtually impossible to find studio movies that don’t implement VFX to some extent or another (you’d be surprised how much invisible effects work is used in mid-budget dramas and action films), many promo tours for even gargantuan blockbusters like Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Top Gun: Maverick spend much of their time touting their reliance on “practical” effects and making bold claims about how everything was done “for real” on camera.
Let's dig in on how Godzilla Minus One recaptured the visual effects magic of the 1990s!
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