Godzilla (1954) (Japan)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

This is it. This is the greatest giant monster flick ever made. This is the movie that changed the game. You can still feel the aftershocks, the ground is still rumbling right under your feet. A near perfect blend of social commentary, human drama and monster action. I’m not sure what the landscape of monster cinema would look like without it and luckily I don’t have to worry about it. Underwater H-bomb testing has destroyed the natural habitat of a legendary beast. Freighter ships are being destroyed and survivors are few and far between. When nearby Odo Island has its fishing hardships answered by property destruction, the Japanese government decides to step in and figure out just what the hell is going on. Strange radiation readings and giant footprints eventually lead to the the witnessing of a 165-foot reptilian nightmare the locals call Godzilla. The head of the research team, Professor Kyohei Yamane, wants to study the creature and hopefully learn just how it managed to survive the exposure to large amounts of radiation (the nightmares of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only nine years prior) but everyone else seems to be in the camp of killing this beast as quickly as possible. All of their plans fail and Godzilla brings a wave of horrific and familiar destruction to Tokyo. The only hope lies in the invention of one Dr. Serizawa. He’s invented a substance called the oxygen destroyer which somehow splits oxygen into a fluid but is reluctant to use it much less hand it over to the Japanese military to weaponize. He’s only shared his invention with the woman he loves, Emiko, but has sworn her to secrecy. She’s managed to keep her end of the bargain but when she witnesses the devastation Godzilla causes, she finds it impossible not to do all she can to prevent more terror. Ishirô Honda’s tight direction, Akira Ifukube’s influential score, a script loaded with pathos and the specter of the atomic bomb, a stellar cast and one of the coolest monsters to ever grace the silver screen make for one hell of a romp. There’s enough kaiju hijinks for all the monster kids to get behind and the character-driven plot is rewarding for those adult tastes. It’s the perfect monster film and I can’t recommend it enough.