Well, I’m in the camp that will take and enjoy whatever Godzilla related productions that I can get (for the most part), but I still have a critical filter when it comes to anything. I think my bias trends toward giving extra points to something that isn’t afraid to add something unique into the franchise that we haven’t seen before; so I’ve been liking the Reiwa stuff as whole (including the animes/singular point) more than some fans seem to on balance.

Between Shin and Minus 1 I definitely preferred Shin. I think Minus 1 was very well done, and I understand why so many people are giving a positive response too it (though I do think some of it is a tad overblown; it’s not the best movie in the franchise). A few critiques I had of it have to deal with the fact that it really seems to hit it’s beats. This is both a strength and a flaw as far as I see it. There were a few instances where I knew how something would play out before it happened on screen (very far in advance in one instance). The way it hits those beats though seems more similar to Hollywood from 20-30 years ago though (when it was still open to making decent movies) instead of current Hollywood where every script is run though the sieve of maximal focus group approval. In effect, the beats meet what can cause fulfilment of emotional engagement as opposed to what will land and keep the most American audience butts in the seats. It was predictable but substantive rather that vapid spectacle.

There were also a couple of instances where things didn’t make sense enough to pull me out of the viewing experience. Not that Godzilla movies need to make sense, because were dealing with giant monsters here after all, but more in the “the physics don’t work here” and the “this is so clearly a deus ex machina that I can’t ignore it” capacity.

All that said, those are just the critiques. I think there’s a lot about it that works toward the fact it had as broad appeal as it did where as my ideal Godzilla movie likely wouldn’t have been enjoyed as much by as many people as Minus 1 achieved. And there are certainly things that it brought into the franchise that were unique, e.g. being essentially a period drama, the deeply developed human story line, the convincing performances, etc. I saw the sentiment that it’s perhaps the best introductory film for someone who hasn’t been previously interested in the franchise, and I tend agree with that I think.

As far as the next movie… I’ll enjoy it like I enjoy every Godzilla movie, but I’m hoping that this is Wingard’s last. I thought there were some mistakes with Godzilla vs Kong, and with what I’ve seen so far of GxK I am not seeing anything to convince me that there’s going to be any course correction, rather, I think it looks like he’s going further down the wrong path. I won’t go into specifics here (I’ve typed enough already). I did really enjoy the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series though. I love some of the lore exposition they developed through the season. I hope they keep going with it.