Godzilla Minus One is one of the top movies of the year. I’m not a Godzilla fan. One, the movies are awful. Two, I’ve never liked Godzilla as a monster — he’s too awkwardly bottom-heavy, among other things. But this iteration of Godzilla has gotten some positive notice, including word-of-mouth praise from our own Andrew Stuttaford. So, I checked it out, and didn’t regret it.

It’s as moving and meaningful as a disaster/monster movie can get. It’s a mediation on what you owe to a failed and unworthy cause, survivor’s guilt, the destruction wrought on Japan in World War II, what constitutes family, the meaning of patriotism, and the catastrophic failures of the Japanese government during the war. (On the last point, whenever a wartime government says it’s going to make up for its planning, logistical, and material deficiencies with the fighting spirit of its men, it’s best to prepare for crushing defeat.)

The characters are likable, the special effects are good, the story is suspenseful, and it’s enjoyable to see the World War II military equipment wielded in the fight against Godzilla. The incredible punishment that Japan took during the war is a backdrop to the entire movie, and then we get a terrible taste of what it was like when the monster begins his merciless, random, unstoppable rampages through Tokoyo.

Inevitably, Godzilla Minus One lapses into disaster-movie cliché, at times. But this one is definitely a winner.