By the time Godzilla Minus One ended I was high as a kite. No, I had not ingested any edibles before entering the theater. I was high from the joy of seeing a truly great movie.

When I stood up and walked out of the theater, my spirits were orbiting the Earth. I wanted to raise a fist and shout, “HAIL TO THE KING, BABY!”

Yes, Godzilla Minus One is that damn good.

I did not expect it to be, really. That might sound harsh, but my childhood memories of Godzilla consist of syndicated broadcasts of Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster and seeing Godzilla Vs. Megalon on the big screen, when it was the second half of a double-bill with Bug.

While I do take Godzilla seriously, a great many of the movies featuring the iconic monster do not. At least not since the original 1954 film.

Until now.

Godzilla Minus One begins at the very end of World War II. Pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) returns to a destroyed Tokyo wearing a shroud of shame and guilt. Shame from being unable to carry out his assigned duty as a kamikaze pilot. Guilt in that he froze and did not open fire on a strange dinosaur-like creature that attacked the airstrip where he had landed his plane. A creature the locals call Godzilla.

Years pass and Shikishima, now working to safely detonate unexploded mines in the waters off the coast of Japan, once again encounters that strange dinosaur-like creature. Only nuclear testing has made it bigger and more aggressive.

It also appears to be indestructible…

Although you could remove Godzilla from Godzilla Minus One and still have a compelling drama about survivor’s guilt and the rebuilding of a shattered psyche, I do not think the emotional beats would hit quite as hard as they do. When Godzilla unleashes the full force of its atomic breath for the very first time, the wide-eyed and slack-jawed expression of those unfortunate to witness it seem to be silently screaming and wailing, “NO, NOT AGAIN!”

I did not expect to be as moved by a Godzilla movie as I was by Godzilla Minus One. But I was. I did not want anyone to die. I wanted them all to be okay. I wanted them to figure out a way destroy, or at least stop, Godzilla. I wanted them to win.

This movie is a masterpiece.