Godzilla Minus Zero is an epic monster brawl with emotional heft
After the success of 2023's Godzilla Minus One, writer/director Takashi Yamazaki returned to helm the sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero. Like its predecessor, the latest iteration in Toho's long-running kaiju franchise uses the big G as a metaphor for post-World War II Japanese trauma, just like the initial 1954 movie. However, with the inclusion of King Ghidorah and a plot involving a mad scientist of sorts, the sequel at times suffers from too many threads and a weaker script, but that doesn't lessen how much damn fun the movie is to see on the big screen, even when it explores heavier themes and war time imagery.
Set during 1949, Godzilla Minus Zero focuses on a few of the survivors from the previous movie, specifically kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and his wife, Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe), along with their adopted daughter, Akiko (Sakura Ando). Plagued by trauma from Godzilla's previous attack a few years earlier, they rightfully fret over reports that a new threat, King Ghidorha, has leveled the Japanese city of Matsumoto. In one harrowing and gut-wrenching scene, Akiko freezes in the middle of the kitchen and starts crying that something bad is about to happen again. Meanwhile, there are various flashbacks of Godzilla's last rampage and how the survivors haven't mentally recovered from the bloodshed. Shots of trauma wards and makeshift medic tents are especially effective.
Eventually, Koichi is enlisted to assist in stopping King Ghidorah's war path, despite Noriko's pleas to sit this one out because she fears losing him. The family dynamic is one of the film's strengths, and there's a lot of character development given to the trio, especially as they try to survive in the aftermath of Godzilla's last attack. Ghidorah's threat only worsens their fears that they're never going to be safe. Additionally, Hamabe, Kamiki, and even Ando's performances are all solid. There's one heartbreaking scene where the parents return Akiko to the orphanage and she wails and pleads with them not to leave, fearing the latest kaiju danger will be their undoing. It's one of the film's most emotionally devastating scenes.
Godzilla Minus Zero is often the King Ghidorah show
While this is a Godzilla movie and the big guy certainly has his moments, King Ghidorah is more often than not front and center. In the opening minutes, he wipes out Matsumoto with lightening breath. No matter what the Japanese military does, with the assistance of the Americans, the monster only grows stronger, eventually evolving into the familiar three-headed beast. The close-ups of Ghidorah's dragon-like heads are absolutely terrifying, and there's one great sequence where he attacks Japanese pilots that attempt to take him out with massive weapons. The dog fights are an absolute blast to behold on the big screen and quite breathtaking. That sequence alone is worth the price of the IMAX ticket.
This is the first R-rated Godzilla movie, and the scenes with King Ghidorah are mostly the reasons why. He racks up quite a brutal and bloody body count, and everyone, including former weapons scientist Noda (Hidetaka Yoshikoa) from the previous film, and his new assistant, Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa), are relatively powerless to stop the winged beast.
Eventually, and without spoiling anything, they enlist the help of Noriko to push Godzilla off the sidelines. She has a special connection with Godzilla, which is discovered by Professor Ogata (Jun Kunimura), whose family died in Hiroshima. He even dreams of unleashing Godzilla in New York City as payback against the Americans for dropping the bomb, though this is a rather undercooked plot thread and Ogata, out of all the new characters, is a bit one dimensional and veers into cliched mad scientist territory.
Though Godzilla's screen time is limited compared to the last movie, he does have quite a gnarly fight with King Ghidorah, and it's evident almost immediately that Godzilla has finally met his match. It's by no means an easy fight for the big G. It's sure fun to watch these heavyweights smack each other around, but the battle doesn't drag on or feel indulgent.
Overall, while Gozilla Minus Zero is a slight step down from its predecessor, it manages to expand on the post-war themes from the last movie, while offering plenty of rip-roaring kaiju action. The movie is definitely worth the price of an IMAX ticket to witness Godzilla and King Ghidorha whack each other around in a high-stakes climax. Let's hope that Yamazaki returns to this storyline at some point, but if not, this is a fitting end for his chapter in Godzilla's long-running storyline.
Godzilla Minus Zero opens nationwide on Friday, November 6.
Comments