Godzilla Minus Zero is a top shelf monster movie that puts the current crop of American Godzilla movies to shame. Written and directed by Yamazaki Takashi, the film blends the more serious messaging found in the earlier kaiju pictures with the wildly entertaining spectacle of watching our favorite monsters fight on the big screen.

In 2023, Takashi did the impossible by making Godzilla Minus One not only one of the great monster movies, but the finest Godzilla film of them all. The writer-director returned to the monster’s origins, adding to the creature’s myth while crafting a devastating and emotionally effective tale of human kindness and forgiveness.

Not only did Takashi write and direct both Minus One and Minus Zero, he was in charge of the superior visual effects. The first film won an Oscar for its tremendous FX work that put all modern Hollywood blockbusters to shame. The scope of both Takashi’s Godzilla pictures are a welcome return to old style epic filmmaking, but the director never loses his footing when focusing on the human drama. Both films take great care with their screenplays; sustaining the sociopolitical undercurrents of the original Godzilla movies while crafting an epic cinematic experience that doesn’t insult its audience.

Godzilla Minus Zero finds the legendary kaiju at war with Ghidorah, one of the most popular of all the Godzilla monsters. This film is the first Japanese production to be filmed for the IMAX format and there are some eye-popping sequences of monstrous destruction. It is no spoiler (for fans of all things Godzilla) to reveal that Ghidorah is returned to being a creature from another world. At first, the monster has only one head that breathes an electric fire to destroy anything and anyone on its path. Eventually, Ghidorah grows two more heads to become the hydra-like dragon of Godzilla lore. When Ghidora lays waste to various cities and villages in Japan, the IMAX format is used to its full spectacle-presenting potential.

The sequences of destruction are stunners, but one of the film’s biggest issues is how Ghidora is sidelined for too long after a proper introduction. While the human characters are as interesting as they were in Minus One, it is not only Ghidora who is off screen for too many stretches.

Godzilla is as awe-inducing as he was in Takashi’s first Godzilla movie. While the man-in-the-suit will always be dear to the heart of the fanbase, both Minus One and Minus Zero own the most menacing and frightening incarnation of their titular creature. Unfortunately, this sequel keeps the big guy away for so long that we almost forget it is a Godzilla film until someone mentions his name. Pacing is important and teasing the audience can be a masterful way to sell a final reveal. Godzilla Minus Zero does (eventually) wow its audience with Godzilla’s presence and it is worth the wait. In truth, the wait should not have been as long

Kamiki Ryunosuke returns as Shikishima Kōichi, again cast as the reluctant participant in a mission that may not see his return. Kōichi is happy and settling into his rebuilt life with wife Noriko (Miname Hamabe) and daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani). Life after the Godzilla attacks is a time of rebirth for Kōichi’s family and for the Japanese nation. 

With the appearance of Ghidora, the Disaster Response Bureau springs into action. Kenju Noda (Hidetake Yoshioka) returns as well and feels the monster can be defeated using the very electricity it feeds on. Noda’s plan involves help from Masami Nagasawa (Makoto Aoyama) a meteorologist who has a Nostradamus-like connection to the weather and Professor Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka). The professor/scientist survived the unimaginable; the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima (which took the lives of his wife and child) and the 1947 Godzilla attack. His connection to Godzilla will take a surprising turn.

Noda’s plan involves fighter pilots and Kōichi knows he must help, as he was the one who “destroyed” Godzilla in the first film. His experience (he hopes) will help the new pilots survive against Ghidorah. 

 
Godzilla Minus Zero blends spectacle (exciting camerawork from Kôzô Shibasaki) with potent human drama. While the human emotions may not be as strongly constructed as they were in Minus One, the drama hits. There is an interesting examination of “who is the real monster?” when the scientists begin to understand that Godzilla could be their savior. How they plan to deal with the outcome of the kaiju battle’s survivor gives the characters a palpable moral pause.

Takashi’s screenplay is inventive in its exploration of its characters’ collective moral dilemmas. The director questions whether pacifists can find their souls unscathed when forced to use weapons of war for the greater good. This sequel has a lot to say about the human casualties and so-called “collateral damage” in a time of desperation. 

Man versus monster becomes something more when the effects of Godzilla’s DNA are found to have strange consequences on certain victims. A certain character finds themselves afflicted and uses the power (see the film for the explanation) to help defeat both Godzilla and Ghidorah.

This particular plot point comes out of nowhere and is (at first) jarring and feels unnecessary. Ultimately, we realize this is no gimmick, but an homage to the sillier aspects of some of the best Godzilla pictures. The advice to fans would be to just roll with it. For newcomers to the world of Godzilla, just roll with it.

As he did with the admittedly superior Godzilla Minus One, Yamazaki Takashi fills Godzilla Minus Zero with some heavy themes. Using a screen filled with carnage and ultimate destruction, the director gives an honest commentary on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the futility of wartime thinking in post-war societies. 

If the film has imperfections, they can be found in the overuse of Akiko’s cuteness and the actress’s ability to cry on cue. The character cries a lot. A LOT. At first it is heartbreaking, until a sequence near the finale where it becomes too much and tugging at our heartstrings devolves into testing our patience.

The picture’s only other flaw would be, strangely enough, its titular character. Godzilla (finally) shows up and the battle with Ghidorah begins. It’s a doozy, but (like the final fight between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode in the subpar Halloween Ends), it is over too quickly. As a filmmaker creating a sequel to what is widely referred to as the best Godzilla movie, one must take the advice of the Ken Watanabe character from Godzilla: King of the Monsters; “Let them fight!”

Issues aside, Yamazaki Takashi has created a unique entry into the world of Godzilla that is a pure monster movie infused with a heavy human tragedy. Godzilla Minus Zero is not as strong as Minus One, but it comes very close.



Godzilla Minus Zero
Written & Directed by Yamazaki Takashi
Starring Kamiki Ryūnosuke, Hamabe Minami, Yamada Yūki, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Kunimura Jun, Tanaka Miō, Andō Sakura, Nagasawa Masami, Tanaka Min, Yoshioka Hidetaka, Nagatani Sae
R, 135 Minutes, GKIDS