A One Mann’s Movies review of “Godzilla Minus Zero”. (2026, 4*, 15).
As any junior school maths student would tell you, Godzilla Minus Zero = Godzilla. But, I guess, logically what should the sequel to Godzilla Minus One be called if not this? (One can only assume that the next film will be Godzilla Plus One: and after the obvious success that this film will have, you can bet that there will be a next film.)
Once again, I find myself surprised to be giving a ‘monster movie’ such a high rating. But as a piece of spectacular big-screen entertainment – and I was highly entertained throughout – how could I not do so? As for the first film, this is a movie that has learned that big monsters bashing each other is not enough: you have to imbue a film with a story that makes you care for the characters and gives you (in the words of the Movie Bread Club guys) an “emotional tug”. And this does that in spades.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Japan, 1949. Pilot Kōichi (Ryûnosuke Kamiki), his wife Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and adoptive daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani) are attempting from recover from Godzilla’s recent attacks. But just as everything seems settled, a new danger emerges: a terrifying chrysalis emerges from a fallen meteorite.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: Strong injury detail. This higher rating will probably be a disappointment to younger fans of Godzilla Minus One. Some of the scenes are quite graphic, but this really feels quite borderline to me – I reckon for a 12 year old with a strong constitution, this would still be OK (for when it comes to streaming, or for my US followers).)
Talent:
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Jun Kunimura, Masami Nagasawa, Sakura Andô, Yuki Yamada, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Min Tanaka, Miou Tanaka, Sae Nagatani, Kai Inowaki, Eita Okuno.
Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki.
Written by: Takashi Yamazaki.
Running Time: 2h 15m.
Review:
Positives:
- Godzilla Minus One won Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards and you can see Godzilla Minus Zero as being a strong contender for the double. I’ve never been one to rave about VFX monsters fighting other VFX monsters (see my review for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) but here the special effects go well beyond that by really weaving real people into the midst of it all. Some of the battle scenes became genuinely tense for me and I felt myself involved in them. In addition, the scenes of utter destruction wrought by King Ghidorah are superb, especially the opening five minutes which leaves you not able to draw breath.
- But the effects would be nothing without a decent story and the story here is really, really engaging. We see Hiroshima survivor Professor Murakami (Min Tanaka) teaming with the Head of the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau, Dr. Kenji Noda (a returning Hidetaka Yoshioka) to try to combat the threat of Ghidorah. A surprising ally is meteorologist Makoto Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa), the second time in two months (after Pressure) that Meteorology (including poring over historical paper weather maps) has been a ‘thing’ at the movies! It all ends up getting very Back to the Future! Also returning for this film are the heroes of the last film Kōichi (Ryûnosuke Kamiki), Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and their daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani). A key point of tension in the film, given how terrified of ‘big monsters’ Akiko is, is the degree to which Kōichi and later Noriko should put themselves in harm’s way: is their priority saving their family or saving their country?
- One of those characters has a dark plan and the reveal – via a future-imagined scene – was one of the highpoints for the film for me. A really excellent piece of filmmaking. Another of the characters has a dark secret, and the way in which that is revealed and the way in which it is incorporated into the story is brilliantly done.
- As for the previous film, it does lean in to Japanese regrets about World War 2 in an intriguing way. The two airmen they recruit to battle Ghidorah – Honda (Kai Inowaki) and Tokiwa (Eita Okuno) – are embittered by the war: “they put us through hell” Tokiwa comments. They now appear to be cast on the rubbish heap, desperate – even with young families – to put their lives on the line in return for the pay-check. The Americans are also seen as untrustworthy and shifty. As the (Japanese piloted) planes fly over, some refugees comment “Who’d have thought we’d be happy to see American planes”.
- The film really impresses in its ‘aftermath’ scenes: scenes of devastation and injury, some inflicted by Godzilla and Ghidorah, others from other means. The production values are very high indeed.
- For the second time in a month (the other being Wildwood) we get some dramatic intervention by crows. The scenes in here are very much like Hitchcock’s The Birds – almost a homage to the film. It’s very effective in demonstrating the McGuffin (a “Resonance Wave Amplifier”).
- Some of the acting it quite good: in particular Min Tanaka as Professor Kanji Murakami, who adds some much needed acting gravitas. Also worth singling out for comment is young Sae Nagatani as the little girl Akiko. She is not going to surpass Mason Reeves from Josephine as my current child actor of the year, but as a girl able to express fear and intense sadness, she does a fantastic job. A finale meltdown made me wonder if the director had told her that her real-life puppy had died in a freak blimp accident, such is the degree to which she gets hysterical! On the acting front, however…..
Negatives:
- Some of the overacting is truly terrible in this film: I would single out Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) here, but he is one of many. In many of the group scenes, news coming into the Disaster Response Bureau invokes such scenes of dramatic over-acting by the ensemble that I found them truly comical. I actually burst out laughing on one occasion. With really top-rate acting, this could have been a 5 star film for me.
Summary Thoughts:
Once again, this was a Godzilla film that I could really buy into. It delivered the spectacle with some really wonderful special effects, but it also delivered peril with real stakes for the characters in the film that you cared about. Recommended.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mahKifMsaTk.
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