“Godzilla: Minus Zero” is the highly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Godzilla: Minus One.” As it is the sequel to my favorite movie of all time, I had extremely high expectations going into the theater. After watching it on opening night, I can say with full confidence that “Minus Zero” lives up to its predecessor in almost every area.
“Minus One” followed a failed kamikaze pilot named Koichi Shikishima. After being too scared to take his life and a brief encounter with Godzilla, Koichi returned to a demolished home, full of shame and regret. He spent months haunted by his inaction and refused to believe that he deserved to live with the family he had found. With time, he was given a chance to defeat Godzilla and finally end his internal war. “Minus Zero” takes place in 1949, two years after these events. A new threat to Japan has taken Godzilla’s place, which the public names “King Ghidorah.” Days after Ghidorah appears, reports of Godzilla’s return come to light. A plan is devised to force the two beasts to fight until only one remains. Rather than solely following Koichi, multiple new and returning characters are given their time in the spotlight, each with their own hidden agendas and ideas for what to do after the battle ends.
A major aspect of the first movie that plays into why I love it so much is its emotional core: The constant struggle of a man who attempts to overcome his survivor’s guilt and learn to live again deeply moves me even on my fifth rewatch of the movie. The emotional core of “Minus Zero” is admittedly very different than “Minus One,” as each character of the rather large cast has their own arcs throughout the movie. These character stories cover a wider range of concepts, such as vengeance, the weight of responsibility, and the fear of being abandoned. Even though each arc was excellently written and performed incredibly well, it was a bit harder to hone in on one character’s struggles the same way one could in “Minus One.” With that said, numerous scenes had me on the verge of tears due to the sheer weight present within them. In this regard, “Minus Zero” proved that it could reach the same heights as the first, even if the emotional narrative is not quite as laser-focused on one character throughout.
With the sole exception of emotional appeal, everything else about this movie is near perfection and blows “Minus One” out of the water. For starters, the musical score for “Minus Zero” is almost flawless. Every piece perfectly suits the movie’s tone — a few of the tracks are still stuck in my head days later. The cinematography of “Minus Zero” is also an absolute masterclass, with some of the most brutal and most heartfelt scenes I’ve ever seen. It’s clear that director Takashi Yamazaki took the “R” rating and IMAX format (both firsts for the Godzilla franchise) and decided to walk the fine line of pushing the visuals as far as possible without the brutality becoming gratuitous.
I’ve saved the best aspects of this movie for last: The CGI is beyond anything else I’ve ever seen. It consistently looked as if Godzilla and King Ghidorah were as real as the human actors, and as if the destruction they caused was truly happening. Speaking of Ghidorah, it’s clear who the star of the movie is. Taking inspiration from sequels such as “The Dark Knight,” the villain of this movie steals the scene whenever he appears with an imposing and seemingly all-powerful presence. His theme song is blood-chilling, every action sequence involving him had me utterly floored, and he felt like a natural addition to this movie. In general, the kaiju action present was spectacular, yet it was admittedly less frequent than I expected. Ultimately, though, I do believe it’s worth sacrificing more action for the sake of building up tension for the fights that do occur.
The name of this movie perfectly encapsulates my feelings. “Minus Zero” did not lessen any features of “Minus One.” Instead, it went above and beyond on adding and perfecting what made the first so enjoyable while adding onto the spectacle of it all, even if it has a less focused personal narrative. In time, there’s a good chance that it can overtake “Minus One” as my favorite movie of all time, and I cannot think of a better movie to do so.
