Toho have been regularly producing Japanese Godzilla films since the very first one in 1954. Every so often they do give the character new life, letting a new creative take lead on the project and add their own fresh perspective and creativity to the project. However, it’s rare for a some of these to break into Western cinema and have an impact, despite Godzilla having a generally large following. Godzilla Minus One took audiences by storm, becoming the highest rated Godzilla film on Letterboxd, going from a very limited box office run, to having a short run in IMAX at the beginning of 2024. The film also went onto not only be the first Godzilla film to be nominated for an Academy Award, but it also won the award for Best Visual Effects, becoming the first non-English language film to do so, on a fraction of the budget of it’s competition. A sequel was inevitable.
Godzilla Minus Zero takes place a couple years after the events of Minus One. A new threat has emerged in Japan, as a group of scientists and pilots aim to take down this threat to prevent another disaster like the one caused just by Godzilla. When the new threat is even deadlier than initially feared, they may have to do what they can to encourage their old enemy to help them stop this new threat, and creating devasting damage.
With Minus One setting a couple of records at the Academy Awards for it’s visual effects, on a budget of less than $15 million, a fraction of what most big budget films operate on. I always thought that yes the effects look good for the small budget, but you can tell it was a small budget. With Minus Zero becoming the first Japanese release to have scenes shot for IMAX, it was clear that the budget has been heavily increased, alongside a much wider release. With both the IMAX release, and bigger budget expectation was going to be a lot higher that they could still perform and deliver. And from a visual point of view, it absolutely manages to elevate everything from the first entry. Making full use of the larger IMAX aspect ratio, everything looks incredible impressive, and more faultless than the first. It’s a certaintity to pick up another nomination at the Academy Awards, likely facing stiff competition from Dune: Part Three.
A big difference between what we’ve seen with the American Godzilla films, and this particular Japanese iteration of the franchise, is how seriously they treat the character Godzilla and the other monsters in these films. The recent American films did that start with in 2014 and 2019’s King of Monsters, but then by the time we got Godzilla vs Kong in 2021 they started to get a little bit more silly, something which was doubled down in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire a couple of years ago. I think it’s ultimately a lot trickier being a silly, fun blockbuster (I did enjoy those films) than being the very serious takes of these films. The Minus films deal very heavily with the impact of war on Japan, focusing on people who were involved in conflicts and the trauma they have. The biggest strength of these films is that focus. The actions and some of the thoughts of human characters are not only understandable, but justifiable because of what they’ve gone through.
Takashi Yamazaki returns to write and direct his sequel that made his career. Despite having been involved with and directing many projects before Minus One, it’s clear that these films are what are going to define his career. I think this film, particularly from a writing point of view, is a lot stronger than the first, there’s a lot more depth to what’s going and just improves every angle and character from the first. Yamazaki is going to a good career ahead of him, and already has his next project lined up, something which will see him enter Hollywood, and make his first English project in 2028.
Several cast members return from Minus One, and thanks to the writing, not only have more depth but also much more range to play with, that only improves each of their performances. Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe and Hidetaka Yoshioka all particularly return and standout leading the film, with Min Tanaka also adding particularly as a scientist who is out for vengeance. Every brings their very best, and delivers performances that noone ever has to these monster films before.
Overall, Godzilla Minus Zero takes everything from the first one and simply improves it in every single way. It almost feels wild to say but it’s clear this is the best Godzilla film I’ve seen, and will go down in history. Fantastic depth from the writing, great visual effects, an impactful score and moments have you on the edge of your seat, making Godzilla Minus Zero one of the year’s very best! It might not have as much Godzilla as you want, but it delivers so much with everything else that it truly doesn’t matter. A must see on the biggest screen possible!
What did you think of Godzilla Minus Zero?
To keep up to date with my latest reviews follow @floodersfilms on social media or via the buttons below.
Leave a Reply