Review: ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’

The trio settle into a new routine in a Japan devastated by war until Godzilla returns and Koichi finds a chance not only to redeem himself, but to protect the found family that has given his life meaning. It’s a deeply human story with incredible action scenes and incredible CGI rendering of Godzilla. It won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, the first Godzilla movie to do so.

(Editor’s note: this review contains spoilers for “Godzilla Minus Zero”)

Its highly anticipated sequel, “Godzilla Minus Zero” released this week nationwide. I saw it last night with my 13-year-old son.

It picks up two years later with a devastating attack by a dragon-like creature later dubbed Ghidorah. With another town flattened, Koichi and some of his friends who fought against Godzilla, including the bespectacled Kenji Noda, wage war against it. New characters, including Professor Kanji Murakami and meteorologist Makoto Aoyama, join in.  

The first plan, to incinerate Ghidorah with a bomb provided by the Americans, goes awry. Aoyama had devised a Plan B, however. Using her meteorological skills, she has Ghidorah pierced with lightning rods to fry him using lightning. That backfires: Ghidorah uses the lightning to grow bigger, sprout two additional heads, and continue its path of destruction. King Ghidorah is born. 

For a Godzilla movie, it’s surprisingly light on Godzilla, who doesn’t make his appearance until about halfway through the film. When he does, it’s awesome, and you realize how much you miss him. 

The heroes, hearing of Godzilla’s return, then decided to use him to fight King Ghidorah, believing such a battle would kill one and mortally weaken the other, which they could then kill.

The thing that worked so well with “Godzilla Minus One” was the pacing, the building up of the characters. Godzilla doesn’t appear through the middle of that film, but I found myself not missing him. I cared so much about Koichi, Noda, Noriko, and the rest I didn’t need the beast. 

And while I still love these characters, “Godzilla Minus Zero” ended up being an entertaining disappointment. Written and directed again by Takashi Yamazaki, the script tries to do too much with too many characters. That leaves out important details that make the plot confusing. In the first film, we get a great sequence explaining exactly how they plan to destroy Godzilla. In the sequel, it’s something about nitrogen and fire and maybe the Americans helping finish him off. 

The new characters are largely not developed, which is a missed opportunity. Professor Murakami, we learn through flashbacks, lost his entire family in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He plans to use Godzilla to enact revenge on the United States. I would’ve LOVED to see more of that story. 

But we don’t get it. Instead, we get a messy plot that I had to clarify with someone who also saw it after I left the theater. 

That being said, here’s what the film did well: the cinematography is still incredible. While the formal budget hasn’t been released, reports I found say it was made for between $13 million and $19 million. The effects look like something with a much higher budget, and better than some films that did have one. I still love the original characters; they feel real and lived in. When Godzilla and King Ghidorah are on screen, it’s loud and epic. 

It has an R rating, for some graphic scenes of the aftermath of Hiroshima, but nothing so traumatic or offensive that teens would be harmed. It’s also in Japanese with English subtitles, if that’s something you’re concerned about.

Do I want my money back? No. My son loved it, too, but he’s 13 so keep that in mind. If I want to watch a Godzilla movie, however, I’ll go back to Minus One. The door is left open for another sequel, and all the problems with this movie can be fixed with a tighter, more focused script. Hopefully the third installment returns to the glory of the first.