NYFF Film Review: ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is a Sequel That’s Bigger (and Often Better) in Nearly Every Way

It was shocking how good Godzilla Minus One turned out to be. Taking the monster movie back to basics resulted in an incredibly satisfying, visual splendid, and surprisingly complex experience. Now, with Godzilla Minus Zero, the flick is bigger in basically every single way. Is it better? Often yes, sometimes no, and offers up a real building of what’s come before. Playing as a special presentation at the New York Film Festival, you just don’t get blockbusters like this in general, let alone in a festival environment.

Godzilla Minus Zero raises the stakes and increases the scale/spectacle, resulting in one of the most epic Godzilla movies to date. Whereas the recent Hollywood franchise has gotten sillier and sillier, this series is getting more and more somber, which few blockbuster sequels would even dare to do. Occasionally, you’ll wish for a bit more action, but when the kaiju destruction is underway, nothing can compare. There’s certainly more here, and while there’s less of a nuanced approach to the politics of the story, the size of it is massively impressive.

Set in 1949, a few years after the last film, Japan is once again facing the wrath of a kaiju, one that appears even more dangerous than Godzilla (I’m keeping the identity of the monster spoiler-free, as that was the director’s wishes at the NYFF screening, but…you can figure it out). Given the threat faced by this monster, Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), the government’s Disaster Countermeasures Bureau head, begins crafting a response. Along with meteorological expert Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa) and Professor Murakami (Min Tanaka), they want to figure out an alternative to the devastating bomb that the American military has provided.

Recruiting former kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), now living a quiet life with Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and young Akiko (Sae Nagatani), to advise the mission, they only succeed in making the beast even more dangerous. Then, Godzilla rises from the ocean, fully regenerated from the prior movie and rather ornery. Murakami thinks that this is humanity’s only hope, though controlling Godzilla in any way is hardly an easy task. Eventually, the two kaiju must collide, with potentially cataclysmic results.

The cast gets way more screen time than you’d expect, which does help to invest you in the story. The performances are very solid, if not necessarily anything to write home about. Hidetaka Yoshioka actually has the most screen time, though the emotional arc is provided by Ryûnosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe. In addition to Masami Nagasawa (a bit under-served), Sae Nagatani (a bit grating), and Min Tanaka (occasionally going bigger than you’d expect), the supporting cast also includes Sakura Ando, Jun Kunimura, and more.

Filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki again showcases his love of the property, this time taking his serious and visual approach and applying it to the format of a Godzilla sequel. Despite a bit less nuance this time around and a running time that could have been trimmed, this feels truly like an epic blockbuster. As good as Godzilla Minus One looked, Godzilla Minus Zero looks even better, as Yamazaki is again a wizard at making the effects look ten times the price tag. Whether this is it for his run with the franchise or not, he’s made it so any massive project he’s involved with is worth paying attention to.

Godzilla Minus Zero should delight any fan of the franchise, as it builds upon the last flick in some interesting ways. Again, I wish there was a bit more depth and nuance, alongside slightly more consistent pacing, but when this one is firing on all cylinders, it’s a blockbuster unlike almost any other. If there’s another sequel to be made, count me in. If this is it, we’ve had the two best Godzilla movies back to back, and how cool is that?

SCORE: ★★★1/2