Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando, Miou Tanaka
Would you rather find cat turds in your garden or rat droppings in your kitchen? That's the question post-war Japan asks itself in Godzilla Minus Zero, VFX wiz turned writer/director Takashi Yamazaki's sequel to his acclaimed 2023 blockbuster Godzilla Minus One. Perhaps "Godzilla Plus One" might have been a more apt title for this follow-up, which introduces a second monster into the mix in the form of the three-headed Toho fan favourite Ghidorah. After trampling all over Japan in the previous movie, Godzilla just might be the nation's saviour this time.
It's 1949, two years after the events of the first film, and Japan is beginning to get back on its feet when Ghidorah emerges and starts laying waste to its towns. Returning from the previous movie is Ryunosuke Kamiki as Koichi, who learned to overcome the guilt he felt at refusing to sacrifice himself as a kamikaze pilot during the war, thanks largely to falling for Noriko (Minami Hamabe). The couple are now married and have adopted the adorable moppet Akiko (Sae Nagatani). Koichi has sworn to put his family first, but when Ghidorah pops up he is called back into action by the returning Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), who is now leading the efforts to deal with this new threat.
When the plans to take out the monster prove futile, it seems all may be lost. To make things worse, Godzilla decides to resurrect himself (not now Gojira!). But what if the two monsters could be pitted against each other? What if Godzilla could somehow be controlled?
The answer to the second question involves a key twist that I won't reveal, but it cleverly retcons the previous movie's one stumble, that of Noriko's unlikely survival, and sets things up nicely for further exploration in a third movie.
If we're to assume Yamazaki has a trilogy in mind, Godzilla Minus Zero is very much its Empire Strikes Back. There is a brooding sense throughout of a great darkness on the horizon, largely represented by the American military, who are putting in place nefarious plans to harness the power of Godzilla, possibly sacrificing Japan in the process. This sequel even has a greyer pallete than its predecessor, with much of the action taking place in a Japan that has been reduced to rubble.
The decision to set this rebooted series in the 1940s removes the storytelling inconveniences of today's technology and forces its characters to rely on ingenuity. Godzilla Minus Zero is surprisingly similar in parts to this year's D-Day preparation drama Pressure, with the plot to take down Ghidorah relying on an accurate prediction from a team of weather forecasters. There is also something especially thrilling about seeing WWII era planes buzzing around Ghidorah's three heads. A sequence in which Koichi leads an airforce attack on Ghidorah brought back memories of seeing Star Wars' climactic attack on the Death Star for the first time as a wide-eyed kid, and made me think about how George Lucas was inspired by footage of WWII aerial dogfights for that iconic set-piece.
Once again Yamazaki has embarrassed Hollywood by making his movie with a staggeringly low budget of just $13 million. Every last yen is on the screen here. Like its predecessor, Godzilla Minus Zero is big in a way Hollywood movies rarely are today (certainly not the awful current crop of American Godzilla movies). The action takes place in daylight, allowing us to revel in the monster mash without having to squint our eyes through waves of digital murk. The scale is enhanced by Naoki Satō's booming score, with the piercing screech of his take on the Ghidorah theme putting multiplex speakers through their paces.
If I have a complaint about this sequel it's that the dynamic between Koichi, Noriko and Akiko, which had audiences reaching for hankies in the previous movie, is underwhelming here. The trio proved the heart and soul of Godzilla Minus One, a rare case of a blockbuster making us deeply care about its human characters. Here the found family is used cheaply to generate sympathy, and you can feel your heartstrings being cynically manipulated this time.
But the key relationship here is that between Godzilla and Ghidorah. For those of us who were monster kids, seeing these iconic creatures realised in such convincing fashion makes us understand how superhero fans might have felt seeing their beloved comic books brought to life on screens over the past two decades. Godzilla Minus One was the Dark Knight of Toho monster movies, but thankfully Godzilla Minus Zero is no Dark Knight Rises. It is a thrilling follow-up that will have you itching for a third instalment.
Godzilla Minus Zero is in UK/ROI cinemas from November 3rd.
