You may have heard of the common sickness that runs through the blood of much of the Hollywood machine that goes simply by the name of sequelitis. Strains of the infection can range from elongated franchises that just can’t quit the chase for the next quick buck, or one off sequels that leave many asking, “Did this really need to happen?” in so many instances. Needless to say, anytime a potential sequel for anything swings by the rumor mill in the realm of filmmaking, reactions are likely to be more skeptical than not. These truths only make the spectacular splendor of director/writer Takashi Yamazaki’s return to Kaiju spectacle with Godzilla Minus Zero not only just a great sequel, but one that puts so much American blockbuster filmmaking to shame.
Godzilla Minus One was always going to be a tough sequel to meet in quality, let alone remotely surpass, but Yamazaki delivers nearly everything you’d want out of a sequel to such a landmark feature film for the famous kaiju. Every kaiju fight, expansive action set-piece, or flight sequence never loses an ounce of unreal scale or thunderous weight, and the shell-shocking moments of harrowing spectacle only make the well interspersed stretches of palpable drama between our main characters left to pick up the pieces after WWII atomic devastation and fallout hit even harder. Simply put, Godzilla Minus Zero is a true best case scenario for a sequel of this magnitude, one that’s just as relentlessly thrilling as it is deeply saddening and somber within its core of pure devastation.
The sequel takes place 2 years after our heroes had seemingly plunged Godzilla to his presumed death at the bottom of the sea at the end of Minus One. Former Kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who delivered the final blow to the giant scaly lizard in the previous film, is attempting to rebuild any sense of normalcy post the destruction along with the entirety of Japan. He has since wed with Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe) and the two care for their orphaned child Akiko (Sae Nagatani).
Elsewhere, Dr. Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) is heading a new Disaster Response Department alongside meteorologist, Makoto Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa) and biologist Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka) to help Japan recover, but alas, any short lived peace that was is crushed with the arrival of another destructive and flying kaiju Ghidorah. Our heroes throw every strategy possible at the Ghidorah, but the creature just continues to evolve in size and prowess leaving harrowing trails of destruction in its wake. Then suddenly, Godzilla reemerges from the depths of the sea, and what’s seen as a true worst case scenario quickly becomes a last resort as our heroes realize Godzilla may just be the only answer left to Ghidorah’s paths of devastation.
One may think it’s easy to just say seeing two giant monsters duke it out on a ginormous screen is amazing in itself (which, of course, it can be), but the ways in which Yamazaki frames any moment that the kaiju’s are present on screen makes you realize just how much we take for granted when VFX are utilized as a true aid to the spectacle rather than a jarring crutch. One of the biggest issues within the Legendary Pictures monsterverse Godzilla movies (and many CGI heavy blockbusters in general) is how weightless they are when anything of consequence is unfolding. Sure, you can see the monsters fight, but there exist little to no scale to their presence throughout their appearances which leads to the experience being less immersive in general. In both Minus One and Zero Yamazaki has more than proven himself as a near perfectionist at capturing the sobering weight and scale of the stakes present anytime the kaijus are or are not on the screen.
Every thundering stomp or roar you can always feel within the deepest bones of your body, every ball of blue fire breath feels will make you quake, it’s truly unreal to witness, especially in the towering aspect ratio of an IMAX screen which this utilizes incredibly. The film also knows how to properly balance the genuine seriousness within the family and human drama throughout the narrative alongside the depth defying action in the skies or the battered and bruised streets of an aftermath that still percolates in a haunting fashion. Godzilla isn’t even a huge part of the narrative until the breathtaking action of the 3rd act, but the reason why the the set pieces and seamless one-take shots to epic entrances are so effective is because of the inner humanity that lies at the center of its story through the fallout of such a ravaged world.
The film is also truly brutal and not just in kaiju’s ripping each other’s limbs off but within the showcase of pure suffering we witness within the decimation from Hiroshima bombing flashbacks or gargantuan rampages these creatures go on. Endless tragedy and the response towards it is at the core of Godzilla Minus Zero thematically, but it manages to be even more so literally in the aftermath of every set piece. A highlight sequence being a flight with Shikishima in the air seeing floating debris and homes in the sky from Ghidorah antigravity abilities and witnessing women and children scream at the top of their lungs before falling to horrific deaths. These moments make the presence of Ghidorah in particular truly terrifying, and Naoki Sato’s relentless string based score within Ghidorah’s theme only amplifies that.
What still makes Godzilla Minus Zero truly compelling though is the sobering human drama at its center, and the haunting reality of the aftermath of things even when the war is seemingly in the rearview mirror. It would be so easy for the sequel to fall into the trap of redux some of its thematic beats but they all feel completely evolved here. The grief and survivor’s guilt is still present within Koichi, Kenji, even Noriko, post her just barely surviving a Godzilla atomic blast from the first film, but they’re only further amplified by the harsh traumas of atomic war Yamazaki delves into here.
The fantasies of revenge against the America that Kanji dreams of after witnessing the charred bodies of his family post the Hiroshima bombing first hand, the future of weapons of mass destruction wanting to be kept within an iron grip by nations, and the ever present bleakness that we try to keep from our youngest when we know we’ll never be able to preserve their innocence forever. It’s a sequel engraved in such a tragically somber reality of our ever present reality of ever present eco-disaster that doesn’t have a conclusion and in makes Godzilla Minus Zero a blockbuster bathed in as much thrilling action as it is aching heartbreak, especially in its final scenes.
Godzilla Minus Zero is the rare breed of sequel that evolves in quality in virtually every aspect of its predecessor in such an unbelievable way. It doesn’t always keep complete hold of its thematic ambitions but that doesn’t make its sheer prowess any less jaw dropping as an incredible feat of truly propulsive filmmaking, capturing gob-smacking spectacle and sobering traumatic drama in equal measure that will leave you with many tears flowing down your face and your jaw sore from it being agape for so much of the runtime.
