Godzilla Minus Zero - 11/06/26

Godzilla Minus One was a huge critical and commercial success in 2023 - and even won the Best Visual Effects Oscar - so the filmmaking team wasted no time developing a sequel.

The follow-up, Godzilla Minus Zero, is set two years later, in 1949, with our leads Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Noriko (Minami Hamabe) now married and raising their adopted daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani) in postwar Japan.

When a dragon-like kaiju, Ghidorah, appears in Matsumoto City and causes death and destruction, Dr Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), now director of the government's Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau, takes charge of getting rid of the monster.

Noda teams up with pilot Koichi once again, but they soon realise humans are no match for the winged beast. When the regenerated Godzilla re-emerges, they decide to pit the two titans against each other.

The first Japanese movie to be filmed for IMAX, Godzilla Minus Zero is an impressive visual feast that deserves to win another visual effects Oscar. The effects are actually even better this time, with more realistic detail and texture on the creatures, mind-blowingly vast scenes of destruction and two kaiju instead of one.

The action scenes are mostly as exciting, epic and cinematic as its predecessor, but some fall short of what came before, including the final battle. Overall, Godzilla doesn't get enough screen time or moments to shine, considering it's the titular character.

The previous film had a strong mix of thrilling action sequences and a compelling human story, whereas the balance is off here and the human story isn't as interesting. That said, there is a surprising aspect to Noriko's character evolution and an interesting exploration into the long-lasting human impact of the war.

The biggest issue with the first film remains the biggest issue in the sequel. Nobody comes to a monster vs. monster movie expecting great writing and acting, but they are both sub-par here. In particular, the acting is questionable in emotional scenes, preventing them from being effective.

Godzilla Minus Zero is an enjoyable cinematic spectacle with stellar visual effects, but it doesn't live up to its predecessor.

In cinemas from Friday 6th November

By Hannah Wales