Minus Zero Misses the Point

2 stars

Bottom line: When I go see a Godzilla movie, I expect to see a lot of Godzilla. I don’t care whether the famous kaiju is brought to life with the latest CGI or by a guy in a rubber suit. I want to see the star with his name in the title rage against the world that created him. Or, at the very least, woke him up from his deep prehistoric sleep.

And that means keeping the supporting cast of kaiju creatures in their supporting role. Don’t cram a bunch of pretenders into the movie, and I’m looking at you, Ghidorah, just to give Godzilla someone to fight against in the end or to sell more toys to the kiddies and collectors. 

And, while it’s important to add the human element in terms of scientists trying desperately to save the world while it’s still standing, that doesn’t mean I want to watch some little kid screaming and crying in a screech that rivals Godzilla’s powerful roar.

Unfortunately, writer/director Takashi Yamazaki breaks all my rules in his latest kaiju adventure, Godzilla Minus Zero. It’s a sequel to his 2023 global smash, Godzilla Minus One, which not only gave the world an updated, enhanced lead creature, but also made sure his star got plenty of screen time from the very start. The innovative, Oscar-winning visual style he and his team developed for the film thrilled fans, especially when Godzilla rose from the sea. There’s nothing to compare to that in the sequel. The big battle scenes are chaotic, but that’s about it. 

The gaps between the fight scenes are filled with the drama of the Shikishima family – Koichi Shikishima, Noriko Oishi, and their adopted daughter, Akiko. Koichi, the hero of the first film, is still a neurotic mess who never wants to fly again, while Oishi fights the G cells – Godzilla cells – that are causing kaiju ridges to grow on her back and her eye to turn a cool golden color. As the two kaiju monsters start destroying Tokyo (again), the adults have to put their fears aside to save the world, which is heroic and commendable. Their constant struggle to make Akikio stop crying, however, is a losing battle that makes fighting giant monsters look like the perfect parental escape. (It may be cruel, but it’s hard not to root for Akiko and Godzilla to run into each other before the movie ends, maybe in the next one.)

Human drama and massive destruction are woven together in any giant monster movie, but there’s a balance that needs to be struck to keep audiences interested in the former while waiting for the latter. Again, Godzilla Minus Zero misses the mark. For example, after Ghidorah finishes his first round of destruction, he goes off to take a nap. It’s the perfect opportunity for the Japanese army to drop the big bomb the American army has ‘loaned’ to them. But instead, there’s a lot of talking about doing it without anybody speaking out that they should attack while the monster is sleeping. It’s a total, tedious fumble by the filmmakers. They don’t have to kill Ghidorah; just wake him up enough to get pissed off and start wrecking things again. The audience would love it because that’s what they’re there for. It pulled me right out of the story.