If you didn’t see Godzilla Minus One a couple of years ago, then what is wrong with you? Don’t be scared of the subtitles, get your butt in motion and give that film a watch. It had a lot of positives going for it, including feeling actually scary at points, and in general, I just love it when the common people come together to solve obstacles.
And now, just three years later, we have Godzilla Minus Zero, set just two years after the first film. Spoilers for those who didn’t see the first one, but, Godzilla gets destroyed and everyone is happy. But, we also got to see that his skin was regenerating under the ocean. But Godzilla doesn’t matter now. Our heroes from the last film (Minami Hamabe, Ryûnosuke Kamiki) are happy and raising their new daughter to the best of their ability.
Unfortunately, after a meteor strikes down in the mountains, one that is being researched for having biological specimens inside of it, a very large dragon like being pops out and starts destroying the nearby city. Who would have guessed, another unique monster terrorizing Japan? They call this guy Ghidorah, and the Natural Disaster department still led by Mr. Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) is on the case to try and figure out. And this time they have more resources at their disposal, they will have some help from the United States government!
Hopefully with bigger weapons, this becomes no problem at all to solve… Also starring Jun Kunimura and Sakura Andô.
Last time he chased boats, this time we get planes!
For those who are worried about the great first film getting a sequel, I can go ahead and clear some of those qualms. This film delivers in many ways, albeit with a different focus. We get even more survivor’s guilt, and the feeling of having limited time on this planet and what one should do with it. There are people looking for revenge in the strangest of places, and those who just want to run when the going gets tough, especially if they felt they have done enough. And maybe more importantly, we get some very great action sequences, this time including dangerous things that can fly!
Quite a few moments in the film during these clashes had me pretty shocked with what they were able to think of when deciding where this story would go. No city was safe from destruction, and every plan was going to be full of human ingenuity. And really, that is always what I want to see in a movie. Groups of regular people giving it all, even their lives, to try to save others. That human spirit is something worth celebrating, and this gives us it in troves, without making “sacrifice” actually necessary most of the time.
And heck, those monsters at time feel very scary. Some of the characters have that plot armor on at all times, but even though it is true, I still feel the danger surrounding them.
I think the first film did this all a little bit better, but this was entertaining in its own right for giving us something similar. If there is one thing I really hated, it is how the parents treated their poor daughter. I was frequently left confused as to why they made certain decisions, and it seems like they were made purely to make the audience sad, when in reality, I can’t imagine any parent doing what they (consistently) did. Big shame on them, big shame.