Hey there! Before you read this, here’s a SPOILER ALERT!
In this review, I will discuss a pretty significant plot point not overtly shown in trailers, but is revealed within the first minute of runtime. If you wish to be surprised, close this tab and come back later.
Back in 2023, Godzilla Minus One hit theaters and was nothing short of a miracle. Acting as the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the big angry lizard, the movie eschewed the monster battling tropes which one typically associates with the franchise, instead delivering a movie which harkened back to the original. The film embraced the origins of the 1954 classic, presenting a movie that — while it owed a lot to Jaws — used the Kaiju as a giant walking, stomping metaphor for the trauma, destruction and rebirth in Japan post World War II.
The results were astounding, somehow balancing a crowd-pleasing action blockbuster with heavier themes and featuring astonishing effects (which makes sense, given that it was directed by visual effects artist Takashi Yamazaki). Audiences responded in kind, generating $116 Million in box office worldwide — the largest ever for a proper Toho Godzilla film — and a visual effects Oscar award.
So how does one follow it up?
It’s time to smash some monsters together.
That’s right — in a somehow quietly kept twist, the movie’s antagonist isn’t a freshly revived Godzilla returning from the depths of the sea (though he does return here), but a new interpretation of classic monster Ghidorah.
We’re now two years since the events of Godzilla Minus One, and our heroes have moved on. Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Noriko (Minami Hamabe) remain together, as she survived the traumas of the first film, raising their adopted daughter Akiko. Mr. Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), having contained the threat of Godzilla, now works as the director of the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau. The sudden emergence of another massive creature sets them back on a path together — Koichi being the lone pilot who has faced anything like this before, Noda being the one who had lead the successful effort against Godzilla, and Noriko…having a unique connection to the prior event.
They’re matched with new characters — Dr. Murakami (Min Tanaka), a biologist who survived the Hiroshima attacks, and was there for Ghidorah’s first attack, and Makoto (Masami Nagasawa), a meteorologist recruited by the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau, whose innate storm tracking skills become valuable in tracking Ghidorah’s path. Min Tanaka’s work is particularly great here, balancing the work of a composed researcher with the grief he carries after the atomic bomb attack.
Of course, while all this is happening and Japan is again under attack, from the waters returns Godzilla himself. As you can guess, the best plan to solve the flying dragon problem is another giant monster, and that’s where the battle begins.
Godzilla Minus Zero is a textbook sequel — for good and for ill — Yamazaki again brings amazing direction and effects, but the script’s reach exceeds its grasp. Trying to tie a more action focused story with the lingering effects of the post World War II rebuild, American resentment and PTSD is a difficult task, and in the end only mostly succeeds. You really can’t have it all. But when the action hits, it hits well — this is the first Japanese production made for IMAX, and Yamazaki along with cinematographer Kozo Shibasaki make every setpiece sing, with active camera movements, clear framing, and just gorgeous composition. Additionally, the score is a highlight the returning Naoki Sato combining the traditional bombast of the series with something more minimal and affecting.
One true surprise, however? How damned loud this movie was. My Apple Watch warned me multiple times of high decibel ranges, even more than during this Summer’s release of The Odyssey, which was plenty loud. So, if you’re sensitive, you may want to pack some earplugs to muffle it a bit. The movie’s subtitled, so you won’t miss much during the quieter scenes.
At the end of the day, even with my quibbles, Godzilla Minus Zero is exactly the sort of experience I go to the movies for. An epic adventure that can only be accomplished in the medium — there was a section during the film where my jaw hurt from smiling, so enthralled and amazed I was with the film. Though he owes much to Steven Spielberg, Takashi Yamazaki has quickly become a must follow director for me, and if you adored Godzilla Minus One, seeing Godzilla Minus Zero is a must. Especially big and loud in IMAX.
Godzilla Minus Zero hits theaters this Friday, November 6th, 2026.