'Godzilla Minus Zero' review: Bigger monsters, familiar destruction in an entertaining but underwhelming sequel
Courtesy of Gkids
Two years removed from one of the best reinventions of the “Godzilla” franchise in decades, writer-director and visual effects wizard Takashi Yamazaki returns with “Godzilla Minus Zero,” an ambitious, occasionally exhilarating sequel that feels like the middle chapter of a planned trilogy. There’s certainly no shortage of destruction, and Yamazaki still knows how to make these larger-than-life creatures feel genuinely terrifying, but the novelty that made “Godzilla Minus One” such an invigorating experience has understandably diminished. Where its predecessor managed to breathe new life into the kaiju genre by finding enormous spectacle within a relatively intimate story, this follow-up occasionally struggles to find something equally compelling to say. It’s a bigger movie in practically every respect, though not necessarily a better one.
Part of what made “Minus One” so effective, and what ultimately keeps “Minus Zero” from becoming just another redundant monster slugfest (though, admittedly, it is that), was the grounded human drama at its center. Here was a movie that took seriously the emotional and physical consequences of a giant lizard pulverizing entire cities and decimating their populations. The destruction wasn’t simply an excuse to show off the visual effects, but an extension of the trauma already endured by a country attempting to rebuild itself in the aftermath of World War II. It was brutal, devastating stuff, with implications that extended beyond the usual monster-movie theatrics to evoke the lasting scars of war and other catastrophes that have claimed countless innocent lives.
Much of that same thematic groundwork carries over into “Minus Zero,” although the connections to the atomic bombings of the 1940s are considerably less subtle this time around. The movie can be a little melodramatic in its attempts to reinforce those ideas, but Yamazaki understands that the destruction only matters if we’re invested in the people caught in its path. It’s in their efforts to reconcile the horrors of the past with the terrifying new reality of their present that the film finds its strongest emotional footing, even when the surrounding spectacle begins to feel awfully familiar.
“Minus Zero” opens two years after the events of its predecessor, with Godzilla seemingly defeated and left for dead somewhere in the depths of the ocean. Of course, anyone familiar with these movies knows that another monster can’t be too far behind, and this time it’s the three-headed dragon Ghidorah, who arrives to pulverize Matsumoto City in a blistering opening sequence that immediately establishes the stakes. Yamazaki wastes little time throwing us into the thick of the destruction, and while there’s something undeniably thrilling about watching Ghidorah reduce a populated city to rubble, the sequence also illustrates one of the sequel’s shortcomings. “Minus One” was so effective because it methodically built toward these moments, allowing the dread to accumulate before unleashing its titular monster. Here, we’re practically dropped into the carnage before we’ve had much opportunity to settle back into this world.
Granted, it’s difficult to replicate that sense of discovery a second time around, especially when audiences already know what these creatures are capable of. Still, the predictability becomes harder to ignore as the movie gradually moves toward one of the most familiar developments in these movies: humanity must learn to coexist with the very monster that once terrorized it in order to defeat an even greater threat. It’s a perfectly serviceable premise, but one that also raises the question of how much mileage can be squeezed out of Godzilla’s transformation from an unstoppable force of destruction into mankind’s reluctant protector.
Thankfully, Yamazaki doesn’t lose sight of the characters who helped distinguish the previous film. We’re reunited with former kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), his wife Noriko (Minami Hamabe), and their adorable daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani), whose relationships provided “Minus One” with much of its emotional weight. They’re attempting to reclaim some semblance of normalcy amid the physical and psychological rubble of postwar Japan, although the possibility of another catastrophe makes that increasingly difficult.
Noriko, in particular, has more than enough reason to worry. Having barely survived the events of the previous film, she’s now experiencing the consequences of the mysterious regenerative properties of the so-called “Godzilla cells” that helped save her life. What initially seemed like a miraculous scientific discovery has begun producing some rather unsettling side effects, including the appearance of scales, spikes protruding from her shoulders, and an increasingly unnatural yellow tint to her eyes. It’s an intriguing development that gives the film a more personal manifestation of its central conflict. Even when the monsters are nowhere to be seen, their presence continues to alter the lives and bodies of those who survived them. Noriko’s condition also complicates the notion that humanity can simply put the past behind it, especially when Professor Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) arrives with the troubling news that another Godzilla-like creature has made landfall in Japan.
All of this sets the stage for a slew of thrilling sequences, the best of which involves Koichi and his squadron attempting a daring aerial sneak attack against a sleeping Ghidorah while using an approaching thunderstorm to their advantage. It’s a terrific set piece that makes weather conditions an integral part of the action rather than merely an atmospheric flourish. Oddly enough, it reminded me of the Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser clunker “Pressure” from earlier this year, and how much more entertaining that movie might have been if its characters had been tasked with predicting weather patterns to stop giant monsters instead. Yamazaki hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to staging these aerial encounters, finding a terrific balance between the sheer enormity of the creatures and the vulnerability of the humans foolish enough to challenge them. It’s the kind of filmmaking that elevates an otherwise routine monster movie into something considerably more engaging.
The performances remain solid across the board, too, particularly from Kamiki and Hamabe, whose relationship continues to give the increasingly outlandish proceedings some much-needed emotional grounding. And really, hearing Akira Ifukube’s original “Godzilla” theme accompanying these magnificent beasts will never fail to send a chill down my spine. Yamazaki clearly has an affection for the franchise’s long history, and there’s something admirable about how seriously he approaches material that could so easily descend into outright silliness.
Yet for all the visual flourish and craftsmanship on display, there’s no escaping the redundancy of it all. How many times have we watched Godzilla roar back from the jaws of defeat, only to engage in another city-leveling showdown with some equally destructive adversary? There’s an amusing contradiction in watching humanity rally behind a creature that, not long ago, was responsible for unimaginable suffering, and while the movie makes an effort to reconcile that uneasy alliance, it doesn’t entirely escape the familiar mechanics of the genre. At times, “Minus Zero” plays like a greatest-hits compilation, recycling the franchise’s most dependable ingredients without finding enough new ways to make them resonate.
That doesn’t make it a bad movie, of course, but it does make it a surprisingly conventional one. “Godzilla Minus One” had the benefit of reintroducing a familiar property with a renewed sense of purpose, much in the same way “Batman Begins” found fresh dramatic possibilities in a character audiences thought they already knew inside and out. “Minus Zero” has the considerably tougher assignment of following through on that reinvention, and while it delivers enough spectacle and emotional investment to remain worthwhile, it rarely reaches the same heights.
There’s still plenty of swagger here, and Yamazaki’s command of scale and destruction puts much of the American MonsterVerse output to shame. But there’s a difference between making a monster movie that’s technically impressive and one that makes you feel as though you’re experiencing something genuinely new. “Godzilla Minus Zero” is certainly the former, and there’s enough here to suggest Yamazaki still has a few tricks up his sleeve. For now, though, the monsters have gotten bigger while the sense of wonder has gotten a little smaller.
Grade: B
GODZILLA MINUS ZERO is now playing in theaters.
Comments