I was interested to read Richar Durrance's review of Godzilla Minus Zero over on the UK Anime Network as his breadth of knowledge on Asian cinema literally dwarfs mine. I was surprised that the first film had'nt gripped him as much as it did me, but it does explain why we're on different pages when it comes to our views on it. Finishing with a 7/10 and "Powerfully visceral kaiju scenes are elevated cinema, but it needed a lighter touch to the uneven human drama" I can see what he's driving at.
Let's get one thing clear from the off - Godzilla Minus Zero isn't as good as Minus One, but that was a film so good it broke the needle at what I would have said was an 11/10 movie - so perfectly pitched with tone, story beats and character that it was Jaws writ large - a bunch of men on a boat dealing with an unfathomable monster. It did everything right, it looked ten times its budget and it hit every beat perfectly.
So basically topping it was always going to be a huge order.
And so we have Godzilla Minus Zero, which turns up at full volume showcasing an attack from Ghidorah, a creature that landed on Earth and started to absorb the traits of local wildlife. It goes on visceral and punishing rampage through Matsumoto where a team from the Disaster Response Bureau, headed by the previous film's Professor Kenji Noda (played to perfection by Hidetaki Yoshioka, back with his handsomely mad hair), record the destruction, losing their cameraman but rescuing the footage. It's clear that Godzilla was just one danger among many.
Kenji Noda, a man with an impressive line of shirts with grandad collars and the best hair in film.
After such destruction we return us to Kōichi Shikishima (played by Ryūnosuke Kamiki) and his found family of Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and an orphaned girl named Akiko (which I was delighted to see remains played once again by Sae Nagatani). Seeing the survivors of the previous film back together is instantly heart-warming and their life at last seems to have found a semblance of normal. Of course, this can't last and it's not long before Koichi is approached to advise an aerial attack squadron on how to tackle Ghidorah. The American also make an entrance, using the Japanese as cannon fodder to assess the threat.
I don't want to go into every scene as it deserves to unfold on screen (in my case, glorious IMAX), but suffice to say there are many highlights. We get to see the full destructive potential of Ghidorah's gravity beam as well as evolution to King Ghidorah (and it doesn't stop there). There are many twists and turns as the hapless Japanese heroes have to cobble together strategies and ideas to defend the nation, with little support and an untrustworthy ally. The low-tech solutions of the time are wonderful to see.
Because of the period in which the story is set, not to mention Godzilla's history with the atomic bomb, it's no surprise that resentments and personal tragedies play a huge role in the story's tone and eventual revelations. Having visited the Hiroshima Memorial Museum and seen exhibits such as the letters from dying children (you can't leave the place without tears, honestly) I still have only a fractional notion of the grief that the Japanese people must have felt. However, it's enough to make some scenes in this film bring back the absolute horror of those events and explain the madness suffered by one of the principle antagonists of the film. Some have criticised certain elements of how this is depicted as corny, but that just displays an ignorance of unimaginable grief. I felt it and I sympathised, even if ultimately the message that had to win out was one of trying to stem the cycle of violence, not escalate it.
There are elements of the film that feel a little drawn out, but since I loved all the characters I didn't mind it as much as I would have done with any of Legendary's efforts (which I maintain contain some good outings, Skull Island and King of Monsters in particular). We take some losses which, given a favourite of mine bought the farm, hurt, but then it wouldn't be a film if everyone was wrapped in plot armour. Just like the previous outing, some of the practicalities seem ludicrous (insane winds not blowing everyone off a roof in one instance, or Kōichi flying through a town lifted into the air) but I'm prepared to suspend a little disbelief in a film populated by giant monsters.
Godzilla himself is curiously absent for much of the film, Ghidorah taking most of the screen time, but he is glorious when he surfaces. The creature battles in Minus Zero are arguably better than Minus One in terms of quality and destruction, but I'd also argue that the Kaiju element was more compelling in the first film, as our crew of misfits tracked and fought the big G. It was a lovely nod to see the boat crew Yōji (Kuranosuke Sasaki) and Shirō (Yuki Yamada) appear both in the home of our heroes and once again later in the film. I love their dynamic.
Only one plot element made me feel manipulated in an overt way, and that was with Akiko. Left at an orphanage as her parents accept they must answer the call to fight another monstrous threat, the little girl is absolutely the heart of the film, representing everything our heroes are protecting - a future generation. Akiko is taught that saying "safe journey" is a magic spell to bring her loved ones home, so it's heart-wrenching beyond belief that, toward the end of the film, she's screaming it at her adoptive parents as they prepare to leave her permanently for her own safety. Here I have to give all the credit in the world to young Sae Nagatani who channels so much raw emotion into her performance I well-up just writing about it. Having a daughter myself and putting myself in their position, it really hit hard. Therefore when Koichi and Noriko finally relent (and I put this spoiler in entirely out of necessity to back-up my nitpick), I was a bit miffed that I'd been put through all that for nothing, even if it did hammer home just how much they mean to each other. Gits.
The family dynamic is the heart of the film
But this, in part, explains my difference in opinion to Richard - much of what I felt was brought into the film with me. A personal (albeit removed) insight into the tragedy of Hiroshima and a daughter of my own. These are expressed by the film deftly, but the emotional connection is intensified by experience. So I can't say it will hit as hard for everyone, but for me it really struck an emotional chord.
So in conclusion, Godzilla Minus Zero is another triumph. Skilfully cast, full of human drama and topped off by the best kaiju special effects I've seen to date (though amusing to see a lot of youtube reviews accidentally using shots of Legendary's Ghidorah - whoops!), it's an exemplary film marred only by a slightly uneven pacing and the fact that it has to follow one of the best movies of all time. But we can love both, so find the biggest screen you can and enjoy the ride.
Oh, and special shout out to the lady who brought a big Godzilla toy into the film - loved it!
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