Godzilla returns to the big screen in ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’

By Evan Allred

In this newest Godzilla movie, the entirety of the dialogue is in Japanese—going back to the movie series’ roots. The big advancement within the Godzilla movies that takes place in “Godzilla Minus Zero” is the fact that it was filmed for IMAX. This seems to be a growing trend within the film industry, culminating with “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan. 

In this action-packed film, the people of Japan have two big problems on their hands: Ghidorah and Godzilla. These two giant monsters are city-destroyers, and the violence that these creatures wreak is evident all throughout the story. These two monsters seem virtually unfazed by the human efforts, in fact, Ghidorah only grows stronger when the humans fight against him. The choice they make next is very reminiscent of other Godzilla movies: the monsters must fight each other.

Viewing this movie in IMAX is highly preferred to the regular movie theater viewing experience, due to the quality of the visuals and the audio. The roars of Godzilla can likely be heard outside of the theater, and combined with the sheer size of the screen, it can really feel like you are there sitting right in front of him. There should however be some sort of warning for the audience on how loud it can get in this film due to the IMAX audio system, so make sure to plan accordingly.

“Godzilla Minus Zero” is the first Godzilla movie to be rated R, causing a lot of criticism from the audience. However, after watching the film, the reason for the R rating seems to be the increase in violence. One important fact to know that heavily impacts one’s viewing experience is the fact that Godzilla is heavily influenced by the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima. This is important to the plot because Dr. Murakami (Min Tanaka) wants nothing but revenge for the actions of the U.S.

“Godzilla Minus Zero” delves deep into the theme of family and loss, which might impact the strong R-rating. The main family in the film, father, Shikishama (Ryûnosuke Kamiki); mother, Noriko (Minami Hamabe); and daughter, Akiko (Sae Nagatani) are drug into the fight, as they are forced to choose between protecting their family and fleeing, or protecting the world and fighting the Kaiju  (translated giant monster in Japanese culture). This familial dynamic in the film tugs on the heartstrings of the audience as they are also deep into the huge destructive fights of the Kaiju.

“Godzilla Minus Zero” does a fantastic job of mixing themes of intense action and tender aspects of love and loss. The audience is forced to look upon the destruction of the Kaiju in a way that they never have before. In previous films, many members of the audience might cheer for the monsters and their destruction. But in this particular film, that becomes much more difficult. Seeing the emotional and physical distress that these monsters cause to the people of Japan makes the audience cheer in unison when the humans are fighting these monsters.

There are definitely underlying themes of the destruction of war and the value of peace in this film. This theme of war is not as clear as the other themes, but it is clear that these monsters represent the destruction and tragedy of war, as these families plead for the ruin to stop. The people want the Kaiju to go away so that they can live in peace. However, some in the higher ranks want to use the Kaiju for destructive purposes in war, blurring the lines of who the monsters really are. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this film to any moviegoer, not just fans of the Godzilla franchise. This movie caters to all people, and that seems to be the goal of the producers by returning to the Japanese language, and using English subtitles. I would suggest viewing the film in IMAX, and would want to make the audience aware of the English subtitles, as that is not a normal aspect of a film that many Americans think about. I would also predict that this film will certainly win some awards and that this is one of the movies of the year.

“Godzilla Minus Zero” is currently playing in theaters

Evan Allred is a fourth-year MDiv and writer for Cedars in the Arts & Entertainment department. He definitely does not fancy his chances in a fight against Godzilla in a Japanese kamikaze plane.

Images courtesy of Toho Studios