‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ proves bigger can be better

Sequels tend to fall into one of three categories – a worthy continuation of the story, an OK follow-up, or a disgrace to their predecessor.

Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One” was a major success, exploring post-World War II trauma and survivor’s guilt while giving its titular monster less than 12 minutes of screen time.

Made on a reported budget of under US$15 million, that film went on to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Yet its theatrical release was patchy, and it never received a regular cinema run in most of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia. (Those who missed it can still catch it on Netflix.)

So, what’s new in Yamazaki’s second outing for Toho Studios’ seven-decade-old franchise? With a bigger budget to play with, it has clearly put its faith in the director to prove that lightning can strike twice. And in this sequel, it strikes multiple times.

Set in 1949, two years after the devastating events of the previous film, “Minus Zero” jumps straight into the emergence of a new terror. This time around, Yamazaki gives audiences a little more of a creature origin story to sink their teeth into.

Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) returns with his familiar nerdy charm, now as head of the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau. He receives the latest intel from Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka), who witnessed the new kaiju’s appearance firsthand.

Murakami may at first seem like a man willing to do whatever it takes to save Japan, but the horrors of his past as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing gradually unravel throughout the film.

Through him, “Minus Zero” explores the resentment some post-war survivors continued to harbour towards the United States.

The plot kicks into gear with a plan to take down the new kaiju, which once again involves a pilot: Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), now celebrated by the public as the man who defeated Godzilla in the first movie.

Minami Hamabe also returns as Noriko Oishi, this time in a larger role that helps drive the plot without feeling forced.

Before the runtime even reaches the halfway mark, the ragtag team hatches a plan that seems to work, then fails, then somehow makes things worse. It’s a beat very similar to the first film.

A larger plan then takes shape, as one might expect – though thankfully, the third act takes a far more nuanced and believable approach than 2014’s “Godzilla”, wherein Ken Watanabe’s Dr Serizawa famously declares: “Let them fight.”

The human drama, so often the weakest part of a kaiju film, works especially well here. The story is a reminder that war rarely spares the vulnerable, who often end up bearing its heaviest costs.

It may also help explain why “Godzilla Minus Zero” became the first film in the franchise to receive an R rating in the US. This is definitely not one for the kids.

The cast delivers in every scene, with the newcomers holding their own. The pacing, however, can drag, with some scenes feeling drawn out – very much in the style of a Japanese soap opera.

That may be part of the charm for some viewers, but for an international blockbuster, a tighter edit wouldn’t have hurt.

Design-wise, the production goes all out, with bigger sets and crisper CGI. Godzilla looks larger and meaner, while the close-ups are far more striking than before.

Even with a bigger budget, it remains remarkable that the film achieves this level of spectacle for a fraction of what a Hollywood blockbuster would normally cost.

“Minus Zero” is also the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX, shot entirely in Japan using IMAX-certified cameras, with 75 minutes presented in the format’s expanded aspect ratio.

Those scenes do exactly what they’re meant to: pull viewers right into the action. If possible, catch it on an IMAX screen.

There has been plenty of online chatter about the sound mix practically bursting eardrums, and it isn’t entirely exaggerated. Polyphemus’s scream in “The Odyssey” may have been ridiculously loud, but Godzilla’s roar takes the cake.

Thankfully, there’s more to the soundscape than sheer volume. Naoki Sato returns after scoring “Minus One” and re-orchestrates the classic themes by legendary Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube.

Sato’s music carries the weight of the human drama, while Ifukube’s themes, which have heralded the monster since 1954, give Godzilla’s biggest moments a sense of history and dread. For all its modern spectacle, “Minus Zero” knows exactly where it comes from.

The climactic battle cements the film as home to one of the best kaiju fights put on the big screen in recent memory. Some may find it too short, but every shot feels intentional and does enough.

Ultimately, “Godzilla Minus Zero” is that rare sequel that lands squarely in the first category: bigger, louder and bloodier, but still anchored by the human cost that made its predecessor so special.

For Malaysian fans who never got to see “Minus One” on the big screen, this is your long-awaited chance. Find the biggest screen you can – but maybe bring some earplugs.

As of press time, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.

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