Honestly, I didn't think any Godzilla movie could ever top Godzilla Minus One since it quickly became my favorite Godzilla movie of all time, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. Its sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, is my NEW favorite Godzilla film.
I know what you're probably thinking: Oh, you must not be a real Godzilla fan. You probably got into the character with the MonsterVerse. But no, pump the brakes, buddy, since I've been a Godzilla fan since before I can remember. I've watched every Godzilla movie from every era (yes, even the animated ones), and I've even called Godzilla the greatest character in cinematic history! So, yeah. I'm a guy who loves his Godzilla.
So, when I say that Godzilla Minus Zero is the greatest Godzilla movie I've ever seen, I mean it! Here's why.
Oh, and major spoilers up ahead.
The Human Drama This Time Around Might Be Even Better Than Minus One
I think anybody who loved Godzilla Minus One will tell you that the reason that movie was so successful was that it focused on the human characters and made Godzilla more of a background character. Minus Zero doubles down on that (Some might even say to the film’s detriment, but not me!).
This time around, Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Noriko (Minami Hamabe) are married, and they’ve taken Akiko (Sae Nagatani) in as their adopted daughter. Noriko currently helps out in an orphanage for children who have lost their parents to Godzilla and the war, and a lot of the children there resent Akiko for having parents. Heavy stuff!
We also get a new character in Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka), who has survivor’s guilt due to the death of his family in the bombing of Hiroshima, as well as a returning Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), who is now the director of the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau. Another new character is Makoto Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa), a meteorologist who links kaiju appearances to the weather. Both she and Noda also have a great deal of guilt, which seems to be a theme of both of these Minus films - what do you do with your guilt? Do you let it sink you, or do you use it to push you forward to help others?
All of this is to say that even though this is a movie that ALSO has Godzilla fighting King Ghidorah to the death, the human characters still take center stage, and the movie is all the better for it.
I Have Never Seen A Film Where IMAX Is An Absolute MUST Like This One
I know there are a lot of movies that tout that they were made specifically with IMAX in mind (And I’ll definitely be checking out The Prestige now that it’s coming back in that format), but honestly, I can’t name a single movie where IMAX was just as instrumental to the film as, say, 3D was for Avatar. Until now, that is, because Godzilla Minus Zero is SUCH an amazing movie in IMAX that I honestly couldn’t think of seeing it in any other format.
In fact, I’ve now seen the movie twice - once by myself, and once with my nine-year-old son (I HAD to see it twice since it’s rated R and I needed to know if it was appropriate for him…don’t get me started on that one), and both times, I was blown away by how LOUD the movie can get, and also by just how enormous the kaiju are on the big screen, most notably with Ghidorah.
There’s even one scene in particular involving Ghidorah chasing after planes that really, genuinely put me on the edge of my seat, and a lot of it was due to the sights and sounds on such a massive screen. My son said that scene made his legs shake, and I don’t blame him. I was genuinely on edge myself.
This also goes for the final fight, which really does feel like one big battlefield on such a large screen. As I said up top, I’ve seen every Godzilla movie, but this is the first that really made me feel like I was witnessing an actual disaster. I guess that’s the power of IMAX.
This Has My Favorite Godzilla Battle Ever
Oh, man. I know I initially wanted Hedorah to be Godzilla’s main antagonist in this movie, but I take that back a million times over, since King Ghidorah was just the bee’s knees. I’m talking out of sight, Jack (Okay, I’ll stop now). A major complaint I’ve seen online is that Godzilla isn’t in this movie nearly enough, but I couldn’t disagree more. When Godzilla arrives, he takes ALL of your attention, and his battle at the end with King Ghidorah is by far my favorite Godzilla battle ever.
First off, I love the close-up of Godzilla’s eyes when he sees Ghidorah. I have never seen Godzilla more pissed off in my life (Well, besides in Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack). And then, the battle itself is so intense. Ghidorah starts ripping Godzilla apart, and he even picks him up and drops him.
As often happens, Godzilla gets his butt whooped at first, but then rallies to victory. But this time, the human characters are directly connected to his success, which again, makes the human story so closely tied to the battle. The best part, though, was Godzilla doing ultra MEGA atomic breath. With the soaring soundtrack, it was just heaven.
So, yeah, even though I kind of didn’t want Godzilla to face off against another foe initially, I now think this is the best and most interesting Godzilla movie yet, and this final kaiju battle - which Minus One was lacking - definitely helped.
I Also Cried -Literally Cried! - Watching A Godzilla Movie
Lastly, even though I loved Minus One with my full heart and soul, I still didn’t get so emotionally invested in it that I cried while watching it. However, there were several moments in Minus Zero where I genuinely cried.
Now, the first time was with the aforementioned scene where Ghidorah was chasing airplanes. I’ve loved Godzilla my entire life, but I’ve never felt genuine dread watching a kaiju as I did with King Ghidorah in that scene. It was so glorious that I had tears in my eyes by the end of it, and was smiling from ear to ear. Another moment was when Kanji Murakami was banging his head over and over again in his lab over the guilt of his family. I know Japanese Godzilla films are often allegories for the destruction of the atomic bomb, but this one spelled it out even more clearly. Such a powerful scene.
It was at the end, though, when Akiko’s parents came back to the orphanage just to say that they were leaving, that the waterworks really came for me. In fact, I’m lucky the movie was so loud because people would have heard me sniffing if it wasn’t. When she called them liars, but then wished them safe travels, thinking that she would never see them again, I just couldn’t take it. I cried, dammit. I cried!
It’s for that reason and more that I genuinely don’t think I’ll see a better film this year. Godzilla Minus One was my favorite movie of 2023, and I’m pretty sure Minus Zero will be my favorite movie of 2026. I can’t see anything else beating it. It was just that damn good! Best. Godzilla movie. Ever!
