Godzilla Minus Zero Movie Review 4DX: A Thrilling Ride

Introduction (Warning Contains Spoilers)

As a massive Godzilla fan, Godzilla Minus Zero was one of my most highly anticipated movies of the year.

After Godzilla Minus One was such a massive hit and took us back to the terrifying roots of the iconic Japanese creature, I was excited to see how writer and director, Takashi Yamazaki, would continue on with the series.

You can check out my review of Godzilla minus One here

With the introduction of King Ghidorah into the franchise, the potential for an epic monster battle was there.

I was also excited to watch this in 4DX, as I was hoping to get the best out of this movie with the moving seats, environment effect and vibrations.

However, once the monsters do appear, it really is incredible. Unfortunately this film just didn’t live up to the original.

Although the VFX are brilliant and the final battle is an amazing spectacle, the story is dragged out, there’s too much drama and not enough monster action for me.

Returning to a Devastated Japan

Set in 1949, two years after Godzilla Minus One, Godzilla Minus Zero sees Japan still trying to recover from the destruction caused by the Second World War and Godzilla’s attack.

The film returns to Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Noriko Ōishi (Minami Hamabe), who are trying to make a life for themselves and raise their adopted daughter Akiko.

However, their hopes of having some peace are soon dashed as humans are now faced with the mighty King Ghidorah. This three-headed dragon has appeared and could cause further disaster in a fragile world.

As the situation becomes dire, Godzilla re-emerges, meaning humanity may be forced to face one monster with another.

This poses the question should they risk bringing Godzilla back into the situation? Especially due to him causing so much destruction previously.

There is an interesting concept at play here. Godzilla can no longer be seen as a monster we need to defeat but instead he could become a necessary evil in a much larger battle.

King Ghidorah allows Yamazaki to add more mythology to the franchise, whilst keeping the trauma of the post-war period that made the previous movie so emotional.

Unfortunately though the film does take a while to get going. Although there is plenty of time to flesh out the characters and mythology within Godzilla Minus Zero (around two hours and fifteen minutes long), too much time is spent on political debate, scientific explanations and household arguments. Whilst there are some good concepts to explore, the film lacks pace constantly.

A Godzilla Fan’s Dream in 4DX

One thing that really appealed to me about Godzilla Minus Zero was that it was 4DX. I am a massive Godzilla fan so seeing these giant creatures fight each other on the big screen is already exciting, but being able to feel the cinema come alive with the action is a whole new level.

Once the two monsters get into the fight it really makes you feel like you are there. With the seats moving, sharp jerks, vibrations, blasts of air and water, it gives you a real sense of the destruction going on. Every big stomp, crash and boom can be felt throughout your body.

The scale of these monster battles is just superb. The characters are so large, Godzilla and King Ghidorah in particular, so combined with the special effects and the moving seats you get an amazing feeling of weight behind these battles. Buildings collapsing and Titans fighting are made real thanks to the effects.

The water effects were nice to see, especially during the Ocean scenes. The seats also move brilliantly during the more exciting battles.

The real reason to watch this however is the final battle. It combines the technical feats and the 4DX effects perfectly.

The long battle between Godzilla and King Ghidorah are a full on sensory overload. You are thrown around your seat as they unleash powerful attacks. It’s tiring but super enjoyable and was the best part of the movie.

Overall it was interesting to see how much the calm human moments contrasted with the physical thrills.

One moment you are being thrown around and the next minute you are watching a long conversation between characters discussing the situation.

In a regular cinema these moments could make the movie feel longer. Although the 4DX effects keep you connected it can’t be denied that this format works best when there are actual monsters on screen.

If you are a Godzilla fan then I would definitely recommend watching this in this format if you get the chance.

It makes the largest monster battles really memorable. I cannot think of many better ways to enjoy watching Godzilla and King Ghidorah go head to head.

Godzilla and King Ghidorah Look Impressive

Once again Takashi Yamazaki has proved himself a talented director and VFX supervisor. The visual effects on show here are absolutely superb. Godzilla has remained a fearsome presence, whilst King Ghidorah looks absolutely brilliant.

The three headed dragon looks absolutely brilliant. His huge golden wings, multiple heads and powerful attacks make him look like a real threat and he looks truly otherworldly.

He has a great sense of scale throughout the film and looks amazing compared to Godzilla’s dark and more menacing design.

Despite this, Godzilla still gets some great moments of his own. The atomic breath remains one of the best looking weapons in monster movie history.

The double pump sequence is very memorable. It builds up nicely with Godzilla’s back plates lighting up and electricity surrounding him. This gives you a great sense of anticipation.

The cinematography by Kôzô Shibasaki is also very good. The use of an IMAX certified digital film means Yamazaki has been able to retain a more grounded feel from Godzilla Minus One, whilst also highlighting how big the monsters actually are.

We get wide shots of the Titans to show how large they are and close ups to give us a more chaotic feel, putting us right in the middle of the action with the terrified civilians.

The contrast between the dull colour palette of post war Japan and the bright golden colour of Ghidorah really stands out.

The sound design works brilliantly with the visuals. Godzilla’s iconic roar and the destruction caused by the monster battles give an enormous amount of power. The low bass and layered sounds work brilliantly in 4DX.

Overall there are few real issues with how the film has been presented. Yamazaki knows exactly how to make these creatures look huge, dangerous and realistic. It’s just a shame the script didn’t give them more opportunities to show it.

A Human Story That Becomes Overly Melodramatic

One of the main reasons why Godzilla Minus One was so successful was because it made the audience empathise with characters.

Kōichi’s guilt of being a survivor, Noriko’s drive to move on with her life and the building bond between them all helped to make the creature movie emotionally impactful.

The sequel tries to follow suit, however it does get a little too much.

Ryunosuke Kamiki portrays Kōichi once again with great dedication. His character is still very troubled with the mental effects of his time during the war.

He has a lot of emotional issues caused by everything which happened to him, which makes sense as we were introduced to his survivor’s guilt.

However, the script is very over the top with lots of yelling, crying and emotional outbursts to portray his feelings when they could have been more powerful if kept more subtle.

Minami Hamabe also returns to portray Noriko. She has lots of determination and emotion within her character.

Whilst she should create a good family foundation with Kōichi and their responsibility towards Akiko, she sometimes feels like she is not a developed character but more of an emotional trigger for Kōichi.

The rest of the cast do a better job at keeping the human element realistic. Hidetaka Yoshioka plays Dr Noda brilliantly.

His scientific knowledge and more philosophical approach creates some of the most interesting conversations throughout the film.

We also meet Professor Murakami played by Tanaka Min who is a survivor from Hiroshima. His obsession with finding out how to beat the monsters creates more depth to the nuclear trauma theme.

His story raises some interesting questions around whether we as humans can overcome the consequences of our destructive nature without making the same mistakes.

Whilst these are good themes to include, they can sometimes feel too over the top. The previous film had more realistic emotions whilst this one can feel tiring.

The Politics of Survival and Nuclear Trauma

Godzilla Minus Zero has themes surrounding the war, the effects of nuclear destruction and the attempts of humans to control forces they do not understand.

This movie adds a whole new level to the franchise with the introduction of King Ghidorah. He represents a threat to the very existence of the world meaning that the destruction caused by Godzilla seems like nothing. This still shows how interested the movie is with the human aspect.

Professor Murakami was a hiroshima survivor providing more insight into how Japan deals with nuclear weapons.

His determination to find a solution shows how humans always want to create something more powerful after seeing destruction.

There is also an excellent moral dilemma with Godzilla. Can we really justify using such a destructive creature as a weapon when there is a bigger threat?

The film does acknowledge that this is not an easy decision to make especially if you have been affected by his existence.

Overall the movie suggests that it is not just about having strong military power and scientific knowledge but also about the connections between people, protecting your family and working together. This is a good message to portray however at times it can be too over the top.

Too Much Talking, Not Enough Monsters

The main issue I had with Godzilla Minus Zero was that there was not enough monster scenes.

Although it has a really good setup, there are some long scenes that focus on the human aspect of the story, international politics and scientific elements. Some of this is really valuable but there’s just too much of it.

It’s not that there needs to be constant destruction, the 1954 film showed how powerful a slow and thoughtful Godzilla film can be.

Godzilla Minus One also knew how important it was to balance out the human and monster aspects of the story. However, this film does not do it as well.

The middle of the film gets quite repetitive. There are some long scenes where they get stuck in the same feelings and emotions.

It feels like they are holding back from having another monster scene and makes it feel completely detached from the action.

The final battle is amazing but shows how much it lacked throughout the rest of the film. There is so much energy, creativity and excitement when Godzilla and King Ghidorah are fighting that you wish they had more screen time.

Overall if some of the long conversations and emotional scenes had been cut down and replaced with more monster scenes, this would have been a much better film.

All the elements are there for an incredible kaijru blockbuster but it does not seem to want to take full advantage.

An Ending That Leaves the Door Open

The closing scene brings some emotional closure to Kōichi and Noriko. They are shown to be determined to protect Akiko and there seems to be hope that they can finally put their traumatic past behind them. This highlights the importance of family.

However, during the final scene we see the mark on Noriko’s neck begin to glow. This mark was caused by her being exposed to Godzilla’s cells in the previous film.

This is an interesting ending to leave us with. It makes you think about how Godzilla will affect us humans in the future. Are Noriko beginning to have a biological link with Godzilla? This could be seen as a sign of mutation or something even stranger.

Whatever the reason, it seems that the relationship between humans and Godzilla will become much more complicated in the future.

This is a good way to end the story but I would have preferred if they had kept the story focused around the characters and Godzilla lore we already have.

Final Verdict

Godzilla Minus Zero is a visually stunning sequel with some incredible giant monster action. However, it does struggle to live up to the heart and story of Godzilla Minus One.

I have such a passion for Godzilla and was so excited to see Takashi Yamazaki back in the role and King Ghidorah added to the story.

The special effects are amazing, the cinematography is incredible and the monsters are amazing. Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe both do a fantastic job staying true to their characters.

However, the film is very long, there are many emotional scenes which come across repetitive and there are long political and scientific debates in the middle of the film.

I definitely enjoyed seeing this on a 4DX screen. When Godzilla and King Ghidorah finally come face to face it is so much fun to have the seats move, rumble, water effects and physical hits.

This makes the final fight an amazing cinematic experience. Something that makes you appreciate how cool this format can be. I would definitely recommend watching it in 4DX!

Unfortunately it could have been so much better. There are moments where it almost becomes another masterpiece but there are too many scenes talking about the monsters.

While the final fight was a highlight it would have been nice to have more of the excitement throughout.

Overall Godzilla Minus Zero was a fun but inconsistent sequel. It looks and sounds incredible and the giant monster action is amazing in 4DX.

However, with my excitement I left feeling like I missed out. I would still recommend watching it for the spectacle but it just does not quite live up to the original.