For a movie about kaijus and war, Godzilla Minus Zero had a surprising amount of romance. And no I’m not talking about Godzilla and King Ghidorah. I’m talking about Koichi and Noriko, the real heart of this movie, at least for me. Because I loved every single moment that we got when it came to the big epic aerial fight or the smackdown in Ginza. But just like in Godzilla Minus One, I was really moved by the relationship between these two people.
When Koichi and Noriko met their world had been destroyed by war and they suffered personal, emotional, and mental losses. Yet somehow they created their own little family with Akiko. That family became even stronger when Koichi thought that Noriko had died after the Ginza attack in Godzilla Minus One. Now in Godzilla Minus Zero, major spoilers ahead, they decided to leave everything behind and be together no matter what fate might bring their way. And that’s so romantic.
MORE: Need a refresher of the previous movie ending? Read our review for Godzilla Minus One here!
But even before Koichi and Noriko decided to run away together I can’t help but think about how much they fought for each other. Noriko was willing to give up her entire family to ensure that Koichi and Akiko survived and thrived after the threat of Ghirdorah was taken care of because she loved them. And Koichi, who has gone through an extraordinary arc himself, didn’t give up on her. He followed her. He made sure that she knew that she wasn’t alone in this and that she was loved enough to face Godzilla and King Ghidorah together. And even before that decision itself, he was the one that she trusted enough to share the changes her body was going through because of the G-cells. All of it is the height of romance, at least in my book.
The strength of Koichi and Noriko’s relationship isn’t the only reason why I loved Godzilla Minus Zero.
I also loved this overarching theme of found family that started in Godzilla Minus One and continued in this movie. Because World War II destroyed a lot of families and left a lot of orphans. But in that rebuilding there were a lot of people who chose each other. And they found strength in the aftermath. You could see that in how Sosaku, Shiro, and even Kenji were regulars at the Shikishima household.
MORE: These Two ‘Godzilla’ Villains Should Appear In The MonsterVerse
Then of course there is the Godzilla and King Ghidorah of it all. I know a lot of people were disappointed about the amount of big kaiju fights in this film. But considering everything I just talked about above, this movie isn’t solely about kaiju’s, it never was. But the time that we did spend on these monsters, every single scene was epically choreographed, had sound design that gave you actual chills, and was visually stunning in its grandeur.
I also really like how Godzilla Minus Zero took risks but still felt nostalgic when it came to these big fights. That aerial showdown between the humans and Ghidorah, it came after the movie spent time building the kind of tension that has you leaning forward in your seat like if you just get closer you’ll catch everything. That tension helped carry the movie and made it so when the big showdown happened at the end with Godzilla, I was locked in and ready for whatever was going to come my way because the build-up was delicious.
All of this was supported by the stunning visuals in Godzilla Minus Zero.
Specifically I want to give kudos to the special effects for the kaiju’s. Because it isn’t so much about bringing Godzilla and King Ghidorah to life as these larger than life creatures. It’s also about how their powers look when they manifest. But also what happens when they tear each other apart and the regeneration that follows. It’s almost like viewers know when a team loves what they’re doing and it’s reflected on the screen. Because of these visuals, I can tell that there is so much love in the creation of this film.
So where do we go from here and does Godzilla Minus Zero need a sequel? During a screening for this movie that I attended, the producer said that they didn’t enter into this thinking that they were going to do a sequel. That allowed them to tell a concise story that doesn’t need another film. But I do think that within the Godzilla universe, Takashi Yamazaki and his team have created something so singularly grounded in the faults of humanity but also their resilience. And if they were to do another sequel, I’m not going to complain. I’m going to be right there in the theater.
Godzilla Minus Zero is now playing in theaters.
