These films are amazing and deeply emotional because Godzilla was always intended to be symbolic of the trauma that Japanese people endured after WW2 atomic warfare. No American version of the giant radioactive lizard has ever captured those emotions for me, and I don’t think any ever will.
How Was Godzilla Minus Zero? Movie Review Breakdown
I was locked in from beginning to end with Godzilla Minus Zero; there honestly was never a dull moment. In retrospect, I just may have enjoyed the sequel more than the first one.
Like in the first film Godzilla Minus One (2023), the story does an excellent job of making you care about the actual people in the movie. I absolutely adore Noriko and Kōichi’s and the family that they have created with their adopted daughter Akiko. I love Keni Noda, who embodies this brilliantly intelligent man that is still terrified and lost as to how to save Japan. The newcomer Makoto Aoyama was probably my favorite character; it’s not often that you see women heroes highlighted in the time era.
Although they all have their differences, each of these characters are just trying to navigate how to overcome the horrific aftermath of what WW2 has left behind for their country and their people. Godzilla is an amazing way to embody that into one huge monster.
I don’t want to spoil much, but the sequel digs into the fact that Godzilla isn’t their only problem. There is still tension between Japan and America during this time, and Godzilla is a central piece of that tension.
There is also much to be said about resilience, honor, and ethics for both the Americans and the Japanese. It’s quite intriguing as an American history buff to watch this from the perspective of Japanese characters. After the film I found myself researching more on WW2, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and just thinking more about the scar that WW2 left on the world as a whole.
The Godzilla Minus franchise doesn’t appear to be here to just give us good monster horror flicks; they want to highlight what Japan endured after WW2 and the resilience it took to get where they are today. These will always be my favorite Godzilla movies, and I look forward to more (possibly?) in the future.
Did you enjoy Godzilla films? What’s your favorite?
Thanks for reading
-A. Monique
