New Godzilla movie opens in theaters this week

The newest entry in the Godzilla franchise hits screens this week.

The film is titled "Godzilla Minus Zero." It opens on IMAX screens on Tuesday, November 3, and in general theaters on Friday, November 6. The movie is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for some violent content and bloody images. It is presented in Japanese with English subtitles. The runtime is 135 minutes.

Director Takashi Yamazaki wrote and directed the film. He also handled the visual effects. The story picks up two years after the events of "Godzilla Minus One." That previous film won an Oscar and reset the franchise. It returned the monster to its postwar Japan roots. The new film continues in 1949. It follows ex-kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima, played by Ryunosuke Kamiki. His wife Noriko is played by Minami Hamabe. Their daughter Akiko is played by Sae Nagatani. The family lives in the shadow of post-war trauma. They attend a school with many orphaned children.

A new monster named Ghidorah appears in the film. It spews lightning and destroys the city of Matsumoto. Professor Kanji Murakami, played by Min Tanaka, witnesses the destruction. He lost his family in the bombing of Hiroshima. He also saw Tokyo’s Ginza district leveled in the first film. The U.S. Army is present in the story. They act as a self-serving force that wants no part of the crisis. A team led by naval engineer Kenji Noda, played by Hidetaka Yoshioka, attempts to stop Ghidorah. Meteorologist Makoto Aoyama, played by Masami Nagasawa, joins the group. She predicts kaiju movements using weather patterns. Kōichi and Noriko also join the effort. They must leave their daughter behind for the mission.

The film features two large monster set pieces. One is an aerial sequence in the middle of the movie. It features a seaplane in the foreground and an emerging Godzilla in the background. Composer Naoki Satō provides the score. The final battle pits Ghidorah against Godzilla. The review notes that this scene feels labored and awkwardly staged. The human characters move around the giants during the fight. The film is described as having an "Act 2" vibe. It focuses on the Japanese reconciling themselves to ecological disaster. The movie sets up a potential third film. The title of that potential sequel would be "Godzilla Minus Minus-One."

The film is a release from GKIDS. It is currently available for viewing in select theaters. The critical reception notes that the human melodrama overtakes the monster spectacle. The story is described as bloated. The characters are seen as lacking depth for the emphasis placed on them. The review gives the film two stars out of four. It suggests the movie is best enjoyed on IMAX screens. The visual effects are praised for their low-budget aesthetic. The film aims to capture the concussed mental state of postwar Japan. It uses the monster as an allegory for atomic bomb trauma. The production team includes writer and director Takashi Yamazaki. The cast includes Hidetaka Yoshioka and Masami Nagasawa. The film explores the political dimension of the American occupation. It portrays the U.S. Army as absent in the first film but self-serving in this one. The story relies on a ragtag group to solve the crisis. The emotional weight falls on the parents leaving their child. The film ends with the two main monsters facing off. The audience is left waiting for the next numerical solution to the title.