Godzilla Minus Zero review

The action in this movie is phenomenal. Every major action sequence is beautifully done, with tremendous tension, spectacle, and drama. When the monsters are on screen, this film is just a joy to watch.

The story involves a new monster threatening Japan, a sort of hydra-like creature that proves far more dangerous than the authorities initially realize. The Japanese agency tasked with dealing with these threats discovers pretty quickly that its usual approach isn't going to work. Eventually, they find a way to use Godzilla against the new creature.

That makes for an interesting step in the familiar Godzilla mythology. Instead of being simply the enormous destructive force threatening Japan, Godzilla becomes, in effect, a protector against something even worse. But the movie doesn't require him to develop some new heroic personality. He's still a monster. The humans just figure out how to motivate him to do something that serves their interests. I thought that worked perfectly well.

The new monster is a terrific adversary, a classic kaiju in the best sense. My favorite sequence comes after the creature survives an initial attack and undergoes an evolution of sorts. When it returns and attacks the town with its newly developed abilities, the spectacle is extraordinary. That scene is gorgeous. It's probably the highlight of the film for me.

Where the movie loses some momentum is in the extended stretches of dialogue between the action sequences. There's a lot of conversation about the characters' relationships and various other concerns, and after a while it starts to drag.

There's nothing inherently wrong with any of that material. It's just not nearly as compelling as the rest of the movie. We're here for an action epic, and every time the film pulls us away from these extraordinary monster sequences for another extended conversation, it's moving away from its greatest strength.

The movie is in Japanese, so you're also reading subtitles during these long stretches of dialogue. That isn't a problem in itself, but when the material isn't especially engaging, you really feel how much time you're spending reading instead of watching the action unfold.

Still, the best parts of Godzilla Minus Zero are amazing. The creature design, the action, the tension, and the visual execution are all excellent. I had a great time with it.

I gave it four stars rather than something higher because the dialogue-heavy portions keep it from being consistently great. But it's absolutely worth seeing, preferably on the biggest screen you can find. When this movie is doing what it does best, it's spectacular.