Parents' Guide to Godzilla Minus Zero

This follow up to the excellent Godzilla Minus One has the same outstanding visual effects and likable characters, but it's lost the element of surprise, ultimately feeling like a typical sequel. Again written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus Zero looks undeniably great. The monsters have a visceral impact, especially when Ghidorah raises buildings in the air and lets them crash to the ground. Viewers can feel the horrible weight of this act, both the physical demolition of the buildings and the terrible consequences to those inside. And it's tough to argue that the climactic monster fight isn't undeniably cool.

But when you remember how Godzilla Minus One began—both with the startling, eye-opening first appearance of the monster and with Kōichi Shikishima's supposed cowardice (he was a kamikaze pilot who refused to die for his country)—you may notice the lack of such elements here. Kōichi struggled with his decision in the first movie, but here he's happily married and has no more such troubles. Indeed, the movie feels a great deal like many of the cheesy Godzilla sequels made back in the 1960s, in which characters spent most of their time on monster duty, with very little effort put into character development. None of this is to say that Godzilla Minus Zero isn't worth checking out, especially for die-hard kaiju fans. It's solid and entertaining in its own way. It's just not as big of a deal.