In 1949, two years after Godzilla was defeated by an unlikely band of heroes, Japan is slowly recovering from the damage of World War 2. But then a new Kaiju appears in Matsumoto, utterly destroying the city. The monster is identified as King Ghidorah, and the Japanese authorities set out to destroy it with the help of those responsible for defeating Godzilla.

Godzilla Minus Zero has a tough act to follow as a direct sequel to the rather special Godzilla Minus One. In terms of its effects and set pieces, it succeeds, but the moralising held within the story and the acting style on display have a much shakier impact.

Let’s get the complaints out of the way first. Minus Zero is a weaker film than Minus One for a number of reasons. Godzilla is very much a secondary character and, whilst pivotal to the film, it is disappointing that his presence is barely felt until towards the end. This leads me to another issue: there are ultimately only three major set pieces in the film. They are rather good in terms of giant monster fun, but compared with Minus One, where appearances were more frequent, they make the film feel longer than it is. Crucially, though, this highlights an issue I called out in my review of Minus One: the school of acting adopted for this series is one of soap opera grandiosity. In the previous film, this was broken up by frequent action. Here, it is exacerbated by the long waits between set pieces. The style is particularly grating in the scenes featuring the very young actress who plays the main character’s adopted daughter.

The film does, however, deliver on its Kaiju set pieces. King Ghidorah is another wonderful piece of monster design, and his evolution across the fight sequences is a lot of fun. Meanwhile, the inevitable fight between the two monsters is filled with some brilliantly inventive action.

The continuing story and allegory feel slightly more forced than in the opening film, but the film does land its point. This time, the focus is on the negative aspects of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the cycle of violence that revenge creates.

Overall, it is likely to leave Kaiju fans happy, whilst perhaps testing the patience of a more casual viewer during the quieter stretches between its bombastic moments. Personally, I found it a disappointing follow-up to a film I thought was rather special.