Godzilla Minus Zero's first reviews put it level with the 1954 original at 94%. Only Minus One scored higher
‘Godzilla Minus One’ stands as the franchise’s best-reviewed outing — and its sequel is hot on its heels.
If you thought the Godzilla formula was all wrung out by now, think again. Off the back of Godzilla Minus One — which dragged the franchise back to a postwar Japan setting, won an Oscar for visual effects (first ever for any Godzilla flick, by the way), and generally put the terror back in the rubber monster — director Takashi Yamazaki is back at it with a direct sequel: Godzilla Minus Zero. This one picks up in the aftermath, set two years later, and early buzz has been… well, pretty much rapturous.
Godzilla Minus Zero has matched the original 1954 Godzilla with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 94%.
The Sequel Roars In
Since Minus One, expectations have been high, with good reason: that film not only made monster mayhem look scary again but actually bothered with human characters you care about. So what about Minus Zero? Critics have already weighed in with verdicts, and the Rotten Tomatoes score currently lands at 94%. That puts it neck and neck with the original 1954 Godzilla — nothing to sniff at, considering the usual Godzilla sequels don't get anywhere near these numbers.
It’s not just the numbers either. Early reviews are a virtual lovefest, with Andrew J. Salazar from Discussing Film calling it 'bold, audacious, and angry in ways Hollywood blockbusters are never allowed to be,' and wrapping up with this gem:
It’s a staggering achievement in its own right.
Others, like Lexi Amoriello of Movie Recs by Lex, are saying the sequel is bigger and the stakes are ratcheted up: more spectacle, more drama, bigger action, and somehow, even more emotional weight. The word ‘heartfelt’ is flying about quite a bit. If you thought the visuals last time were impressive, apparently Yamazaki has managed to top himself — Dan Bayer at Next Best Picture reckons it's a 'jaw-dropping spectacle' that you really ought to catch on the absolute loudest screen you can find.
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Jesse Hassenger at The Guardian points out something interesting: while the film does go full-on monster brawl, it doesn't just try to stack up endless VFX shots for the sake of it. Like Minus One, it’s about the quality, not just the quantity, of the effects. That sort of restraint is rare for a blockbuster, especially one starring a radioactive lizard the size of a football pitch.
How Does It Stack Up?
But it's not all glowing. Some have a few bones to pick with the new entry. Katie Rife at Inverse says the human side of things isn’t as finely tuned as in Godzilla Minus One. The story brings back Kōichi (played by Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Noriko (Minami Hamabe), plus they're now raising Akiko, the orphaned girl from the last film. Still, apparently the new dynamic isn't quite the emotional gut punch of the first round. Clint Worthington at RogerEbert.com gave another mostly-positive review, though he admitted Minus Zero 'doesn’t quite reach the miraculous highs of its predecessor.'
The only outright negative (or 'rotten') review so far crops up from Nick Schager at The Daily Beast. Even he, though, admits there are moments of utterly thunderous spectacle—just not as often as he’d like for a monster mash with this much ambition.
On the other side, some critics reckon what's lost is made up for in new ways. Molly Edwards at Total Film says that, despite trading some scope, the film might actually pack more of an emotional punch than Minus One did. Jake Kleinman at Polygon makes a fair point too — there may not be a set piece as inspired as the Jaws-like boat chase from last time, but the bigger canvas delivers more drama and even higher stakes for the characters.
In Cinemas This Autumn
With Godzilla Minus Zero sitting pretty at 94% fresh, there's now only one film in this entire towering kaiju franchise with a higher rating: its own predecessor, at a ridiculous 99%. Love the series or not, that's a rare thing for any long-running blockbuster franchise — let alone one about a monster that's flattened Tokyo for three-quarters of a century.
Godzilla Minus Zero stomps into cinemas on 6 November 2026. If you've not booked your tickets, well, you're probably not alone — just don’t expect seats to last for long once word really gets out.