When I see a title like Godzilla Minus Zero, my brain asks, “Why is this a math problem?” It then takes it to its logical conclusion. If it is mathematics, then the answer would be Godzilla, since anything that has nothing subtracted from it is just that thing. So why not just call it Godzilla? I have no idea, but I guess it has something to do with Godzilla Minus One (2023), a film I passed on in favor of watching Silent Night (2023). Almost exactly three years ago, I opted for the violent Christmas movie, partially because it was the Advent season, but also due to my aversion to monster flicks. This has nothing to do with a Catholic distaste for non-Biblical creatures. Instead, productions like Godzilla Minus Zero do little for me because I do not find kaiju fighting one another interesting. And even if that is the reason for you showing up at the theater, this one has long spells of dull dialogue that had me desperately shifting in my seat to stay awake for the inevitable.

The arithmetic of Godzilla Minus Zero brings Japan to 1949, two years after the monster’s apparent destruction, when the country is still recovering from World War II and the devastation of his earlier rampage. Former kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) has married Noriko Shikishima (Minami Hamabe), and they are raising their adopted daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani). Their neighbor Sumiko Ōta (Sakura Ando), who operates an orphanage, remains part of their lives. Meanwhile, Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), now director of the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau, prepares for another catastrophe with the help of young crewman Shirō Mizushima (Yuki Yamada), ship captain Seiji Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki), and former destroyer captain Tatsuo Hotta (Miou Tanaka). Their preparations become urgent when a dragon-like creature attacks Matsumoto, destroying buildings with bolts of lightning. The attack threatens a country that has scarcely begun to rebuild its cities and recover from the losses inflicted by the war, making another evacuation and military response especially daunting. Professor Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka), a biologist who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, studies the destruction and discovers that the creature came to Earth in a meteorite. Originally a gelatinous organism with tentacles, it consumed wildlife and developed into a single-headed monster. The scientists name it Ghidorah, combining words associated with a chimera and a hydra. Meteorologist Makoto Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa) joins the response team, using storms and electrical disturbances to follow its movements. Kōichi volunteers for an aerial attack against the dormant creature, despite the dangers of returning to combat. With reluctant American assistance, the team drops a powerful fuel-air bomb, but Ghidorah survives and kills two volunteer pilots. Aircraft then drive harpoons fitted with lightning rods into its back, drawing a strike that appears to finish the monster. Instead, Ghidorah awakens transformed into a golden, three-headed beast with two tails. Now called King Ghidorah, it produces violent winds and uses a gravity beam to throw buildings and trains, leaving hundreds dead. Conventional weapons accomplish little, and the defenders face another disaster when Godzilla regenerates and emerges from the sea, larger and fiercer than before. Murakami and his colleagues propose directing Godzilla against Ghidorah, reasoning that only one monster may be capable of stopping the other. Some regard Godzilla’s return as providential, although the apparent opportunity carries grave risks for the people caught between them. Professor Murakami, however, conceals a personal objective: his family died in Hiroshima, and he wants to direct Godzilla toward New York in revenge against the United States. To accomplish this, he develops a device called the Resonance Wave, designed to influence Godzilla by manipulating the conditions surrounding him. Kōichi also struggles with the past, as his survivor’s guilt makes another dangerous mission seem almost inevitable. Noda worries that he is overlooking his responsibilities to Noriko and Akiko. Noriko’s health is deteriorating because of changes associated with her previous exposure to Godzilla, and those unusual cells become crucial to the plan. Kōichi tries to protect his family from further exploitation, but Noriko chooses to assist in the effort against Ghidorah. Noda eventually persuades Professor Murakami to abandon his plan for vengeance. His change of heart reflects the Catholic insistence that justice cannot be secured by deliberately inflicting suffering upon innocent people. The bureau prepares a trap in Ginza, using generators to draw Ghidorah into position before freezing it with liquid nitrogen and igniting fuel to subject it to extreme changes in temperature. Kōichi pilots a seaplane to bring Godzilla to the same location, relying on the Resonance Wave and Noriko’s altered cells. The two gigantic creatures clash among the ruins. Godzilla strikes with his tail and tears away one of Ghidorah’s heads, but Ghidorah bites off Godzilla’s arm. The latter regenerates his limb, only to be overwhelmed by a gravity beam that hurls him into the air and buries him beneath rubble. When the trap’s fuel lines are severed, Noda attempts to activate the mechanism manually. Ghidorah attacks his vehicle, trapping him, and Kōichi fires a rocket at the monster and the surrounding fuel. The resulting explosion also kills Noda, although Aoyama tells Kōichi that Ghidorah alone caused his death, hoping to spare him another burden of guilt. Kōichi activates the Resonance Wave, and Noriko’s unusual connection to Godzilla helps awaken the buried creature. Ghidorah meanwhile reattaches its severed head, which has absorbed Godzilla’s cells and acquired dorsal spines and a destructive heat ray. As both monsters prepare to fire, Ghidorah loses control of its newly acquired power, allowing Godzilla to destroy it with his own blast. American forces arrive prepared to attack the victor, but receive orders to stand down in the hope that Godzilla might prove useful later. Godzilla retreats into the ocean. Professor Murakami burns his research to prevent the Resonance Wave from becoming a military weapon, but American authorities capture him. Recognizing that Noriko’s altered cells could also be exploited, Kōichi disappears with her and ultimately decides that Akiko must accompany them.

That Akiko would be riding off with her parents at the end of Godzilla Minus Zero hung in the balance as Kōichi and Noriko considered leaving their daughter behind. I did not totally get why this was necessary, but maybe it has something to do with the previous film? The fact that a filmgoer must rely on an earlier story for the current one to make sense is not my favorite plot device. That predecessor, Godzilla Minus One, got good reviews, and Godzilla Minus Zero appears to have many characters whose actions in the last one are key aspects of their makeup. There will be those who do not mind this sort of thing and claim that repeating such plot details is unnecessary. As a Catholic, I find some comfort in hearing the same things multiple times. If something is worth saying once, like a prayer, it is worth saying multiple times. Besides, God is happy to hear them over and over if one so chooses. Then again, maybe I am the victim of ignorance on my own part. This is a Japanese movie with English subtitles, and there are cultural differences that I may be missing. Put differently, it could be that Japanese modes of storytelling vary from American and/or Western ones. If that is the case, then so be it. After all, Catholicism is a large tent with every nationality under it. At the same time, I can scratch my head and wonder what is happening in certain scenes.

What you would think would be happening more in Godzilla Minus Zero would be the titanic monster showdowns mentioned in the above paragraphs. There are only three set pieces in this regard, spaced rather evenly between the beginning, middle, and end. This is, after all, the point of these movies, right? To view computer-generated imagery (CGI) monsters battling one another? There might be a sneakily Catholic explanation for why there is not more of this material. Not entirely buried in the endless contextualizing dialogue and the brief action is a solidly nonviolent message. There are two characters who typify this attitude: Professor Murakami and Noda. The first is disillusioned by his experiences during World War II, having witnessed the tragedy of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, an event that caused the death of his entire family. The Church would hold up his example as yet another reason why we should always pursue peaceful means to end conflict, and as evidence of the lasting wounds that violence causes in unexpected ways. I recall hearing a homily once about how the priest had visited a museum in Japan about the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by these devastating weapons. Weapons are Noda’s specialty, but he seems to regret how they contributed to the loss of so many lives. These are lives that could have carried on as God intended instead of being lost to orders to kill our fellow man. To be clear, Catholicism recognizes the legitimacy of self-defense under appropriate conditions. The problem is that far too many abuse that notion instead of practicing a little restraint or, better yet, compassion for our fellow man.

Then again, it is hard to have compassion for the giant monsters we see in Godzilla Minus Zero. While the title one apparently helps Japan, it remains indifferent to its surroundings as it returns to the water.  I feel a kinship with Godzilla on this one.