‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ First Reactions Are Glowing: “R Rating Now Makes Sense”

Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus Zero just had its press screening at the New York Film Festival, and the first reactions are, to put it mildly, ecstatic. We're talking "jaw-dropping spectacle" and "glorious continuation" territory here. Hyperbole? Who knows. The film world premieres tonight at NYFF, and that’s when reviews will pop online.

This is the first time the franchise has gone R-rated with its action set pieces. After 70 years of Godzilla, that alone has my attention.

The Japanese ‘Godzilla’ movies have traditionally stayed in family-friendly territory. The last five Hollywood ones kept things broad with PG ratings, and for obvious reasons: there are toys and merch to sell. An R-rated Godzilla goes against decades of how this franchise has been marketed.

Now, make no mistake, first reactions are almost always euphoric — unless your name is “Digger” —that's the nature of the beast. But ‘Minus One’ earned its reputation. It made $116M worldwide, became the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla film ever, and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, embarrassing plenty of $200M blockbusters along the way. So I'm inclined to believe the hype.

Some context: this is the 38th Godzilla film overall and the 34th from Toho. Kamiki Ryunosuke and Hamabe Minami return, and it's the first Japanese feature ever shot for IMAX screens. The story picks up in 1949, two years after ‘Minus One,’ with the Shikishima family facing a brand-new calamity. And this time, a bigger-than-ever Godzilla heads to New York City. “

Godzilla Minus Zero” opens in Japan on November 3 and hits U.S. theaters November 6.