First Reviews Praise ‘Godzilla Minus One’

The sequel to Takashi Yamazaki’s Oscar-winning film has received an R rating, marking a first for the franchise.

The first reviews have arrived for Godzilla Minus Zero, the sequel to Godzilla Minus One directed by Takashi Yamazaki. At the time of this writing, the movie holds 94% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes across 16 reviews and a score of 78 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Critics call the sequel a worthy follow-up, praising the large-scale destruction sequences, visual effects, and the preservation of human drama at the center of the story. Some reviewers consider the new film inferior to its predecessor, but note that it compensates with more brutal action and horror elements, as the movie received an R rating for the first time in Godzilla film history.

By comparison, Godzilla Minus One earned 99% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81 on Metacritic. The picture grossed more than $116 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, becoming the first film in the franchise to receive an award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Godzilla Minus Zero premiered on September 26 at the New York Film Festival. International theatrical distribution for the film starts on November 4, 2026.