Could Zero be greater than One?

The sequel to Godzilla Minus One was given a preview over the weekend, and the initial reviews are of the raving variety.

You may recall my rhapsodizing over Takashi Yamazaki’s brilliant 2023 anti-war film and human drama masquerading as a monster movie. I told everyone I knew, and his or her brother, that you would not regret taking a couple hours out of your life to see that movie. Between the theater, streaming and BluRay, I have personally experienced the film at least a dozen times.

Now the people who saw the preview of Godzilla Minus Zero are talking as crazy as I did after seeing the first film.

The Variety article I first saw quoted first reviewers as calling it things like “jaw-dropping spectacle,” “glorious continuation of the first film,” “A truly epic cinematic feat,” and “overwhelming achievement.”

I saw one comment that compared the two movies to The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II, which won the Academy Awards for Best Picture in 1972 and 1974. Could Yamazaki’s sequel be as good as, or arguably better than, his first masterpiece?

The review that sent my expectations into the stratosphere was from a reviewer named Jacob Fisher, who said, “Such a brilliant deep dive into the facets of trauma & never-ending cycles of war/hatred.”

Yes, Godzilla is a guilty pleasure for me, but the reason I obsessed over Godzilla Minus One was that it told a story with themes deeper than any Godzilla film had ever explored — the aftermath of a devastating war, survivor’s guilt, and redemption from shame. Fisher suggests that once again Yamazaki tells a human story more important than the amazing special effects that bring a giant monster to life.

Now the challenge is to avoid spoilers for six weeks so that I can walk into a theater on Nov. 6 not knowing precisely what is about to unfold on screen. Three years ago I had heard the film supposedly was really good but I didn’t know much else. Now I’ve heard that the sequel to one of my favorite movies might be even better. That’s all I really want to know in the meantime.

Get to the point

For the first half of my career, I was in radio news. I was trained by the three-minute newscast: Tell as much as you can as quickly and concisely as you can.

When I switched to newspapers, it took me awhile to adjust to adding the secondary and tertiary details that may still be important to the story but wouldn’t be vital enough to include in a 30- or 40-second synopsis. I think I’m still good at saying what needs to be said in an economical number of words.

That’s probably why I lose patience with a recent phenomenon in social media — the advertisement or essay that goes on and on and on before getting to the point. They tell a story that identifies the problem. Then they tell another story about trying to solve the problem, and a third story about another approach to the problem, and they hint that the real solution was out there to be found but not yet. You might have to read five minutes or more of beating around several bushes before the writer draws a conclusion or explains what’s on sale.

In this world of short attention spans and ever-shrinking time frames, what is the point of not getting to the point? especially if you’re trying to sell me a miracle cure? “Now that I have your attention, how long can I hold your attention?” It’s as if the real goal is to keep you reading or listening for as long as possible — the opposite of the original social media challenge to say it all in 140 characters.

I’m frustrated when I read an interesting introduction, click on “See more,” and discovered that I’ve been roped into an article that takes a dozen or more thumb flicks to scroll to the end.

This post is just shy of 325 words. That’s all it takes — more than it takes, really — to encourage writers not to be boring.

Our story thus far

For the last month Saturday has been our weekly Allen the Alien day, as we explore relations between earthly rubber ducks and those from another planet. I very much hate to disappoint the vast army of Allen the Alien fans out there, but the writers room did not deliver Chapter 9 in time for today’s post.

While we’re waiting, here’s your chance to get caught up with the story from the beginning. The editors apologize for the delay and encourage you to tune in next Saturday morning as our tale of interplanetary intrigue resumes.