Why Godzilla Minus Zero is rated R

This article includes: light spoiler In the case of ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’.

For as long as the Motion Picture Association (formerly “America”) has existed, conventional wisdom has been that blockbuster genre films should receive the most attractive ratings possible. This concept has been around at least since Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” took the film industry and pop culture by storm. Because the PG rating allowed a wide audience to experience it. There have certainly been exceptions, most famously Spielberg’s own 1984 film PG-13, which revealed the need for a rating between PG and R.

This middle grade has become the standard for edgy, adult films without crossing too many lines for young teens. Its popularity has led many filmmakers to push the envelope, especially with what is known as the Basic Movie Rating. So far, every “Godzilla” film has been rated PG-13 or lower. Because most movies feature giant monster versus giant monster violence. That means, according to the MPA’s general view on violence, that it cannot be imitated in real life.

But that has now changed with the release of “Godzilla Minus Zero,” which has been rated R by the MPA. At first glance, this might seem like a move by the “Godzilla” franchise to appeal to a more edgy audience. Likewise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was only too happy to give “Deadpool and Wolverine” a hard R. But ‘Minus Zero’ isn’t just rated R for superficial indulgences like coarse language, extreme violence and even sex. Instead, “Godzilla Minus Zero” earns an R for two very specific reasons, both of which make a higher rating more understandable.

Since the first “Godzilla” in 1954, this giant monster has been intentionally positioned as an allegory for the devastation of war, especially the atomic warfare that caused the devastation suffered by Japan in recent years. Ishirõ Honda’s film is much more thoughtful and grim than modern audiences might expect, but it still has enough of a B-movie flavor to explain why the franchise has become increasingly spectacle-focused and kid-friendly. While the darkness inherent in “Godzilla” is revealed in several subsequent films, the character’s allegorical nature is largely kept as subtext.

Writer-director Takashi Yamazaki furthered the franchise in “Godzilla Minus Zero” by depicting real-life war violence in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima. In the film, the fictional character Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka) is one of the few survivors of the attack, and we are shown a flashback scene where he discovers the charred remains of his family.

The upsetting reality of this moment not only energizes the film’s themes, but also directly influences Murakami’s character. We learn that his plan is to lure Godzilla to New York and have the beast attack the United States. In this brief but powerful fantasy sequence, we see Godzilla blast a city with heat rays, melting people’s faces before they burst into flames. This is a sequence that does something unusual, especially in blockbuster genre films. Describes an intentional act of genocide against the American people. It’s a moment reminiscent of “Terminator 2” (which Yamazaki was inspired by), but much sharper considering the emotion behind it. So it makes sense to consider MPA grittier material than previous “Godzilla” films.

As many have pointed out during the MPA’s more than 60 years of existence, the organization’s rationale for rating films is often frustratingly vague. Many filmmakers get frustrated with the process of submitting and resubmitting their film to get the rating they want. Many decisions are made based on missing a small number of frames rather than large amounts of data. The MPA’s rulings are made literally on a case-by-case basis, but they generally appear to judge films based on their overall tone and effect on audiences rather than checking boxes. Some elements, such as nudity and one or more F-bombs in dialogue, are almost guaranteed criteria for an R, but some movies earn their ratings through what the MPA calls “thematic elements.”

In this way, the R rating of ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is closer to a cumulative rating than anything else. Even if the Hiroshima flashbacks and the NYC dream sequence were edited out, the film could get closer to R with just the gruesome fight sequence between Godzilla and King Ghidorah. Both monsters are particularly vicious in the way they utilize their respective regenerative abilities, with the monsters ripping off each other’s heads and limbs, and you can see their tendons stretching before breaking. It’s still fantasy monster violence, but considering the film as a whole, giving it a PG-13 also feels inappropriate. Ultimately, this assessment reflects how strong Takashi Yamazaki’s filmmaking is. That makes “Godzilla Minus Zero” the latest in a proud lineage of lite R-rated movies. This means that this film has the potential to be a gateway genre film for the next generation.

‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is currently being released in theaters.