Ramayana Part 1 and Godzilla Minus Zero review: two international epics that make a great double feature

I saw Ramayana Part One and Godzilla Minus Zero on the same day, one in the morning and one in the evening, and I had a great time. They're both excellent: some of the best work from their respective film industries, and fantastic films, period. They're also part of something special, because two international films are opening at North American multiplexes the same weekend.

Godzilla Minus Zero, from Japan, is the sequel to the 2023 Oscar winner for best visual effects, Godzilla Minus One. It has a genuine shot at being the number one movie in North America on its opening weekend, and if not number one, right up there. Ramayana Part One has huge buzz in its native India. It's also the biggest international sensation since Baahubali: The Beginning in 2015 and RRR in 2022, which won the Oscar for best original song.

How Netflix and AMC A-List opened North America to international films

Almost every other part of the world has had a global marketplace for movies for quite some time. I remember visiting France and Italy, going to the multiplex and seeing movies from all across the globe, available in their native language or dubbed. Hollywood, though, has kept North America the biggest movie market there is. China is challenging it, although after being open for a while it has also become a very closed marketplace. Hollywood's attitude was that it would export movies for other countries to see, but if a foreign film wanted to reach this audience, Hollywood would rather remake it than give the original a genuine shot.

Two things changed that. I would wager that one is Netflix, with its extensive subtitling and dubbing. North American audiences got used to foreign language content, and some of it has been hugely popular on Netflix. That broke down a major barrier.

The other is theater subscription services like AMC A-List, which let people see as many movies as they want each month, even in premium formats, usually for the price of one or two tickets. It's creating cinephiles, and it's a glorious thing, because moviegoers can try all different types of films in the theater at no additional cost. I saw Ramayana at a studio press screening with no public audience. Godzilla Minus Zero, though, was an early IMAX screening, and the audience cheered and applauded when the AMC A-List advertisement came up. They love it so much that it feels like a big part of their lives now.

Seeing Ramayana and Godzilla Minus Zero on the same day

In the morning I saw the three hour and 15 minute Ramayana in Hindi with subtitles. That's the way to see it, and I loved it. At night I went to the early IMAX screening, open to the general public, of the two hour and 15 minute Godzilla Minus Zero, in Japanese with subtitles as well.

Both films are playing in IMAX. I wish I could have seen Ramayana that way, because I saw its trailer in IMAX and it looked incredible. Many IMAX screens are splitting showtimes between the two films, so you can't easily do a double feature by seeing one and then coming right back into the same theater for the other. It was a real hoot, too, to see the Toho logo come up on the screen in a United States movie theater. It felt really cool.

Ramayana and Godzilla Minus Zero share themes of family and the influence of the West

Both movies are visual stunners, and both, interestingly, focus on family. Vin Diesel would be proud. I first wrote that as a joke, but family, both blood and the one you make, is such a common theme in life. I think the Fast and Furious movies touch on it, and perhaps that's why Vin Diesel's movies play so well globally. The Fast and the Furious is one of the strongest global brands out of Hollywood, and we all laughed at family, but I think it's quite the tagline. At the end of the day, both of these films are about humanity, as in human connection and compassion being the most important part of life. I thought it was amazing that they had such a similar theme.

I was also struck by the influence of the West that can be felt in both films, which spotlight two of the oldest civilizations on Earth, India and Japan. One takes place before the arrival of the West and the other after it, and as you can imagine, there is quite a difference. The effect of the West, not only on these places tangibly but on their psyches, is an extra layer to each film, and particularly when you consider them as a set.

Godzilla Minus Zero: Ghidorah looks fantastic and the gold atomic breath never gets old

Ghidorah looks fantastic here. Thanks to a meme, it felt wrong to me that one of the three heads wasn't an idiot. I kept checking the heads to see whether one was stupid. I would have liked that, and I get that it's what Legendary contributed to the genre, but I like this version.

Ghidorah looks very, very good, from his physical presence to his gold atomic breath. It isn't only that the main gold beam crackles; there's a little pizzazz around it. I never got tired of it. You have two major monsters who fight, and the movie cost about the same as, or less than, what Clayface cost to make. That's pretty amazing. Between the quality of the VFX, the fact they do it for so little money and the very strong messaging of the film overall, I think there's a very good chance it wins another Oscar for visual effects.

Godzilla Minus Zero's slow first act assumes you remember Godzilla Minus One

The first third of the film is not that great, because it assumes everybody has the first film fresh in their minds. Some people might say you're supposed to rewatch it before you go, but not everybody has time for that. It doesn't do a good job bringing the audience back into the story. I know some cinephiles might groan at Hollywood's extensive exposition at the start of a sequel, but Hollywood does it for a reason, and I think this film would have benefited from catching audiences up a bit more. So if you haven't seen Godzilla Minus Zero yet, you should watch Minus One first, or rewatch it if it's not fresh in your mind.

When Godzilla Minus Zero started, I honestly thought Ramayana was better. Then, at the end of the first act, they take on Ghidorah from the air with airplanes, and they have an interesting idea there too. The movie starts to pick up, and it's exhilarating from there on out.

Godzilla Minus One was a very serious movie. This sequel is still serious, but it's moving more in the direction of being a monster movie. Beyond Ghidorah and Godzilla, there's Noriko's infection, which was hinted at at the end of the first movie. I had totally forgotten about it; I thought her eye was simply injured. They explore it more here, and without giving anything away, I think they have something. I think the idea of infecting humans with Godzilla's cells has only been hinted at in one other Godzilla movie, and it's a really good idea.

Takashi Yamazaki's historical commentary is sloppy, but the message lands

Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla movies are deep with meaning. He did it with the first one, he's doing it here, and it's his secret weapon. The original Godzilla movies were a cultural response to what happened to Japan during World War II, and Yamazaki's brief but distinct inclusion of the US military in the sequel is a choice. It's a powerful one, but also a very tricky one. I don't think his grasp of the history is that good. I think his arguments are a little sketchy and he's leaving some stuff out, and he almost lost me. But he had such a good emotional bottom line and such a poignant message that I came around: the work is sloppy, but I like what he came up with at the end.

The movie argues that using people, or any living creature, as a weapon is wrong, and that some power is too great for anyone to responsibly harness, so no one should have it. That reminds me of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, and Yamazaki's first Godzilla movie was very reminiscent of it as well. But these are complex situations. Even if you decide not to take such power because it's irresponsible, what do you do when someone else is on the verge of getting it? That's a wrinkle Nolan and Yamazaki both conveniently sidestep. I thought of AI while seeing this movie, because it's potentially the next great super weapon, a terrible Pandora's box coming out of the seemingly innocent pursuit of scientific advancement.

Both Nolan and Yamazaki also focus on scientists and the scientific discussion, with little regard for the military side. You can be as disdainful of the military as you want, perhaps deservingly so, but you can't pretend it isn't there. You have to wrestle with it. What won me over was the rare sight of human characters willing to accept that some situations are too complex to understand, yet still taking ownership of their small roles and following their own moral compasses. What more can an individual do when facing monsters, be they Godzilla and Ghidorah or the US and Japanese militaries and governments? When Ghidorah and Godzilla fight, is that supposed to be Japan and the US fighting? Maybe. I don't know. The fact that I even asked is a win for this movie, and it's what sets Yamazaki's Godzilla movies apart.

The Godzilla Minus Zero cast and a scene built to make you cry

The cast is excellent. Ryunosuke Kamiki and Hidetaka Yoshioka are once again excellent, returning from the first film as a former kamikaze pilot and a former weapons maker turned monster scientist. He's the Tony Stark of Godzilla. Min Tanaka joins the cast as another scientist who happened to be at Hiroshima when the bomb dropped, and that's a very powerful and complex role.

There are two good female roles on paper: Minami Hamabe from the first film, and Masami Nagasawa as a meteorologist who joins the team with some very clever, out of the box ideas for dealing with monsters, such as lightning. Neither actress gets the chance to let her guard down like the male counterparts, which sounds a lot like Nolan. But while Nolan has a problem with emotion overall, though he's getting better, Yamazaki is very good at pulling on the heartstrings. There's one scene toward the end that you'll recognize because it goes on forever. I understand why it runs so long, but part of me felt Yamazaki was determined to sit in it until I cried. I thought the child actor was pretty bad, but he kept the scene going long enough that I welled up with tears too.

Minus Zero not only sets up a potential third film, but one that would be even more of a monster movie. I would love to see this franchise continue and become more of a monster franchise, and I'm sure it would still retain its deeper meanings, especially because the monster fights are so good. With the idea of humans being infected with Godzilla cells, they're right on the edge of something amazing. "So, let's go. Let's go. Let's take the next step."

Ramayana Part One feels like a modern Ten Commandments

The legend of Ramayana is centuries old, and from what I've been able to see, it has been influential in many areas of society. It's also behind the Indian holiday of Diwali, which celebrates the return of Prince Rama after 14 years in exile. The movie is being released to coincide with Diwali.

It made me think of 1956's The Ten Commandments, even before I made the Diwali connection, because it has the feel of a grand religious story. I watch The Ten Commandments every Easter, and I do wonder if Ramayana could become a staple for those who celebrate Diwali every year. I think it's worthy of that. Both bring important religious stories to life in spectacular grandeur, and both feature heroes nobly navigating fates beyond their control, decided before they were born, while interacting with their gods.

I find it fascinating how the myths and legends of the world so often echo each other. Beyond the similarities to Moses's story, there's the divine bow of Lord Shiva and the question of which suitor can string it. That made me think of King Arthur and who can raise Excalibur from the stone, and of The Odyssey, which I just saw, where stringing a bow plays a big part. I think all religious and mythological stories give comfort and teach important lessons universally. Even though I don't celebrate Diwali and I'm not very familiar with these gods and practices, I very much enjoyed this movie and got meaning out of it. For me, Ramayana is commendable for three reasons: epic scope, interesting story and amazing performances.

Ramayana's real sets, costumes and rumored 420 million budget

Ramayana has a tangible grandeur that we haven't seen in Hollywood for quite some time. I think Lord of the Rings is probably the last example, and that's why so many people in the West are comparing the two. CGI backgrounds have taken over Western filmmaking because they're more cost effective, but real sets make such a difference, and I'm so grateful that in India they still build them. The film is stunning, from the sets to the costumes and the jewelry. Like Japan and China, India is a very rich world, and you can see why, when the West discovered these places, it wrote about them as if they were legend come to life and then, very tragically, plundered them.

The budget for Ramayana is rumored to be 420 million, and it looks like a good deal of that is up on the screen, which is where it should be. The VFX aren't overwhelming; I'd say they're more effective. The movie doesn't lean on visual effects too heavily, and when they're used, they're used very well. Jatayu, a vulture god with the physicality of a human, looks really good.

Nitesh Tiwari makes a centuries old poem easy to follow

I think this movie does a fantastic job of making a centuries old, very long, complex poem easily digestible and easy to understand, even for someone new to the material like me. It's interesting to learn about the Hindu trinity of gods and the belief that they have human avatars through time. You could believe that to be true, or that someone so extraordinary comes along that people believe they must have divinity in them. I find it fascinating to see where myth and reality meet. It also reminds me a bit of the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, particularly Korra and now Seven Havens, which lean heavily on this mythology.

The Ten Commandments was made in 1956, but Ramayana is a 2026 movie, and the creative force behind it, Nitesh Tiwari, does an amazing job of making it feel modern. I thought of Marvel, which is very popular in India, but I don't think that's a good comparison. Lord of the Rings is better, because it still manages to feel classic. Some movies feel like timeless classics the moment they're made, and I'd put The Ten Commandments and Lord of the Rings in that category. I do think The Ten Commandments meets Lord of the Rings is a perfect way to describe Ramayana. I guess I feel like it's something current audiences would be able to enjoy, with the elements they look for in their cinema, but it's not so modern that it will feel like its time has passed. I think it can hold up for quite some time.

Some people might see the three hour and 15 minute runtime and think it's too much, but I didn't feel the length at all. Well made three hour movies like this one fly by. I could sense it was going to end soon and wanted to see a little more. To its credit, I think it finds the perfect breaking point before part two, which I'm told doesn't have a release date yet. I hope it comes out, but even if it never does, I think part one feels very complete, a real introduction to the legend of Prince Rama and why he's considered so special.

Yash, Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi lead a wonderful Ramayana cast

As beautiful and impressive as this movie is, it would mean nothing without strong performances, and Ramayana has a wonderful cast. Since I didn't know the story, I was at first very confused by Ravana. Despite his bad guy coding, he frees his fellow slaves, and he got his gifts by meditating peacefully and impressing the main god of the trinity. I think the movie does that intentionally: it's fair to both Ravana and Prince Rama, and while Ravana clearly crosses many lines, you can still understand and empathize with where he's coming from. There's a great scene where Ravana throws a birthday party for his brother, who is a giant, and gets into a fight with his brother-in-law. I loved the dancing and celebration and how the scene progressed. Yash, who plays Ravana and is also one of the film's producers, does a great job.

The best compliment I can give Ranbir Kapoor is that his performance, to me, stands right up there with Charlton Heston as Moses. His Prince Rama is an extraordinarily kind soul, but also a warrior not to be taken advantage of. His people's love for him is remarkable, and the movie sells you on it. His revelation toward the end, that it's wrong to simply accept one's fate and nothing is wrong with standing up for yourself and trying to right wrongs, is a wonderful message.

Sai Pallavi reminds me a lot of Zendaya. She has that same wonderful quality, and I thought she was a great choice, because she makes Sita relatable and as special as everyone describes her. Ravi Dubey rounds out the famous trio as Prince Rama's most devoted brother. I also want to single out Arun Govil as the king, Prince Rama's father, who loves his son and seems such a kind man, but made a terrible promise before Rama was even born. The movie's focus on the importance of one's word is an interesting and important message. As a true epic, the cast is huge, and there's not a single person I thought did a bad job. It reminded me quite a bit of The Ten Commandments, which is very high praise from me, because it's one of my favorite movies.

Why Ramayana and Godzilla Minus Zero belong together, in their native languages

These are two amazing movies from the other side of the globe, depending where you live, hitting North American multiplexes and, I believe, opening globally. They make for one heck of a double feature, whether on the same day, the same weekend or across a couple of days. Like Barbenheimer, I think this is another great set, not only for their quality but for how they reflect on each other and what they say about how the global audience, and particularly the North American audience, is changing.

Please see both films in their native languages with subtitles. That's not only for authenticity. The English version of Ramayana is 30 minutes shorter, and it cuts some key emotional scenes, either removing them or cutting them down. I really think you should see the film as it was intended.