Sequels rarely live up to the highs of the original movie, so it’s no surprise that writer and director Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to his spectacular Godzilla Minus One can’t equal that kaiju masterpiece. But wow does it come close, gifting us another genre highlight that easily outshines any of Hollywood’s outings with the titular monster.

Picking up two years after the first film, we are quickly caught up with our returning characters. Scientist Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) now leads Japan’s disaster response bureau, and Kôichi Shikishima (Ryûnosuke Kamiki) and Noriko Ôishi (Minami Hamabe) are happily wed and raising young Akiko (Sae Nagatani) together, with Noriko helping neighbor Sumiko Ôta (Sakura Andô) at her orphanage for war orphans.

Still reeling from the lingering effects of both World War II and Godzilla’s attack, Japan and its people are doing their best to rebuild when a new monster emerges, the flying, dragon-like Ghidorah. Noda and his team, with help from the brilliant meteorologist Makoto Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa) begin to formulate a plan to deal with the beast, ultimately enlisting Kôichi’s help as well, despite the protestations of Noriko. When that ends in failure and Godzilla suddenly reemerges, they decide to follow the advice of Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka), who has a plan to trick the monsters into fighting each other, presumably leaving the victor in a weakened state and easier to finish off.

There are a lot more moving pieces this time around, and the movie doesn’t always do the best job keeping track of them, but by and large the proceedings remain easy enough to follow. Aside from the minor editing issues however, this remains nearly as compelling and thrilling as its predecessor.

Yamazaki continues to treat his human characters and their stories with a level of care that the American movies almost universally seem incapable of doing, ensuring that the audience remains fully invested in their fates and making the big emotional moments all the more impactful. Somewhat incredibly, he proves even more adept at eliciting tears this time around than he did in his first outing, once again examining the horrors of war while never feeling exploitative and this time adding a focus on how it’s ultimately the younger generations who pay the physical and psychic toll for the decisions of adults.

The well-earned R rating means you’ll want to exhibit caution about bringing little ones along. There is more gore than usual for these kinds of movies—especially during the thrillingly visceral monster fight—and a surprising amount of body horror, but it’s the unflinching scenes portraying the aftermath of the nuclear bomb that prove most upsetting—rightfully so—and will likely require discussion with kids.

Not afraid to get dark, Godzilla Minus Zero does remember to have fun with its premise as well, with some of the most gripping action sequences of the year and many truly memorable visual moments. It’s another wild ride featuring one of cinema’s most enduring monsters that remains grounded enough in real human history and emotions to raise its stakes while never forgetting that the creatures are supposed to inspire fear in those who see them. With Yamazaki’s sure hand guiding the franchise, Godzilla remains the King of the Monsters. Long may he reign. ★★★★½

Rated R for some violent content / bloody images.