Plot Summary
Koji Kobayashi, a spotter for a Japanese fishing fleet crash lands his plane on a barren island. His best friend, Shoichi Tsukioka, manages to find him and lands his plane next to his so he can be rescued. The two pilots are shocked when they see two giant monsters waging war before falling into the ocean. The two pilots race back to Japan to inform the government what they saw. Soon the world comes to the realization, that a monster closely related to the original Godzilla is on the loose as well as a new monster named Anguirus. Soon, the two monsters arrive in Osaka where they resume their battle
So you think we are super commercialized today? Well, this movie was produced and released SIX MONTHS after the original film so there's that. The quick turnaround REALLY shows itself as the plot is pretty thin and the movie doesn't have the original director or composer which were big parts of the success of the first film. (well other than the Big G himself) Despite these flaws the movie does bear an allegorical lineage to the first film in that the first movie was about the dangers and horrors of nuclear war while this movie attempts to show how society deals with the after effects of the devastation and destruction of warfare.
That being said the tone is a bit wonky in that it tries to present the horror in a subtle understated way that is cut down at the knees by a somewhat lighthearted presentation. Kobayashi is a bumbling oafish guy who has a subplot of wanting to ask a girl to marry him. Now i'm not completely sure but I THINK it's the radio girl named Hidemi who is Tsukioka's girlfriend. Kobayashi is actually an endearing character unlike a lot of the "comedic" type characters that we'd see in later Godzilla movies. Tsukioka is a pretty serious guy and Kobayashi's best friend who eventually avenges Kobayashi later in the film.
Really, the human drama plot ultimately doesn't work but it isn't as bad as it would get in some other Godzilla movies. Like I said, the tone at first was a bit somber especially after Godzilla and Anguirus destroy Osaka but then they laugh in the face of the impending doom of Godzilla being a threat and it becomes a bit TOO happy happy fun time.
The actual monster stuff was pretty good IMO. The fight between Godzilla and Anguirus had a semi-realistic technique in that they're clawing, biting and roaring at each other. The weird thing though is that the battle scenes were filmed on 3 cameras. 2 of the 3 were sped up which gives the monsters a slower plodding movement while one of the cameras was undercranked and made it look sped up which made it look slightly silly.
That being said, the Japanese cut is a million times better than the US version which reportedly butchered the movie to ribbons.
I give this about 2 stars.
'Til then, the DVD player is turned off.
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