The first sequel to Gojira promises more city-stomping action, and throws in big-G's first kaiju adversary. The film nods to its predecessor more than a few times, even acknowledging that the original Gojira is dead. It was set up at the end of Gojira that there could be others awakened by nuclear bomb testing, so when another Godzilla emerges, it's not too big of a surprise.
Name: Godzilla Raids Again
Director: Motoyoshi Oda
Studio: Toho
Year: 1956
The Story:
10 minutes of tedious aviator adventures lead to two pilots stranded on an island witnessing Godzilla battling a spiky-backed quadraped on the cliffs overhead. Scientists gather with Dr. Yamane to discuss this new gigantic creature, confirming it's Anguirus. The worry is that both are incredible threats worse than nuclear bombs. Dr. Yamane has a plan to lure them away from land, fighter jets and the navy set out search, Shikoku is put under evacuation alert as Godzilla heads towards land. But he pivots and heads towards Osaka instead, interrupting a lovely dance Shoichi and Hidemi are attending. Blackouts are mandated. As he breaks the surface of water, jets fire off flares to try and draw Godzilla's attention. It works, Hidemi's father has gone to the factory at the docks instead of evacuating for some reason, so Shoichi heads off to the rescue.
Meanwhile, a transport of prisoners hatch a daring escape plan. They go racing through the docklands in a frantic keystone cops-esque speed-ramped chase. The prisoners steal a tanker truck, but in the chase they crash it into an oil depot, setting the docks ablaze, attracting Godzilla's attention. The army once again throws everything they've got at the big guy and it only seems to annoy him. It's not long before his atomic breath starts trash planes and tanks.
All the commotion attracts Anguirus and the two beasts fight amidst all shelling and missiles fired at them. The docks are ablaze. The titantic tussle (also speed-ramped) destroys everything in its path as the two continue to venture further and further in land. Three of the escaped prisoners are drowned in a collapsed subway tunnel. The military headquarters are abandoned. Godzilla ultimately gets Anguirus by the throat and tears its neck open, before incinerating it with his atomic breath, which catches what remains of the district on fire. Osaka is in ruins. Godzilla departs, a job well done.
Scene of weird ribaldry in the the ruins of Kaiyo's Osaka headquarters lead to Kobayashi's flying antics, and matchmaking prospects. There's an extended sequence of a pilots reunion, as Kobayashi and Shoichi meet with old Japan Self-Defense Force pilot friends. There's, like, nearly 10 minutes worth where nothing material, character or story-wise is conveyed. Then a ship sinks, and they suspect it's Godzilla. All the pilots head out to spy the creature, but Hidemi is unhappy that Shiochi won't return to base. But no so unhappy that she won't help out Kobayashi with his romantic problems. Shiochi espies Godzilla on an island and has a plan for containing him before he can retreat back into the ocean, but Kobayashi sees that time is not on their side so he stupidly keeps buzzing Godzilla, pissing the creature off and getting the business end of atomic breath. But Kobayashi's death spiral causes an avilanche that buries him in urinal ice. The JSDF causes more avilanches to make sure he stays buried.
The Creatures:
Godzilla - Godzilla is now infamous. Dr. Yamane deems him to be indestructable. Godzilla is just a species name, not a character name. As was identified last film, Godzilla has a thing with lights. Yamane suspects it trigger's Godzilla's PTSD over the hydrogen bombs. Godzilla looking very gnarly toothed, his chompers sticking out akimbo in every direction, and, above that, just dead, dead eyes. This Godzilla also looks a lot leaner, not as squat in the lower half.
Anguirus - atomic testing has awoken an ankylosaur, 150-200 ft tall. Described as carnivorous and quick moving, they also have remarkable brains found in breast and abdomen, and are deemed agressive against other species. There is something delightful about watching a guy in a rubber suit try to perform as a quadrapedal creature but still fight a bipedal one. Anguirus has kind of a stupid looking head, lean long and flat with seven or 8 spikes sticking out of it, but the rest of his spiky armour and weird posture is quite fun.
The Battle:
Godzilla versus Anguirus is pretty fun to watch, even if the speed-ramping looks a little odd. The Anguirus suit makes for an awkward-moving creature, which makes it fighting the upright Godzilla look really odd, and interesting.
The final battle where the JSDF is strafing Godzilla and firing on the mountainside to create an avalanche reminds me strangely of the strafing run from Top Gun: Maverick despite the disparity in effects and budgets.
The Humans:
Dr. Yamane - Godzilla expert. Returns from prior film, for one extended sequence.
Shoichi - Pilot. He spies schools of fish from the plane for the fishing boats but has bravery in his heart.
Hidemi- Shoichi's love interest. Her dad owns the fishing company both her and Shoichi work for. Worries over the impact of kaiju rampages on their business.
Kobayashi - The other pilot. The "comic releif". He's looking for love but can't stop crashing planes. His sacrifice leads to Godzilla's defeat.
The humans are, once again, barely of any interest in this one. I guess the intent of having sort of blue-collar workers as the center is to show the ground-level impact of Godzilla, but unlike the first film that takes us into the heart of the devastation afterwards, here, the characters are joking around amidst the ruins. There's no sense of impact, save a ruined dance and some business reshufflings. Yes, the lovably goofy chubby guy dies in a ball of flame, but only starting to give him a character at the beginning of the third act isn't really enough to make us care. I'm wondering how long it will be before the human story of a Godzilla movie will actually feel relevant, because the extended scenes with the humans in this movie are its most tedious.
Friend or Foe: Very much a sequel to Gojira. Even though this is a different beast than the original, it's still got the same reputation and humanity doesn't like it so much. Less proactively troublesome and slightly more understood as a force of nature. But we fear what we cannot understand or control, so Godzilla must be dealt with.
The Sounds:
Anguirus's squelch sounds like a dying 1930's car corn.
Godzilla sounds like he did in the last film. His atomic breath has a simple wet hissing sound, like squirting a seltzer bottle.
The score features none of the epicness of the original film and nothing remotely as memorable. It's serviceable and unremarkable.
The Message:
Umm. I guess that nuclear proliferation is only going to unleash more monsters?
Or, maybe, bury your problems?
Rating (out of 5 Z):
ZZz
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