Godzilla Raids Again
One of the things my recent discussion with friend and filmmaker Matthew Saliba had me realizing is just the sheer depth of possibilities the “Godzilla” movies, and kaiju films in general, possess when it comes to storytelling. Of course, the expectations when you start expanding a story involving a giant monster made from hydrogen bomb testing is that it’s going to be more mayhem, but you also do not want to limit the character stories, either. With their second film in the franchise, Toho found a decent balance, but truth be told, the monster madness is what kept me interested as this film went along.
The original masterpiece from Ishiro Honda ended with Godzilla being destroyed by an Oxygen Destroyer weapon. But, would you believe me if I told you that ANOTHER Godzilla has awoken? That is most assuredly the case, as two pilots looking for schools of fish come across an uninhabited island, only to find that Godzilla lives. And now, he is fighting another prehistoric monster. They make it back to land, where a scientist (played by the great Takashi Shimura) fills us in that this is, indeed, another Godzilla, and the creature he is battling is Anguirus, a dinosaur that lived around the same time millions of years ago as Godzilla. Get ready to rumble.
The human element in this film is fairly perfunctory and feels like filler. I’m not really interested in the characters, the love story involving one of the pilots and one of the operators at the tuna company the pilots worked at. It’s not boring, per se, and it’s given enough attention to kind of hold my attention, but when the film focuses on Godzilla is when it comes into focus. These creatures were awoken by the same hydrogen bomb that woke up Godzilla in the first one, and, as the creator of the Oxygen Destroyer died setting it off in the original film, there are not a lot of options for them in this film. There are options, however, and they lead to some fine visuals here.
With the sequels to Honda’s film, and especially the ones where other creatures are involved, the real energy comes from the action Godzilla is involved with, and this is probably one of my favorite examples of that I’ve seen. The introductory tease of the fight between Godzilla- who is leaner in this film- and the Anguirus is exactly that, a tease, but it really sets the stage for what we will see as the film progresses. The first big fight between them is basically a kaiju wrestling match, and I loved every second of it. The wanton destruction on the mainland as these two go at it is fun to watch, and basically, any time action is involved with Godzilla is when the film comes alive, with a later scene of Godzilla being stuck in a man-made avalanche being another great example. The metaphor and human element is not as potent in this one, but “Godzilla Raids Again” has its feet under it when it’s mashing its monsters together. This is a fun one to watch.
