It is me Movie, and here I am here again reviewing another Godzilla movie. I have been watching them in order and have been loving them! I was hoping I would’ve had another blog entry out by now, but oh well between college and a part time job there isn’t much time to do much. So yeah Godzilla Raids again, the second movie in Godzilla’s long franchise. SPOILERS AHEAD SILLY BILLY!
Godzilla Raids again ( 1955 )
Godzilla Raids Again is a japanese film released in 1955 and was produced by Toho Co. Directed by Motoyoshi Oda. This film was quickly made to cash in the large success that the first one was. It had a more focus on its action scenes instead of trying to tell a meaningful story that would discuss important real life issues,
Godzilla returns for his squeal! Oh wait didn’t he die at the end? Well worry not this Godzilla is a completely different one from the previous movie!! Wait, the movie is called Godzilla raids again but its a different godzilla? Keep this mind for my future reviews on the Godzilla movies, this is very important later on.
This movie also introduces a new kaiju to rampage next to Godzilla! Anguirus is a quaderpal spiky boy! He is supposedly based on an ankylosaurus but his design is incredibly unique and iconic, the only thing he really shares in common with the ankylosaurus being the short legs and spikes that run along his back, other than that he doesn’t resemble one.
Anguirus has a lizard like head with horns and a long tail that is dotted with spikes. He also has the ability to stand up on his hind legs to more closely match Godzilla’s height.
Both Monsters are portrayed using the technique of suitmation, which like the original movie looks amazing and works incredibly well in the city destcution scene and holds up really well in the modern age. For close up scenes puppets were made and ngl they can look really goofy but in a charming way you know?
Thankfully for this movie the suits used were lighter and allowed the actors to move more freely in them as they used a different method to make them, that method being cloth covered in latex. Though I imagine Katsumi Tezuka ( the actor for anguirus ) back would’ve been sore from the way Anguirus moves.
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The story of this movie
Oh boy, it is no where as strong as the first movie, I do not care about any of these characters they are so lame and forgettable! The only good character is the return of Yamane, but all he really does is go “We can not defeat Godzilla…” ahh
The main character of this movie are two pilots and their girlfriends. It begins with the pilots flying in the sky doing some random ass shit before one of their engine fails and he lands right next to an island, the other pilot has to go fish him out of there. When he finds the other pilot and they go into a small gorge together before hearing roaring and fighting above them, to their shock they see Godzilla and the new creature Angurius fighting, because it turns out Angurius really hates violence and if it finds a creature that brings destruction, it fights them… wow what a hypocrite.
They get away and make it to safety, whenever they get home they tell everyone what they have saw, there is a nice little scene where they are flipping throught a dinosuar book and become gobsmacked whenever they see the ankylosaurus or something similar to it. Yaname like I said is just being a big old negative nancy about the whole thing, constantly going on how Godzilla is too powerful to be defeated.
Godzilla surfaces on some random beach and as soon as he does he finds himself in between a defense force that goal is to take him down. Godzilla smashes them to bits and flees.
Soon after Godzilla shows his face around Osaka bay, the government has a sparkling new plan to deal with godzilla this time. For some reason Godzilla isn’t a fan of bright lights, strange huh? Considering how he can blow things up and cause giant fires across cities, kinda a hypocrite ngl.
So the government has organized a city wide blackout and send flares out into the ocean to lure Godzilla away. Being completely honest, it is a much better plan than the one that they had in the previous movie, that being ‘DROP NUKES ON HIM!!!’.
So their plan starts to work and everyone is holding their breath but they are like, we totally just saved our asses here lol. Turns out tonight is not their night, because a bunch of prisoners escape and drive a car into a factory causing a big explosion and a fire to break out, Godzilla doesn’t like this and decides that he is going to burn the city down :>.
Just before he can get any real destruction Angurius rears his head and picks a fight with godzilla. They two duke it out and let me just say, two giant monsters fighting in a burning city is my favourite part of this movie, Godzilla bites into Angirus neck and defeats him warrior cats style as Anguirus makes funny little noises as he dies.
Godzilla leaves, the two pilots go after him to a mountaintop where they start to fight him, one of pilot crashes into the mountain dying in the process but the crashing plane causing a small avalanche, inspiring the other pilot to attempt to bury godzilla in ice, so he does that and Godzilla is defeated and frozen in ice.
Personal Thoughts
Overall this movie is definitely not as good as the first one, it has its charm and I adore the special effects so much, but man was the human story boring! I just don’t care about these darn pilots I feel no emotion for them and their story is so darn boring. This is something that you put on in the background, not something you sit down and watch. I don’t want to repeat myself from what I said in my Godzilla (1954) review because most of what I said there remains true here as well.
Stuff like stunning effects, the unique use of suitmation, the first kaiju fight in cinema are this film’s strong points, the idea of adding more monster into the world of Godzilla is probably the best part of this movie, and in future movies it just gets better and better. Speaking of anguirus, i love both his design and his roar it is so funny and silly sounding and is the perfect counter to godzilla’s chilling roar.
I wouldn’t personally go out of my way to watch this movie if i am craving something Godzilla, I might just watch a clip of of the kaiju fight if i really felt inclined to.Overall I believe unless you are doing a Godzilla movie marathon like I am, skip this one and go onto King Kong vs Godzilla