This skippable sequel sees Godzilla amusingly battling with a monster for the first time, laying the 1v1 blueprint for the future, but production problems and a rushed job mar the experience.
Review #3,007
Dir. Motoyoshi Oda
1955 | Japan | Sci-Fi, Action | 81min | 1.37:1 | Japanese
Not rated – likely to be PG
Cast: Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki
Plot: Scout pilots for a fishing company are startled to discover a second Godzilla, whose battle with rival monster Anguirus threatens to destroy Osaka.
Awards: –
Distributor: Toho
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – Battling Monsters; Saving the Day
Narrative Style: Straightforward
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Mainstream
Viewed: Criterion Blu-ray
Spoilers: No
Fresh from the success of Godzilla, the OG classic from 1954, Toho thought it would be a great idea to make another Godzilla movie as soon as possible. And indeed, they moved quickly, perhaps too quickly in this rushed job of a sequel.
Called Godzilla Raids Again, the film may offer cursory pleasures for Godzilla-philes, but it is difficult to ignore the problems inherent in a botched production.
However, we must first recognise that the only real positive that came out of this picture was its laying down the blueprint for future instalments to feature 1v1 monster fighting.
If the first Godzilla film was about pure terror as the giant radioactive creature rampaged Tokyo with nothing capable of stopping it, Godzilla Raids Again sees another Godzilla emerging from the sea, alongside a new monster called Anguirus, apparently explained as a dinosaur that walked the Earth in prehistoric times.
“So, there’s another monster besides Godzilla?”
They do battle with each other, this time in Osaka, where the authorities now know to evacuate the town in advance. Through a series of trick shots, miniatures, and men-in-monster-suits, the battles are more amusing than exciting, and far from suspenseful.
Because of a purported mistake by a cameraman, some of the fight scenes feel like they are happening at 1.5x speed. According to the Criterion write-up, director Motoyoshi Oda decided to keep them in as reshooting would have strained finances considerably.
There is also the problem of the scale and size of Godzilla in the climax, where it doesn’t look menacing enough.
There is some romantic drama to boot to keep the plot moving, away from the monsters, including a fighter pilot who longs to confess to a woman he likes, but duty comes first when he is tasked with a final mission to try to defeat the King of Monsters. You won’t miss much if you skip this.
Grade: C+
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 