Godzilla's second appearance, released way back in the mid '50s, is much more in line with a classic horror film than the kitschy dust-ups that would soon follow. It's ambitious without being overzealous, tries hard despite rudimentary technical capabilities and the human subplots actually aid the monsters' storyline, rather than distracting from it.
The necessity of shooting in black and white actually works to benefit the special effects. Concealed amidst a wash of inky shadow and evening murk, the tiny onslaught of toy tanks and rocket launchers seems more formidable, less obvious as a visual trick. Godzilla and his foe, the spiny reptile Anguirus, don't enjoy the same luxury. Although their battles are significantly faster in tempo and harder-hitting than in future installments, the old suits (particularly their heads) just don't hold up to close scrutiny. Looking back, the continuity is also problematic, but that's never been a strong suit for this franchise.
All in all, it's perfectly enjoyable as a rather basic, single-focus disaster movie that knows where its bread is buttered. Maybe not as bold and bombastic as later entries, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Even though "Godzilla Raids Again" still strikes a semi-serious tone to a certain extent, I can't really take the movie seriously. The whole monster vs. monster concept, which is used for the first time in this sequel, always seems a bit ridiculous to me. When guys in monster costumes tussle with each other, it's usually rather unintentionally funny. However, some of the effects in the second Godzilla film are still quite convincing. Even worse than in the first part, though, are the human characters, who are uninteresting in every way. And the story didn't exactly knock my socks off, either. Overall, I found "Godzilla Raids Again" a bit boring, even though it's certainly not a total failure. But unlike the first part, the movie definitely doesn't have anything substantial to say.
Being nowhere near as impactful as the original Godzilla, Godzilla Raids Again feels more like someone saw how successful the first one was, and decided they needed to make a cash grab. Cheaply made, a lot of reused footage, bad pacing, and no real story to speak of. Out of all the Godzilla movies I have seen, this is the least memorable, and unless you aim to see them all, this can safely be skipped.
Another one for Godzilla Day 2022 and I'm not counting midnight as the end as I got up later last night so it's still Godzilla Day for me at least!
Ranked: Godzilla, the King of the Monsters
"Even with all our weapons and collective ingenuity, we weren't able to stop Godzilla's frenzied, radioactivity-fuelled rampage."
Godzilla Raids Again was really unlucky in that it was a sequel released 6 months after the legendary debut of the King of Monsters. It was never going to surpass it or even come close to it but it is still a decent sequel. It started the Godzilla fighting other Kaiju monsters.
Godzilla's first rival was Anguirus and it didn't end well for Anguirus. Way before the movie end he gets brutally killed by the King of Monster who decided from the beginning to show the world who rules the Kaiju world. I always enjoyed the design of Anguirus and I always enjoy his only battle with Godzilla because after he makes a return in Destroy All Monsters he always fights alongside his King.
Anyway after that the military fights Godzilla again and it end alright. The human part of the movie is okay but the highlight of Godzilla Raids Again is the kaiju battle and destruction of the surroundings during the fight.
Please note: This review is for the original Japanese subbed version.
On Godzilla's second outing (although it's not really the original, I'll get to that in a second), he fails to get the same level of passion. The script is bad and the cinematography much much worse than the first Godzilla film. But this was the first time he faced off against another monster, which of course would become a staple of all films to come.
The previous movie shot from below and had Godzilla move very slowly to show us a sense of scale. Here, Godzilla and his foe fight like they are 10-year-olds with no idea of what choreography is. They just seem to slap one another and it even feels like the footage is sped up at certain times. This is not how you should ever do a giant monster movie.
The story though, while understandable, lacks any depth for the audience to care. Sure, you could root for the main characters here to live, but I found them all to be pretty useless and didn't know why I was following their story besides one pilot. But even then, it would be if Independence Day followed Russell Casse (the "crazy" pilot) for the whole film. The mere re-appearance of Godzilla himself is hastily explained away as "we made another".
There really isn't much to this movie besides the actual good prop work and destruction.
4/10
See my Godzilla ranked movie list: https://trakt.tv/users/corruptednoobie/lists/godzilla-films-ranked?sort=rank,asc
Shout by whitsbrainVIP 5BlockedParent2022-01-15T16:01:47Z
This is an enjoyable follow-up to the original "Gojira". The Japanese version of this film is superior to the hacked up American version (called "Gigantis, the Fire Monster"). In this movie, Godzilla battles Angilas and the battles are actually lengthy and engaging. I was impressed by the fight sequences even though they do look a little funny during the times that they are sped up. The Godzilla suit is a little scary, especially early in the film when it is reminiscent of the original "Gojira". Angilas is not nearly as successful of a creation. Close-ups of the beast's head are entirely unconvincing.
There are some of the usual guffaws like jet planes clearly supported by strings, miniature buildings lifting slightly without damage when inadvertently bumped by a monster, but these are things that make these movies so endearing and fun.
The conclusion is inventive but gets repetitious and drags on too long. The Toho Master Collection DVD contains a very interesting extra that covers history of the actors who played Godzilla (and other famous Toho monsters).