Godzilla Raids Again

When a series of fishing boats suddenly disappear, the worst fears of Japan are realized: Godzilla has returned.  Even worse, he’s been followed to the mainland by another powerful monster, Angirus.  Japan barely survived their first encounter with the King of the Monsters.  Now with an impending showdown between two titans, can anything stand in their way?  When even the might of the Japanese military proves fruitless, the cleverness of a pair of untested pilots could be the key to victory before all of Japan burns in the wake of this clash of monsters.

Welcome to Godzilla Month II.  All throughout November we’ll be looking at 4 Godzilla films, one from each of the main eras of the series, starting with todays Showa Era offering.  The original 1954 Gojira was a true masterpiece of visual spectacle and hard hitting messages about the horrors of atomic fire.  While it ushered in a new era of theatrical monster movies in Japan, I doubt anyone expected Godzilla to get a sequel, especially since he was very much dead at the end of the original.  I doubt even more imagined what kind of a direction the series would take after the gut punching original.  This brings us to Godzilla Raids Again, a rushed sequel that shows its rushed while also giving birth to many of the tropes that both define and hamper all Godzilla movies to this day.
 
Indeed Godzilla Raids Again is the debut of one of the main draw of any Godzilla film: the Kaiju showdown.  It’s rare to see a film where Godzilla isn’t locking claws and teeth with another titanic beast and clearly it was enough of a hit here to ensure that’s what he’d be doing for much of the next 60 years.  The King of the Monsters first foe, Angirus, is iconic in his own right, more often seen as an ally to Godzilla but here they start as rivals.  Unlike other films to follow, Godzilla Raids Again doesn’t slow down the movements of the suit actors during fights, instead letting the camera run at real speed.  I understand this was a behind the scenes problem…but I’m not gonna lie, I kind of like it.  While the sped up action loses a lot of the epic movements and punch of traditional Kaiju battles, it still gives the Godzilla vs. Angirus fight a more feral like ferocity.  It’s a rough and tumble brawl throughout Osaka with tons of destruction and mayhem, basically everything we come to watch these movies for.  I can see why changes were made to the style of filming these fights but as far as they go, this is still a solid first showdown for The King and Angirus and it’s easily the best part of the movie.
 
Unfortunately, the actual story of Godzilla Raids Again feels non existent.  And when you’re following up one of the darkest reflections on the horrors of Atomic Power with a story about a fishing company trying to get by, yeah it doesn’t pack the same punch as dealing with the fate of an entire nation at the hands of an unstoppable lizard.  Instead we have a bunch of characters I didn’t bother to learn the names for, either running for their lives or laughing in the middle of their ruined office buildings and streets because hey we need to make this movie lighter in tone for some reason.  The pacing of the film also slows to a crawl whenever Godzilla isn’t on screen, especially in the second half.  And even when Godzilla does return, he doesn’t do as much.  There’s tons of footage of humans trying to stop him through a rather silly scheme.  But nothing ever matches the same intense stakes or the heroic sacrifice of Dr. Serizawa at the end of Gojira.  Sadly, this is a trope that continues to this day in many Godzilla films.  So this is where the beginning of the pointless human subplots in Godzilla movies begins.
 
As a follow up to one of the greatest Monster films ever made, Godzilla Raids Again doesn’t hold a candle to Gojira.  At the same time, it introduces several elements that are staples of the Godzilla series from the main event showdowns to the meaningless human characters just around to pad out the runtime with nonsense and pointless chatter.  It feels like a very rough first draft of a formula other Godzilla movies would perfect further down the line.  Godzilla might get a solid match up in Angirus.  Too bad everything else feels so subpar and well below the standards of the King of the Monsters.
 
4/10
 
Next Week, we jump ahead almost 40 years to the epic conclusion of Godzilla’s Heisei era with what many consider one of the very best in the entire franchise.  It’s Godzilla vs. Destroyah, Next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.