| The eighth entry in the Showa
Godzilla series has the Big G portrayed in a different
way: a father figure. This is one of the most
underrated films of the entire series, but despite
all the heat it receives, it is still better than
most of the latter half of the Showa series. Though
most fans regard this movie as one of the more
childish kaiju films, it's actually appropriate
for all ages. Though underrated and overlooked,
in the end, the film's merits tend to overrun
its flaws.
As a plane travels over the Pacific Ocean, its
controls are suddenly scrambled. As one of the
crewmembers shouts into the cockpit about some
kind of wave interruption, a huge gray mass appears
in the distance: Godzilla! The crewmember quickly
explains that the disruption is actually a ray
of brain waves and concludes that Godzilla is
heading toward the source. He maps the direction
of the brain waves and discovers that Godzilla
is heading for the small Sollgel Island.
A few hundred miles in the distance on the strange
isle, the members of a research facility, run
by Doctor Kusumi, hurry to finish their daily
tasks as a familiar sound is heard.
Suddenly, out of the blue, a plane flies overhead
and someone is dropped via parachute. Both Dr.
Kusumi and one of the crewmembers, Fujisaki, go
out to confront the intruder. As they bring him
back to the lab's main camp, he reveals that he
is a news reporter named Goro Maki, and explains
that he has arrived to cover the unfolding story
of their work. Dr. Kusumi quickly disagrees with
his plans and orders him to go home. Goro quickly
refuses and declares that he will not move until
he gets what he has come for. After tempting him
with food and water for some time, Dr. Kusumi
final breaks down and decides to let him stay,
but only as a cook. During that moment, a hissing
noise is suddenly heard throughout the camp. Everyone
rushes from his quarters to see what is going
on. One of the personnel, Furukawa, dashes out
with gun in hand. The source of the hissing is
discovered: a human sized mantis. Goro photographs
the giant insect, while Furukawa fires off four
rounds at the aggressor. The giant mantis quickly
retreats into the brush.
On a search to find edible vegetables for dinner,
Goro searches the island collecting Sollgel parsley.
During this gathering, he comes upon something
that he cannot believe: an exotic woman swimming
in the island's waters. He starts to photograph
the girl, but accidentally knocks over a rock,
alerting her to his presence. She quickly dives
under the water's surface, and though Goro calls
out for the girl, he receives no response...
Later that night, the crew starts to discuss
the main experiment, which will be conducted the
following day. Upon hearing that the crew of the
facility plans to freeze the island, Goro, fearing
for the mysterious woman's life, explains to them
that there is, in fact, someone else on the island.
Her life, he explains, is in grave danger if the
experiment is to go on as planned. The crew explains
to him that there are no other people on this
island beside themselves, yet Goro insists what
he saw was real. Suddenly Furukawa goes into a
rage, declaring that he should not interfere with
their affairs and proceeds to stomp off into his
quarters. After the quarrel, Goro further questions
Dr. Kusumi about the experiment, and he reveals
that the purpose of the experiment is to help
solve world hunger. If lands such as African Deserts
and Siberian Tundras could have their climates
synthetically altered for the sufficient growth
of crops, then mass starvation would cease to
exist.
The following day, everyone prepares the instruments,
making sure that everything is in tip-top working
condition. Five minutes before they begin the
experiment, Goro takes off, hoping to save the
native girl. The team warns him using the island's
intercom, but he merely ignores the instructions
and continues his search. He rushes into the area
where he witnessed her swimming, but his mission
is a failure. As he hurried back to camp, an apocalyptic
storm had arisen from the detonating balloons.
Four days later, the storm finally subsides,
and Dr. Kusumi and Goro begin to survey the land
and machinery. They come to discover not only
that the giant mantis has mutated, but also that
this strange creature has multiplied. The two
men retreated, and looked on in awe as they witnessed
the creatures uncovering a giant egg.
After watching the monsters hack away at the
egg, Dr. Kusumi gathers the crew and speaks to
them about the continuing days of labor. Furukawa
objects, declaring they cannot continue with the
experiment. Goro quickly retaliates by saying
they must keep working. The argument ends with
Furukawa stomping off once again. Suddenly they
hear a disturbance outside, and everyone rushes
out of the building. Various articles of clothing
have been stolen! They quickly spot the native
girl who runs off into the brush.
The next day, Goro and one of the crewmembers,
Morio go off to investigate what the Kamacuras
are digging at. Goro dubbed the insects "Kamacuras".
They come to find out that the giant insects have
come to uncover a giant egg and are vigorously
trying to break the shell. Finally, after several
minutes of labor, they crack the shell to reveal
a baby Godzilla!
Meanwhile, back at the beach, Furukawa enters
another fit of rage and procures a gun. He threatens
to kill anyone who dares to come near him and
starts to sprint off toward the water, in hopes
of getting away from the treacherous island. As
he makes his way to the shore, Fujisaki catches
up to him and brings him to his knees. As Fujisaki
tries to calm Furukawa down, they notice a disturbance
in the ocean's waters. From the depths rises the
King of the Monsters: Godzilla! Both men quickly
retreat to the research facility, but Godzilla
follows closely behind. The men realize the futility
of taking shelter in the facility, and dash to
a cliff instead. Godzilla makes short work of
the laboratory and continues into the distance.
Godzilla finally tracks down his soon-to-be-adopted
son, Minilla, and attempts to save him. The Kamacuras
stand in his way, however, and it became clear
that he would have to take these sadistic beasts
down. He easily dispenses with two of the terrors,
retaliating against their advance with his deadly
thermonuclear ray. The third Kamacuras retreats
in the opposite direction. Seeing no more danger,
Godzilla takes Minilla under his wing.
During the intense mêlée, Goro tries
to escape danger. While in mid-run, he falls and
lands in a mysterious cave. Goro awakens to find
the native girl, Riko Matsumiya, and convinces
her to accompany him back to camp. He quickly
introduces her to the rest of the crew, but during
this light moment, the final Kamacuras attacks.
The crew quickly retaliates with gunfire, but
all it does is anger the horrible insect. It finally
ends its assault, after hearing a familiar cry
in the distance...
Some time after, a sudden sickness strikes most
of the crew, who now reside inside Riko's cave
following their lab's destruction. Riko reveals
that there is a type of "red water"
that will cure their sickness rather quickly.
While she and Goro travel to procure some "red
water", they travel past a section of the
island known Kumonga's valley, which is the realm
of a giant, slumbering spider. Shortly thereafter,
Goro and Riko watch Godzilla teach his newly adopted
son how to use his atomic ray. After gazing upon
the kaiju for a few minutes, she quickly gathers
water and brings it back to the cave.
After the water takes effect, Riko leaves in
search of herbs. In the process, she runs into
Kamacuras, who follows her. She is knocked cold
by the insidious insect, but Minilla, who just
so happens to be walking by, comes to her aid.
Their skirmish not only summons Godzilla, but
also awakens the giant spider: Kumonga!
After Godzilla and Minilla leave, Kumonga rises
from the ground and chases the first prey lays
eyes upon: Goro and Riko. The narrowly escape
the spider's clutches, but Kumonga quickly follows
them to the cave. The repugnant appendage of the
awful arachnid reaches into Riko's home as panic
grips those inside the cave. Shots are fired,
and Kumonga retracts its leg. The spider realizes
the futility of pursuing the humans, so it wanders
off in search of other prey.
The next day, Minilla harmlessly wanders about
the island. Everything seems tranquil, until he
runs into the beast, Kumonga. The two monsters
engage in combat above Riko's cave. In fear that
the structure will collapse, the crew quickly
decides to launch the weather balloons and send
out a distress signal. Dr. Kusumi and Fujisaki
work the controls from within the cave. Meanwhile,
the rest of the crew works at the ruined research
facility, releasing and detonating the balloons,
in hopes of sending out a strong signal and changing
the island's climate. They swiftly make their
way to the sea and wait for someone to respond
to their signal.
Meanwhile, Minilla has become entangled in Kumonga's
webbing, and just as the giant spider is about
give the final blow, the last Kamacuras rushes
out of the brush, interrupting the meal. Kumonga
makes short work of the giant mantis, webbing
and devouring its foe. Kumonga, after done finishing
the mantis, turns its sights to Minilla. Out in
the distance, a roar thunders through the land
and heralds the return of Godzilla. In an attempt
to save his son, Godzilla does battle with the
massive spider, and in the process, becomes blinded
in one eye. As the war waged on, the effects of
the weather balloon begin to become noticeable.
Snow begins to fall, and as the powder descends
upon the ferocious fight, both Godzilla and Minilla
strike the spider, killing their enemy once and
for all.
With Kumonga's terrible wrath finally extinguished,
the crew watches on in awe as Godzilla and Minilla
begin to huddle together for warmth. Their eyes
begin to close, for they are about to enter hibernation.
Behind the personnel of the research facility,
the water begins to rumble and a submarine rises
out of the water, waiting to rescue them. They
can all finally go home.
The plot, while a little odd (well
what kind of plot can you expect from a kaiju
film), is still heartwarming. All of the entertaining
scenes with the Godzilla and his son seem to make
you want to smile and laugh. Ignoring the main
plot surrounding the monsters specifically, the
human plot seems to have an underlying subtext.
Jun
Fukuda seems to have retroactively pulled
a "Banno", hinting at the ever-growing
population problem.
The acting is some of the best
seen within the Showa Era. While it may not be
as great as the acting in the previous entry,
Ebirah,
Horror of the Deep (1966), it
tramples over most of that displayed in the latter
years of this timeline. All of the actors portray
their respective character with dignity. Akira
Kubo seems to stand out, playing the news reporter
Goro Maki. His antics during the film are what
really build his character up, from his reluctance
in leaving the island, to the immediate danger
he put himself in trying to warn Riko. Bibari
Maeda, playing the Riko Matsumiya, was also one
of the better performances within the film. She
fits excellently into her roll, despite the fact
that her role demands that her character be pulled
away from civilization. That, coupled with the
added dimension of how she tends to watch after
Minilla, really make her character interesting.
The score of this film fits perfectly,
as Masaru
Sato presents us with a mainly island themed
score. One of the most memorable pieces is opening
them, as its dark tone really sets the mood for
the whole scene. The score as a whole however,
is one of the lighter compilations through out
the entire Showa Era, and this only makes it even
more unique and enjoyable.
The kaiju are handled superbly
in this film both in character and in physical
design. Minilla is a cute character, not because
of his looks, but because his actions. He acts
just like a baby would, wandering about, playing
around the island with his father. Godzilla, oddly
enough, takes a completely different role in this
film; he goes from rampaging beast to watchful
father. It really grabs one's interest to watch
the two Godzillas, father and son, interact with
one another. How Godzilla teaches Minilla to use
his heat ray is one of the most memorable scenes
of the entire film. Now, we come to the antagonistic
kaiju. On one hand, we have the pest-like, giant
praying mantises, the Kamacuras. These creatures
are handled remarkably, and the puppetry for the
Kamacuras is virtually flawless. It is nearly
as great as Mothra's puppetry in "Mothra
vs. Godzilla". As antagonists, they are portrayed
as more of a pest to Godzilla than as a viable
threat. On the other hand, there is the giant
spider, Kumonga, whose one subject in life is
to feast on anything that is unfortunate to come
across it. Kumonga is, yet again, another great
use of puppetry. The only true flaw is the "hovering
crawl", where the creature's legs don't seem
to touch the ground as it moves. One prop that
does look rather bad is the life size Kumonga
arm, where the claw appears out of proportion
with rest of the arm. The life-sized Kamacuras
claw however, is the quite opposite of the Kumonga
arm, and it looks good and well proportioned.
The special effects are a mixed bag here. A few
are grand, while others are rather lacking. The
miniatures are nicely done, and especially the
ones used for the research facility. The filmmakers
even went to great lengths to make the miniatures
look rusted after the storm. Miniatures aside,
the minimal rotoscoping in this film is great,
but still falls short from time to time. Godzilla's
ray looks extremely well in some scenes, with
a fiery look to it. In other shots, it seems grainy,
with barely any form to it. Kumonga's webbing,
even though unrealistic due to the incorrect anatomical
portrayal of a spider, looks fairly good as a
sprayed mist. The transparent sheets, used to
render the webbing, also work to create a believable
illusion. One final effect that is worthy of mention
is the use of backdrops in this film, even though
the usage may be minimal; the scenes in which
the techniques are used are very tight.
Despite all of the advantages,
this is still one of the most underrated Godzilla
films, ever. It is a shame to see a lot of fans
shunning this very fun and enjoyable film. When
one watches the film, one can pretty much piece
together why it's hated so much, with the ugly
Godzilla suits and slightly childish plot. I,
for one, love the film. In the end, Mr.
Fukuda shows us what a fun film really is.
|
(3.5/5)
