Dir. Motoyoshi Oda & Ishirô Honda (1955)
Godzilla has returned, as well as a new monster called Anguirus, and they're headed for the metropolis of Osaka, Japan.
Opening side note: there are two ascribed directors for this film, but only because clips from Honda's original film are jammed into this one to remind audiences what happened in the first film. The rest of this movie is directed by Motoyoshi Oda, who was fresh off of his turn at one of Japan's versions of The Invisible Man. This was due to a rushed production of the sequel following the enormous international success of the original film, and Godzilla Raids Again sorely lacks the expertise of its original creator. Thankfully, Honda returned for the followup and many of the sequels thereafter, and Raids is the only one of the original films that lacks his guidance.
When a pilot crash lands on a deserted island in the Pacific, he is quickly rescued by another pilot for the fishing company he works for. During the rescue, however, the pair discover another Godzilla, this time fighting a spiny monster called Anguirus. As the feuding kaiju take their fight to Osaka, it's up to Dr. Yamane (Takashi Shimura, reprising his role from the original Godzilla) and a group of scientists and military members to stop him. Thankfully, the military knows a hell of a lot about ankylosaurs, which helps in the fight against Anguirus, but they've learned very little since their initial battle against Godzilla himself. This naturally leads to some difficulties in defending the homeland against the reptile menace.
The decision to make Anguirus an ankylosaur is an interesting one, and it fits well within the context of Godzilla being a giant dinosaur-like lizard. The creatures are a bit more fake-looking in this one, and its a lot less subtle than the previous film. There are plenty of shots of giant monsters fighting, which I suppose you could argue is what the audiences wanted, but Godzilla Raids Again loses a lot of the horror appeal of the original by being too dependent on fantastical fights. Godzilla was shadowy and dark, a true monster movie that would leave as much as possible to the imagination and leave the audience wondering how they would feel actually seeing something like this in their country. Raids instead relies on giant monster wrestling, which would of course eventually become the hallmark of kaiju movies in Japan and abroad.
Godzilla Raids Again lacks a lot of the drama of the original, and while it carries with it some of the social critique of the first film, it fails to make it really matter. Yes, Godzilla was raised by nuclear testing, but who cares when there are other dinosaurs roaming the countryside? Some of the internal logic of the film is inconsistent, and there's a forced plot about escaped criminals trying to loot the city while Godzilla and friend attacks. Raids is a straight-up monster movie, failing to capture the social and political import of the first film despite immediately following one of the greatest monster movies of all time.
The inexplicable decision to speed up the monster attack, allegedly a mistake in editing that was left in the film, makes the monster fight scenes more cartoony than they should be, taking away from the serious tone of the rest of the film. The city is destroyed, and that's always fun for kaiju fans, but it's done by two fast-moving creatures that makes it look a bit like Benny Hill wrecking Osaka. It's a shame, too, because the fight scenes and the subsequent destruction, including the flooding of the Japanese subway, could've been really cool had it been handled with the austerity of the first film.
Ironically, the rest of Godzilla Raids Again is a slow-moving film, with a lot of human interaction that feels a bit barebones and inconsequential compared to the overwhelming threat of giant monsters. Most of the film's runtime is people running around in various pursuits, seemingly oblivious to the clear and present danger of the approaching lizards (or at least acting like it). Despite its shortcomings, however, Godzilla Raids Again is still a kaiju movie from the only country that does it right. There are lots of explosions, and the Godzilla design is very similar to the original. He's a sympathetic character just because he's so lovable, though in fairness that's through the lens of a lot of hindsight (and 37 other movies).
Who this movie is for: Kaiju movie fans, Giant lizard lovers, Paleontologists
Bottom line: Godzilla Raids Again is a vast departure from the first film, maintaining a serious tone but lacking a lot of what was so incredible about the first film. Everything from the score to the fight scenes is a letdown, and it misses the important social critique of the original. Nevertheless, it is a Japanese kaiju film and it adds a bit to the lore of the titular monster, as well as adding another villain in a series that would eventually be full of them. It's not a necessary watch if you're looking for the best films of the series, but if you're a completionist like me (and just love Godzilla in general), you definitely should check it out.
