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Godzilla Showa Classics Volume 2
I was a huge fan of Godzilla when I was a
kid and watching those whacky Japanese movies with their over the top
special effects was a kid's dream. Godzilla was some kind of radioactive
dinosaur or some sort of mythological beast who really knew how to kick
ass. The Japanese were onto
something with the creation of this monster that featured men in rubber
suits playing dangerous creatures, some with strings holding them
up... yes my dear
readers, Godzilla was 100% cheese.
Thankfully for fans of this genre or the
original movies, Madman have released 6 movies from the 60's to the 70's
that include Godzilla: All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs Hedorah,
Godzilla vs Gigan, Godzilla vs Megalon, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla
and finally Godzilla: Terror of Mechagodzilla. Monsters, robots,
aliens
and the like, Godzilla not only took the world of Japan by storm but
also that of pop culture. The acting was bad, it was over the top, yet
something was strangely compelling about Godzilla. Early on Godzilla was
evil, however as the movies progressed, Godzilla became a protector of
Earth.
In relation to the movies and without becoming a War and Peace review,
the first movie revolves around Ichiro, a boy who is continually bullied
at school and when he witnesses Godzilla attack Tokyo (the effects are
so bad), he dreams of "Monster Island" that sees Godzilla attack a
variety of monsters with some fun men dressed up in suits. The winner of
this movie is definitely not the story but the corny effects and suits
that is oozing with silliness, yet strangely entertaining.
Next up is Godzilla vs Hedorah that sees
our green monster take on a giant space alien as they duke it out with
Godzilla almost taking a dirt nap but somehow he does the Rocky Balboa
and defeats Hedorah through some good old fashioned punches into a
military generator. Yep, it smells like chicken. The next movie once
again features more aliens as the viewer is introduced to Gigan and King
Gidorah who are attempting to destroy humanity but once again, our green
anti hero comes rushing in to kick some alien butt. With their tales
between their legs, the alien invasion of Earth ends with the
instigators leaving.
Another star of these movies are the weird
and whacky sound effects that need to heard LOUD to be enjoyed. Out of all these movies, Godzilla vs
Megalon is my favourite and involves an underwater society who are
being disturbed by nuclear testing. Releasing their fury on the surface
world with robots and the return of Gigan, both of them are defeated by
Godzilla and our green hero once again goes back to Monster Island for
some R&R.
After a scary prophecy in Godzilla vs
Mechagodzilla, we discover that above Mt. Fuji, a monster will
arrive who will destroy the Earth. This monster is Godzilla, however as
the story progresses, we learn that this is a mechanical Godzilla and
the real Godzilla comes forth to destroy the imposter and he sends a
scary message back to its alien creators who were from the previous
movie.
Finally we have Terror of
Mechagodzilla that focuses on Titanosaurus, a huge dinosaur like
creature who appears to have been sent by the aliens in the former movie
and yes, Mechagodzilla returns as humanity fight hand in hand with
Godzilla to defeat these insidious enemies of the world. Definitely a
classic battle that will now be burnt into my memory forever.
Although the video and audio quality is
rather poor in this boxed set, the movies are a hoot that had me in
stitches yet strangely glued to the screen as I watched these giant
monsters crash cardboard buildings... err.. realistic buildings with
some really corny but fun effects. Bloody hell... this is what movies
are all about! Just rent it for a laugh and a carton of beers! |
