The first movie to introduce rodan--a giant flying reptile. At a deep mine in Japan large prehistoric insects appear and start attacking a nearby town. To make things worse two giant flying reptiles appear also. They can fly at supersonic speed and fly all around Japan destroying cities and killing people. How can they be stopped? The first Toho monster movie in color and considered by some to be its best (next to "Godzilla"). I liked some of it but this film has some huge problems. First the lousy dubbing really hurts the film. Second are the dramatic tone shifts--first it's a horror movie, then a love story, THEN a war movie! It never settles on a consistent theme. Third, the special effects are pretty bad. The large prehistoric insects are laughable. The rodans (who don't appear until almost an hour in) look somewhat impressive but their flying sequences are so obviously rubber dummies held up by strings it's more funny than scary. Fourth, the same war footage and flying footage of the rodans is used again and again and AGAIN! It gets boring.
On the plus side this film is fast-moving and pretty exciting and filmed in BRIGHT color. Also it's only 72 minutes long so it goes by quickly. All in all this is best for kids. I give it a 5.
On the plus side this film is fast-moving and pretty exciting and filmed in BRIGHT color. Also it's only 72 minutes long so it goes by quickly. All in all this is best for kids. I give it a 5.