This movie has an awful lot going for it. The first half is characterized by wonderful underground mine / cave sets well rendered, with plenty of mist, shadows, and crags. There are even some scenes in the first third or so which are downright creepy and because of effective lighting, music, and pacing.
In addition, the miniature work and related practical effects are superbly rendered - just beautiful craftsmanship and photography. There are a number of shots where I found myself forgetting for a moment that I was looking at miniatures, so detailed and perfectly shot were they. I was especially impressed with some of the building miniatures, which carry an astounding attention to detail. Hundreds of tiny shingles fly off individually and in waves under the powerful wings of Rodan. Unlike in some less carefully crafted films, here they don't seem to defy physics but fly apart the way one imagines they might in real life, and because everything else around them is rendered with such attention to detail they seem all the more realistic and properly scaled. Another great example of the attention to detail are scenes in which hills and "huge" walls of soil collapse as missiles are fired into them. They are crafted into layers the way their full-scale equivalents are as such, with topsoil and vegetation sliding off the denser material beneath before the denser material itself collapses in larger chunks.
The acting is also very good throughout. You like these characters and want them to be okay, which is a bit unusual for this kind of movie, and certainly became uncommon as this series of flicks continued into the 60s and beyond.
Finally, the score is suitably somber, effectively underpinning all of the features noted above.
Highly recommended for fans of this kind of movie, but also for anyone interested in pre-CG effects and beautiful craftsmanship.
In addition, the miniature work and related practical effects are superbly rendered - just beautiful craftsmanship and photography. There are a number of shots where I found myself forgetting for a moment that I was looking at miniatures, so detailed and perfectly shot were they. I was especially impressed with some of the building miniatures, which carry an astounding attention to detail. Hundreds of tiny shingles fly off individually and in waves under the powerful wings of Rodan. Unlike in some less carefully crafted films, here they don't seem to defy physics but fly apart the way one imagines they might in real life, and because everything else around them is rendered with such attention to detail they seem all the more realistic and properly scaled. Another great example of the attention to detail are scenes in which hills and "huge" walls of soil collapse as missiles are fired into them. They are crafted into layers the way their full-scale equivalents are as such, with topsoil and vegetation sliding off the denser material beneath before the denser material itself collapses in larger chunks.
The acting is also very good throughout. You like these characters and want them to be okay, which is a bit unusual for this kind of movie, and certainly became uncommon as this series of flicks continued into the 60s and beyond.
Finally, the score is suitably somber, effectively underpinning all of the features noted above.
Highly recommended for fans of this kind of movie, but also for anyone interested in pre-CG effects and beautiful craftsmanship.