Daimajin delivers a solid quarter-of-an-hour of Kaiju-style action, with a giant statue stomping on buildings and bad guys. Unfortunately, it's the final fifteen minutes of the film, with not a single appearance by the animated stone warrior before that. By the time the film eventually got around to the good stuff, I had kinda lost interest, the first hour of the film consisting of tedious feudal drama.
The film opens as traitor Samanosuke Odate (Ryûtarô Gomi) conducts a coup, seizing power from Lord Hanabusa. After their father is killed, young Tadafumi Hanabusa and his sister Kozasa are smuggled to the safety of the mountains by loyal samurai Kogenta Sarumaru (Jun Fujimaki), where they spend the next ten years in the company of priestess Shinobu (Otome Tsukimiya).
Meanwhile, evil tyrant Samanosuke has increased his power and enslaved the villagers, ultimately forcing Kogenta and Tadafumi to come out of hiding to help a band of rebels. When the pair are captured and tortured, Shinobu warns Samanosuke that the mountain god will take revenge. An unbeliever, Samanosuke kills the old woman, and orders the destruction of the stone idol that stands over her temple. Not his best idea...
There are better samurai movies than Daimajin, and there are better Japanese monster movies. The first hour of this film is a laborious build-up to what I imagine most viewers came to see: the statue wreaking havoc. When all of the tedious drama and lackluster sword swinging is done, the Daimajin finally gets to work, and delivers the goods, smashing flimsy buildings, crushing the enemy, and impaling Samanosuke through the heart with a large metal spike. While this is a lot of fun, with some impressive special effects for the day, it doesn't make up for the disappointing majority of the movie.
4.5/10, rounded down to 4 for the obligatory annoying kid.
The film opens as traitor Samanosuke Odate (Ryûtarô Gomi) conducts a coup, seizing power from Lord Hanabusa. After their father is killed, young Tadafumi Hanabusa and his sister Kozasa are smuggled to the safety of the mountains by loyal samurai Kogenta Sarumaru (Jun Fujimaki), where they spend the next ten years in the company of priestess Shinobu (Otome Tsukimiya).
Meanwhile, evil tyrant Samanosuke has increased his power and enslaved the villagers, ultimately forcing Kogenta and Tadafumi to come out of hiding to help a band of rebels. When the pair are captured and tortured, Shinobu warns Samanosuke that the mountain god will take revenge. An unbeliever, Samanosuke kills the old woman, and orders the destruction of the stone idol that stands over her temple. Not his best idea...
There are better samurai movies than Daimajin, and there are better Japanese monster movies. The first hour of this film is a laborious build-up to what I imagine most viewers came to see: the statue wreaking havoc. When all of the tedious drama and lackluster sword swinging is done, the Daimajin finally gets to work, and delivers the goods, smashing flimsy buildings, crushing the enemy, and impaling Samanosuke through the heart with a large metal spike. While this is a lot of fun, with some impressive special effects for the day, it doesn't make up for the disappointing majority of the movie.
4.5/10, rounded down to 4 for the obligatory annoying kid.