by Mac » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:50 pm
Dan Schneider wrote a review for Godzilla's Revenge:
[quote]I’ve seen thousands of films. Not as many as most remunerated film critics, but quite a bit more than your average filmgoer. And in all those films, across genres, decades, screenwriters, nationalities, directors, there are only two films that I can think of that truly get inside how a child reacts and thinks. Note, I am not claiming films that well portrayed childhood, such as a modern family classic like My Dog Skip, amongst that lot. Although, it is itself an arguably great film, that film, for all its virtues, was told in a rather conventional manner. No, the two films that best penetrate a child’s mind are actually both B science fiction films, and both are sequels. The first is Robert Wise’s 1944 debut directorial effort, the black and white The Curse Of The Cat People, and the second is 1969’s mere 69 minute long color film, Godzilla’s Revenge (aka All Monsters Attack, Oru Kaiju Dai Shingeki- admittedly all bad titles). Both films were made on shoe string budgets, employed narrative arcs vastly different than their predecessor films, but both really got in to the logical nub and center of a child’s POV on the world. It’s no surprise that both films are usually dismissed by fans of the original films in the series. Yet, The Curse Of The Cat People is a better film than Cat People and Godzilla’s Revenge is clearly the best film in the whole Godzilla series, save for the first film, Godzilla, King Of The Monsters (and its Japanese source film, Gojira), and, in reality, given the actual narrative inventiveness of this film, good arguments can be made that it is the best film in the series, and possibly the best film of director Ishirô Honda’s career.
Naturally, the idiocracy in today’s critical field routinely slams this film as the worst in the series, and even those few people who defend it offer only tepid defenses, such as this one (note the smarmy title):
Important to remember most of all about this movie is that it is a kid’s movie, therefore it teaches us some important lessons. First of all, if real life sucks, don’t deal with it, escape to a fantasy land that is much better. Second, violence, not talking, is the answer to everything. Got a bully in your life? Grow a pair and beat him up. Out for a walk in the jungle when you come across a giant spider? Beat it up. Taking a nap on a cliff when planes fly by? Destroy ‘em. Out for a swim when a giant prawn swims near? Beat it up. Kidnapped by evil-doers with at least one weapon that could easily be used to kill you? Beat them up; after all, you’re seven years old and you have an active imagination, that’s the best weapon of all! This is a children’s movie that parents of today would cower in FEAR of if it were unleashed on their children. As the Oprah-ization of the world becomes more and more complete, people are taught to cry about their issues and combat bullies with words and tattling. A movie that teaches to FIGHT would be considered exactly the WRONG message to send to young children. I don’t know about you, but if I were a bully, a swift kick in the junk would stop me in my tracks a lot faster than a, “Please stop, let’s be friends.â€