by Psycho Soldier » Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:30 am
Saw a couple kaiju movies today that I hadn't seen before:
Space Amoeba was pretty unspectacular, and I was especially disappointed because the Japanese trailer made it look like it'd be close in tone to Son of Godzilla or Ebirah. If it had been less serious and more relaxed, I might have forgiven the rushed plot more easily, but the movie's underwhelming as it is. I was also disappointed that Ifukube recycled the KKvG theme for this film. I love the KKvG theme, mind you; I just thought this was an egregious case of the man recycling superior music for an inferior film. Anyway, I might revisit this one later, if only to evaluate it on its own terms rather than my initial expectations, but that probably won't be very soon. Ganime and Kameba look cool, though. (Can't say I'm a fan of Gezora - he just looks too fake, especially with his painted-on eyes.)
Atragon, on the other hand, I enjoyed. Some interesting characters and themes, and the plot and the Mu Empire reminded me of H. Rider Haggard's She at times. I do wish it had been longer, in order to further develop the characters and the global vs national concerns theme, but I was satisfied with what was presented. I did gripe at the scene where the explosives specialist opens up the delivery from the Mu Agent in a room full of other people (including civilians), but hey... Also, I gotta say, the Gotengo is probably my new favorite piece of military hardware from Toho's sci-fi movies. I'd seen it in GFW, of course, but I developed a fuller appreciation for it after seeing Atragon.
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