Godzilla's Counterattack!

Godzilla movie number 2! This time it's Godzilla's Counterattack, or Godzilla Raids Again depending on which country you'd find it. In fact, it's original North American release was named Gigantis the Fire Monster. It leads to an incredibly confusing English version because they not only refer to what's obviously Godzilla as "Gigantis" but they give him the other monster's roar. To this day these decisions hurt my mind because there's NO reason for it. 
Regardless, with the success of the first film, a sequel was rushed into production. None of the original crew returned except for Tomoyuki Tanaka as producer.  The plot to this one certainly isn't as dark or complicated as the other, certainly never gets the feeling that it came from the heart like the first one. Much less an ensemble piece, following a small group of people who's lives are interrupted by the monsters. 
Airplane pilots Tsukioka and Kobayashi basically fly the oceans looking for schools of fish for the fishing company they work for. Kobayashi is forced to make an emergency landing on a nearby island and Tsukioka has to go off course to pick him up. While on the island they hear some kaiju happily playing a game called "who can lose their jugular first" and it kind of caught me off guard the first time I'd ever watching it because of how immediately we get to see the monsters. After a short struggle, the monsters fall into the ocean leaving our traumatized pilot to go home and tell everyone.
A new Godzilla suit was made, and while they kept the jagged skin and back plates, the sculpt looks much taller and leaner. I like the design quite a bit actually, despite the somewhat too wide face when viewed from the front. I particularly like the big pointy ears, because I love pointy ears really. Angilas also looks very cool, almost an opposite of Godzilla as a quadruped  who resembles a super spikey ankylosaur dog creature. I like the very jagged rough texture of both the monsters in these early films. Not necessarily realistic, but it makes for some really awesome looking kaiju. 
The next portion of the film is a lot of set up with the characters as well as the growing fear of another attack on Japan. Dr. Yamane from the previous film makes a cameo, and describes the last time Godzilla was sighted, even bringing along a video to show everyone. This clip of Godzilla, played almost in it's entirety, is played with absolutely no sound, with the camera cutting to the onlookers in dead silence. Every time I'm shocked at how powerful this silence is, saying far more about the horror of Godzilla than any dialogue or music could. 
I can't get by this scene without mentioning the fact that Angilas is described, and pictured in a text book here. And oh god are his stubby little legs cute. 

Dr. Yamane suggests that Godzilla is sensitive to light, believing it reminds him of the glow from the nuclear bomb testing. Essentially saying that Godzilla has some sort of post traumatic stress, furthering the idea that the bomb that changed him was a painful experience, much like the idea that Godzilla's skin texture is burn scars. The plan here is to shoot flares out into the ocean if Godzilla attacks to get him to follow them back out to sea, lets see how messing with a kaiju's PTSD works then, shall we?
The movie continues and we spend more time with Tsukioka, his girlfriend Hidemi and the staff of the fishing company, and while that seems somewhat boring by it's self, something I notice is that every scene with these characters is interrupted somehow by the kaiju. An intimate talk with Tsukioka and Hidemi is drowned out by jets flying overhead on patrol, a business meeting is all about what they may lose if the monsters attack, even a party later in the film is stopped dead when news of the kaiju comes up. It's all very interesting to see all of the cast try to live their lives only to have it set aside for the monsters. 
Not a lot of reporters and politicians or scientists going on and on about stuff, this movie is certainly more intimate than the first. It's nice to see that even though this film was rushed into production, it doesn't suffer from too much sequel-itis. 
Godzilla inevitably appears offshore, and the flare plan actually works! Godzilla turns back into the ocean, and everyone is happy. Until some character's we've never met, and will never see again do some damn stupid shit and make things worse for everyone involved. 
This is my one true gripe about this film. We're introduced to a truck full of prison inmates who are being taken to safety from the kaiju attack, and they easily escape from the guards to initiate shenanigans that lead to an even bigger explosion that gets Godzilla's attention, AND attracts Angilas to shore too. Great. Thanks assholes.
While I understand what this chain of events does overall, I can't help feeling like this could have been handled much better. Tsukioka gets hijacked into the chase, but aside from him, all of the rest of the plot and the monsters just disappear for a huge chunk of run time. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and even though there's quite a bit of action, it kills the slow but consistent build up of the rest of the movie. 
At least it leads to our first ever kaiju battle though! Godzilla and Angilas battling with tooth and nail is a joy to watch. The suits look fantastic, the miniatures look great. It's a nice no frills kaiju on kaiju slug fest. It's somewhat undermined by some normal speed action (most of the kaiju scenes were filmed in slow motion to create the illusion of mass, and not having that really hurts the imagery) but the camera work and lighting make for a beautiful sequence. Especially a gorgeous matte painting of the city from far away in flames. It's an incredibly epic shot as the smoke from the fires reach up to the clouds giving the battle a kind of elemental look. Nature it's self seemingly affected by the battle. 

The aftermath of this scene plays out in a very different manner than expected however as people seem to bounce back from the destruction much more easily considering how their lives were ruined and their livelihood destroyed. I was always put off by this when watching it, but a better writer pointed out once that while Godzilla (54) was about a country laid low by a nuclear threat, Godzilla's Counterattack is about a country moving on and rebuilding. This is a movie about people who have grieved, but are ready to move on. 
Just as soon as everyone is comfortable however, Godzilla reappears for one last big set piece. Once again the movie takes us someplace new, instead of another city or the barren rocky environment seen at the beginning, the scene takes place on an island with a snowy mountain range. We're treated to a very fun extended battle with  airplanes dropping bombs and generally getting trashed or set on fire, and after a somewhat out of nowhere sacrifice Godzilla is subdued just in time for the movie to end. 
While not as deep and meaningful as the first film, I feel like there's quite a bit to love about this movie. I suggest avoiding the English version because it adds a ton of crappy cheap stock footage and never effing shuts up long enough for any of the dire circumstances to sink in. The characters are likable if not memorable, and the effects are imaginative and otherworldly. I wouldn't say it's art house like the first one, but it's definitely a solid, well made kaiju film. 

And here I have special edition figures of both Godzilla and Angilas. The Godzilla is inspired by the ice in the final scene, and his sculpt is based on this particular suit. Angilas' paint scheme is directly referencing a scene in the film as well, though the sculpt is from Destroy All Monsters. The Godzilla is pretty accurate, but I'm not a fan of how shrunken Angilas' legs are in this one. Dem stubby legs.