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| Godzilla and Anguirus battle it out over top billing |
While claims can be made that the original Gojira was a better and more serious film than the dubbed American version, retitled Godzilla, no one can make that claim of its sequel. A dubbed version with some added stock footage and narration entitled Gigantis, the Fire Monster was released in the U.S. years ago; it's now known as Godzilla Raids Again. In any language and with any name, it's still a terrible picture. As a new member of the Godzilla species is discovered on an island in battle with another monster called an Anklylosaurus or Anguirus -- a battle which is continued in Osaka -- Hidemi (Setsuko Yakawama) and handsome pilot Tsukioka (Hiroshi Koizumi) draw closer. Their friend Kabayahsi (Minoru Chiaki) is also a pilot, under the command of Tajima (Yoshio Tsuchiya). Takashi Shimura appears as Dr. Yamane. The FX work is mediocre and the whole undertaking is completely childish, which was not true of Gojira. The actors are fine, however, probably giving the whole thing more intensity than it's worth.
Verdict: Even Reptilicus was better than this. *
