When I was a kid one of the few VHS tapes I had was KING KONG VS. GODZILLA, so I watched it about a million times. Now, this isn't a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it is funny and entertaining. The original GODZILLA is not funny at all, but it is a grim and suspenseful disaster story.
RODAN, on the other hand, is... I don't know. Boring?
The movie opens on Japanese miners being attacked by giant insects and leads to the discovery of two winged prehistoric monsters, both named Rodan, who terrorize Japan with their super sonic flight speeds. As usual, we get a scene with a scientist who explains that he is pretty sure nuclear bombs are responsible for reawakening these beasts.
George Takei reportedly did some of the voices in the overdubbed version, which is the one I watched, but I'm sorry to report that I only recognized his voice once or twice. It was nice knowing he was there, though.
The film climaxes with endless shots of missiles being fired into a mountain from every angle you can imagine, over and over again. This is accompanied with hissing, annoying sound effects. If you can stay awake during this "final battle" for the surprisingly sad ending, you win extra points.
So what is it that made this flick a hit both in Japan and the US? There had been plenty of superior special effects flicks before this one. It's not like the sub-par effects in this flick blew anyone's minds. Maybe it just had a killer ad campaign. Who knows.
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