Gojira (1954) Review
Today, I am going to be reviewing Gojira, the 1954 classic that started the Godzilla saga. In glorious black and white, Gojira is about the tragic monster that nuclear weapons create, with plenty of interesting subplots to keep us interest throughout the entirety of the movie.
When the Eiko-Maru sinks near Odo Island, a rescue boat, the Bingo-Maru, is sent out to investigate the tragedy. The boat was not meant to be, as neither the boat, nor the crew ever return. A second rescue boat is sent out, which is once again, shipwrecked.
While this strange phenomenon occurs, the small fishing community on Odo Island isn’t able to catch anything, the island elders accuse Godzilla of causing both problems.
Then, when reporters come to the island, the natives tell them of Godzilla, but the reporters remain doubtful. Regardless of the reporter’s disbelief, the natives perform an exorcism on the land, in hopes of the monster never returning.
That night, while the natives were resting, a massive, lethal storm hit, killing many. Paleontologist Dr. Kyohei Yamane was sent to the scene, and finds the footprints of Godzilla, which are highly radioactive.
Godzilla soon rears his head over a hill, and the natives flee. Godzilla finally leaves, and goes back into the ocean.
The paleontologist than does an analysis, and learns that Godzilla is a hybrid of sea and land creatures, particualarly reptiles, created by nuclear bombs.
Armed with this knowledge, the Japanese government reveals Godzllla to the public, and creates an Anti-Godzilla fleet. When Godzilla appears in front of a cruise boat, the nation panics, and depth charges are used to attack Godzilla. The Japanese people breathe a sigh of relief, thinking Godzilla is dead, but they could not be more far from the truth.
When Godzilla resurfaces, the country is in shock. Yamane feels that Godzilla should not be killed, but studied, and is very aggravated at the governments attempts to kill it.
Meanwhile, Yamane’s daughter, Emiko, goes to her fiance’s house, to tell him that the wedding is off. When she arrives, though, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa swears her to secrecy, and shows her something, the Oxygen Destroyer. When he shows her the power of this weapon, and his struggle to use it, the last thing on her mind is the wedding. She leaves that night without making her announcement.
Shortly thereafter, Godzilla rampages through Tokyo, killing thousands. This is when Emiko breaks her silence, and alerts General Ogata of the Oxgen Destroyer, and it’s potentiality to destroy Godzilla…
I’m not going to give away the ending of the movie in this review, but trust me, if you are going to watch ANY Kaiju movie, make it Gojira. Godzilla’s first appearance is also one of his best, with plenty of destruction for all of you just out for some monster smashing, but a plot to keep everybody else entertained. The struggle of Dr. Serizawa to unveil his weapon among the world is so deep that it feels real. A perfect monster movie, Gojira gets 10/10!
