Ishiro Honda follows on from GODZILLA and GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN with this outlandish sequel, teaming up America's most famous movie monster with Japan's. The result is a cult classic of a movie, squarely aimed at kids; it has to be said that this falls into the so-bad-it's-good camp, with terrible special effects, nonsensical plotting, and a largely irrelevant first hour which really sucks the fun from the proceedings. You'd think that was impossible considering the premise, but believe me, for the first hour this is completely average.
Eventually, Godzilla (thawed out after his icy paralysis at the end of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN) meets up with Kong, and the two of them wrestle and tumble in a hugely entertaining wrestling-cum-fight sequence that works completely; let's face, this is what we paid money to see, and it doesn't disappoint. Kong somehow gets power from lightning, using it to electrocute his rival, who fights back with his megabeam breath to fry Kong to hell and back. Plenty of model buildings are destroyed throughout the film, adding to the entertainment value.
Sadly, this film was taken to pieces by the Americans for the US release, which is nowadays the only version in circulation. Lots of boring padding in the form of newsreel footage really sucks the life from the proceedings. The US actors are considerably more stilted than their Japanese counterparts, who at least get into the fun spirit of the thing, and the dubbing really sucks too. The back screen effects are remarkably poor in this film, whilst the gorilla suit is really shabby, with a rubbishy papier mache face that looks nothing like Willis O'Brien's Kong that we all know and love. Godzilla is his typical self, but doesn't get a whole lot of screen time.
Other fun elements include the blatant racism (the "natives" on Pharoah Island are played by Japanese actors in blackface) and a hilarious interlude in which Kong battles a giant octopus; that sequence alone is enough to add a star to the rating. Otherwise, ignore the mundane plot, and focus on enjoying the unintentional humour which comes from all the model planes and submarines, the inconsistencies in the plot and the exaggerated showdown between the two beasts.
Eventually, Godzilla (thawed out after his icy paralysis at the end of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN) meets up with Kong, and the two of them wrestle and tumble in a hugely entertaining wrestling-cum-fight sequence that works completely; let's face, this is what we paid money to see, and it doesn't disappoint. Kong somehow gets power from lightning, using it to electrocute his rival, who fights back with his megabeam breath to fry Kong to hell and back. Plenty of model buildings are destroyed throughout the film, adding to the entertainment value.
Sadly, this film was taken to pieces by the Americans for the US release, which is nowadays the only version in circulation. Lots of boring padding in the form of newsreel footage really sucks the life from the proceedings. The US actors are considerably more stilted than their Japanese counterparts, who at least get into the fun spirit of the thing, and the dubbing really sucks too. The back screen effects are remarkably poor in this film, whilst the gorilla suit is really shabby, with a rubbishy papier mache face that looks nothing like Willis O'Brien's Kong that we all know and love. Godzilla is his typical self, but doesn't get a whole lot of screen time.
Other fun elements include the blatant racism (the "natives" on Pharoah Island are played by Japanese actors in blackface) and a hilarious interlude in which Kong battles a giant octopus; that sequence alone is enough to add a star to the rating. Otherwise, ignore the mundane plot, and focus on enjoying the unintentional humour which comes from all the model planes and submarines, the inconsistencies in the plot and the exaggerated showdown between the two beasts.