Review: ATRAGON (1963)

Next up on the Kaiju Movie Challenge list, Atragon (1963).

First, here's my eleven-year-old son, James:

Atragon is about an air-and-water drill submarine trying to stop a empire called "the MU empire" and their protector/god is Manda a half-snake-half-lizard!  

I thought it was a cheesy movie, and Manda was barely in it.  The "freeze" gun not a freeze gun, it's a "painting" gun. it turns people into paintings 

So, i'll give this movie 3.7 Atomic breaths of Awesomeness!!

Now here's my review:

Another model-tastic treat from Toho, Atragon shows off great effects and good music.  The insane flying battleship here reappears in Godzilla: Final Wars and in some video games. 

The story is interesting enough, though its execution is often flawed.  The ancient Mu Empire is back, baby, and only the brainchild of a jingoistic Japanese commander can save them. 

The nationalistic bent of the plot was possibly an edgy choice for the time, being less than twenty years after the end of World War II and the dissolution of the Empire. 

Flawed stuff ... Manda, unfortunately.  The marionette is hardly convincing and doesn't end up doing much.  Also, the melodrama surrounding the Japanese commander's daughter.  It felt forced.  And then there's the spy stuff.  Much of it seems pointless. 

(When playing "Spot Serizawa," my son won this time.  He shows up very early.) 

Atragon ... sometimes interesting and often pretty to look at.  3 out of five stars.

 Now here's the trailer:



Up next, the king returns with Mothra vs. Godzilla.