(1966)
Dir - Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Overall: GOOD
Daiei Film's first of three installments in their Daimajin trilogy has all of the trappings of a traditional folk tale even if it is an original creation with roots stemming from various sources. The studio's deputy of planning Hisashi Okuda allegedly came up with the concept of fusing the Hebrew Golem of Prague with that of Japan's tokusatsu genre of special effects showcases, most of which revolved around over-sized creatures of some sort wreaking havoc. Though said giant stone God statue does not come alive until less than twenty minutes before the end credits and the plot has its monotonous attributes, thankfully the build-up to get to him is still enticing enough to hold one over. The story revolves around a coup that overthrows a benevolent lord to place a merciless tyrant in his place, a tyrant who dismisses all religious practices as foolish. This naturally leads to his downfall by awakening the all-powerful deity out of disrespect along, which is further helped by the heartfelt pleas of those that have suffered under such merciless, ironclad rule. Fortunately, the inevitable, effects-laden showcase is memorable and holds up better than the suitmation and puppetry work commonly seen in other kaiju films of the era.
(1966)
Dir - Kenji Misumi
Overall: MEH
A redundant sequel if ever there was one, Daiei Film's Return of Daimajin, (Daimajin ikaru, The Angering of Daimajin, The Return of Giant Majin), is virtually a beat-for-beat retread of the previous Daimajin which was released a mere four months earlier. Though each film in the series had a different director, they were also all made back-to-back with each other and share the same writer in Tetsurô Yoshida, something that certainly shows here. Once again peaceful villages are besieged by an evil lord, pray to the stone Daimaijin statue for help, and said statue finally comes alive within less than twenty minutes left in the running time. While it is technically no more or less compelling than the plot of the first film by comparison, it is also hardly necessary for those that have seen what came before it. The same minimal amount of giant monster time is hardly worth the price of admission besides those that are enthusiastically jonesing for another teasing bout of kaiju mayhem except this time set on an island. Still, the special effects work by Yoshiyuki Kuroda is once again great if one simply wants to skip ahead to it while passing on everything else that the movie has to offer.
(1966)
Dir - Kazuo Mori
Overall: MEH
The third and final entry in the Daimajin trilogy Wrath of Daimajin, (Daimajin Gyakushū, Daimajin Counterattacks, Majin Strikes Again, Return of Daimajin, Daimajin Strikes Again), at least deviates from the formula that was interchangeable from the first two installments. Unfortunately, said deviation concerns four annoying little kids who foolheartedly run off through treacherous mountains on a noble whim. This is not to say that this is an exclusively family friendly venture as it also features a sulfur pit that disobedient slave workers are tossed into and a finale where the awakened stone god punishes the brutalizing Lord by impaling him with a giant sword. Though the entire movie is still one prolonged waiting game as always for the destruction comeuppance effects spectacle, we are given a tease this time in the opening where an early bout of Daimajin's wrath is witnessed before things settle down into almost an hour's worth of children on an adventure, periodically interrupted by villagers getting mistreated by merciless bad guys. The entire franchise represents an interesting prospect of humble obedience to a vengeful, omnipotent force being rewarded when the innocent are treated unjustly, but really, these movies are just primarily fun when the big, angry deity goes all smashy stompy within the last twenty-minutes.
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