Genre:
Science Fiction
Release Date: 09/17/2002
Flags: Suitable for Children
The second major addition to
Toho Studios' giant-monster series after
Gojira (aka
Godzilla, 1954), was Rodan (or Radon), a giant pterodactyl whose wings create massive, destructive winds as it flies by. There are actually two of them in this film, mates who finally get together (after the traditional destruction of various Japanese cities) and die in an oddly touching lovers' death-swoon into an active volcano. The film's best sequence is the chilling opening, in which Rodan's egg is discovered in a cave by doomed miners. The first color film in the series,
Ishiro Honda's effective thriller features some interesting special-effects work by
Eiji Tsuburaya and was dubbed into English by actors including
Keye Luke and future
Star Trek crewman
George Takei.
~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide