Varan the Unrememberable.
Varan came out after the successes of the films Rodan and Godzilla. Would it continue the success of Toho MOnster flicks? The answer is, for the most part no. Varan is not one of the better Toho Films and it is one of those films that many people have only seen once.
Varan himself is based off of both Godzilla and Rodan. He is a large lizard like monster with sharp spines on his back and skin that runs from his arm to his legs like a flying squirrel. This allows him to fly around in the Japanese version but not the American version. Watching him fly around is ridiculous but worth watching in the same way that watching Godzilla fly in Godzilla vs Hedorah. It defies the rules of physics.
So they tried to combine Rodan and Godzilla and they got Varan. Varan though seems to be missing something. He does not really stand out, he does not do anything that no other monster can do. I guess that is why they do not bring Varan back much later. Other monsters are significant, Rodan can fly fast, Ghidorah has three heads, Mothra is stunningly beautiful (despite being my least favorite monster), and Baragon can burrow. But Varan does not stand out and has no special abilities or powers besides being able to fly like a squirrel. I guess Toho was hoping that the idea would make Varan stand out but it did not work really.
OK enough about the monster, time to talk about the film. It is OK, not that bad. IT is just that I have seen similar films to this one before in Godzilla and Rodan. So watching this film did not create any new thrills or moments to me. It is not bad, just ordinary and nothing spectacular. So is this film awful, no. Is it one of the best Toho Monster films, no. Is it a movie that you will always remember, probably not. But are there worse monster films, yes! Check it out on a rainy day or a lazy Saturday. It is worth watching once.
Further note, I had not seen the Japanese version of the film when I reviewed it. The above review is about the American version. A lot still holds true tho when watching the Japanese Version. The Japanese version I would say is quite better than the American version. I would say the American version is not worth seeing per say, but the Japanese version is good. Mainly because in the Japanese version Varan has a cool roar he emits and in the American version he does not. Also the Japanese version is longer.
Varan himself is based off of both Godzilla and Rodan. He is a large lizard like monster with sharp spines on his back and skin that runs from his arm to his legs like a flying squirrel. This allows him to fly around in the Japanese version but not the American version. Watching him fly around is ridiculous but worth watching in the same way that watching Godzilla fly in Godzilla vs Hedorah. It defies the rules of physics.
So they tried to combine Rodan and Godzilla and they got Varan. Varan though seems to be missing something. He does not really stand out, he does not do anything that no other monster can do. I guess that is why they do not bring Varan back much later. Other monsters are significant, Rodan can fly fast, Ghidorah has three heads, Mothra is stunningly beautiful (despite being my least favorite monster), and Baragon can burrow. But Varan does not stand out and has no special abilities or powers besides being able to fly like a squirrel. I guess Toho was hoping that the idea would make Varan stand out but it did not work really.
OK enough about the monster, time to talk about the film. It is OK, not that bad. IT is just that I have seen similar films to this one before in Godzilla and Rodan. So watching this film did not create any new thrills or moments to me. It is not bad, just ordinary and nothing spectacular. So is this film awful, no. Is it one of the best Toho Monster films, no. Is it a movie that you will always remember, probably not. But are there worse monster films, yes! Check it out on a rainy day or a lazy Saturday. It is worth watching once.
Further note, I had not seen the Japanese version of the film when I reviewed it. The above review is about the American version. A lot still holds true tho when watching the Japanese Version. The Japanese version I would say is quite better than the American version. I would say the American version is not worth seeing per say, but the Japanese version is good. Mainly because in the Japanese version Varan has a cool roar he emits and in the American version he does not. Also the Japanese version is longer.
- jerekra
- Sep 2, 2008