The word of the day is: weird. It's important to say that weird is not inherently a bad thing. I mean, hell. This is not even the weirdest movie we're going to watch. But more importantly, weird isn't a bad thing. This whole genre of films is weird, and often times folks like me are called weird for enjoying it so much. And yet I do. Weird is not an inherently bad thing. It's just a descriptor, nothing more. So, why is the word of the day "weird" exactly? Well, because in general, Dogora is just kind of a weird movie. Weird music, weird effects, a weird monster and a REALLY weird mix and choice of genres, Dogora is not inherently a bad movie. It is just a weird movie.The world is perplexed. In space, satellites are going missing as something is coming towards the Earth. On solid ground, diamond stores are being robbed overnight. Rome, Paris and Tokyo are all seeing diamonds stolen and it seems to be at the hands of an international band of diamond thieves. While this is happening, gravity is being distorted all over. Floating bandits, flying cars and drifting vagabonds all aren't free from the random of strange new gravity affecting the planet at such odd times. What is actually going on however, is a monster from outer space, Dogora, is stealing all the diamonds as a means of a power source. Between actual high stakes diamond thievery and Dogora menacing the world, the real question to be asked is who will walk away with the diamonds? The rightful owners, the thieves, or the giant space jellyfish thing?
Alright, so, if that summary of the plot sounded for lack of a better word, weird, at all, I promise you. I wasn't making a word of that up. Dogora might be the first movie I've ever seen to try mixing the giant monster and crime thriller genres together. And, it's not a terrible idea. In fact, I think the concept isn't bad at all. It just wasn't executed properly. The entire movie really relies on the diamond thievery plot line a lot, to the point that Dogora actually almost gets shafted. But where this does work to the movie's favor is in the eternal question mark raised throughout the movie. With Dogora being an amorphous monster and being able to seemingly be anywhere, there is a constant thought in the back of your mind as to where Dogora's going to be. Is it going to strike now? Can it actually really be stopped? Questions like this do actually pop into the viewers head because of the crime plot and the monster plot being so closely related to each other. Where it doesn't succeed is in the lack of focus. This movie is called Dogora. It should be about Dogora. Think back to Godzilla. No, he is not in every frame of the movie. But everything that is done in the movie is motivated from what Godzilla does. Dogora doesn't really operate on that same logic. In fact, it seems to be the opposite, where the monster is affected by what the humans do. This reverse monster movie story telling just doesn't really work that well for this movie. Trying to change plot and genre conventions is awesome, but it also has to help benefit the monster movie. And though it does work half the time in the movie, the other half of the time, it really feels like two completely different movies were being made and slammed together to make Dogora.
Speaking of Dogora, let's talk about it. It's a strange monster in general. Its look, the sounds it makes, the effects behind it, it's just a weird thing. Again, because it's always important to remind: weird is not bad. And Dogora by no means is a bad monster. In fact, I actually think it's really kinda cool. An alien cell that is looking for carbon to survive. Its lack of an exact shape just makes it really foreign. Toho dabbled a fair bit with aliens in the Showa series, and it's actually a pretty good monster, especially when stacked against some of the other alien monsters of the Showa, and some of the other monsters of the era in general. I definitely think a big part of that is its look. A quick read on Wikizilla says that its effects were achieved by putting its puppet underwater and having puppeteers pull it with strings. They then filmed it and took what they got and put it on screen. That's a really cool, simple effect that looks pretty good throughout the movie. It's got a really distinct look that helps set the movie apart, especially with all of the much closer to realistic monsters. 'Cause, don't get me wrong: kaiju are impossible. And a monster like Godzilla is, unfortunately, impossible. But Dogora is unfathomably impossible. Another thing I really like about Dogora is it kind of makes me think of the Xenomorph of the Alien series on a very small scale. A big thing that makes the Xenomorph so scary is that it is always changing, its looks is always evolving. And Dogora does something rather similar, first appearing as a giant blob in space, then what looks like a giant cloud gathering up all the local carbon. And then appearing later as a small version of the space blob, and then having a final appearance as the above jellyfish-like monster above. It's really kind of interesting seeing it continuously evolve, and adds a question of "What's it going to be next?"In my opinion the biggest problem with Dogora has got to be the cast. The thing is, no one does a particularly great job. But at the same time, no one does a bad job. The people of this movie are particularly generic, and it really doesn't help the movie out. It lacks focus sometimes, not knowing how to properly focus on the monster or the jewel theft plot. And this is not helped by a human cast that doesn't have any standout performances. Normally I am able to pick out one performance I particularly enjoy or I think has some merit to it. But with this one, everyone just really doesn't do a lot, so I honestly couldn't name a particular cast member if I tried. And again, they aren't bad performers or bad performances. They just aren't memorable and don't stick around once the movie is done.
Dogora is a perplexing movie. A really solid monster concept mixed with an odd human plot and a not particularly memorable human cast mean this movie isn't going to stick with you after it's done. It is not a bad movie. If you're flipping the channels late on an evening and it comes on, I'd stick around. It's got enough value that it can be enjoyed. But the problem is that it is just a movie you'd find when scrolling through channels and happen to flip by Syfy or some channel doing a monster movie marathon. I don't like to say this often with movies because of how oversaturated the current movie market is with them, but honestly, Dogora deserves a remake. The monster concept they have here is really good, honestly. The problem is that its debut film is not consistent or focused enough, and as a result, it doesn't have the same memorability as a movie like Godzilla or even Rodan. If Dogora was remade with a big effects budget and a more focused plot, I think it could be really good. Hell, why not keep the diamond theft plot as well? It's an interesting spin and unique enough that it'd automatically be the front runner of a previously nonexistent subgenre of monster movies. But what that movie needs is focus. A focused plot, a focused cast and just keep everything the same with the monster. There's honestly a great groundwork here. It just needs a bit more love and care. And diamonds. Can't forget those.
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Tomorrow's looking to be a good one as we take a look into the second Godzilla movie released in 1964. (Brief aside, Toho produced three kaiju movies in 1964, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Dogora, and tomorrow's picture. Talk about a productive year, am I right?) And this one is gonna be important and is going to be a wonderful time as we get introduced to the greatest evil kaiju of all time as we watch: Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster!
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