Dust_pan wrote:
I'll have to see the film again to make my final decision on that.
But I didn't see anything particularly great about the characters besides the fact that they didn't have exaggerated personalities, like most films have. Which is definitley another thing I liked about the cast.
I believe that this bit from my review of the film best takes care of that:
I wrote:For the acting performances, there are a few solid ones, but others that just get the job done. The performance that sticks out is Akira Takarada as Yoshimura, who appears to be rough and always in charge, but loves doing his job, as he smiles throughout everything. When Yoshimura is introduced on the yacht, Takarada enjoys people finding him, because that’s when he can work best. Another note worthy role is Kumi Mizuno as Dayo, the Infant Island native, which is greatly different from other roles that she has done, especially in the Godzilla series. While she looks beautiful in her island native attire, you can tell that she is trying her best to bring something to the performance. Before she meets with Ryota and the group for the first time, there is a certain ferocity in her eyes, much like a lion about to pounce. However, outside of Takarada and Mizuno, no other performances stick out above the others. That doesn’t mean that they’re bad or mediocre, but that they did what was needed to be done and stuck with it. This is best shown in Toru Watanabe’s performance as Ryota. Toru keeps the same blank and vague expression throughout most of the film, because Ryota knows what he wants, and will not stop until he gets it. Ryota will not be satisfied until he finds Yata, so his performance makes sense, even if Toru offers little. Chotaro Togin and Hideo Sunazuka’s performances as Ichino and Nita, respectively, are standard comic relief, and do a good job for what their characters were meant for, especially Sunazuka, whose face is always hilarious to look at. Toru Ibuki as Yata does what needs to be done, and seems like the kind of guy who would get stranded on far away island and put other people ahead of himself, even if it means not thinking things through.
The characters have some interesting aspects to them, which make these guys one of the main highlights of the film. Yoshimura is the brains behind the main characters, and being the one to get everyone to follow him. Even though he’s a hardened criminal who robbed a bank of four million yen, Yoshimura becomes the character to root for as the film progresses. As previously mentioned, Ryota is bland, but his heart is in the right place, even if it means that he has to drag along three people to find his brother. One of the weirdest characters is Yata, who will rush into a dangerous situation without thinking ahead, which leads to a few hilarious situations, such as running right at Godzilla to save the Infant Island natives. Ichino and Nita provide some decent comedy, even if all the characters offer up some amusing lines or moments. They work off of one another, and seem to make each other better people. Dayo comes across as a bit dense, such as stopping to pick up some wire she likes while evading the Red Bamboo, but is willing to help out her people and friends. As for the villains, they don’t really do all the much except chase the good guys and do evil things, like capture the Infant Island natives and make nuclear weapons. Every character has a different function for the story, and offers something to make the film whole, which is often rare in a daikaiju film.
, it has a nice retro/golden age feel to it, the only negatives i can think of are maybe the obvious kong traits godzilla has