Nonureva Really Surprised!

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

bensonmum2 Japan and the rest of the world are under the threat of attack from the mysterious underwater kingdom known as Mu. Their plan is to turn the land into their colonies and enslave the surface dwellers. The people of Mu fear only one thing – Atragon, a super-secret (so secret in fact that no one knows about it) flying submarine that has the potential to defeat the Mu. But Atragon is being built by a Japanese officer from WWII who is unaware of his countries surrender. He's reluctant to use his new submarine for anything but the greater glory of Japan. But when the Mu kidnap his daughter, he softens his stance and finally agrees lead the charge against the Mu.Overall, I can't help but be very disappointed by Atragon. The movie sounded so good – a flying submarine, a mysterious underwater kingdom called Mu, and a giant snakelike creature named Manda. What could go wrong? Well, the plot is what went wrong. Nothing much happens during the first ¾ of the movie. I don't know how many times I found myself waking up and reversing the movie. There's not enough flying submarine, Mu kingdom, or Manda to make Atragon exciting. It's not until the finale that something exciting finally happens.And it's a shame because I find I usually go for the more offbeat of the Toho movies that stray from the usual Godzilla storyline. For example, movies like Matango or The Mysterians are among my favorite Toho films. And Atragon had Ishiro Honda directing and a cast that included several familiar and solid actors. Atragon also features the standout Toho miniatures I always enjoy. But in my opinion, everyone involved was letdown at every opportunity by a less than stellar screenplay. I just expected (or at least hoped for) better.

Brian Washington This is one of the better non-Godzilla films from the minds of Honda, Tanaka, Tsubaraya and Ifukube. Even though this film pretty much covers the same ground as they did in the Mysterians (even using some stock footage from that film), it still was a great film. The special effect's work by Tsubaraya has to rank as some of his best and the story is better than average for this type of film. I loved how they pretty much showed how tortured Jinguji was as he was torn between his loyalty to Japan, his love for his daughter and the needs of the world as they were being attacked by the Mu Empire. Also, in an interesting bit of casting, Akihiko Hirata and Kenji Sahara play villains instead of their normal heroic roles. It also was interesting that the threat to Earth in this film didn't come outer space but from beneath the ocean by one of the most legendary lost civilizations after Atlantis. This is definitely a great film.

EL BUNCHO *SPOILER WARNING* Sort of a Japanese Captain Nemo story, ATRAGON has to do with a super submarine that can do damn near anything and the part that it plays in saving the world from invasion by the evil forces of the Mu empire. When the Mu invaders show up, they boast of their superiority, yet they request that we not use Atragon (the super-sub) against them. Those wussies...Anyway, much butt is kicked and the serpent monster Manda makes its debut here. Manda is probably best known for the train derailment scene from DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, and is kind of cool since it looks like a traditional Asian dragon. As Toho flicks go, this has more plot than usual, but I still think it only rates a **1/2 out of a possible ****.

jim riecken (youroldpaljim) THE MYSTERIANS was about a big battle with aliens that takes place on Earth, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE was about a big battle with aliens in outer space. So I suppose following that logic, it was inevitable that Toho would follow up those films with one that takes place beneath the sea. This time Earth is threatened by inhabitants from beneath the sea who are descendants of the lost continent of Mu. Much of what is "known" about Mu comes from the speculative works of William Churchwald. Mu is said to be a lost continent like Atlantis, except Mu was in the Pacific. Like Atlantis, Mu was according to Churchwald at least, the home of an advance race that perished eons ago beneath the waves when world wide disaster struck. ATRAGON (Aka KAITEI GUNKAN) is a fairly entertaining science fiction from Toho, but its one of their lesser efforts. There is not as much spectacle as can found in THE MYSTERIANS and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE. The special effects and miniatures are not as colorful and detailed as in previous Toho epics. The big world threat promised by the Muians never materializes, about all they do is sink a Japanese merchant vessel and sink an American navel sub. They also try to kidnap a few surface people, but all that is hardly a reason to destroy a whole civilization. When the submarine Atragon attacks Mu, the Muians make a feeble attempt to protect themselves. Overall, the Muians bark is worse than their bite.THE MYSTERIANS and BATTLE IN OUTERSPACE are very well paced and exciting films and are recommended to fans of Japanese science fiction. ATRAGON however, was a film I sat through with only mild interest and little enthusiasm.