War of the Colossal Beast (1958) User Reviews

GRADE B MOVIE CLASSIC

[bbrasher1 · 9/10 · 2 November 2002]

I first got to see this one on SCI-FI CINEMA about 30 odd years ago, and never got tired of it to this day. A sequel to THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, WTCB picks up where that one left off. Col. Glenn Manning, having survived the fall from Boulder Dam is disfigured and hopelessly insane,(he somehow manages to hold on to his loin cloth),the U.S. military tries to contain him while his sister (Sally Fraser) tries to communicate with him. He manages to escape and wreak havoc (we wouldn't have much of a movie if he stayed put, now would we?)

What I found intriguing about this movie was how far down a once normal human being can descend without the hope of ever returning to normal. (This was one of the factors that made NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD one of the classic horror movies of its time).

For all of its faults, WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, as well as its predecessor is fun to watch and I never get tired of playing the videos every now and then.



Rating: **** out of *****

Round Two: Colossal Man Vs. Military

[BaronBl00d · 5/10 · 30 December 2004]

Colonel Manning, the amazing 60ft colossal man from the same film, falls into the Colorado River at the end of that film from not-so-friendly military firepower. It seems now though that he survives that only to be swept down river into Mexico where he resides in the mountains and yanks trucks off the road for food. OK, the story in this one in not anything grandiose to be sure, but Bert I. Gordon's follow-up is satisfying to a point. This time around Glenn's sister still believes her brother to be alive and flies down to Mexico - soon to be followed by a military officer who didn't believe her in the first place. Well, Manning is discovered in the mountains, tricked into eating bread loaded with something that knocks him out, and then transported to Los Angelos. From there on we basically get what we got in the first film. There are some differences though. Manning is played this time by the same guy that played the giant with the bad face and eye in Gordon's The Cyclops. He has virtually no dialog. This means that it is a lot more difficult to feel for the character as one might have in the first film. This film does show some attention to the bureaucratic way in which our government works. The acting is competent and Gordon's direction fair. His special effects are again nothing so special. We have the one brief moment of color in the climax. We also get a pretty lengthy flashback taken entirely from the first film. This is a decent sequel but not as "good" as its original source material.

"Look..look at the giant"

[yenlo · 11 November 1999]

The sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man continues with the further adventures of the unfortunate Colonel Glen Manning now having lost an eye and most of the flesh around the right side of his jaw. He finds his way to Mexico after obviously surviving his plunge off Hoover Dam and raids trucks for food. It's along the same level as the original and even though it's cheesy it's still fun to watch.

Still good after all these years.

[Clint Eastwood · 14 June 2004]

I first saw the War of the Colossal Beast when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I enjoyed it so much that my father purchased me a 3 minute movie of it that had to be played on a movie projector. Today I own both The Amazing Colossal Man, & War of the Colossal Beast. I liked the sequel better than the first one. The special effects were better I believe. The harsh roars he made always scared me as a little kid. The movie has no real great plot. It did have quite a few errors, but I over looked them, such as Glenn Manning having no relation, then all of a sudden he has a sister. Overall I would recommend watching both movies. I am happy to own both of them, due to the fact that they are rare & not so easy movies to find today.

I loved it

[stevewri · 10/10 · 28 October 2001]

I saw this movie when I was a kid, and then again last year, 2000, on AMC's MonsterFest Halloween week. A sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man has the giant alive and well. His face, being disfigured by his being attacked and the fall off of Hoover Dam in the original, scared the crap outta me when I was a kid. The sounds he made were scary for kids too. It may not be the special effects extravaganza that we see in todays movies but hey, I really enjoyed this movie. If you're a fan of the old monster flicks, watch this one.

I was scared, but I was an infant!

[lambiepie-2 · 29 January 2002]

This is the story of how "War of the Colossal Beast" made an imprint on my life. I saw it when I was almost 2. I remember my parents lying in bed, dead asleep to the world and their bedroom tv was on. I remember being in my crib (I remember the bars!) and being thirsty so I picked up my bottle but there wasn't any water in it. I remember looking at their tv and I remember seeing this giant with one eyeball and big teeth... growling!!! It had my attention. After that, the Star Spangled Banner played and the tv went to the snowy picture. My parents, by the way, never budged. To be honest, my mom was snoring. I was scared out of my skin. I cried and threw my bottle at their bed. I think I hit my dad because my dad stirred, sleepily leaned over and turned the tv off. I sat in the dark! I was afraid that the giant with the one eyeball and big teeth that was growling was going to come through the window and get me and my parents didn't care because they stayed asleep!!! As I grew older, I could not be in the room alone if the Star Spangled Banner on tv played and the station was signing off. I used to scream like crazy. The older I got though, I controlled the screaming but I grew anxious, broke out in a cold sweat and demanded to change channels. Now that digital and satellite cable has arrived, I can look at the Amazing Colossal Beast and laugh at the cheap special effects because I know the tv wont play the Star Spangles Banner and trun to snow. The moral of the story is: no matter how cheesy and bad you think a sci-fi movie from the 50's is, don't leave your infants or toddlers in front of them. Lord knows what they will remember and Lord knows how it will effect their psyche!!!

Still creepy after all these years

[editor-29 · 30 October 2000]

"War of the Colossal Beast," the sequel to the cult-classic "The Amazing Colossal Man," isn't as bad as some critics would have you believe. It's loaded with unintentional laughs ("Get the picture?"), lots of cultural stereotypes, and a make-up design that is superior to most of its sci-fi contemporaries. The Colossal Beast's first appearance in the film can still shock the unsuspecting viewer, and the end sequence at Griffith Park -- along with the reinserted color pay-off -- make this film a must for any '50s B-movie enthusiast.

A 60 foot monster in a Huggies!

[evilskip · 6/10 · 20 July 1999]

Okay this isn't a great film. But it is slightly above average. Here we have a guy who survived a fall off of the Hoover Dam after getting a couple of missles in the eyeball in Amazing Colossal Man.So he is running loose in Mexico looking for 3 square meals a day by swiping food trucks off the road.Yes, that is a mighty big diaper he's wearing too.But we sure don't want to go there !!

The effects are good for their time.The growls of the monster scared me as a kid (although now I wonder if it is intestinal distress due to his knocking back all of those spicy tacos. Still kind of creepy as is the monsters' hideous face.

The army captures him and takes him to L.A. where they stash him at LAX. Naturally he breaks loose and heads out to see the sights. But like all giant monsters he is treated rudely by the locals and suffers a tragic end.Sniff,honk.Not a classic but a decent way to spend 68 minutes.

"We have something to go on - those Footprints!"

[Chaz-19 · 6 October 1999]

As I write this I am watching WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, something I have in the collection along with THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN. The viewer can't help feel for poor Colonel Glen Manning, who was trying to save a person in a crashed aircraft when he was subjected to an experimental plutonium blast. Talk about bad luck! Then bazookas blew him off Boulder Dam - what's the chance of that? And the glorious dialogue:

"We can't leave him exposed to the weather, even if he is a giant!" as well as "I'm afraid that the world doesn't think of a 60 foot man the way a sister does." Truly dialogue you'll find nowhere else. Incisive use of stock footage - this picture can't be missed. Really - a tragedy of mammoth proportions.

An obvious attempt at milking dry an already successful formula.

[christopouloschris-58388 · 5/10 · 27 June 2019]

War of the Colossal Beast is a sequel to Gordon's earlier The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), and it picks up where that one left off. However, the film features a different cast. It was distributed theatrically by American International Pictures as the top half of a double feature with Attack of the Puppet People.

This sequel has competent acting performances, fair direction and ordinary special effects. It is also an obvious attempt at milking dry an already successful formula.

Unlike the first film, the character of Manning virtually has no dialogue which makes it far more difficult to feel empathy for the character.

The special effects are pretty ordinary by any standards with great reliance made on double exposure shots. However, quite a good job was made with Manning's facial make-up and the audio of his character's grunts and groans which effectively contribute to the "horror" aspect of the film.

The film is short enough as it is but unfortunately much of it consists of flashback footage from the first film which merely serves to pad the movie.

Despite the film's title, the Colossal Beast does not really engage in much of a "war" with anyone. For much of the time we see Manning being captured, him lying on his back and some military vehicles being maneuvered into position.

The War of the Colossal Beast does serve to highlight one theme that threads itself through many aspects of life in any era. Namely, how we choose to deal with big and seemingly intractable problems which are often of our own making.

Another amazing trash!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 5/10 · 20 November 2017]

I really love this kind of sci-fi movie, exploring such weird idea where a man was exposed from nuclear bomb's radiation and became gradually giant, the first movie was so successfully that got this sequel, now the beast arise in Mexico rural area, curiously the final scene when the giant monster died electrified the movie turns black and white in color until the end, here in Brazil the DVD came out in double feature with both movies, amazing trash movie from the fifties!!

Resume:

First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 5

Better Than the Original

[Michael_Elliott · 14 August 2015]

War of the Colossal Beast (1958)

** (out of 4)

AIP waiting no time in getting this sequel to THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN off the ground and into drive-ins. Joyce Manning (Sally Fraser) believes that her brother didn't die at the end of the previous film and after hearing a strange news story from Mexico she heads down there. Sure enough the giant Glenn Manning (Duncan 'Dean' Parkin) is living in the desert and soon the military tries to capture him to see if they can help.

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST is slightly better than the original, although it shares most of the same weaknesses as that film. The biggest problem is that there are way too many scenes that just get dragged out with boring dialogue and this is especially true with the various scenes where we hear the doctors talk about what they can or can't do with the giant. I'd say the film would have been much better off with less talk and more action and especially since the action itself is pretty good.

The highlight is without question the monster. This time out they've given him a mutated face, which looks terrific and especially the lack of an eye and the way part of his teeth are showing. The look of the giant is quite effective and it makes you forget that some of the "giant" special effects aren't all that believable. Another thing this sequel has going for it is the fact that the action scenes are quite good. The stuff early on with the giant living in the desert was quite good and there's no question that the finale is full of excitement and especially a twist that happens at the very end.

The performances really aren't anything to write home about but director Bert I. Gordon at least manages to make the film run a lot more smoothly and I'd argue that it has a very pace and feel to it. Still, there's no question that it's the look of the monster that makes WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST so much fun and slightly better than the original.

Not really THAT bad, come on!

[zetes · 5/10 · 10 October 2011]

The sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man, which has never been on DVD due to rights issues. I saw that one on TNT's Monster Vision years ago. I think I may have seen this one, too. If not on TNT, I may have seen it on MST3K. I may have also seen Earth vs. the Spider and Village of the Giants on MST3K, too - they loved Bert I. Gordon. It's funny that all three of these films have such low ratings (none are above 3.0), because, while they aren't good films, they are nowhere near that bad. They're pretty typical B movies. War of the Colossal Beast actually has a pretty emotional core, and the film's final moments are quite touching. It also has a fantastic opening sequence (Gordon really seems to know how to open his movies - all three of these start off beautifully). We don't see the Colossal Beast, just a truck driver driving full speed, frequently looking behind him and screaming. Dean Parkin is quite good as the title character, who has become a near-mindless monster, half his face torn off, after being nearly killed and falling off Hoover Damn in the first film. Like most B movies, the plot is pretty lean, and there are long stretches when nothing's really happening. There's also a nearly ten minute stretch which I think is just footage from the previous film.

Nothing Colossal Here!

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 19 July 2011]

Director Bert I. Gordon's "War of the Colossal Beast" is a sequel to his 1957 opus "The Amazing Colossal Man." The original depicted the tragic circumstances surrounding the exposure of U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Glen Manning to plutonium radiation from a bomb blast. Manning experiences a growth spurt and towers 60 feet in height. Of course, growing so quickly takes a toll on his body and he goes insane. He stomps off for Las Vegas and winds up atop Hoover Dam where he falls apparently to his death.

"War of the Colossal Beast" picks up after Manning disappeared from his fall at Hoover Dam. Miraculously, although his body was never found, the eponymous monster survived the plunge and is alive and well in Mexico when the sequel starts! He is hiding in the mountains and he preys on vehicles delivering any kind of food. The film opens with a terrified youth, Miguel (Robert Hernandez of "Cavalcade of America"), careening hell-bent for leather to escape whatever he saw that has severely traumatized him. As a matter of fact, Miguel is fleeing from the "Colossal Man," but we aren't shown his foe. Gordon leaves it up to our imagination. John Swanson (George Becwar of "Bride of the Monster") owned the truck that Miguel was driving and he sets out to collect insurance on it. Unfortunately, he cannot find his truck. Eventually, he questions Sgt. Luis Murillo of local police and Murillo takes Swanson to the lad. Poor Miguel is supine in the hospital undergoing treatment for shock.

A television station, WTLA broadcasts word of the accident and it arouses the suspicion of Manning's sister, Joyce (Sally Fraser of "Giant from the Unknown"), and she goes to Mexico to see if she can learn anything about her brother. This is odd and interesting because in "The Amazing Colossal Man" we were told that Manning had no relatives. U.S. Army officer Major Mark Baird (Roger Pace of "Jump into Hell") and scientist Dr. Carmichael (Russ Bender of "Maryjane")who heads up the military's "radiation exposure department," accompany Joyce. Twenty minutes into the action as the heroine and company discover a graveyard of abandoned trucks snatched by the titular character, "The Colossal Man" makes his appearance. Clearly, all Gordon did was mask off part of the screen conveniently using he contours of the mountain and rely on rear-screen projection so the big fellow can stride into view. Baird and Carmichael prepare the "Colossal Beast" loaves of bread spiked with enough Chloral hydrate to knock him out for eight hours. Talk about fast-acting stuff! Not long after the "Beast" gnaws the bread, he collapses. Baird loads Manning's tied down body aboard a military transport and flies him back to America. Initially, he cannot obtain clearance to land the "Beast," but his relentless harassment of Los Angeles' mayor gets him a reprieve to land his cargo plane and lock up Colonel Manning in a nearby hanger. Naturally, the "Beast" escapes from the hangar and stomps up to Griffith Park Observatory where he picks up a bus packed with junior high school students and hoists it over his head like a barbell. Joyce seizes a jeep and drives up to where her misshapen brother is and persuades him to put the bus down. A dejected Manning utters his one comprehensible word "Joyce" and then commits suicide by electrocuting himself on a power line.

Movies like the two "Colossal" epics were standard fare during the paranoid 1950s when Hollywood loved to use atomic energy to mutate either man or beast or both for sensational consequences. Clearly, in one sense, these movie served as cautionary tales about the unknown dangers associated with nuclear power. One of the earliest examples of this genre was "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (1953) where an atomic bomb blast in the Arctic Circle melted the ice that had kept a million year old giant rhedosaurus confined. The following year saw the release of "Them!" (1954) about gargantuan ants irradiated by a nuclear explosion. "Tarantula" (1955) tweaked the narrative when researchers created chemical from atomic science to grow a gigantic spider. The Japanese appropriated only on the paranoia over nuclear energy but also the genre for more spectacular results with "Godzilla" (1956) and launched a franchise.

Not long after the monster is brought back to the States, it relives the part of its life when he was stricken with radiation, so if you missed the first movie, you know what happened. There is an amusing scene after word of Manning's survival when a legislator is asked what part of the government will rule about the mutant. Everybody in Washington gives the press the bureaucratic run-a-round about jurisdiction in the case. Gordon made movies for American International Pictures. What is interesting about "War of the Colossal Beast" is its finale when the monster seizes the high power lines. Everything turns into full color. This movie is entertaining for a laugh and is representative of Hollywood's obsession with nuclear power during the 1950s. Clearly, the title is all hype because there isn't much of a war in this 69-minute film.

"How do you reason with a 60 foot giant?"

[bensonmum2 · 3/10 · 14 September 2007]

War of the Colossal Beat continues the story of Col. Glenn Manning that began in The Amazing Colossal Man. I'm not really sure why Mr. B.I.G. felt the need to do a sequel (Who am I kidding? He saw an opportunity to make some money.) as there's really nothing new to cover. It's the same basic premise with the same low budget special effects and similar bad acting. Add a few plot details concerning Manning terrorizing the Mexican countryside and you've got War of the Colossal Beast. And that's the biggest problem I have with the movie. The whole thing has that "been there, don't that" feel to it.

Still, if you're a fan of this kind of stuff like I am, there are moments to enjoy. For example, Manning's first appearance always catches me off-guard. I jump every time I watch the movie. Second, and it may seem silly, but I get a real kick out of the scene where Manning picks up the truck to eat the bread out of the back. Too funny! Finally, I do like the ending. The added color is a very nice touch.

Glenn Manning is back

[chris_gaskin123 · 6/10 · 16 February 2005]

War Of the Colossal Beast followed a year after The Amazing Colossal Man and was directed by Bert I Gorden or Mr BIG.

In Mexico, truck loads of food are going missing and they turn out to be the responsibility of Glann Manning the giant. He is now mutated with one eye and a disfigured face and growls instead of talks. He is captured and taken to LA, but escapes into a nearby park and picks up a bus full of children and puts it down when his sister (replacing his fiancé in this movie) tells him to. He then electrocutes himself to death by touching some high voltage power lines.

The end bit is where the movie explodes into full colour.

The cast includes Dean Parkin as Manning and 50's sci-fi regulars Sally Fraser (Earth vs. the Spider) as his sister and Russ Bender,who also appeared in The Amazing Colossel Man but is playing a different role in this one.

Thoush not as good as the Colossel Man,I quite enjoyed watching this sequel.

Rating: 2 and a half stars out of 5.

Acceptable hokum.

[gridoon · 4/10 · 10 October 2001]

This movie may have a strange after-effect on you; it's so short in length (only 68 minutes) and so trivial, that two or three hours after you've seen it, you may have forgotten everything about it. As a sequel....well, it's about on a par with the original. There is no attempt at character development this time around, but the special effects are SLIGHTLY better. Painless hokum. (**)

...And he swam, and he swam, all over the damn, landing Down Mexico Way...

[mark.waltz · 1/10 · 3 September 2015]

Daniel Boone may have been a man, a big man, but he has nothing on Glenn Manning, the Army Lt. Colonel made a giant by a nuclear explosion. Requiring some anger management, the Amazing Colossal Man has survived the encounter at the Hoover Dam, and much to the army's dismay, ends up very much alive, even angrier than ever. In one of the most unnecessary sequels ever made, American International brought the character, if not the original actor, back, and it is a colossal mistake. Gone is original actor Glenn Langan (smart man) and in is Duncan 'Dean' Parkin, in one of his only two films. The fiancée has been cut out of the script and replaced by Glenn's sister (Sally Fraser) who was conspicuously missing in the first film. At 60 feet tall (10 feet taller than the angry female giant played by Allison Hayes the very same year), he leaves behind some huge footprints, and this is very disconcerting for the locales.

Knowing that the teenagers who frequent the drive-ins during the late 1950's weren't really looking to the plot of a movie, but for infrequent breaks to get some oxygen back in their lungs after their own private activities, American International tossed these films out like beads at Mardis Gras. Some are guilty pleasures, some pretty good in spite of ridiculous plots, and some just pure garbage. This falls into the later category, and if you know the history of American International, you don't need to ask why. The bucks were guaranteed. However, if you're not in a drive-in, and looking at a film for either entertainment value or artistic quality, you will just simply shake your head. I'm surprised the army trying to find a way to trap him didn't shake their head when one person in authority told them, "We don't have facilities for a giant here!" And that is after they get the run-around from pretty every government agency, telling them to look for assistance elsewhere.

I'll give AIP one credit here, however; The make-up for the Colossal beast reminded me of Vincent Price in the "Dr. Philbes" movies they made well over a decade later. Still, while those films were gory yet somewhat funny, this film is just lame in almost every category. The beast's voice sounds like the Aflack duck in a microphone, and the special effects are beyond cheesy. Even if the producers had taken more time in making a more intelligent script, it would still be a needless follow-up. "Even if giants don't run very fast, they still have very long legs" is one of the more intelligent comments which one of the supporting characters makes. Somehow, the beast makes it back across the border, terrifying pretty much all of California before he thankfully gets his final reward. The viewer's reward is the fact that this is only an hour which is still one hour wasted from one's life.

South of the border, down Mexico way

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 28 October 2014]

...that's where the Amazing Colossal Man came out to play. Well, that's how the song lyrics would go if they were written for this movie, Bert I. Gordon's sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man. It's cheaply made with excessive footage from the first movie used as flashbacks to pad the runtime. Even with this it barely clocks in at an hour. It takes awhile before we even see the Colossal Man and, even then, he doesn't do much. If your movie's one selling point is a giant bald guy throwing cars around and junk, you'd better deliver. The sad fact is it's a remarkably dull movie where very little happens. I don't mind a low budget and lots of cheese as long as it's a fun movie. This isn't much fun, sadly. Cool "partially exposed skull" makeup on the giant, though.

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST (Bert I. Gordon, 1958) *1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 3/10 · 15 October 2013]

Bert I. Gordon was known to milk a successful formula dry, but his efforts perhaps never felt more mercenary than here – for he not only revived the unfortunate protagonist of THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN but, to show his degeneration to an essentially subhuman level, he was given the chief attribute (an annoyingly loud growl) of THE CYCLOPS (both these films emanated from the previous year)! A sure sign of the quick cash-in status of this one is the fact that the film-makers did not even bother to re-read the original's script, where it is mentioned that Glenn Langan had no surviving relatives…but a sister somehow pops up here!; incidentally, one cannot blame the actor for presumably declining to reprise his by-now unenviable role, but neither were any of the other characters retained (which is odd, to say the least)! While the lack of heartburn this time around can be explained by the scientists in the first film having succeeded in stalling his growth, he acquires a physical and almost skeletal makeover – which, along with the title (despite its obvious exaggeration, since his acts of aggression basically revolve around pillaging food-trucks for sustenance and, at the climax, threatening to throw a school-bus filled with children at the inquisitive crowds and assorted military figures below!) and a surprising switch to colour for the monster's literally electrifying come-uppance, virtually constitute its sole points of interest.

Get the picture?

[lastliberal-853-253708 · 4/10 · 11 August 2012]

This is the perfect drive-in movie. You can take a short break in your activity and look up at the colossal man, and then go back to what you were doing secure in the knowledge that you didn't miss a thing.

The most amazing thing about seeing colossal man for the first time is the fact that he managed to find something to wrap around his waist. He is supposed to be brain damaged, but he has enough presence of mind to keep us from seeing what I suspect was a colossal wang.

In a twist, the end of the movie is in color. First time I have seen that used.

If you are looking for a war, it doesn't happen

All in all really nothing too bad.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 6/10 · 23 April 2008]

Even though this movie picks a less subtle approach than its predecessor "The Amazing Collosal Man", this movie still works out as a rather good and enjoyable B-movie.

Basically there is even less story than the last time and the movies starts off were the first movie stopped. You can say that this movie is more of the same, since it doesn't offer anything new really but its welcomed, since its basically some good entertainment. It's definitely way better than your average B-monster movie attempt. It remains rather amusing to see a 60 feet man causing mayhem, no matter how simple and ridicules it sounds. Of course the movie gets rather ridicules at times, also with its characters and dialogs but what else could be expected from a movie like this.

The first movie still sort of picked a more emotional monster approach, in the same way as for instance was the case with classic monster movies such as "Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man". This movie still somewhat has a 'realistic' approach feeling over it but the emotional elements involving the main character are pretty much gone by now because of the reason that the condition of him has influenced his brain, as already was the case at the ending of the first movie, causing him to be more of a growling monster this time.

The movie is directed by the same director (Bert I. Gordon) of the first movie but yet the movie does not use the same actors. Sort of makes you wonder why, as if the actors from the first movie were classy actors who were in the position the make demands and ask for an high salary. It's not a big issue though that the actors are different ones this time, even though its definitely true that the acting in this movie is worse than was the case in the first movie.

The special effects are just as effective looking as they already were in the first movie. Of course it doesn't look like much special by todays standards but back in the '50's this must have really scared some people and must have been amazed by some of the movie its effects. Even now the movie still remains sort of somewhat scary at times because of the make-up effects and growls of the amazing colossal man, or beast as this movie its title calls him. It's definitely more of an horror movie than the first movie was, that mainly picked a science-fiction approach.

It doesn't feature as much action as the movie its title might suggest and actually when you compare this movie to the first one, you'll see that both actually feature just as much action. This might be a disappointing aspect, since the movie its title obviously suggest some bigger, better action. Oh well, of course back in the '50's they just didn't had a good idea yet of how to create an action filled summer blockbuster.

More of the same but therefor also just as good and watchable as the first movie.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

What You Can Film

[tedg · 10 December 2005]

Let me tell you, this scared the patootie out of me when I was a kid. And that's what I would have called it.

The effects seemed real at the time. That shock of color at the end was effective in the day. And it followed a now common rule: to threaten the demographic of the viewers. In the first one it was drive-in movie watchers. In this one is junior high schoolers on a field trip.

Now it is all too silly of course, and in a way that reminds me of something important.

Many of our urges like fear, love, drive to pride and such are borrowed or shaped by the movies. And not just urges, basic ideas about the shape of the arc and the phrasing of life's episodes. Just think about scary things. The scary things we had in those days were the things that could be filmed. Guys in rubber suits. Sometimes claymation. And often what we have here, big things.

I know it seems silly to think about how what we have today limits our imagination. But think: fighting with lighted sticks, space weapons no different than today's guns, spaceships that deliberately look, act and sound like old planes.

Books (and possibly radio) will always be where science fiction is the richest.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

There wasn't a lot of reason to make or watch this one...

[MartinHafer · 3/10 · 12 August 2010]

I love 1950s sci-fi and horror films. Sure, many of them are quite cheesy but they are also quite fun. And this is the biggest reason NOT to see this film--it simply isn't any fun.

Although you would think that the enormous man died at the end of "The Amazing Colossal Man", somehow Colonel Manning somehow ends up in Mexico. This, despite two bazooka blasts and a 700 foot fall at the end of the last movie. The only think I liked about this angle was the great makeup job--with the Colonel's partially exposed skull. The other problem with the man now is that he's obviously brain damaged and just growled and grunted throughout the film! Not surprisingly, when the Air Force brings him back to America, bad things ensue.

In addition to a rather unnecessary plot, the film also suffers from 'flashback-itis'. In other words, much of the film consists of film footage from the first film in a cynical attempt to pad the movie--which is sad because even with this recycled footage it's only a little over an hour long.

So here's the negative: the script is dull, filled with rehashed material and the leading man growls and grunts throughout the entire movie. On the positive side: cool skull makeup. All in all, the skull makeup pales in comparison to the rest of the movie! My advice is only see this is you are very, very bored...and not particularly choosy.

This movie really didn't stand tall nor was not larger than life. The film was just awful.

[ironhorse_iv · 3/10 · 13 December 2019]

American International Pictures if you find your motion picture being mock & featured on the Season 3 Episode 19 of the TV Show 'Mystery Science Theater 3000'. Then you know that you made a huge blunder when making this movie about a 60 foot craze madman Glen Manning (Duncan Parkin) terrorizing the Los Angeles countryside! Even with the alright looking heavy makeup, Parkin still doesn't look or sounds that menacing. His goofy over the top growl and moan echoes more a hilarious mentally challenged person than a cold hearted beast. That's why certain scenes where the military is hunting him down is somewhat disturbing when you think about. Like really, scenes like him being strapped down to a bed and shown slideshows has a Clockwork Orange torture vibe to them. Plus the whole idea of a mentally challenged guy committing suicide in the end left a bad taste in my mouth. What is with the depressing cynicism climax!? It's like the sequel really wants to plays out the same similar ending to the first film, just without much of emotional level. Don't get me wrong, the idea that Glen's sister Joyce (Sally Fraser) trying to save him was fine with her decent acting. However, those scenes of getting him to remember his humanity could had been stronger if actress Cathy Downs return to the part of Glenn's fiancée, Carol Forrest. Sadly, most of the original cast doesn't really return for this movie. The only one was Russ Bender but he's playing a completely different character. Instead we get more unlikeable supporting characters like Major Baird (Roger Pace) whom only there to be a bothersome to Joyce. Often hitting on Glen's sister even with her clearly rejecting his advices. I hate that the movie portray him as a hero. Nevertheless, by far the worst is the children in the end. It's so hard to root for their survivable when they're so darn annoying with their over whining demands and cluelessness. It's like characters can't put together the obvious. They're more stupid than the supposedly beast. Even over use sayings like 'get the picture' is irritating to listen to. You can play a drinking game with how many times, John Swanson (George Becwar) speaks while using that phrase. It's clear that screenwriters George Yates & director Bert I. Gordon didn't know how to freshen up the dialogue besides repetitive zingers. It's horrible. To add on that, Gordon's crew didn't even fix the visuals transparent mistakes that plagued the last film 1957 'The Amazing Colossal Man' too. Despite living in the wilds for months, you can still clearly see Glen's healthy man body go through some items and walls as if he is a ghost whenever his features is badly matted into the shot. I don't think that is what the movie was going for. If that was the filmmakers intend; which it wasn't, that would explain how a badly head wounded 60 foot man who is not that dirty was able to travel from Las Vegas to Mexico without being seen or how he went missing in large vast metropolis like the City of Angels despite whole day surveillance. To add onto that, it somewhat explain why he disappears after being electrocuted like he was caught in some type of Ghostbuster's Ghost Trapper. Regardless of that, the FX work is still pretty crappy to look at. There is a scene where a seventy foot mattresses is somewhat able to be procure quickly for the enormous guy to rest. Yet it's so badly painted in the background that it looks like the giant is sleeping above the ground. It's really bizarre to look at. Also you can't tell what the height of the man as his size constant fluctuation between shots. Sometimes there is nearly nothing else in the frame to help provide a reference point for scale. When there is, the items look like cheaply made. It's pretty obvious that the vehicles and buildings are model works. The filmmakers didn't bother doing a good job trying to hide it and make it look realistic. However the special effects weren't the only colossal disappointment. The movie at 69 minutes in length is overly padded with stock footage and long wind highly repetitive past exposition filler dialogue about the events of the last movie. Don't get me wrong, I do understand that recaps were somewhat needed back in the day for B movie goers as there is no internet nor much print coverage of the story. However I don't think the filmmakers need to show all of the last movie for the audience to get such a simple story. They're not that dumb. Nevertheless the film studio did failed to mention or market it as a sequel in their ad campaign. Instead they went with the idea of movie goers going to see the flick in the prospect of seeing a giant beast electrocuted in color. This of course led many audience members to be confused as the majority of the movie is shot in black and white with an idiotic Two Face looking fellow wearing a large diaper with only a minute at the end being in color. It must seem to them that they were getting scam for their money. I don't blame them. At least the movie was released as part of a prepackaged double feature with 1958 'Attack of the Puppet People' another film directed by Gordon. That one had better effects and story. As for now, audiences could find the movie with 1958 'Earth Vs. The Spider' in the Cult Classics Double Feature from Lionsgate Home Entertainment or on Youtube. Overall: While composer Albert Glasser's music sounds like it could had came from a better movie; it's sadly belong to this massive disappointment. It's watchable for 'so bad, it's good' cultists but for general audiences it's still a colossal mess worth staying away from. It is one tall order that clearly didn't delivered!