Godzilla vs. Megalon

Okay, okay, I admit, I have a guilty pleasure of watching this movie alot, with and without MST3K. Yeah, I have fun with G vs Megalon!

It is also one of the few Godzilla films to feature an Atlantis-like civilization in it as well. The civiliation lives beneath the sea, full of scantily claded dancers and their guardian monster is Megalon. They get upset at the surface world and summon Megalon, but things may not go as planned, due to two men, one hyperactive little boy, Jet Jaguar, and of course, Godzilla.

Sure, it may not be Akira Kurosawa, but it is alot of fun indeed.

'Zilla Vs. Megalon really is up there with Plan 9 From Outer Space: this is car crash cinema that you just can't take you're eyes off. Favorite moments include the lamest car chase in cinema history, the amazing non-explanation of Jet Jaguar "going large" and the staggering psychedelic abode where our heros live.

A very strange film.

The people of an undersea kingdom named Seatopia are very angry that repeated nuclear tests on Earth are disrupting their tranquility. So they send a cockroach like monster named Megalon topside to do some major damage. Fortunately, the people of Japan are able to rely on a faithful robot named Jet Jaguar. JJ, by the way, has the means of traveling to a distant isle to ask Godzilla for help. And the antagonists respond by summoning the bird like Gigan.

Admittedly, this Kaiju series had definitely become juvenile and cheesy, not to mention overly cute. It's not for fans of the Big Green Guy who crave substance in what they watch. It's just "good" dumb fun for a family audience, complete with an extended final showdown between the two heroes and the two villains. Godzilla himself is just too funny, especially considering some of the gestures that he makes. And one of the villains clearly is thinking "you gotta be kidding me" at one point.

Yes, this is a very silly movie but a pretty fun one, directed with some panache by Jun Fukuda. Its main human characters are very likable. Our human villains are an amusing bunch of one dimensional goons. The action scenes are competently done, and there are enough laughs and thrills to make this entertaining fluff. The plentiful special effects, the monster costumes, and the vibrant color and widescreen photography help to keep things visually interesting.

A funny and lively diversion for people who just want to put their brains in neutral for 82 minutes.

Six out of 10.

Godzilla Vs Megalon is often regarded by Godzilla fans as the low point of the series. Indeed,in terms of conventional movie making,this is indeed a bad film. Stupid plot,zero characterisation,shoddy effects,awful music,you name it. There's even a brief bit where the actors stand still waiting for 'action'-obviously no one cared to edit this out. However,sometimes a bad film can be fun,and this is a case in point.

The film is so fast moving and action packed it's as if all the so-called 'dull'bits have been edited out. No slow build-up to the monsters here-the human part of the story is a constant series of vehicle chases,fights and kidnaps. The friendly flying robot Jet Jaguar has such a goofy charm that can't really dislike him,despite the shameless pandering to small kids,and Megalon and the previously seen Gigan really make a surreal pair of evil monsters. As with Godzilla Vs Gigan,the film is rife with footage from previous Godzilla films,but you have to almost admire the nerve in scenes like Megalon's attack on Tokyo,where all the exploding buildings are from the Ghidorah attack sequence in Ghidorah the Three Monster,the filmmakers almost getting away with it because Ghidorah's ray looks a bit like Megalon's. Oddly enough,the uncut version {many versions are badly cut} is surprisingly violent considering the target audience.

The phrase "so bad it's good"was made for this movie. Badly made in every way,and with no artistic merit whatsoever,but inspite of,or maybe even because of this,it's FUN!!!

This is the funniest single entry into the Godzilla series. It is so incredibly bad, that there is not a single scene that doesn't have at least a chuckle or two; and many that have slap-your-knee hilarity to them - all unintentional.

The director, Jun Fukoda, was no stranger to the Godzilla series, and had already demonstrated that he could deliver a solidly competent B-movie. But this ain't one of those; and it's hard to say where Fukoda's head was at when he made this film.

We see actors miss their cues; we see strings lifting "flying" monsters; we have a robot with an idiotic smile painted on his face; we have a theme song popping up at the end that is only a parody of a pop-music movie theme. We have an annoying little kid actor that can't act. We have a cheesy giant cock-roach rubber suit flopping about crushing buildings, and then running from Godzilla with the gate of an old woman. We have the magic words that bring Megalon to life: "Rise up Megalon! Hey, get up!" while nymphettes do a veil dance. we have a background music that sounds like easy listening played at twice the tempo. Obvious stock footage from previous Godzilla films get inter-cut in the fight scenes. We have a special guest appearance from Gigan, called in (no showing or explanation how) from a galaxy called "Space Hunter M" Now, what wit could actually come up with that as the name of galaxy? Really, you must see this film at least once in your life; and if you don't see the humor in it that one time, see it again, because it will dawn on you like the blast of a heat-ray that, yeah, this film really does make NO sense whatsoever! Obviously made in two days by a group of brainy grammar-school students who happen to be drunk. One couldn't make a parody of the Godzilla films as funny as this; yet, incredibly, there's no sign that this was not intended to be taken seriously.

But we don't have to take it seriously just because it was intended that way. And taken as a comedy, it's just grand!