Customer Reviews

Son of Godzilla

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Son of Godzilla," directed by Jun Fukuda, is one of the most fun of the Godzilla movies. In this film, a group of scientists encounter the legendary "King of the Monsters" while conducting weather experiments on a tropical island. When a mysterious egg hatches into a "baby Godzilla," the big monster becomes a reptilian father figure to the playful youngster. A horde of monstrous bugs show up for the traditional monster battles.

This "Godzilla" movie seems to be directed towards a younger audience; it is more exciting and funny than scary. The enjoyable antics between "Dad" and baby are enthusiastically portrayed. The film as a whole is well complemented by Masaru Satoh's funky, energetic score. And the monster battles are well done. Although the "silly" quotient of the film may turn off fans of the serious original Godzilla, I think that this sequel should be enjoyed for what it is: an entertaining sci-fi fantasy.

The final scenes of "Son of Godzilla" contain some of the most haunting and poetic images ever filmed for a giant monster movie. If you are a fan of the Japanese giant monster genre, you won't want to miss this delightful film.

The Columbia/Tristar (SONY) release of SON OF GODZILLA is the "International" version. It is in wide screen. It also has dubbing done in Japan. This is similar to the recent DVD releases of Destroy All Monsters. So it is different from the version most fans grew up with. (The version that had Peter (Speed Racer) Fernandez as the voice of Goro.) The good news is that it is UNCUT and features a 3 min. prologue cut from the american TV version, which features Godzilla frightening coast guard pilots in a tropical storm at sea. Incidently, Tere has always been some confusion over which island is "Monster Island". Well, the original japanese title of Son of Godzilla is "Monster Island's Decisive Battle". So that settles it. Monster Island is Sorgel Island from Son of Godzilla. Im sure this is just a western arguement and every Japanese fan knows Monster Island is Sorgel island.

The picture quality is excellent on this DVD but the audio is not the original audio tracks
from the original released movie. So if you are a Godzilla fan you may be disappointed by the re-dubbing of the monster movie classic.

Finally some effort went into bringing the Golden Age of Godzilla (Godzilla, King of the Monsters to Destroy All Monsters)to new life. This DVD release of the 8th in the Godzilla series is full of vibrant color, quality sound, and presented in wide screen format for total viewing enjoyment. This is the original Japanese version with some opening footage that was cut from the American release. It as original Japanese (english sub-titles)and dubbed English (although not the same dubbing as common american release). One truely sad note is that the DVD has no extras to speak of, even if the extra were in Japanese with no sub-titles I'd think they would be worth watching.
The story is a simple one, scienists on a remote South Sea island are conducting weather experiments when they come accross a gigantic egg. The egg hatches into a baby godzilla who gets into several scraps with titanic mantis (Gimantis in America / Kamacarus in Japan)and a huge spider god (Speiga in America / Kumonga in Japan) that only the BIG G himself can rescue him from mortal peril.
Where does SOG fall into my Golden Age of Godzilla scale?
#1 - Godzilla vs the Thing (the best of the series)
#2 - Destroy All Monsters
#3 - Monster Zero
#4 - Godzilla, King of the Monsters
#5 - Ghidrah, the Three Headed Monster
#6 - Godzilla vs the Sea Monster
#7 - Son of Godzilla
#8 - King Kong vs Godzilla
#9 - Gigantis, The Fire Monster (the worst of the series)

A must for fans of Godzilla and fun family entertainment without computer generated creatures.

This movie weighs in as yet another South Seas fantasy yarn. Very low bloodshed, light-hearted subject matter. The locations are great on this film. The acting is good, not spectacular, but both consistent and entertaining. Unlike some of the other Godzilla yarns, the monsters here are very plausible and natural. In the science fiction world, heat and radiation can enlarge just about anything. A few of the Godzilla/Minilla scene to feel more suited for "Barney goes back to his roots" but Minilla makes a good dramatic focus for the film. "Son of Godzilla" reveals another side of Godzilla, that of a parent. This concept seems to hold some favor with the Japanese, as it is repeated through several other films.

Son of Godzilla is an okay entry in the series, although it's a bit thin in the plot department. Minya is so cute! He reminds me of a baby monkey. Thankfully he doesn't speak in that Don Knotts-esque voice as he does in Godzilla's revenge. I am very pleased and impressed that Columbia/TriStar is releasing classic Godzilla movies in beautiful widescreen prints, especially those that were not in the Simitar collection (all of which I thankfully own)!! I was surprised to see scenes, including the introductory one that were cut from the US version that is on video. I am looking forward to future releases, hopefully including Godzilla vs. Megalon and Terror of MechaGozilla in remastered/widescreen versions.

I used to watch this movie as a kid, and when that spider(spiga) came out of the ground, I was in total awe of him. He is one of the coolest monsters in the earlier Godzilla series and was only be defeated due to the combined force of 'G' and Minya. This movie has a real centimental value as the viewers see Godzilla's more fatherly or loving side contrasted by his brute strength and Power and he fries some giant mantises.
To sum up, for any true Godzilla fan, this is definitely a MUST SEE!

A group of Japanese scientists set up a station on Solgel Island to conduct weather control experiments. However, an accident causes their experiment to go out of control, and several gigantic, mutated preying mantises are created. In turn, they unearth a gigantic egg, from which an odd reptilian creature emerges--Minira, a.k.a. Minya, the son of Godzilla (once dubbed "Tadzilla" by Forry Ackerman in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland, and the name stuck). Soon, Godzilla emerges from the sea to save his offspring from the predatory monsters. He has no sooner defeated them when another mutant, a hideous giant spider, appears, and the monsters engage in another ferocious battle. To save themselves, the scientists commence a new weather experiment, this time turning the island into a frigid, snow-covered wasteland, forcing the monsters into deep-frozen hibernation.

Son of Godzilla is often maligned by fans, citing Godzilla's "cute" offspring and the decidedly inferior Godzilla suit as its primary weaknesses. However, the story is highly imaginative, and the ensemble cast includes some of Toho's finest talent. The giant, mutated island creatures--a trio of monstrous preying mantises (known as Kamakiras) and a huge spider (Kumonga, a.k.a. Spiga)--come off remarkably well, particularly in the battle scenes.

While Son of Godzilla ventures farther into juvenile territory than past entries in the series, it features some clever humor, exciting action, and occasionally brilliant special effects. The film never received a theatrical release in the United States, and having been relegated for years to airings of second-rate prints, the movie is done reasonable justice by Sony's beautiful-quality DVD. No extra features of any note, alas.

I have been a fan of Godzilla since the 80s and I have to say as far as the movies when Godzilla is a good guy, this is extremely underated. The plot makes sense and the monster battles are as great as always. This is the debut of Minya (or Minilla), which throws people off the movie since he isn't that popular with American fans. However, this film also introduces two fan favorite monsters as well, Kamacuras (Gimantis in this movie) and Kumunga (Spiega in this movie). Another thing that some don't like is the way Godzilla looks, which was intended by the creators to look friendly, just really looks ugly. I highly recommend this movie to fans of the genre and Godzilla fans in general that have heard bad or good things about. I say, give it a try and watch it for yourself. I did, and really enjoyed the movie for it's very interesting plot and new monster that are introduced. For a children's film, this still has an adult feel to it which makes it fun for all ages. I love it!

Better than Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla Vs. Megalon and still fun to watch.