Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My pal Godzilla, July 8, 2008
You are probably not going to find a lot of fans who would choose "All Monsters Attack" as their favorite Godzilla flick. The complaints against it are many: Over-use of stock footage, a bizarre plotline involving Godzilla and the other monsters only existing in some sort of dream realm, an overly kid-friendly approach, problems of scale involving the humans and the monsters, etc.
And all of that is true. This isn't your standard Godzilla. This is your "after school special" Godzilla, complete with a helpful message for the youth of Japan about how to stand up to bullies and a kid-sized Minira who can speak English and be your monster pal. Director Honda Ishiro, a name that should be familiar to any G-fan, was interested in using his creations for more than just entertainment, and wanted to help kids who were being bullied, a serious social problem that still affects Japan today. "All Monsters Attack" is a unique offering in the Godzilla series, and that alone makes it worth seeing. And yes, it is cheesy, but its still fun.
The story begins with Ichiro, a poor latchkey kid who suffers from bullying at school. His only escape is in his imagination, where he finds himself on Monster Island, bonding with Godzilla's son Minira, who is being bullied by the monster Gabara. Minira tries to stand up to the bully, and helpful papa monster takes a tough love approach, refusing to step in and save the little guy but insisting that he stand up for himself. Ichiro learns that it is important to defend himself against bullies, so when he finds himself kidnapped by gangsters he has the confidence he needs to take action, then dish a little out to the kids that bully him as well.
Classic Media has put together a top-notch package for this underappreciated flick, with both the original Japanese version as well as the dubbed US release. Aside from the language, there isn't much difference between the two versions so you can take your pick. Additional extras are a biography of creator and director Honda Ishiro, which is fascinating. I had no idea Honda was an Assistant Director on so many Kurosawa Akira flicks like Stray Dog and Kagemusha.
Anyone with little kids couldn't go wrong with bringing home "All Monsters Attack". It's a great introduction to the Godzilla series and just might make some future G-fans. As for me, I guess I still have some kid inside, because watching this was just like a time warp back to Sunday mornings and Monster Theater. Good times indeed.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A guilty pleasure for me., June 24, 2008
Many fans declare as this the worst Godzilla film made but for me the worst is Godzilla vs. Megalon. The reason is because it uses more stock footage than the other Godzilla films up to that point (which they used very little) and that it was more childish and kiddish than the previous ones as well. But that was the main point! The film wasn't to be taken seriously like the original film but made for children so they can defend themselves from their own bullies and have their own dreams of Godzilla and his monster pals. One thing that is a highlight for this film is that the young actor who portrays Ichiro isn't as obnoxious as some children from the Gamera films (Gamera vs. Zigra comes to mind). To sum it up, it's a rather entertaining film to watch and is good to show your children if they have started an interest in Godzilla or kaiju films in general. It's supposed to be mindless fun and can be enjoyed as long as you remember that it's for children, not for adults. Oh, and the DVD is good too. We get the Classic Media usuals, trailer, biography, audio commentary, and the original Japanese version with optional subtitles.And the quality is near perfect as well. So this is a worthy disc to any fan's collection if they are interested and enjoy this film.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
haha, i love this movie, June 21, 2008
i remember waiting for the godzilla marathons and recording them all on vhs. when this one came out i was dissapointed but thought it was so campy and funny.
i just watched the japanese version for the first time and i may prefer the funny voice of the american version.
i had the classic media version but this new one looks better.
p.s did japanese kids really wear those shorts? damn thats like underwear haha.
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