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This review is for the standard DVD release of 'All Monsters Attack' released by Classic Media.
FIRST, A COMMENT ABOUT MY RATING: I just want to say that I am giving this movie a 2 star rating based on my feelings about it as a long time Godzilla fan. As most Godzilla fans know, this is really a kid's movie and was filmed as such. If I were to rate this as a kid's movie, or the same way I'd rate a kid's animated feature or Disney live-action movie, then I'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars. I feel pretty certain that most people reading this review are Godzilla fans and not parents looking to buy a movie for their young children. So bottom line is my rating is from the perspective of a Godzilla fan.
GODZILLA UN-RETIRES?: The producer of the Godzilla movies, Tomoyuki Tanaka, had decided that due to declining ticket sales, that the previous Godzilla movie, 'Destroy All Monsters' would be the finale in the series. Obviously he changed his mind. Godzilla' retirement was short-lived and he returns for this movie a little over a year after his retirement.
TIMELINE: This movie is the 10th Godzilla movie out of a total of 31 live action Godzilla movies as of the time of this review in March, 2019. This is the 10th out of 15 movies from the 'Showa' era (1954-1975) of Godzilla movies. The Godzilla that appears in this movie appears only in a little boys dream. Therefore, it is not part of any continuity.
WHAT MONSTERS APPEAR IN THIS MOVIE?: Most of the monsters that appear in this movie are monsters that appeared in the two previous Godzilla movies. These monsters from the previous movies appear only in stock footage. Beside, Godzilla and Minilla, there is one additional new monster. The monsters are:
Godzilla: Does anybody need a description???
Minilla: Obviously Godzilla's son. His name literally means Mini-Godzilla. He should have atomic breath just like Godzilla. Problem is, that most of the time he shoots out rings that don't have much 'juice'.
Ebirah: Essentially, Ebirah is a giant lobster. It has been argued that it is a shrimp and/or crayfish but I have to go with lobster. The main argument against it being a lobster is that the claws are different sizes. This is a trait of certain shrimp. However, the face definitely looks like a lobster and the color along with everything else is the same as a common lobster to I'm sticking with lobster. Ebirah has no special abilities other than it can rise out of the water which regular lobsters don't normally do.
Giant Condor: Self explanatory. It is a giant condor! It is no different than any other condor other than it is bigger.
Kamacuras: There are 3 of these in this movie. Kamacuras is essentially a giant praying mantis. It is one of the weakest monsters in the Godzilla universe. It has two giant claws which are used to hunt it's prey. They can also be used to throw objects such as large boulders. It has the power of flight. Later versions of Kamacuras would have camoflauge abilities and the ability to flow very fast and dart like a hummingbird.
Kumonga (also known as Spiega): Kumonga is a giant spider. It has extra strong webbing that can entrap any creature that gets caught in it including Godzilla. It also has two very sharp pincers. Later versions of Kumonga have more abilities. In the later version, Kumonga can has a leaping ability and legs that are like spear points. Also, it's web can split and expand.
Gabara: Gabara appears to somewhat resemble a cat but is supposedly based on a toad. More likely, he was based on a far eastern mythological creature. It stands on two legs and is vaguely humanoid in shape. It has the ability to electrocute whatever it touches. Just like a cat, it is fairly agile.
There is also some stock footage of a bunch of monsters on Monster Island, such as Gorosaurs, Anguirus and Manda.
PLOT/SYNOPSIS: Ichiro is a little boy living in an industrial city, Kawasaki, in Japan. His parents both work and he is watched by an elderly toy maker, who lives in the same apartment complex, when their not home. Ichiro is being 'bullied' regularly by a leader, Gabara, of a small gang. After visiting the toy maker, Ichiro goes home and falls asleep in front of a toy radio.
Ichiro dreams that he travels to Monster Island on an airplane. Once on the island, he immediately see's Godzilla battling Kamacuras and then a Giant Condor. Kamacuras spots Ichiro and chases him. Ichiro falls down into a deep hole. As he begins to climb out, he sees a rope lowered. He takes hold of the rope and is pulled out. Standing there is none other than Minilla (Ichiro calls him Minya) from 'Son of Godzilla'. Minilla can speak and introduces himself to Ichiro. Together, they watch Gabara (the monster version of the bully). At this point, Ichiro is woken up.
After dinner with the toy maker, Ichiro goes out and gets chased by Gabara and his gang. Ichiro goes to an abandoned building. Inside he finds the wallet of a bank robber. There have been reports of a robbery of 50 million yen and police are on the lookout for two robbers. The robbers are hiding in the abandoned building and one of them dropped the wallet while hiding. Ichiro finds some old headphones and heads home. He falls asleep with his headphones on. In his dreams, he travels back to Monster Island.
Back on Monster Island, Ichiro goes searching for Minilla. He is spotted by Gabara and is chased through the jungle. Ichiro loses Gabara and finds Minilla. They watch Godzilla battle Ebirah and then Kumonga. Minilla manages to fire a 'ring' at Kumonga during the battle. Gabara shows up and Godzilla calls Minilla out to do battle. Minilla tells Ichiro that he must fight or Godzilla will think he is a coward. Gabara 'toys' with Minilla and he runs away with Ichiro. The two watch Godzilla dispatch some jet fighters. Godzilla calls for Minilla. Godzilla tries to teach Minilla to use his radioactive breath 'properly'. While watching this, Ichiro is grabbed by a plant monster.
Ichiro is woken up by two bank robbers. They kidnap him and bring him back to the abandoned building. One of the robbers goes out to find a car and Ichiro falls asleep. He travels back to Monster Island.
Ichiro, in his dreams, transports back to Monster Island. He pops up right as Minilla is doing battle with Gabara. Minilla is getting pushed around by Gabara and Minilla runs to Ichiro. Ichiro concocts a plan for Minilla in which Minilla jumps on the end of a log while Gabara is standing on the other end. Once back in battle, Minilla starts doing well against Gabara. Eventually Gabara turns the tide and Godzilla intervenes. Gabara is defeated. Godzilla turns to look at Ichiro and reaches for him. Ichiro wakes up.
Ichiro, while tied up, is put in the back of a car. He imagines Minilla giving him advice and he manages to free himself while the two robbers are trying to get their car started. Ichiro bites one of the robbers and the chase is on. Ichiro tricks one of the robbers into falling through a hole on the second floor. The other chases Ichiro with a knife and Ichiro holds him off with a fire extinguisher. The police show up and arrest the two robbers. Ichiro is now a hero. He tells the news reporters that Minilla helped him.
The next day, Ichiro is confronted by Gabara and the gang and this time Ichiro fights back and wins! Ichiro then takes up a dare from the day before and goes up to a workers motorcycle and honks it's horn. Ichiro is now in the gang and ready for a life of crime!
PRODUCTION: 'All Monsters Attack' was released at the end of 1969 in Japan. It's original international title was 'Attack All Monsters'.
-The American release was titled 'Godzilla's Revenge' and had a theatrical release as part of a double feature with 'Island of the Burning Damned'. There were minor changes made. There was an American dub and some of the music was changed. Minilla is called 'Minya' and some of the names of the other 'kaiju' are changed. This was released in 1971. This American version was originally titled, 'Minya, Son of Godzilla', but this was changed after a small test release.
-Kawasaki was used as the setting for this movie because of it's heavy industrial look.
-This movie was not a success in Japan. It sold just under 1.5 million admissions, which was over a million less than the previous Godzilla installment, 'Destroy All Monsters'.
-This would be Ishiro Honda's final movie as director during his original run. He would return for one more shot, 5 movies later in 'Terror of MechaGodzilla', in an attempt to save the franchise. That final attempt failed but as we know, Godzilla would be brought back close to a decade later.
-Eisei Amamoto plays the toy maker. This is in stark contrast to the role he plays as the villainous Dr. Who in 'King Kong Escapes'. I had no idea that the two roles were played by the same actor. This speaks well of his acting skills. He was a long time character actor in Japan.
-Even though there was stock footage of the scene in which Godzilla stomps on Minilla's tail, the scene was re-shot. Ishiro Honda, the director, was trying to establish some distance between father and son in their relationship. This was to mirror the relationship with Ichiro and his father. Honda felt that the relationship was too 'cozy', in 'Son of Godzilla', for the scene to work in this movie.
UH... ABOUT THAT MINILLA OUTFIT... : Does anybody actually think Minilla looks like Godzilla? It makes you wonder what Mommy or Daddy (nobody knows for sure which sex Godzilla is) looked like... One thing everybody can agree on is that Minilla looks terrible. It is one of the worst, if not 'the' worst costume Toho ever made. Don't even try to say, he looks cute. He does not! At least we know Minilla is a 'he'.
COMMENTS:
-This movie is one of the most hated Godzilla movies by Godzilla fans. Most people would probably agree, it's not bad for a kid's movie, if you choose to view it that way, but for fans of the franchise going back to 1954, it was a terrible movie.
-Since, I personally view this movie as strictly a kid's movie, I'm a bit more lenient in my personal view of the movie. Oddly enough, I actually enjoyed this movie more, as an adult, then I did when I was a kid. I guess I just find it interesting, looking at an industrial city in Japan from a historical perspective.
-I was curious as to why the airplane was filled with 'white' or Caucasian people when Ichiro goes to sleep. Does this tell us something about post war Japan and what they think of Americans or Europeans in general? Why would a Japanese movie do this? Perhaps Ichiro's perception is painted by American movies? He is travelling to Monster Island and not an American or European city so this is curious to me.
-I know that Ichiro was dreaming, but they could have done better with the editing as it relates to Minilla's size. During his battle with Gabara, he doesn't grow or shrink but is automatically the size he needs to be. This was due to either poor editing or Toho being ultra cheap.
WHAT A QUESTION!: Ichiro's dad is asked, "Is there anything wrong with your kid?". I don't know if there is something lost in the translation, but that's quite a question to ask a co-worker.
AS A KID...: I can remember...
- Having seen the movie so many times, I knew that Ichiro goes to Monster Island 3 times. Somehow, I'd still sit there after the third time and hope that maybe he was going to go back for a 4th time.
- Being disappointed when Ichiro couldn't fall back asleep. I just couldn't wait for him to get back to Monster Island.
- Being confused as to how Minilla (Minya) could be so small and also how he knew English!
A SMALL BIT OF COMMENTARY ON THE ENDING AND CHILDREN'S SENSIBILITIES:
As has been noted by many others, Japan views what is acceptable for children, very differently than Americans. They seem to worry far less about children's sensibilities. I actually like their point of view far better than our 'snowflake' culture where everybody is overly sensitive. Sorry to be political, but we now live in a world where even Charlie Brown has to be turned into a winner (just go watch the fairly recent 'Peanuts' movie. What is striking about this movie, is that the kid actually joins a gang at the end. When I was young, this meant nothing to me and went right over my head. I can't ever imagine a company like Disney, doing such a thing in a movie. If Disney made this kid's movie, then it would end with the boy teaching the bully a lesson in kindness and turning him over to the 'light' side.
CONCLUSIONS: I watched this for the first time as a young boy. Even then, I didn't really like this movie. I think what I disliked about it was not the story. The story isn't really that bad. It's actually kind of decent. What I hated as a kid was that Godzilla doesn't show up in the last part of the movie. Basically, as a boy, I just looked forward to the parts with Godzilla. After his scenes were over, I just wanted to turn the movie off. I usually watched it to the end anyway. One positive thing was that I saw this movie several times before I ever saw 'Son of Godzilla'. Therefore, the stock footage scenes from that movie were new footage to me. It would be many years before I would see 'Son of Godzilla'.
RATINGS:
The Monsters: 2/10 - Most of the opponents are stock footage so I can't give any credit for those. I'm rating this on Gabara. Gabara is one of the weakest monsters, both figuratively and literally, that Toho has created. As an opponent, Gabara, is what I consider to be Godzilla's worst. Thus the rating. 1 star.
SFX: 2/10 - The effects are weak because there are almost no new effects. Just about all the good effects are stock footage. The rest of the movie is just a story about a boy and a bully. There are practically no special effects needed. 1 star is all I can give.
The Battle: 3/10 or 1 1/2 stars. How much better of a score can I give for this? Again, most of the good fighting is stock footage.
Plot: 6/10 - The story is actually not bad. If you strictly look at this as a kid's movie then I'd give the plot a little bit higher of a score. But since I'm looking at it as an adult, I'd give it a lower score. I'm averaging the two and I come up with 3 stars.
Overall: 4/10 - I'm giving this movie 2 stars. If you want to look at it as a kid's movie, you can add a star or two, depending on how much you liked it. But as an adult... 2 stars it is.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR GODZILLA?: Godzilla returns in the 11th movie in the franchise in 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah' or otherwise known as 'Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster'. That movie is controversial among Godzilla fans and it also happens to be my favorite movie from the 'Showa' era. It is a movie that is especially relevant in the day and age of the time of this review. It is an environmental movie. Hedorah or 'The Smog Monster' is made from pollution. It is a message movie about cleaning up our cities. The message aside, it is probably the most unusual Godzilla movie ever made (along with Godzilla: Final Wars). I highly recommend it, even if others don't.
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This review is for the standard DVD release of 'All Monsters Attack' released by Classic Media.FIRST, A COMMENT ABOUT MY RATING: I just want to say that I am giving this movie a 2 star rating based on my feelings about it as a long time Godzilla fan. As most Godzilla fans know, this is really a kid's movie and was filmed as such. If I were to rate this as a kid's movie, or the same way I'd rate a kid's animated feature or Disney live-action movie, then I'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars. I feel pretty certain that most people reading this review are Godzilla fans and not parents looking to buy a movie for their young children. So bottom line is my rating is from the perspective of a Godzilla fan.GODZILLA UN-RETIRES?: The producer of the Godzilla movies, Tomoyuki Tanaka, had decided that due to declining ticket sales, that the previous Godzilla movie, 'Destroy All Monsters' would be the finale in the series. Obviously he changed his mind. Godzilla' retirement was short-lived and he returns for this movie a little over a year after his retirement.TIMELINE: This movie is the 10th Godzilla movie out of a total of 31 live action Godzilla movies as of the time of this review in March, 2019. This is the 10th out of 15 movies from the 'Showa' era (1954-1975) of Godzilla movies. The Godzilla that appears in this movie appears only in a little boys dream. Therefore, it is not part of any continuity.WHAT MONSTERS APPEAR IN THIS MOVIE?: Most of the monsters that appear in this movie are monsters that appeared in the two previous Godzilla movies. These monsters from the previous movies appear only in stock footage. Beside, Godzilla and Minilla, there is one additional new monster. The monsters are:Godzilla: Does anybody need a description???Minilla: Obviously Godzilla's son. His name literally means Mini-Godzilla. He should have atomic breath just like Godzilla. Problem is, that most of the time he shoots out rings that don't have much 'juice'.Ebirah: Essentially, Ebirah is a giant lobster. It has been argued that it is a shrimp and/or crayfish but I have to go with lobster. The main argument against it being a lobster is that the claws are different sizes. This is a trait of certain shrimp. However, the face definitely looks like a lobster and the color along with everything else is the same as a common lobster to I'm sticking with lobster. Ebirah has no special abilities other than it can rise out of the water which regular lobsters don't normally do.Giant Condor: Self explanatory. It is a giant condor! It is no different than any other condor other than it is bigger.Kamacuras: There are 3 of these in this movie. Kamacuras is essentially a giant praying mantis. It is one of the weakest monsters in the Godzilla universe. It has two giant claws which are used to hunt it's prey. They can also be used to throw objects such as large boulders. It has the power of flight. Later versions of Kamacuras would have camoflauge abilities and the ability to flow very fast and dart like a hummingbird.Kumonga (also known as Spiega): Kumonga is a giant spider. It has extra strong webbing that can entrap any creature that gets caught in it including Godzilla. It also has two very sharp pincers. Later versions of Kumonga have more abilities. In the later version, Kumonga can has a leaping ability and legs that are like spear points. Also, it's web can split and expand.Gabara: Gabara appears to somewhat resemble a cat but is supposedly based on a toad. More likely, he was based on a far eastern mythological creature. It stands on two legs and is vaguely humanoid in shape. It has the ability to electrocute whatever it touches. Just like a cat, it is fairly agile.There is also some stock footage of a bunch of monsters on Monster Island, such as Gorosaurs, Anguirus and Manda.PLOT/SYNOPSIS: Ichiro is a little boy living in an industrial city, Kawasaki, in Japan. His parents both work and he is watched by an elderly toy maker, who lives in the same apartment complex, when their not home. Ichiro is being 'bullied' regularly by a leader, Gabara, of a small gang. After visiting the toy maker, Ichiro goes home and falls asleep in front of a toy radio.Ichiro dreams that he travels to Monster Island on an airplane. Once on the island, he immediately see's Godzilla battling Kamacuras and then a Giant Condor. Kamacuras spots Ichiro and chases him. Ichiro falls down into a deep hole. As he begins to climb out, he sees a rope lowered. He takes hold of the rope and is pulled out. Standing there is none other than Minilla (Ichiro calls him Minya) from 'Son of Godzilla'. Minilla can speak and introduces himself to Ichiro. Together, they watch Gabara (the monster version of the bully). At this point, Ichiro is woken up.After dinner with the toy maker, Ichiro goes out and gets chased by Gabara and his gang. Ichiro goes to an abandoned building. Inside he finds the wallet of a bank robber. There have been reports of a robbery of 50 million yen and police are on the lookout for two robbers. The robbers are hiding in the abandoned building and one of them dropped the wallet while hiding. Ichiro finds some old headphones and heads home. He falls asleep with his headphones on. In his dreams, he travels back to Monster Island.Back on Monster Island, Ichiro goes searching for Minilla. He is spotted by Gabara and is chased through the jungle. Ichiro loses Gabara and finds Minilla. They watch Godzilla battle Ebirah and then Kumonga. Minilla manages to fire a 'ring' at Kumonga during the battle. Gabara shows up and Godzilla calls Minilla out to do battle. Minilla tells Ichiro that he must fight or Godzilla will think he is a coward. Gabara 'toys' with Minilla and he runs away with Ichiro. The two watch Godzilla dispatch some jet fighters. Godzilla calls for Minilla. Godzilla tries to teach Minilla to use his radioactive breath 'properly'. While watching this, Ichiro is grabbed by a plant monster.Ichiro is woken up by two bank robbers. They kidnap him and bring him back to the abandoned building. One of the robbers goes out to find a car and Ichiro falls asleep. He travels back to Monster Island.Ichiro, in his dreams, transports back to Monster Island. He pops up right as Minilla is doing battle with Gabara. Minilla is getting pushed around by Gabara and Minilla runs to Ichiro. Ichiro concocts a plan for Minilla in which Minilla jumps on the end of a log while Gabara is standing on the other end. Once back in battle, Minilla starts doing well against Gabara. Eventually Gabara turns the tide and Godzilla intervenes. Gabara is defeated. Godzilla turns to look at Ichiro and reaches for him. Ichiro wakes up.Ichiro, while tied up, is put in the back of a car. He imagines Minilla giving him advice and he manages to free himself while the two robbers are trying to get their car started. Ichiro bites one of the robbers and the chase is on. Ichiro tricks one of the robbers into falling through a hole on the second floor. The other chases Ichiro with a knife and Ichiro holds him off with a fire extinguisher. The police show up and arrest the two robbers. Ichiro is now a hero. He tells the news reporters that Minilla helped him.The next day, Ichiro is confronted by Gabara and the gang and this time Ichiro fights back and wins! Ichiro then takes up a dare from the day before and goes up to a workers motorcycle and honks it's horn. Ichiro is now in the gang and ready for a life of crime!PRODUCTION: 'All Monsters Attack' was released at the end of 1969 in Japan. It's original international title was 'Attack All Monsters'.-The American release was titled 'Godzilla's Revenge' and had a theatrical release as part of a double feature with 'Island of the Burning Damned'. There were minor changes made. There was an American dub and some of the music was changed. Minilla is called 'Minya' and some of the names of the other 'kaiju' are changed. This was released in 1971. This American version was originally titled, 'Minya, Son of Godzilla', but this was changed after a small test release.-Kawasaki was used as the setting for this movie because of it's heavy industrial look.-This movie was not a success in Japan. It sold just under 1.5 million admissions, which was over a million less than the previous Godzilla installment, 'Destroy All Monsters'.-This would be Ishiro Honda's final movie as director during his original run. He would return for one more shot, 5 movies later in 'Terror of MechaGodzilla', in an attempt to save the franchise. That final attempt failed but as we know, Godzilla would be brought back close to a decade later.-Eisei Amamoto plays the toy maker. This is in stark contrast to the role he plays as the villainous Dr. Who in 'King Kong Escapes'. I had no idea that the two roles were played by the same actor. This speaks well of his acting skills. He was a long time character actor in Japan.-Even though there was stock footage of the scene in which Godzilla stomps on Minilla's tail, the scene was re-shot. Ishiro Honda, the director, was trying to establish some distance between father and son in their relationship. This was to mirror the relationship with Ichiro and his father. Honda felt that the relationship was too 'cozy', in 'Son of Godzilla', for the scene to work in this movie. UH... ABOUT THAT MINILLA OUTFIT... : Does anybody actually think Minilla looks like Godzilla? It makes you wonder what Mommy or Daddy (nobody knows for sure which sex Godzilla is) looked like... One thing everybody can agree on is that Minilla looks terrible. It is one of the worst, if not 'the' worst costume Toho ever made. Don't even try to say, he looks cute. He does not! At least we know Minilla is a 'he'.COMMENTS:-This movie is one of the most hated Godzilla movies by Godzilla fans. Most people would probably agree, it's not bad for a kid's movie, if you choose to view it that way, but for fans of the franchise going back to 1954, it was a terrible movie.-Since, I personally view this movie as strictly a kid's movie, I'm a bit more lenient in my personal view of the movie. Oddly enough, I actually enjoyed this movie more, as an adult, then I did when I was a kid. I guess I just find it interesting, looking at an industrial city in Japan from a historical perspective.-I was curious as to why the airplane was filled with 'white' or Caucasian people when Ichiro goes to sleep. Does this tell us something about post war Japan and what they think of Americans or Europeans in general? Why would a Japanese movie do this? Perhaps Ichiro's perception is painted by American movies? He is travelling to Monster Island and not an American or European city so this is curious to me.-I know that Ichiro was dreaming, but they could have done better with the editing as it relates to Minilla's size. During his battle with Gabara, he doesn't grow or shrink but is automatically the size he needs to be. This was due to either poor editing or Toho being ultra cheap. WHAT A QUESTION!: Ichiro's dad is asked, "Is there anything wrong with your kid?". I don't know if there is something lost in the translation, but that's quite a question to ask a co-worker. AS A KID...: I can remember...- Having seen the movie so many times, I knew that Ichiro goes to Monster Island 3 times. Somehow, I'd still sit there after the third time and hope that maybe he was going to go back for a 4th time.- Being disappointed when Ichiro couldn't fall back asleep. I just couldn't wait for him to get back to Monster Island.- Being confused as to how Minilla (Minya) could be so small and also how he knew English! A SMALL BIT OF COMMENTARY ON THE ENDING AND CHILDREN'S SENSIBILITIES:As has been noted by many others, Japan views what is acceptable for children, very differently than Americans. They seem to worry far less about children's sensibilities. I actually like their point of view far better than our 'snowflake' culture where everybody is overly sensitive. Sorry to be political, but we now live in a world where even Charlie Brown has to be turned into a winner (just go watch the fairly recent 'Peanuts' movie. What is striking about this movie, is that the kid actually joins a gang at the end. When I was young, this meant nothing to me and went right over my head. I can't ever imagine a company like Disney, doing such a thing in a movie. If Disney made this kid's movie, then it would end with the boy teaching the bully a lesson in kindness and turning him over to the 'light' side.CONCLUSIONS: I watched this for the first time as a young boy. Even then, I didn't really like this movie. I think what I disliked about it was not the story. The story isn't really that bad. It's actually kind of decent. What I hated as a kid was that Godzilla doesn't show up in the last part of the movie. Basically, as a boy, I just looked forward to the parts with Godzilla. After his scenes were over, I just wanted to turn the movie off. I usually watched it to the end anyway. One positive thing was that I saw this movie several times before I ever saw 'Son of Godzilla'. Therefore, the stock footage scenes from that movie were new footage to me. It would be many years before I would see 'Son of Godzilla'.RATINGS:The Monsters: 2/10 - Most of the opponents are stock footage so I can't give any credit for those. I'm rating this on Gabara. Gabara is one of the weakest monsters, both figuratively and literally, that Toho has created. As an opponent, Gabara, is what I consider to be Godzilla's worst. Thus the rating. 1 star.SFX: 2/10 - The effects are weak because there are almost no new effects. Just about all the good effects are stock footage. The rest of the movie is just a story about a boy and a bully. There are practically no special effects needed. 1 star is all I can give.The Battle: 3/10 or 1 1/2 stars. How much better of a score can I give for this? Again, most of the good fighting is stock footage.Plot: 6/10 - The story is actually not bad. If you strictly look at this as a kid's movie then I'd give the plot a little bit higher of a score. But since I'm looking at it as an adult, I'd give it a lower score. I'm averaging the two and I come up with 3 stars.Overall: 4/10 - I'm giving this movie 2 stars. If you want to look at it as a kid's movie, you can add a star or two, depending on how much you liked it. But as an adult... 2 stars it is.WHAT'S NEXT FOR GODZILLA?: Godzilla returns in the 11th movie in the franchise in 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah' or otherwise known as 'Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster'. That movie is controversial among Godzilla fans and it also happens to be my favorite movie from the 'Showa' era. It is a movie that is especially relevant in the day and age of the time of this review. It is an environmental movie. Hedorah or 'The Smog Monster' is made from pollution. It is a message movie about cleaning up our cities. The message aside, it is probably the most unusual Godzilla movie ever made (along with Godzilla: Final Wars). I highly recommend it, even if others don't.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2019
FIRST, A COMMENT ABOUT MY RATING: I just want to say that I am giving this movie a 2 star rating based on my feelings about it as a long time Godzilla fan. As most Godzilla fans know, this is really a kid's movie and was filmed as such. If I were to rate this as a kid's movie, or the same way I'd rate a kid's animated feature or Disney live-action movie, then I'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars. I feel pretty certain that most people reading this review are Godzilla fans and not parents looking to buy a movie for their young children. So bottom line is my rating is from the perspective of a Godzilla fan.
GODZILLA UN-RETIRES?: The producer of the Godzilla movies, Tomoyuki Tanaka, had decided that due to declining ticket sales, that the previous Godzilla movie, 'Destroy All Monsters' would be the finale in the series. Obviously he changed his mind. Godzilla' retirement was short-lived and he returns for this movie a little over a year after his retirement.
TIMELINE: This movie is the 10th Godzilla movie out of a total of 31 live action Godzilla movies as of the time of this review in March, 2019. This is the 10th out of 15 movies from the 'Showa' era (1954-1975) of Godzilla movies. The Godzilla that appears in this movie appears only in a little boys dream. Therefore, it is not part of any continuity.
WHAT MONSTERS APPEAR IN THIS MOVIE?: Most of the monsters that appear in this movie are monsters that appeared in the two previous Godzilla movies. These monsters from the previous movies appear only in stock footage. Beside, Godzilla and Minilla, there is one additional new monster. The monsters are:
Godzilla: Does anybody need a description???
Minilla: Obviously Godzilla's son. His name literally means Mini-Godzilla. He should have atomic breath just like Godzilla. Problem is, that most of the time he shoots out rings that don't have much 'juice'.
Ebirah: Essentially, Ebirah is a giant lobster. It has been argued that it is a shrimp and/or crayfish but I have to go with lobster. The main argument against it being a lobster is that the claws are different sizes. This is a trait of certain shrimp. However, the face definitely looks like a lobster and the color along with everything else is the same as a common lobster to I'm sticking with lobster. Ebirah has no special abilities other than it can rise out of the water which regular lobsters don't normally do.
Giant Condor: Self explanatory. It is a giant condor! It is no different than any other condor other than it is bigger.
Kamacuras: There are 3 of these in this movie. Kamacuras is essentially a giant praying mantis. It is one of the weakest monsters in the Godzilla universe. It has two giant claws which are used to hunt it's prey. They can also be used to throw objects such as large boulders. It has the power of flight. Later versions of Kamacuras would have camoflauge abilities and the ability to flow very fast and dart like a hummingbird.
Kumonga (also known as Spiega): Kumonga is a giant spider. It has extra strong webbing that can entrap any creature that gets caught in it including Godzilla. It also has two very sharp pincers. Later versions of Kumonga have more abilities. In the later version, Kumonga can has a leaping ability and legs that are like spear points. Also, it's web can split and expand.
Gabara: Gabara appears to somewhat resemble a cat but is supposedly based on a toad. More likely, he was based on a far eastern mythological creature. It stands on two legs and is vaguely humanoid in shape. It has the ability to electrocute whatever it touches. Just like a cat, it is fairly agile.
There is also some stock footage of a bunch of monsters on Monster Island, such as Gorosaurs, Anguirus and Manda.
PLOT/SYNOPSIS: Ichiro is a little boy living in an industrial city, Kawasaki, in Japan. His parents both work and he is watched by an elderly toy maker, who lives in the same apartment complex, when their not home. Ichiro is being 'bullied' regularly by a leader, Gabara, of a small gang. After visiting the toy maker, Ichiro goes home and falls asleep in front of a toy radio.
Ichiro dreams that he travels to Monster Island on an airplane. Once on the island, he immediately see's Godzilla battling Kamacuras and then a Giant Condor. Kamacuras spots Ichiro and chases him. Ichiro falls down into a deep hole. As he begins to climb out, he sees a rope lowered. He takes hold of the rope and is pulled out. Standing there is none other than Minilla (Ichiro calls him Minya) from 'Son of Godzilla'. Minilla can speak and introduces himself to Ichiro. Together, they watch Gabara (the monster version of the bully). At this point, Ichiro is woken up.
After dinner with the toy maker, Ichiro goes out and gets chased by Gabara and his gang. Ichiro goes to an abandoned building. Inside he finds the wallet of a bank robber. There have been reports of a robbery of 50 million yen and police are on the lookout for two robbers. The robbers are hiding in the abandoned building and one of them dropped the wallet while hiding. Ichiro finds some old headphones and heads home. He falls asleep with his headphones on. In his dreams, he travels back to Monster Island.
Back on Monster Island, Ichiro goes searching for Minilla. He is spotted by Gabara and is chased through the jungle. Ichiro loses Gabara and finds Minilla. They watch Godzilla battle Ebirah and then Kumonga. Minilla manages to fire a 'ring' at Kumonga during the battle. Gabara shows up and Godzilla calls Minilla out to do battle. Minilla tells Ichiro that he must fight or Godzilla will think he is a coward. Gabara 'toys' with Minilla and he runs away with Ichiro. The two watch Godzilla dispatch some jet fighters. Godzilla calls for Minilla. Godzilla tries to teach Minilla to use his radioactive breath 'properly'. While watching this, Ichiro is grabbed by a plant monster.
Ichiro is woken up by two bank robbers. They kidnap him and bring him back to the abandoned building. One of the robbers goes out to find a car and Ichiro falls asleep. He travels back to Monster Island.
Ichiro, in his dreams, transports back to Monster Island. He pops up right as Minilla is doing battle with Gabara. Minilla is getting pushed around by Gabara and Minilla runs to Ichiro. Ichiro concocts a plan for Minilla in which Minilla jumps on the end of a log while Gabara is standing on the other end. Once back in battle, Minilla starts doing well against Gabara. Eventually Gabara turns the tide and Godzilla intervenes. Gabara is defeated. Godzilla turns to look at Ichiro and reaches for him. Ichiro wakes up.
Ichiro, while tied up, is put in the back of a car. He imagines Minilla giving him advice and he manages to free himself while the two robbers are trying to get their car started. Ichiro bites one of the robbers and the chase is on. Ichiro tricks one of the robbers into falling through a hole on the second floor. The other chases Ichiro with a knife and Ichiro holds him off with a fire extinguisher. The police show up and arrest the two robbers. Ichiro is now a hero. He tells the news reporters that Minilla helped him.
The next day, Ichiro is confronted by Gabara and the gang and this time Ichiro fights back and wins! Ichiro then takes up a dare from the day before and goes up to a workers motorcycle and honks it's horn. Ichiro is now in the gang and ready for a life of crime!
PRODUCTION: 'All Monsters Attack' was released at the end of 1969 in Japan. It's original international title was 'Attack All Monsters'.
-The American release was titled 'Godzilla's Revenge' and had a theatrical release as part of a double feature with 'Island of the Burning Damned'. There were minor changes made. There was an American dub and some of the music was changed. Minilla is called 'Minya' and some of the names of the other 'kaiju' are changed. This was released in 1971. This American version was originally titled, 'Minya, Son of Godzilla', but this was changed after a small test release.
-Kawasaki was used as the setting for this movie because of it's heavy industrial look.
-This movie was not a success in Japan. It sold just under 1.5 million admissions, which was over a million less than the previous Godzilla installment, 'Destroy All Monsters'.
-This would be Ishiro Honda's final movie as director during his original run. He would return for one more shot, 5 movies later in 'Terror of MechaGodzilla', in an attempt to save the franchise. That final attempt failed but as we know, Godzilla would be brought back close to a decade later.
-Eisei Amamoto plays the toy maker. This is in stark contrast to the role he plays as the villainous Dr. Who in 'King Kong Escapes'. I had no idea that the two roles were played by the same actor. This speaks well of his acting skills. He was a long time character actor in Japan.
-Even though there was stock footage of the scene in which Godzilla stomps on Minilla's tail, the scene was re-shot. Ishiro Honda, the director, was trying to establish some distance between father and son in their relationship. This was to mirror the relationship with Ichiro and his father. Honda felt that the relationship was too 'cozy', in 'Son of Godzilla', for the scene to work in this movie.
UH... ABOUT THAT MINILLA OUTFIT... : Does anybody actually think Minilla looks like Godzilla? It makes you wonder what Mommy or Daddy (nobody knows for sure which sex Godzilla is) looked like... One thing everybody can agree on is that Minilla looks terrible. It is one of the worst, if not 'the' worst costume Toho ever made. Don't even try to say, he looks cute. He does not! At least we know Minilla is a 'he'.
COMMENTS:
-This movie is one of the most hated Godzilla movies by Godzilla fans. Most people would probably agree, it's not bad for a kid's movie, if you choose to view it that way, but for fans of the franchise going back to 1954, it was a terrible movie.
-Since, I personally view this movie as strictly a kid's movie, I'm a bit more lenient in my personal view of the movie. Oddly enough, I actually enjoyed this movie more, as an adult, then I did when I was a kid. I guess I just find it interesting, looking at an industrial city in Japan from a historical perspective.
-I was curious as to why the airplane was filled with 'white' or Caucasian people when Ichiro goes to sleep. Does this tell us something about post war Japan and what they think of Americans or Europeans in general? Why would a Japanese movie do this? Perhaps Ichiro's perception is painted by American movies? He is travelling to Monster Island and not an American or European city so this is curious to me.
-I know that Ichiro was dreaming, but they could have done better with the editing as it relates to Minilla's size. During his battle with Gabara, he doesn't grow or shrink but is automatically the size he needs to be. This was due to either poor editing or Toho being ultra cheap.
WHAT A QUESTION!: Ichiro's dad is asked, "Is there anything wrong with your kid?". I don't know if there is something lost in the translation, but that's quite a question to ask a co-worker.
AS A KID...: I can remember...
- Having seen the movie so many times, I knew that Ichiro goes to Monster Island 3 times. Somehow, I'd still sit there after the third time and hope that maybe he was going to go back for a 4th time.
- Being disappointed when Ichiro couldn't fall back asleep. I just couldn't wait for him to get back to Monster Island.
- Being confused as to how Minilla (Minya) could be so small and also how he knew English!
A SMALL BIT OF COMMENTARY ON THE ENDING AND CHILDREN'S SENSIBILITIES:
As has been noted by many others, Japan views what is acceptable for children, very differently than Americans. They seem to worry far less about children's sensibilities. I actually like their point of view far better than our 'snowflake' culture where everybody is overly sensitive. Sorry to be political, but we now live in a world where even Charlie Brown has to be turned into a winner (just go watch the fairly recent 'Peanuts' movie. What is striking about this movie, is that the kid actually joins a gang at the end. When I was young, this meant nothing to me and went right over my head. I can't ever imagine a company like Disney, doing such a thing in a movie. If Disney made this kid's movie, then it would end with the boy teaching the bully a lesson in kindness and turning him over to the 'light' side.
CONCLUSIONS: I watched this for the first time as a young boy. Even then, I didn't really like this movie. I think what I disliked about it was not the story. The story isn't really that bad. It's actually kind of decent. What I hated as a kid was that Godzilla doesn't show up in the last part of the movie. Basically, as a boy, I just looked forward to the parts with Godzilla. After his scenes were over, I just wanted to turn the movie off. I usually watched it to the end anyway. One positive thing was that I saw this movie several times before I ever saw 'Son of Godzilla'. Therefore, the stock footage scenes from that movie were new footage to me. It would be many years before I would see 'Son of Godzilla'.
RATINGS:
The Monsters: 2/10 - Most of the opponents are stock footage so I can't give any credit for those. I'm rating this on Gabara. Gabara is one of the weakest monsters, both figuratively and literally, that Toho has created. As an opponent, Gabara, is what I consider to be Godzilla's worst. Thus the rating. 1 star.
SFX: 2/10 - The effects are weak because there are almost no new effects. Just about all the good effects are stock footage. The rest of the movie is just a story about a boy and a bully. There are practically no special effects needed. 1 star is all I can give.
The Battle: 3/10 or 1 1/2 stars. How much better of a score can I give for this? Again, most of the good fighting is stock footage.
Plot: 6/10 - The story is actually not bad. If you strictly look at this as a kid's movie then I'd give the plot a little bit higher of a score. But since I'm looking at it as an adult, I'd give it a lower score. I'm averaging the two and I come up with 3 stars.
Overall: 4/10 - I'm giving this movie 2 stars. If you want to look at it as a kid's movie, you can add a star or two, depending on how much you liked it. But as an adult... 2 stars it is.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR GODZILLA?: Godzilla returns in the 11th movie in the franchise in 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah' or otherwise known as 'Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster'. That movie is controversial among Godzilla fans and it also happens to be my favorite movie from the 'Showa' era. It is a movie that is especially relevant in the day and age of the time of this review. It is an environmental movie. Hedorah or 'The Smog Monster' is made from pollution. It is a message movie about cleaning up our cities. The message aside, it is probably the most unusual Godzilla movie ever made (along with Godzilla: Final Wars). I highly recommend it, even if others don't.
Godzilla Teaches Son to be a Bully!
By James C Girasa on April 12, 2019
This review is for the standard DVD release of 'All Monsters Attack' released by Classic Media.By James C Girasa on April 12, 2019
FIRST, A COMMENT ABOUT MY RATING: I just want to say that I am giving this movie a 2 star rating based on my feelings about it as a long time Godzilla fan. As most Godzilla fans know, this is really a kid's movie and was filmed as such. If I were to rate this as a kid's movie, or the same way I'd rate a kid's animated feature or Disney live-action movie, then I'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars. I feel pretty certain that most people reading this review are Godzilla fans and not parents looking to buy a movie for their young children. So bottom line is my rating is from the perspective of a Godzilla fan.
GODZILLA UN-RETIRES?: The producer of the Godzilla movies, Tomoyuki Tanaka, had decided that due to declining ticket sales, that the previous Godzilla movie, 'Destroy All Monsters' would be the finale in the series. Obviously he changed his mind. Godzilla' retirement was short-lived and he returns for this movie a little over a year after his retirement.
TIMELINE: This movie is the 10th Godzilla movie out of a total of 31 live action Godzilla movies as of the time of this review in March, 2019. This is the 10th out of 15 movies from the 'Showa' era (1954-1975) of Godzilla movies. The Godzilla that appears in this movie appears only in a little boys dream. Therefore, it is not part of any continuity.
WHAT MONSTERS APPEAR IN THIS MOVIE?: Most of the monsters that appear in this movie are monsters that appeared in the two previous Godzilla movies. These monsters from the previous movies appear only in stock footage. Beside, Godzilla and Minilla, there is one additional new monster. The monsters are:
Godzilla: Does anybody need a description???
Minilla: Obviously Godzilla's son. His name literally means Mini-Godzilla. He should have atomic breath just like Godzilla. Problem is, that most of the time he shoots out rings that don't have much 'juice'.
Ebirah: Essentially, Ebirah is a giant lobster. It has been argued that it is a shrimp and/or crayfish but I have to go with lobster. The main argument against it being a lobster is that the claws are different sizes. This is a trait of certain shrimp. However, the face definitely looks like a lobster and the color along with everything else is the same as a common lobster to I'm sticking with lobster. Ebirah has no special abilities other than it can rise out of the water which regular lobsters don't normally do.
Giant Condor: Self explanatory. It is a giant condor! It is no different than any other condor other than it is bigger.
Kamacuras: There are 3 of these in this movie. Kamacuras is essentially a giant praying mantis. It is one of the weakest monsters in the Godzilla universe. It has two giant claws which are used to hunt it's prey. They can also be used to throw objects such as large boulders. It has the power of flight. Later versions of Kamacuras would have camoflauge abilities and the ability to flow very fast and dart like a hummingbird.
Kumonga (also known as Spiega): Kumonga is a giant spider. It has extra strong webbing that can entrap any creature that gets caught in it including Godzilla. It also has two very sharp pincers. Later versions of Kumonga have more abilities. In the later version, Kumonga can has a leaping ability and legs that are like spear points. Also, it's web can split and expand.
Gabara: Gabara appears to somewhat resemble a cat but is supposedly based on a toad. More likely, he was based on a far eastern mythological creature. It stands on two legs and is vaguely humanoid in shape. It has the ability to electrocute whatever it touches. Just like a cat, it is fairly agile.
There is also some stock footage of a bunch of monsters on Monster Island, such as Gorosaurs, Anguirus and Manda.
PLOT/SYNOPSIS: Ichiro is a little boy living in an industrial city, Kawasaki, in Japan. His parents both work and he is watched by an elderly toy maker, who lives in the same apartment complex, when their not home. Ichiro is being 'bullied' regularly by a leader, Gabara, of a small gang. After visiting the toy maker, Ichiro goes home and falls asleep in front of a toy radio.
Ichiro dreams that he travels to Monster Island on an airplane. Once on the island, he immediately see's Godzilla battling Kamacuras and then a Giant Condor. Kamacuras spots Ichiro and chases him. Ichiro falls down into a deep hole. As he begins to climb out, he sees a rope lowered. He takes hold of the rope and is pulled out. Standing there is none other than Minilla (Ichiro calls him Minya) from 'Son of Godzilla'. Minilla can speak and introduces himself to Ichiro. Together, they watch Gabara (the monster version of the bully). At this point, Ichiro is woken up.
After dinner with the toy maker, Ichiro goes out and gets chased by Gabara and his gang. Ichiro goes to an abandoned building. Inside he finds the wallet of a bank robber. There have been reports of a robbery of 50 million yen and police are on the lookout for two robbers. The robbers are hiding in the abandoned building and one of them dropped the wallet while hiding. Ichiro finds some old headphones and heads home. He falls asleep with his headphones on. In his dreams, he travels back to Monster Island.
Back on Monster Island, Ichiro goes searching for Minilla. He is spotted by Gabara and is chased through the jungle. Ichiro loses Gabara and finds Minilla. They watch Godzilla battle Ebirah and then Kumonga. Minilla manages to fire a 'ring' at Kumonga during the battle. Gabara shows up and Godzilla calls Minilla out to do battle. Minilla tells Ichiro that he must fight or Godzilla will think he is a coward. Gabara 'toys' with Minilla and he runs away with Ichiro. The two watch Godzilla dispatch some jet fighters. Godzilla calls for Minilla. Godzilla tries to teach Minilla to use his radioactive breath 'properly'. While watching this, Ichiro is grabbed by a plant monster.
Ichiro is woken up by two bank robbers. They kidnap him and bring him back to the abandoned building. One of the robbers goes out to find a car and Ichiro falls asleep. He travels back to Monster Island.
Ichiro, in his dreams, transports back to Monster Island. He pops up right as Minilla is doing battle with Gabara. Minilla is getting pushed around by Gabara and Minilla runs to Ichiro. Ichiro concocts a plan for Minilla in which Minilla jumps on the end of a log while Gabara is standing on the other end. Once back in battle, Minilla starts doing well against Gabara. Eventually Gabara turns the tide and Godzilla intervenes. Gabara is defeated. Godzilla turns to look at Ichiro and reaches for him. Ichiro wakes up.
Ichiro, while tied up, is put in the back of a car. He imagines Minilla giving him advice and he manages to free himself while the two robbers are trying to get their car started. Ichiro bites one of the robbers and the chase is on. Ichiro tricks one of the robbers into falling through a hole on the second floor. The other chases Ichiro with a knife and Ichiro holds him off with a fire extinguisher. The police show up and arrest the two robbers. Ichiro is now a hero. He tells the news reporters that Minilla helped him.
The next day, Ichiro is confronted by Gabara and the gang and this time Ichiro fights back and wins! Ichiro then takes up a dare from the day before and goes up to a workers motorcycle and honks it's horn. Ichiro is now in the gang and ready for a life of crime!
PRODUCTION: 'All Monsters Attack' was released at the end of 1969 in Japan. It's original international title was 'Attack All Monsters'.
-The American release was titled 'Godzilla's Revenge' and had a theatrical release as part of a double feature with 'Island of the Burning Damned'. There were minor changes made. There was an American dub and some of the music was changed. Minilla is called 'Minya' and some of the names of the other 'kaiju' are changed. This was released in 1971. This American version was originally titled, 'Minya, Son of Godzilla', but this was changed after a small test release.
-Kawasaki was used as the setting for this movie because of it's heavy industrial look.
-This movie was not a success in Japan. It sold just under 1.5 million admissions, which was over a million less than the previous Godzilla installment, 'Destroy All Monsters'.
-This would be Ishiro Honda's final movie as director during his original run. He would return for one more shot, 5 movies later in 'Terror of MechaGodzilla', in an attempt to save the franchise. That final attempt failed but as we know, Godzilla would be brought back close to a decade later.
-Eisei Amamoto plays the toy maker. This is in stark contrast to the role he plays as the villainous Dr. Who in 'King Kong Escapes'. I had no idea that the two roles were played by the same actor. This speaks well of his acting skills. He was a long time character actor in Japan.
-Even though there was stock footage of the scene in which Godzilla stomps on Minilla's tail, the scene was re-shot. Ishiro Honda, the director, was trying to establish some distance between father and son in their relationship. This was to mirror the relationship with Ichiro and his father. Honda felt that the relationship was too 'cozy', in 'Son of Godzilla', for the scene to work in this movie.
UH... ABOUT THAT MINILLA OUTFIT... : Does anybody actually think Minilla looks like Godzilla? It makes you wonder what Mommy or Daddy (nobody knows for sure which sex Godzilla is) looked like... One thing everybody can agree on is that Minilla looks terrible. It is one of the worst, if not 'the' worst costume Toho ever made. Don't even try to say, he looks cute. He does not! At least we know Minilla is a 'he'.
COMMENTS:
-This movie is one of the most hated Godzilla movies by Godzilla fans. Most people would probably agree, it's not bad for a kid's movie, if you choose to view it that way, but for fans of the franchise going back to 1954, it was a terrible movie.
-Since, I personally view this movie as strictly a kid's movie, I'm a bit more lenient in my personal view of the movie. Oddly enough, I actually enjoyed this movie more, as an adult, then I did when I was a kid. I guess I just find it interesting, looking at an industrial city in Japan from a historical perspective.
-I was curious as to why the airplane was filled with 'white' or Caucasian people when Ichiro goes to sleep. Does this tell us something about post war Japan and what they think of Americans or Europeans in general? Why would a Japanese movie do this? Perhaps Ichiro's perception is painted by American movies? He is travelling to Monster Island and not an American or European city so this is curious to me.
-I know that Ichiro was dreaming, but they could have done better with the editing as it relates to Minilla's size. During his battle with Gabara, he doesn't grow or shrink but is automatically the size he needs to be. This was due to either poor editing or Toho being ultra cheap.
WHAT A QUESTION!: Ichiro's dad is asked, "Is there anything wrong with your kid?". I don't know if there is something lost in the translation, but that's quite a question to ask a co-worker.
AS A KID...: I can remember...
- Having seen the movie so many times, I knew that Ichiro goes to Monster Island 3 times. Somehow, I'd still sit there after the third time and hope that maybe he was going to go back for a 4th time.
- Being disappointed when Ichiro couldn't fall back asleep. I just couldn't wait for him to get back to Monster Island.
- Being confused as to how Minilla (Minya) could be so small and also how he knew English!
A SMALL BIT OF COMMENTARY ON THE ENDING AND CHILDREN'S SENSIBILITIES:
As has been noted by many others, Japan views what is acceptable for children, very differently than Americans. They seem to worry far less about children's sensibilities. I actually like their point of view far better than our 'snowflake' culture where everybody is overly sensitive. Sorry to be political, but we now live in a world where even Charlie Brown has to be turned into a winner (just go watch the fairly recent 'Peanuts' movie. What is striking about this movie, is that the kid actually joins a gang at the end. When I was young, this meant nothing to me and went right over my head. I can't ever imagine a company like Disney, doing such a thing in a movie. If Disney made this kid's movie, then it would end with the boy teaching the bully a lesson in kindness and turning him over to the 'light' side.
CONCLUSIONS: I watched this for the first time as a young boy. Even then, I didn't really like this movie. I think what I disliked about it was not the story. The story isn't really that bad. It's actually kind of decent. What I hated as a kid was that Godzilla doesn't show up in the last part of the movie. Basically, as a boy, I just looked forward to the parts with Godzilla. After his scenes were over, I just wanted to turn the movie off. I usually watched it to the end anyway. One positive thing was that I saw this movie several times before I ever saw 'Son of Godzilla'. Therefore, the stock footage scenes from that movie were new footage to me. It would be many years before I would see 'Son of Godzilla'.
RATINGS:
The Monsters: 2/10 - Most of the opponents are stock footage so I can't give any credit for those. I'm rating this on Gabara. Gabara is one of the weakest monsters, both figuratively and literally, that Toho has created. As an opponent, Gabara, is what I consider to be Godzilla's worst. Thus the rating. 1 star.
SFX: 2/10 - The effects are weak because there are almost no new effects. Just about all the good effects are stock footage. The rest of the movie is just a story about a boy and a bully. There are practically no special effects needed. 1 star is all I can give.
The Battle: 3/10 or 1 1/2 stars. How much better of a score can I give for this? Again, most of the good fighting is stock footage.
Plot: 6/10 - The story is actually not bad. If you strictly look at this as a kid's movie then I'd give the plot a little bit higher of a score. But since I'm looking at it as an adult, I'd give it a lower score. I'm averaging the two and I come up with 3 stars.
Overall: 4/10 - I'm giving this movie 2 stars. If you want to look at it as a kid's movie, you can add a star or two, depending on how much you liked it. But as an adult... 2 stars it is.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR GODZILLA?: Godzilla returns in the 11th movie in the franchise in 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah' or otherwise known as 'Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster'. That movie is controversial among Godzilla fans and it also happens to be my favorite movie from the 'Showa' era. It is a movie that is especially relevant in the day and age of the time of this review. It is an environmental movie. Hedorah or 'The Smog Monster' is made from pollution. It is a message movie about cleaning up our cities. The message aside, it is probably the most unusual Godzilla movie ever made (along with Godzilla: Final Wars). I highly recommend it, even if others don't.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2009
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