Frankenstein und die Monster aus dem All

I'm surprised this movie isn't rated higher. I can admit there are a few parts that seem to be a bit confusing, but it's a wonderful movie. I have heard people that feel the film focuses too much on the humans, but I must disagree. I think the main reason this film is as good as it is, is because it does indeed focus more on the monsters. I don't know exactly if I can recommend one specific Godzilla movie which I would consider "the best", but this one has to come close, at least in my opinion. Originally it was going to be the end of the series but I'm glad it wasn't, we had a lot of fun in this film and it's a must see for all monster lovers~

I make no appologies. I LOVE Kaiju films. Period. Godzilla meister Honda- along with special effects guy Tsubaraya are at the top of their form here.After confining the worlds greatest monsters to monsterland- an island where they can run wild yet not do any harm all is not well. It seems that space aliens are controlling their minds and sending them on many city bestroying rampages. Mothra in Beijing, Godzilla in New York, Rodan in Moscow, etc, etc.Meanwhile on the moon-a rocket crew is observing a UFO. Does this have anything to do with the monster attacks? Back at monsterland, the control crew are replaced by the aliens{Who take on human traits} After much intrigue, the alien base is discovered and the fun begins.The special effects are superior. The rockets and UFOs have a pulp magazine quality that was somewhat dated in 1968, but for some reason it works in this film. Especially cool is the tank like vehicle the rocket holds. Even the model work is of the first order and although it would probably would not pass muster with todays computer generated FX fans, it gives this film an immaginative quality that is sadly lacking in most of todays films.And the climactic monster fight with all the genres all time greats is really a blast! Whenever I1m feeling down, I just pop this one in the VCR and bingo! I feel better again.No deep thinking, just fun on a monster size scale.

The basic set-up sure seems delicious; a whole group of Toho's most popular monsters all in one movie. Godzilla, Rodan, Anguillas, Mothra and pretty much all the others (including a few very obscure ones) packed into one movie should by all rights be simply irresistible.

And....mwelll, it is quite good, only not as tremendous as I had expected. Yes, the whole kaiju bunch get together to battle the nasty aliens in the end (who send in Ghidora against them, who's always nice to see in action as the kaiju über-baddie), and this big fight scene is pretty great. Only, it's short, and there's little else in there that really stands out. In fact, for a flick with so many monsters in it, you see shockingly little footage of the kaiju actually tearing up cities good and proper. Plus, some very obscure monsters join the fray, which eventually only clutters things, as we'd rather just see the proper big-name kaiju instead of a shady filler-material monster.

There's some kind of a plot in there, but it's not really something to write home about. Someone's had the clever idea to store all the earth's (or Toho studios') giant monsters on the aptly-named isle of Monster Island. This just begs for disaster, of course. Before long, a mysterious cataclysm causes all the monsters to escape and wreak havoc. And as usual, there's a bunch of unpleasant, and very oddly dressed aliens behind all this. Que lots of scenes with brave human heroes and their funky spaceship trying to put a halt to the aliens' evil plans. In fact, far too many of such scenes. And while there are delightfully silly cheapo sci-fi costumes and tacky spaceships in there, somehow more of the proper kaiju action that this film's concept promised would've been much better.

It's still quite an addition to a kaiju lover's collection, and is good enough to kill time in a nicely silly way, with all those groovy big monsters in there. Worth a go, but could've been much more. (still, hooray for a flick where poor old Anguillas is -not- merely used as a kaiju-sized live punching bag for a change).

Toho decided to throw a block party for monsters in Tokyo, and invited every creature they could get to sign on to do the flick. Their three biggest mega stars are featured: the lovable giant fire-breathing lizard Godzilla, the supersonic bird who stirs up hurricane winds, Rodan; and the evil three-headed serpent King Ghidora. Throw in the talents of several other monsters and you have a Battle Royale that's a feast for the eyes.

Aliens want to conquer the Earth. So they use hypnosis chips on both key humans as well as the giant beasts, forcing them to assist in a sinister scheme. The human actors, although intentionally upstaged by their larger co-stars, make for an interesting invasion from within story. The actors really do a good job showing urgency in this battle for Earth, (in spite of the sometimes questionable dubbing job). The action moves fast and furious, leading to the inevitable climactic monster showdown.

The film incorporates the monster back stories as much as possible; considering how many creatures get in the act, that's quite an accomplishment. It's fun to see them all together; and they put on several good destruction and battle scenes. The TV reporter doing a sports play-by-play in the decisive battle is a great touch, giving us great lines such as, "Listen to the monsters, with their cries of horror and sudden death!"

Fun stuff for Japanese monster movie fans or anyone who likes a good, campy, action filled flick.

All the monsters on "Monster Island" have been taken control of by an alien race through a mystical fart like cloud, and are set off on a rampage across earth. Meanwhile, a team of astronauts must band together to gain back control of the monster squad before it's too late.

As the end of the so called "Golden Era" of the Toho produced films, "Destroy All Monsters" is a suitably cheesy and throughly entertaining finale to this part of the Showa-era. Although I miss the darkness of the original, at this point in the series I was on board with the silliness of the plots. As always, the practical effects here are fantastic for the time period. The rampaging monsters look the best they have ever looked, and every scene that the monsters are on screen is so fun.

I'd be reluctant to say it's the best of the Showa era, but I would say it's one of the most entertaining in terms of pure monster madness. A must watch for Kajiu fans.

Side note: I've never watched a rated G movie that literally shows a guy getting shot in the face, with blood and all, AND a suicide. Damn the 60's were wild.