Monster SeaFood Wars

Was it the intent to make a laughably fake "monsters-attack-a-city" redux? Actors covered in laughably very fake inflatable costumes (squid, octopus, crab) to attack (Godzilla style) a city. Very fake, but thankfully screen time is mostly humans talking.

It's only redeemable possibility is that it was intentionally made to be so bad it would be outrageously funny (irony; burlesque).

In a generation where people think SNL and dangerous stunts are funny, this film proves that not everyone has lost their sense of satirical humor.

From the obviously-sewn padded monster suits to the goofy lines and plot devices, this show is funny one scene after another. The official naming of the monsters (along with calligraphy signs)-- as if it's a national priority-- is one example of the subtle humor in this movie that makes fun of everything from monster movies to politics.

That the actors play the parts so seriously and hold straight faces while uttering such ridiculous lines is a winner. And the plot twists-- at first they're fighting ludicrous monsters... then the whole film takes on the trope of culinary documentary as it switches (for quite some time) to discussing the wondrous taste of monster meat... then back to trying to destroy those monsters. That's rich.

It's a gutsy satire that seems to have escaped a number of viewers. I enjoyed it all the way through (and no, I have no affiliation with the movie). I rate it 10 stars not because it's one of the best movies ever made-- but because it achieves exactly what the writers and director set out to achieve-- ludicrous on a sushi platter.

This is a movie to watch with friends with comments wide open. It is a humorous flick that reminds me somewhat of Schlock and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. I find it difficult that anyone would watch a film so obviously cornball as this-- then down-rate it because it's exactly what it is presented to be: a goofy Japanese movie about absurd giant monsters (and the equally silly people who fight them). If ya don't like that kind of thing-- this isn't the movie for you. If you think Godzilla in a rubber suit is funny-- this is going to be a feast. With ramen.

It's with a heavy heart that I say Monster Seafood Wars is nowhere near as good as the other movies by Minoru Kawasaki that I've seen: Calamari Wrestler and Executive Koala. I feared with titles like that, those movies would be too good to be true. But they weren't too good to be true. They were just too good.

And maybe too good in a way that'll make the director's lesser films pale in comparison. Here, the plot is like a spoof of a kaiju movie, where three small sea creatures get made giant. Then they rampage around like smellier, wetter Godzillas. Then much of the movie becomes about producing these monsters to create more meat, to feet starving populations. Then it goes back to being an action kaiju vs men movie (it feels like Neon Genesis Evangelion at times, except with giant seafood instead of Angels).

It's not very good, and might well be unwatchable to most sane people. But I got some entertainment out of it, and there were a few decent laughs and goofy costumes to marvel at. But the mockumentary format added surprisingly little, and it wasn't as gleefully or consistently absurd as the aforementioned Calamari Wrestler and Executive Koala, which were just funnier and also more frequently funny throughout. Monster Seafood Wars needed to push a little harder a little more of the time to live up to those earlier films.

Yuta is bringing his family's offering to a local shrine, consisting of an octopus, squid and crab, when someone steals the seafood from him and, almost immediately thereafter, giant seafood monsters arrive to wreak havoc in Tokyo. His arch-rival, Hikoma, not only steals his formula for creating large creatures out of small ones (to solve the problem of hunger), but also steals his childhood sweetheart Nana. But when Takolla (the octopus), Ikalla (the squid) and Kanilla (the crab) turn out to not only wreak havoc but to taste delicious when bits of them are broken off and cooked, Yuta, Nana and Hikoma must team up with the Seafood Monster Attack Team (SMAT) to defeat the creatures, once and for all....

Yes, this is quite as silly as it sounds; at a short 84 minutes, it packs in a bunch of visual hilarity - especially the "monsters," who are gigantic puppet-type thingies that make the viewer laugh on sight! Turns out that the father of director Minoru Kawasaki was himself a fugu chef, so the seafood preparations are no doubt completely spot on. With a charismatic and not-afraid-to-be-silly cast, and plenty of goofy special effects, this is one feast of a film!

Although subtitled, this movie is a whole lot funnier If you speak Japanese. The speakers use so many levels of politeness from very formal to downright rude. I really enjoyed the fake attempt to make a serious documentary. The whole production is an obvious joke that is shared between the viewer, director, producer, and the actors. Well done.

I want to try some of that sushi!