Les envahisseurs attaquent

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.

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.

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.

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~

Destroy All Monsters is one of the most sheerly entertaining Godzilla movies. The story,if derivative of Monster Zero,is large-scale and exciting {although the alien invasion idea would soon be done to death},the action is non-stop and the film features almost all the monsters from Toho films made up to that time. There is mass destruction,lazer gun shoot-outs,lots of barmy but cool ideas such as Monster Island,a place where all Earth's monsters are kept by scientists-how can the movie not be terrific entertainment?

There are a few flaws with the film which may not have been present if the Toho of 1964 had made it rather than the Toho of 1968. Although the story has the entire world threatened and several of Earth's cities destroyed,the budget did obviously not extend to allowing much of a depiction of this,bar some brief,unconvincing scenes. Also,a few of the monsters are only briefly shown,such as Varan {The Unbelievable},who appears only in two blink-and -you're-miss-them shots {the suit had been ruined and there was not enough money to buy a new one}. The film may therefore have actually been better with less monsters. However,criticisms of dullness are ridiculous,the film is constant action,which makes up for the lack of interesting human characters,and amazingly,the film is taken more seriously than many of the other Godzilla films,almost achieving the perfection of tone of Godzilla Vs Mothra. Of course,there are a few wonderfully stupid moments,like the sequence of our heroes severing a control device with a lazer which helariously goes on for ages. A shame the final Earth monsters vs Ghidorah fight is too short,but than Ghidorah did not really stand a chance!

Terrific fun,though,with a wonderful Akira Ifikube score featuring two of the most memorable kaiju themes! Not the best Godzilla film,but probably the most essential one to see!