Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

This was one of the first Godzilla films I can recall watching on prime-time network television when I was growing up (back then it went under its Americanized title of simply, MONSTER ZERO). Though pretty far-fetched, it's still a highly enjoyable offering in the Toho series and gives us another chance to see Godzilla and Rodan join forces against the popular three-headed King Ghidorah (Monster Zero).

This time the widescreen English dubbed version is an asset, as American actor Nick Adams adds some spice to this one, since it's always fun to hear his nasal Brooklynese voice delivering such entertaining macho lines of gibberish as: "you stinkin' rats! What have you done to her?" Adams plays one of two astronauts sent to the newly discovered "Planet X" where he meets an alien civilization forced to live underground in order to avoid frequent attacks by Ghidorah up on the surface. The leaders ask our heroes to help them obtain the services of Earth monsters Godzilla and Rodan to help them vanquish 'Monster Zero'. But all may not be quite as it seems...

Some fans don't like the fact that the monster battles are kept to a minimum this time, but they're pretty good when they arrive and it's an added kick seeing the desolate looking Planet X in outer space, with its mountains, craters and dark, star-lit skies. The addition of aliens, flying saucers and double-crosses help make this a good time for Godzilla lovers. *** out of ****

Monster Zero,to give this film it's most common name,is another quality Godzilla film coming on the heels of the classic Godzilla Vs Mothra and Ghidorah the 3 Headed Monster. The film is a slight notch down from those two,but still a hugely entertaining movie-inventive,exciting and quite spectacular considering it's comparatively low budget.

The film combines the monster battle plots of the previous films with an alien invasion story a la Battle In Outer Space. The idea of aliens controlling monsters to attack Earth would later be done to death in later series entries. The plot here is quite clever and interesting,although the film is a little slow and only really gets going in the final third,which has one of the best destruction scenes of the series {although spot the tiny bit of footage from the films Rodan and Mothra}. Not enough of the monsters is seen in this film,and the two battles are too brief,despite the priceless sight of Godzilla's victory shuffle.

Nevertheless,there is much to enjoy,including Nick Adam's VERY enthusiastic performance and some of his silly but cool dialogue,some very impressive special effects and visuals {one day people will stop saying the effects in these films are poor},and a rather daring alien/human romance that even includes sex, {although you'll have to listen for the reference}. The US version only had minor cuts and music cue alterations,nothing to ruin the film.

This film is close to the last of the quality Godzilla films where a budget is evident, and the future of the series became apparent. This film is a sequel to GHIDDORAH: THE THREE HEADED MONSTER and story elements went into the classic, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. Goji completely went into his Earth defender mode in this story of alien domination against our planet.

This film is a great representation of the series and and Japan's desire and attitude for the times, coupled with our realization that everything is completely impossible. The best way to watch any Godzilla film is to believe that you are watching an alternate universe where all nations are equally powerful and those future dreams of the past did become possible.

For Godzilla fans, there is a lot of love about this film. There are interesting characters and many consider this Nick Adams' best film; which may not be true, but his co-star is BIGGER. For me, it is the images of the two monsters being lifted from the lake and hauled off to Planet X. The battle on the planet is now considered a classic moment too, as Goji does a victory dance(referred to as The Godzilla Shie). Godzilla always seemed to have a personality, but that dance cemented this notion, as he also demonstrates emotions in this story.

The fact that you are reading this review, demonstrates that you may have your own ideas and feelings about this film. This review is for the cinefile who believes in Godzilla and many of the other movies that came from Toho Studios. My recommendation is that you watch DESTROY ALL MONSTERS after this film, and then go play the two Godzilla video games that are now available.

The other day I found this movie at a nearby video shop by chance. Contrary to my anticipation, I found this movie quite fun. The movie I saw was in Japanese and Nick Adams' voice was dubbed, but his acting was pretty good, though he pulled up his pants a lot.

This brought me good memories of Mr. Adams. As a kid about ten years old at that time, my father (who was the USA representative for Toho and manager of the Toho La Brea Theatre) and I went to the LA airport to see him off. He was going to Japan to take this movie. He was very friendly and relaxed, he was with his wife and his little boy, he looked very happy and energetic. I remember asking him, Mr. Adams, how are fight scenes taken in movies? He replied with a nice big smile and with a fighting gesture, we really fight and punch! Gasshou! meaning I join my palms together for Mr. Adams and for my late father.

It's one of those Godzilla movies where you fully understand why some fans of the "Zilla" series positively dislike it. The big atomic lizard is only a bit part player here, and when push comes to shove the monster mayhem is in short supply, which considering we also have Ghidorah and Rodan in the mix is for sure a bit of a waste. Yet this is one of the better sequels from Toho's original wave, it quite literally has all the ingredients that made "Zilla" and the off-shoots so iconic.

We are in live action cartoon territory, a sci-fi story of bonkers proportions yet engrossing all the same. The joyous model work synonymous with the series remains intact, the cardboard sets being obliterated are still fun to watch, and the divisive sight of "Zilla" doing the "shay" dance is in here whether you like it or not. More fun, though, is watching "Zilla" boxing the three headed Ghidorah, now that is comedy gold, if only the moody lizard had gone southpaw a bit earlier then saving the world could have been achieved quicker.

Great fun, could have been better from a monster point of view? Yes, definitely, but this be a nutty fruitcake production from Toho and amen to that. 8/10