Gojira tai Megaro

A tour de force of rubbery monster mayhem in this genre classic. Brilliant turns from Megalon, Jet Jaguar, Gigan and the mighty Godzilla all of which out act the humans. Ignore the storyline and luxuriate in the glory of giant monster action.

Okay, okay, I admit, I have a guilty pleasure of watching this movie alot, with and without MST3K. Yeah, I have fun with G vs Megalon!

It is also one of the few Godzilla films to feature an Atlantis-like civilization in it as well. The civiliation lives beneath the sea, full of scantily claded dancers and their guardian monster is Megalon. They get upset at the surface world and summon Megalon, but things may not go as planned, due to two men, one hyperactive little boy, Jet Jaguar, and of course, Godzilla.

Sure, it may not be Akira Kurosawa, but it is alot of fun indeed.

This one is strictly for the kids, but it's still fun if you enjoy rubber suited actors destroying miniature sets (which I do). Megalon, a giant beetle from the sea, and Gigan, a praying mantis-like giant monster, are dead set on squishing puny humans. Enter size-shifting robot Jet Jaguar, who enlists the help of Godzilla to battle the two evil Kaiju. Jet Jaguar was the result of a contest Toho held where kids entered their idea for a new superhero and Jet was the winning entry by an elementary age student who was clearly a fan of Ultraman. Considered by many as one of the weakest Godzilla films, this is certainly among the corniest and the most juvenile of the many films, but I'll admit that I was entertained.

Godzilla Vs Megalon is often regarded by Godzilla fans as the low point of the series. Indeed,in terms of conventional movie making,this is indeed a bad film. Stupid plot,zero characterisation,shoddy effects,awful music,you name it. There's even a brief bit where the actors stand still waiting for 'action'-obviously no one cared to edit this out. However,sometimes a bad film can be fun,and this is a case in point.

The film is so fast moving and action packed it's as if all the so-called 'dull'bits have been edited out. No slow build-up to the monsters here-the human part of the story is a constant series of vehicle chases,fights and kidnaps. The friendly flying robot Jet Jaguar has such a goofy charm that can't really dislike him,despite the shameless pandering to small kids,and Megalon and the previously seen Gigan really make a surreal pair of evil monsters. As with Godzilla Vs Gigan,the film is rife with footage from previous Godzilla films,but you have to almost admire the nerve in scenes like Megalon's attack on Tokyo,where all the exploding buildings are from the Ghidorah attack sequence in Ghidorah the Three Monster,the filmmakers almost getting away with it because Ghidorah's ray looks a bit like Megalon's. Oddly enough,the uncut version {many versions are badly cut} is surprisingly violent considering the target audience.

The phrase "so bad it's good"was made for this movie. Badly made in every way,and with no artistic merit whatsoever,but inspite of,or maybe even because of this,it's FUN!!!

The people of an undersea kingdom named Seatopia are very angry that repeated nuclear tests on Earth are disrupting their tranquility. So they send a cockroach like monster named Megalon topside to do some major damage. Fortunately, the people of Japan are able to rely on a faithful robot named Jet Jaguar. JJ, by the way, has the means of traveling to a distant isle to ask Godzilla for help. And the antagonists respond by summoning the bird like Gigan.

Admittedly, this Kaiju series had definitely become juvenile and cheesy, not to mention overly cute. It's not for fans of the Big Green Guy who crave substance in what they watch. It's just "good" dumb fun for a family audience, complete with an extended final showdown between the two heroes and the two villains. Godzilla himself is just too funny, especially considering some of the gestures that he makes. And one of the villains clearly is thinking "you gotta be kidding me" at one point.

Yes, this is a very silly movie but a pretty fun one, directed with some panache by Jun Fukuda. Its main human characters are very likable. Our human villains are an amusing bunch of one dimensional goons. The action scenes are competently done, and there are enough laughs and thrills to make this entertaining fluff. The plentiful special effects, the monster costumes, and the vibrant color and widescreen photography help to keep things visually interesting.

A funny and lively diversion for people who just want to put their brains in neutral for 82 minutes.

Six out of 10.