O Filho de Godzilla

This direct to TV, budget conscious, effort still packs in the fun, albeit, of a different nature. No Cities getting stomped, no human death and very little modeling. Drama, suspense, humor, vibrant color, a great cast and monsters, fill the void. It is my least favorite Godzilla costume due to his goofy large eyes and tail that pinched inwards at the base. Minilla's silly looks, actually add to the good comedic acting. The story is neat and puts you into the suspense as a human trying to stay off the menu. The Akira Ifukube-less soundtrack is slightly dated due to its jazzy 60's vibe, but most of it was surprisingly good. After watching a host of other monster flicks of this era, like Yog, Daimajin, and Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, this effort seems to rise to the top.

This movie features Godzilla's son, which is exactly what you'd expect to see. I believe the son is referred to as Minya. The main problem with this film is that it seems disorganized. While most Godzilla movies have the flaw of focusing too much on the humans, I'm thinking this one had the problem of focusing too much on the monsters. Minya is pretty annoying and doesn't even look much like a baby Godzilla. This features them fighting giant praying mantises on an island. That's more or less the whole plot of the movie.

I suppose the special effects aren't any worse than any of the other movies. This was just weird because it was too cutesy. It really does make me think back to the classic Godzilla film and realize how low the series has gotten. I guess it is nice to see more emphasis being placed on the actual monsters, but it's not very rewarding. I think Leonard Maltin summed it up best when he asked where Mrs. Godzilla was when you really needed her. Did Godzilla reproduce asexually? **

Son of Godzilla is one of those weird movies which inspire strange feelings. The story is unique, no Godzilla doing his typical destruction. The story centers on the very human relationship between Godzilla and his son, Minya. This movie really touched me on this level. Some scenes really stick in my mind. The great scene with Godzilla teaching Minya how to shoot radioactive fire comes to mind. There is a real bond that comes out. When Minya is confronted with a monster, i.e. a bully, Godzilla makes Minya fight his own battle but is always there to back up his son.

Godzilla protects Minya and teaches him lessons; and in one of the climactic scenes, the son fights for his father's life; this is poignant. The scene at the end of the film in which father and son embrace to huddle from the cold is touching. If you divorce this from the typical Godzilla movie, what you are left with is a movie about a very close bond between father and son. I think I'm probably the only one who appreciates this movie on this deep a level.

One question: What Hollywood movie has a positive view of a father and son relationship?--- This movie made me very emotional, go figure. In short, if you want to see a typical camp Godzilla, look elsewhere. If you want to see something with emotional content; see this movie

8++++++/10

Son of Godzilla (1967) is a movie I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline follows Godzilla marching across the sea and arriving on an island where a strange egg has recently hatched. A baby Godzilla emerges but he will face dangers all around him - from large hungry praying Mantis to humans and everything in between. Godzilla will stop at nothing to protect his son.

This movie is directed by Jun Fukuda (Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla) and stars Masaaki Daimon (Lady Snowblood), Reiko Tajima (Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla), Akihiko Hirata (Godzilla, 1954) and Masao Imafuku (Kill!).

Not a huge fan of this particular depiction of Godzilla but his emergence and observations from the plane were fun. The science laboratories and sets are always well done in these pictures. The praying mantis are awesome. I always enjoy the glowing eyes of the monsters in these pictures. I always felt the baby Godzilla in this looked like a turd, and it's funny seeing how even Godzilla gets annoyed taking care of kids sometimes. The training scenes, spiders and ending battle were really good.

Overall I can't say this is a "good" movie but it is a very entertaining one. I'd score this a 6/10 and strongly recommend it.

Wow! I expected something along the lines of GODZILLA'S REVENGE, what I got instead was a pretty exciting giant monster film. Sure Minya does make for a few cutesy moments but I didn't feel these were overdone as badly as they could have been. Plus I thought the ending embrace was quite moving..of course it does work to take some of the hard edge off of Godzilla so some may hate it for that. I'd recommend this one mostly to older kids who love science fiction adventure stories and who won't be frightened by all the cool-looking giant insect critters. Too bad Minya and Godzilla look so thoroughly silly and goofy in comparison.