Godzilla vs. Megalon (1976)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I've seen all the Godzilla movies....this one keeps me coming back. Godzilla flying through the air with a kick never gets old! I know this is about as bad a film can get, but this is the one I watch over and over.

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.

Don't forget that Seatopia has existed for 3 million years...Godzilla vs. Megalon really should have two separate ratings: one for nine year old Jack and one for 32 year old Jack. The former would probably rate this 9 out of 10 stars, with one star taken off for those moments in the first half where things got a little slow (there's a car chase, largely with two cars going down a steep hill, which is surprisingly dull); the latter has to give it 7 stars, but knows that somewhere deep inside 9 year old Jack still remains. I know this is a bag of Doritos that I got shipped in the mail from Japan, but gosh-darnit, I'll eat the hell out of them! This is a fun movie for kids, and it doesn't get any more complicated than that. And if you're an adult, you're not looking for Robert Bresson or Sergei Parajanov! It's about a couple of guys and their little kid sidekick who create Jetto Jaga (or Jet Jaquar), and how some mad-villainous whoever creates or summons Megalon, a thing that looks like a cockroach and a fly got blended together with two giant drills for arms and hands. Jet and Megalon get to fighting, but with Gigan also in the mix (I just finished the movie and I don't friggin' know exactly how it's summoned, probably I'd know if I saw the other movies it's in), Jet is told, "Hey, we're in Good-Guy Godzilla phase now with these movies, go get him!" So Mr. Jaguar does, and the last 20 minutes are a battle royale.Jet Jaguar was also created as part of a *fan contest* that Toho put on that originally had nothing to do with Godzilla, it was for something else that might or might not involve one of their group of monsters. It was when marketing looked at the numbers and realized a character created by a literal seven year old wouldn't cut the mustard on its own that Godzilla needed to be added in, and one can tell it's kind of an afterthought almost. But to the filmmakers' credit, they end up making amazing use of him, as the actor in the suit has the time of his life doing lots of crazy arm and hand motions, and does most if not all of his signature moves against this warped-quintessential-Godzilla-villain-monster giant insect.It's performed and delivered to its audiences with such sincerity that anyone with a proper conscience can't help but smile and laugh as Godzilla goes into over-drive (with Jaguar's help) and fulfills the dreams of every 6/7/8 year old boy (or girl, let's not be sexist here) who ever wanted to see these things kick the crap out of each other. At the same time I get why this would end up as one of the early entries in Mystery Science Theater 3000's roster (this may be one of those rare times I see the movie as is before I see it riffed too). Don't go in for any deep themes or messages like the original Gojira, which is a completely different tone anyway. If you have a young child this is actually a great place I'd think to start with the franchise, possibly more than the original 54/56 movies. It's bright, colorful, stupid, and features a man in a giant bug costume smashing through a dam. What more do you want?

There is a level on which the most sophisticated of viewers can sit back and enjoy these Japanese monster flicks, paper mache sets and all. They certainly do tickle my palate.The undersea world of Seatopia is angry about nuclear tests because their world is being destroyed. What to do, but bring up the Megalon monster to do a number on the surface humans. What do the humans do, but get Godzilla on their side and the last third of the film is a wrestling match between Godzilla and Megalon and respective tag team partners.Godzilla gets a robot partner that supposedly is controlled by humans, but starts developing some independent thinking. All to the good, I might add and Megalon gets some other kind of creature the Seatopian folks unleash.You've got to love these films. It's like they're choreographed by Vince McMahon.