The Mysterians (1957)

So much average

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Ishiro Honda directs this kid-friendly science fiction tale that starts off with a giant robot attacking Japan after emerging from a mountain; after it is repelled, the military and scientists learn that it was created by mysterious aliens who offer a peaceful co-existence but in reality want to occupy and invade the country - and steal their women too... Of course, they must be stopped, and are fought with every weapon at the military's disposal, and that the scientists can create. Lots of action, but is awfully silly and one-dimensional otherwise, though better enjoyed in the original Japanese language track on the DVD.

This has some of the highest production values, some of the best FX sequences, the best musical scoring and some of the best acting to be seen in any Kaiju film. Personally, I rate this as 3rd or 4th all-time best in the Kaiju genre, behind such uber-classics as Godzilla, Invasion of the Astro-Monster, and War of the Gargantuas.Ishiro Honda was the greatest auteur of Kaiju. He was not only the D.W. Griffith of that genre, he was also the Orson Welles. His Kaiju films can be put into 3 rough categories: earnest (i.e. Godzilla, War of the Gargantuas); surreal (Mushroom People); and camp (Invasion of the Astro Monster). This film is mostly in the earnest category, but the sequence with the long tailed mechanical monster hints at Honda's immanent surreal and camp tendencies. Anyhow, this is definitely a very well-made Kaiju, but it is a little slow in some places and the whole strategy of the Mysterians for conquering Earth has some serious flaws. Nonetheless, the idea of alien invaders occupying Japanese territory and and seeking total domination, not to mention the aliens' designs on the local women, is interesting. And surely this storyline must reflect Honda's attitudes toward the American occupation forces which still were maintaining high visibility in Japan in this period. It is my understanding that this film was originally released in Cinemascope or the equivalent, and it really would have been a gas to see it on the big screen that way. The battles between the Earth forces in their strange slow-moving aerial battleships and the Mysterians' ray weapons, in glorious color and with the orchestra playing in full stereo, must have been a kick.Of less interest is the fact that the aliens in this film seem to be the direct inspiration for a dreadful yet popular 1990's children's TV show, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. All told, this movie is still a lot more interesting and fun than most of the scifi summer blockbusters nowadays, especially the crap with Will Smith or Tom Cruise.

Brilliant re-mastering of a childhood favorite. All of the painstaking detail of the original miniature work can once again be clearly seen, especially if you have a digital-ready TV. Gone are the days of the lousy prints, garbled sound track, and comical dubbing!! Even the models -- the flying saucers, planes, tanks, the dome -- as well as the "big kahuna" himself (i.e. Mogera) come across as more vivid and life-like than ever. Watching it took me back 45 years, glued to my seat today just as it was when I saw it in theatrical release in my adolescence. Akira Ifukube's stirring score, which stands alone quite well as an orchestral piece, has been brilliantly restored (in Dolby 5.1 no less). It sounds wonderful. The English dubbing is entirely new, but to be honest, I found it nearly as inane, but not so nearly endearing, as the original. The dubbing of the early Toho Sci-Fi flicks was so bad it was great, and was in fact one of the things that attracted many (myself included) to the genre. Not so here. I ended up watching it in the original Japanese, with English subtitles. Much better. This release contains all of scenes that were cut from the original U.S. release -- such as, the second Mogera getting clobbered by a falling Markalite as it attempts to emerge from underground. Like I said, if you love the genre, you're gonna love this!!!

This is one of the earlier sci-fi movies from Toho studios. Respectable Toho actors and actresses are in this movie including Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, and Takashi Shimura-all actors that appeared in the original Godzilla and Rodan movies. This story involves a group of cool looking aliens called the Mysterians, who want to possess a huge chuck of land in Japan and marry Earth women. The suspense builds when the Earth people resists the Mysterians' demands, which results in a battle for Earth action. Just to note, the actor playing the Leader of the Mysterians was Yoshio Tsuchiya. He also played the Vapor Man in 'The Human Vapor,' Controller of Planet X in 'Godzilla vs. Monster Zero,' and Businessman Shindo in 'Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.'Eiji Tsuburaya's advanced special effects highlighted a spectacular battle of fire, lasers, rockets, tanks and flying saucers between the humans and space aliens. A slow and mysterious, but sometimes militaristic and moving music score by Akira Ifukube. A dramatic and somber story by Takeshi Kimura. Directing was once again done by the great Ishiro Honda.The downside, though, was that the story lacked a solid plot and the female leads weren't emphasized enough. There were too many scenes that depicted meetings held by the officials, discussing what to do about the aliens. These meetings were important in a way, but kind of boring. And, the robot monster, Moguera, was a terrific-looking monster, but wasn't utilized enough. But overall, a pretty cool feature for a sci-fi film made in the 1950s.Grade B