Godzilla vs. MegalonWhen I was a kid, I remember my brother and I sitting and watching Godzilla vs. Megalon over and over on summer afternoons. Our mom bought us a VHS tape of it for a dollar at Woolworth's, and it was a worthwhile investment. Contained on that black cartridge was a tale with everyone's favorite radioactive monster-turned-ally, Godzilla, and his battles with the varied creatures set against him in this campy kaiju adventure. Full of men in monster suits stomping replicas of buildings and tiny tanks, Godzilla vs Megalon embodies the silliest and cheesiest elements of the subgenre, and personally remains a nostalgic cult classic.
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I think it goes without saying that one knows just what kind of movie to expect from Godzilla vs. Megalon, and in that it doesn't disappoint. It is a story with the thin veneer of ecological strife, which unlike its precursor films which established Godzilla as the unfortunate result of man versus nature, here the story is ultimately an excuse to ultimately justify the tag-team mash-up of Godzilla and newcomer Jet Jaguar, against the weapon of Seatopia, Megalon, and his summoned ally from the prior entry in the Godzilla franchise, Gigan. The story (such as it is) revolves around the recent underground nuclear test in the Aleutian Islands, creating a horrible, world-shaking explosion felt all the way on Monster Island, home of Godzilla and friends. But more so, it causes catastrophic devastation to the Earth, especially to the secret and ancient civilization of Seatopia which exists far below the Earth's surface, claiming approximately a third of its dominion in the calamity. Seatopia is insinuated to be a lost civilization, like Atlantis or others mentioned by robotics engineer, Goro (Katsuhiko Sasaki) to his fun-loving nephew Rokuro (Hiroyuki Kawase) and their stylish friend Hiroshi Jinkawa (Yutaka Hayashi) following an ill-fated day at the lake, which literally opened up and threatened to swallow Rokuro and his strange, dolphin-like watercraft. In retaliation, Seatopia decides to take the fight to the surface, both sending secret agents to seize the research of Goro--who must be exceptionally well-known even below the Earth's crust--and also summon the slumbering monster, Megalon, to wreak havoc upon the world. And the research which the agents of Seatopia seek is in fact Goro's creation, the robotic being later called Jet Jaguar (for reasons which I have never fully comprehended), to serve as a guide for Megalon, directing him to Tokyo to cause the most damage. At one point, Goro and Rokuro are kidnapped, presumably to be taken below the surface to make more robots for Seatopia, but they manage to escape, and the scrappy trio regain control of Jet Jaguar, his new mission to seek out Godzilla to come to Japan--yes, they actually invite the beast to come back--so he might do battle with the destructive monsters in a giant monster free-for-all.
As a kid, some elements of the story were never very clear; frankly, I was just waiting for the body slams and explosions to start. But watching Godzilla vs. Megalon now, it is strange how reversed the story seems to be from the original message of the first film, of the dangers of nuclear weaponry. In truth, the danger which arises is due in part to the effects on the landscape, but it is more of the actions of Seatopia, which in another film might even be viewed as the defendants in this incursion into their ancient land. Their solution is inelegant and they employ seditious means to achieve it, but they are in dire straits to save their civilization from the surface-dwellers who callously wrought devastation over their society. One might even argue that on an ideological level that Godzilla might even sympathize with the Seatopians, were their envoys not such jerks. It is also evident that while this is a "Godzilla" movie, Godzilla barely factors into the story at all; in essence, he's just another body and guarantor to get moviegoers to see the throwdown between Jet Jaguar and Megalon. In truth, Godzilla vs. Megalon was conceived as a stand-alone movie for Jet Jaguar in an effort to get a competing franchise off the ground for the likes of Ultraman--to whom Jet Jaguar bears a striking resemblance in abilities and appearance. But as it goes in movies, when the producers supposed that it would be more likely to draw a crowd if Godzilla were featured, well...let's just say it's not called "Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon", a trend which continues to this very day with movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Of course there are moments in the plot which might not make a lot of sense, such as when Hiroshi and Rokuro return to Goro's boxy-looking lab and home, ostensibly to reclaim control of the computer the spy from Seatopia has commandeered, only to abandon it after doing so for no apparent reason. But the reason is that as serial monster movies, any excessive amount of plot would surely detract from the focus of the film, and that is the big fights between big monsters. The fights are as exaggerated and outlandish as one might expect, with Megalon firing his lightning from his beetle-like horn or explosive grenades from his mandibles, or Gigan dashing past Godzilla, severely cutting him with his stomach spines. (Seriously, Gigan's always a big jerk.) Of course Jet Jaguar gets in on the fun by transforming himself to giant-size, even to the befuddlement of Goro, his creator. And since the star of the show is none other than Godzilla, he is treated to delivering the coup de grâce against the Seatopian invader via a series of dropkicks courtesy of gliding on his tail. No one would accuse Godzilla vs. Megalon of being possessed of lofty ambitions or complex emotions; but nostalgia aside, it's a fun, silly, and thoroughly campy romp of Seventies-era giant monster madness.
Recommended for: Fans of, well, Godzilla, and of course, kaiju battles and lots of toy replicas of military vehicles, dams, and buildings turned to rubble. It's good, simple fun, and likely to elicit a laugh at the unintentionally bad acting (and dubbing where applicable), as well as the ludicrous plot.
As a kid, some elements of the story were never very clear; frankly, I was just waiting for the body slams and explosions to start. But watching Godzilla vs. Megalon now, it is strange how reversed the story seems to be from the original message of the first film, of the dangers of nuclear weaponry. In truth, the danger which arises is due in part to the effects on the landscape, but it is more of the actions of Seatopia, which in another film might even be viewed as the defendants in this incursion into their ancient land. Their solution is inelegant and they employ seditious means to achieve it, but they are in dire straits to save their civilization from the surface-dwellers who callously wrought devastation over their society. One might even argue that on an ideological level that Godzilla might even sympathize with the Seatopians, were their envoys not such jerks. It is also evident that while this is a "Godzilla" movie, Godzilla barely factors into the story at all; in essence, he's just another body and guarantor to get moviegoers to see the throwdown between Jet Jaguar and Megalon. In truth, Godzilla vs. Megalon was conceived as a stand-alone movie for Jet Jaguar in an effort to get a competing franchise off the ground for the likes of Ultraman--to whom Jet Jaguar bears a striking resemblance in abilities and appearance. But as it goes in movies, when the producers supposed that it would be more likely to draw a crowd if Godzilla were featured, well...let's just say it's not called "Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon", a trend which continues to this very day with movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Of course there are moments in the plot which might not make a lot of sense, such as when Hiroshi and Rokuro return to Goro's boxy-looking lab and home, ostensibly to reclaim control of the computer the spy from Seatopia has commandeered, only to abandon it after doing so for no apparent reason. But the reason is that as serial monster movies, any excessive amount of plot would surely detract from the focus of the film, and that is the big fights between big monsters. The fights are as exaggerated and outlandish as one might expect, with Megalon firing his lightning from his beetle-like horn or explosive grenades from his mandibles, or Gigan dashing past Godzilla, severely cutting him with his stomach spines. (Seriously, Gigan's always a big jerk.) Of course Jet Jaguar gets in on the fun by transforming himself to giant-size, even to the befuddlement of Goro, his creator. And since the star of the show is none other than Godzilla, he is treated to delivering the coup de grâce against the Seatopian invader via a series of dropkicks courtesy of gliding on his tail. No one would accuse Godzilla vs. Megalon of being possessed of lofty ambitions or complex emotions; but nostalgia aside, it's a fun, silly, and thoroughly campy romp of Seventies-era giant monster madness.
Recommended for: Fans of, well, Godzilla, and of course, kaiju battles and lots of toy replicas of military vehicles, dams, and buildings turned to rubble. It's good, simple fun, and likely to elicit a laugh at the unintentionally bad acting (and dubbing where applicable), as well as the ludicrous plot.