Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965) "Review 6"

[abraxas]

Invasion of the Astro-Monster (Monster Zero or Godzilla vs. Monster Zero US) is a Toho science fiction film released in 1965 as a direct sequel to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. It is sixth in the Godzilla series, popular in the West for having the Japanese series' only Hollywood lead, Nick Adams. It is the second film to feature King Ghidorah and the third film to feature Rodan. It is the first Godzilla film to feature alien invaders and the last to feature the popular 1960s team of director Ishirō Honda, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.



This review is for the American version of the film, luckily very little was changed. This particular Godzilla film has some of the most interesting facts connected with it, for instance it is the first Godzilla film that shows two characters kissing, and the first to suggest that these two characters have had sex with one another.

Two astronauts take their ship to a newly discovered planet that lies just beyond Jupiter, known as Planet X. They meet a race of gray faced aliens, who ask the two to help them in their battle against the dreaded King Ghidorah; who is trying to destroy their planet. In return they promise to give humanity a miracle drug that can cure all deceases (in the Japanese version its all forms of cancer).

The earth people agree and give the Xians permision to come to earth and snatch up Godzilla and Rodan and bring them back to their planet to fight Ghidorah.

But things are not what they seem with the aliens from Planet X......

Later Godzilla movies would also have aliens in the main premise of the film, but their origins and reasons for coming to earth tend to vary from film to film.

I remember watching this particular Godzilla film many times on TV when I was young, out of all the Godzilla movies that aired, it was shown on TV the most, besides the original of course.

This film shows Godzilla doing a little dance after he defeats his enemy, a cross between a skip and a sailors solute. The "jumping shay scene" was protested by Ishiro Honda, but Eiji Tsuburaya insisted on keeping it, saying "it would make the children happy."

Mothra was not featured in this film






5 out of 5 roars

[GL]

Well the true name is "Jumping Shie," but when you pronounce it it'll come off as if you're saying yours, and it was Yoshio Tsuchiya, who played the Xian leader who suggested the dance, not Tsuburaya.

It's not all that bad of an entry, but it just feels like a let-down after Ghidorah. That one was simpler, a lot more streamlined and didn't go off on so many tangents as this one does, so it tends to wander around a lot when the monsters aren't on-screen, and the shortened nature of their screen time is noticeable, if not exactly a bad thing as the battle on Planet X is really cool, the rampage between the three in the Fuji countryside is nice if a little over-reliant on stock footage, but the final brawl comes off like a repeat of the one from Ghidrah since it's the same main players going at it again, just Mothra never sprays Ghidorah up here.

Still, the score helps here, and it's never boring when it goes off on it's tangents, so it's not all bad.

[abraxas]

Sorry that was probably a typo due to the spell check

[GL]

No, don't worry about it. When you pronounce it out, that's what it sounds like you're saying, but when you spell it, it's the other way.