Godzilla vs. Megalon (1976)

Lack of good storyline.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I've seen every Godzilla movie at least once, but this one is something of a special case. They say this film was started and completed in the same month, which is an incredibly short amount of time for a feature film to be made. I can't say it has the best plot, basically Atlantis is pissed out of nowhere and sends a giant bug to attack Japan of all places, while "agents" of their Caucasian race attempt to take control of a simplistic Robot that looks like a gymnastics instructor. Well, all that put aside, the movie isn't actually that terrible. It was fun to see Gigan in another film besides his own, I feel he was always a bit under rated.

As a child, Godzilla vs. Megalon was one of my favorite movies. I watched our old VHS tape of it again and again. Since then, my tastes in film have improved greatly. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy watching guys in rubber suits fighting as much as the next guy, and consider the 1954 original to be a masterpiece, but by the time Toho got around to this one they had long since reached the point where they were running short on ideas, talent, and damns to give.To understand how little thought was put into this production, you have to understand that it originally wasn't even supposed to be a Godzilla movie. Toho had just completed a much publicized contest in which school children were encouraged to mail in their own monster designs, with the winning design getting its own movie. Apparently there was a shortage of creativity in Japan at the time, because the winner was Jet Jaguar, a shameless rip-off of Ultraman. But as the production neared, the studio began having doubts about the marketability of Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon, so they added Godzilla to increase viewer appeal.It's never a good sign when the star is thrown in as an afterthought, and that's only the beginning of the movie's troubles. The entire thing was shot in three weeks, and the Godzilla suit was made in only one, resulting in one of the cheapest looking costumes of the series. In order to further save on money many of the special effects scenes are recycled from previous films. The acting is also hammy even by standards of the genre, and the music choices seem to have been picked and performed by someone on drugs.The story such as it is follows the familiar formula of an alien race unleashing a giant monster, which wreaks havoc on Japan before being stopped by Godzilla. The aliens this time around are the Seatopians, an ancient subsea race who are threatened by nuclear testing. And their monster is Megalon, a giant beetle/cockroach monster that spits firebombs and has drills for hands. Making things worse for the surface dwellers, the Seatopians have also enlisted the aid of the scythe armed Gigan, Godzilla's enemy from the previous film. But Godzilla has help of his own, in the form a Jet Jaguar and the pair of kooky inventors who created him.It's never explained why or how they built the robot, or why the villains need to steal it. One of the bad guys mutters something about how his people were too busy to invent such things, which is one of the lamest excuses in the history of lame excuses. A better explanation is that this allows for the poorly staged fights and car chases that pad the runtime. Nor is it ever explained how Jet Jaguar can grow from human to Godzilla size. I also wonder why, if the Seatopians are so advanced, it never occurs to them to send someone to the surface and say "Hey, we exist, can you guys stop bombing us?" Maybe I'm expecting too much from people who dress like space Klansmen.Anyway, all this is just an excuse for giant monsters to smash stuff and fight each other, which they do. The final battle between Godzilla, Jet Jaguar, Gigan and Megalon Is the film's high point, and one of the few parts so bad that it's good. In a performance worthy of the WWE, the monsters fight what can only be described as a tag team wrestling match, complete with half nelsons, high fives, and the old standby where one fighter grabs an opponent so his partner can wail on him. The true highlight however is the infamous 'thunder kick' scene, which has joined Godzilla flying and Godzilla talking as YouTube staples.If Godzilla vs. Megalon were only a little worse, it would actually be half-good, but unfortunately only the final battle reaches so bad it's good status, and the overall result is a rather flat entry to the franchise that too often dips into the realm of self parody. It's not as bad as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster or Godzilla's Revenge, but it's nothing to write home about either. This tale does have a happy ending however, in that Mystery Science Theatre 3000 selected this film for their movie mocking treatment, resulting in one of the series' funniest episodes. It's available on Netflix, and I highly suggest renting it.

Oh man, get ready to tone down your intelligence because we're looking at one of the lesser highlights of the movie series starring the one and only King of the Monsters. This is Godzilla vs Megalon.After the events of "Godzilla vs Gigan", an ancient civilization called Seatopia (silly, I know) is living under the ocean. Its people are upset over the continuous nuclear bomb tests done on the surface world, so they send in their god Megalon to destroy us all. Only one problem: Megalon is one of the least intelligent monsters there is. So they send a few agents to steal a scientist's silly-looking, size-changing robot Jet Jaguar to lure Megalon to cities. Soon, the scientist regains control over the robot and sends it to get Godzilla to save the day. Realizing that trouble is over the horizon, the Seatopians ask the aliens from the previous film to send in their monster Gigan into the fray. It's Godzilla and Jet jaguar against Megalon and Gigan. Who will win? This was made in a time when Godzilla movies were getting silly. Cheap effects, annoying little kids, use of stock footage, and laughable moments. Nonetheless, all of this is made up for by the awesome big fight that goes on near the end. Monsters taking turns beating the crap out of each other. I absolutely love it. There are tons of great moments, a few that defy the laws of physics.If you're willing to let reality fly out the window and just want to see a fun and cheap monster movie, then this is the one for you.

So here is Toho's bid to cash in on Ultraman. This movie really should have been called Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon, because that is basically what you get. Godzilla doesn't event really do anything until there is less than 20 mins. left in the movie.There is a serious bid to start a new franchise here, with the promise at the end that Jet Jaguar might be needed again, but alas this was not to be. Mostly, because this movie is not very good. Jet Jaguar did show up in a TV series, but that's about it.Story [* * . . .]The story goes like this: Nuclear underground testing has destroyed a part of an underwater civilization known as Seatopia. The Seatopians seek to gain revenge against those on the surface for the destruction, and at the same time acquire a small 6 ft. robot (Jet Jaguar) to protect themselves from their enemies. Wait, what??...since they already have control of Megalon,a giant cockroach, and have an alliance with aliens from the planet "M", who send them Gaigan for assistance, their need for this tiny robot to protect themselves makes little sense. Seeing as they also possess such advanced technology as to be able to create an artificial sun, robots should be child's play for them. At any rate, unlike some Godzilla movies, the story does keep moving, so it deserves credit for that.Level of Destruction [* * . . . ]Generally non-descript locations are destroyed, and relatively less destruction then later in the series. Apparently the budget for this film was tight, and most of it was put into a scene where Megalon destroys a dam, which is a pretty good scene.The fight scenes [* * . . . ]Without any doubt, later Show Series Godzilla movies are targeting young kids. With this in mind, the battle scenes are filled with goofy stuff like like Megalon circling Jet Jaguar until he gets dizzy and falls over. All battles are taking place in the middle of nowhere, so there is little collateral destruction going on during these battles. We do get a relatively famous flying kick from Godzilla, though.Yet, there are a surprising number of scenes that would seem to not be appropriate for small children, like blood shooting out of the enemy's face when hit with a RC plane, or some good blood gushing wounds from Gigan's attacks, so I'm not sure who this movie is targeting. Cheese factor [* * * . . ]After Jet Jaguar gets hit on the head, he gains self awareness, and decides to grow to 60 ft. tall. It all seems strangely familiar, and yet, at the same time, makes absolutely no sense. There is an attempt to show us what a cool scientist would be like, if such an animal existed, which adds to these cheese factor. The story is light and breezy, and has all the sensibility and depth of a Japanese 80's teen idol, but this is a late Showa Godzilla movie, and you get pretty much what you expect.Final Score [* * . . . ]It's a fairly bad movie, but the pacing is fairly well done. It's very rare that a plot in a Godzilla movie would make sense, but this one is worse than most. My biggest gripe is that there is far too little Godzilla in a movie where Godzilla is supposed to be the main event. If you like "B" movies, though, then this movie may be worth your time.(This review is based on the original Japanese version, so the US version may be quite different)