BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

MartinHafer I am one of the more open-minded viewers you'll find when it comes to reviews. I love all sorts of films--including international films. However, for the life of me, I no idea why anyone would enjoy the Japanese giant monster films. The only one I ever enjoyed at all was the original "Godzilla"--otherwise I just don't get them. They are like Mexican luchador films, they just don't make a lot of sense to folks outside of the country."Daikyojû Gappa" is the only giant monster film made by Nikkatsu Studio. Yet, amazingly, the formula and look is pretty much the same as you'd see in the Gozilla, Rodan and Gamera films. Once again, some guy is dressed up in a monster suit and he stomps around the set smashing tiny model villages, plane, tanks and the like. And, inexplicably, there's a super-annoying kid who somehow knows EVERYTHING about the monsters and has a special bond with them. This time, the annoying know-it-all brat is different only in that the studio poured some silly paint all over his skin to show us he's Polynesian--though he just looks like a Japanese kid who painted himself with brown paint. And finally, you have inane dialog--particularly between the guy and his love interest.The bottom line is that this film offers nothing new other than a mommy, daddy and baby dinosaur-like creature. If you think this sort of thing is good, you'll probably like it. If you are like me, you'll wonder afterwards why you even bothered, as the film is incredibly dumb and lacks originality.

wes-connors This turkey involves a wealthy Japanese man recovering a bird-like monster from an expedition. Combining the "King Kong" and "Gorgo" story lines, they take the creature home for fun and profit. It turns out to be a baby, so mother and father chicken do a ballistic "Godzilla" walk over Japan. There are a lot of unbelievably poor "special effects". Toys go crash! Bang! Boom! Re-titled "Monster from a Prehistoric Planet" for English speaking audiences; it's laughable in some respects, offensive in others. Unfortunately, it's more offensive than funny, and only a cut above washing diapers.* Daikyojû Gappa (1967) Haruyasu Noguchi ~ Tamio Kawaji, Yoko Yamamoto, Yuji Okada

haildevilman Long thought to be missing but.......here it is. (Apologies to the Ramones.)This was a late comer to the U.S. video ranks because its script was hard to change to make it more 'American.' Japanese satire would be lost on anyone without a significant knowledge of the country. Most would see this as just another dude in a rubber suit burning Tokyo again.The monster itself was a bit different. Like Godzilla and Rodan hybridized. The usual happens. Military comes...fails...but this guy knows the secret.I have a Japanese video copy. It's the original version. But the DVD release was necessary. And the racist tag line never existed.

dbborroughs Easily one of the worst Japanese Giant Monster movies ever made this turkey really dull. Essentially a remake of Gorgo, with an expedition finding a baby monster on and island and taking it home. There it grows rapidly. Its also there that the parents arrive to get it. After 45 or 50 minutes of painfully slow and painfully stupid south sea island stuff the parents show up and we get painfully bad special effects and moments that that are really dumb-for example it take awhile before anyone realizes they big ones want the baby, then the stupid humans won't give it up. The faces (like the rest of the suits) are rigid and the eyes are clearly on pivots (This movie has nothing on the monster in that awful North Korean workers allegory who's name I've forgotten) The breath weapon more often then not seems to have been included as an after thought. I was howling at the adult gappa wandering around destroying the city with an octopus in its mouth. Its horrible.And racist, with the all of the islanders smeared with a brown or black shoe polish, I guess its the Japanese version of a minstrel show. I really hate this movie--- well mostly- the destruction scenes are goofy fun, but its a horror to watch from the start- which I did. Serves me right for wanting to see the films cheesy special effects in high def.