a_chinn
This one is strictly for the kids, but it's still fun if you enjoy rubber suited actors destroying miniature sets (which I do). Megalon, a giant beetle from the sea, and Gigan, a praying mantis-like giant monster, are dead set on squishing puny humans. Enter size-shifting robot Jet Jaguar, who enlists the help of Godzilla to battle the two evil Kaiju. Jet Jaguar was the result of a contest Toho held where kids entered their idea for a new superhero and Jet was the winning entry by an elementary age student who was clearly a fan of Ultraman. Considered by many as one of the weakest Godzilla films, this is certainly among the corniest and the most juvenile of the many films, but I'll admit that I was entertained.
TheUnknown837-1
"Godzilla vs. Megalon" is one of the most insultingly bad movies of its genre. It is an almost entirely joyless and unexciting exercise, one that fails to be either kitschy fun or stir up nostalgic fondness from the people who tend to have a soft spot for the Japanese monster movie. It was clearly constructed with children in mind and (save for some swear words to be found in both the Japanese and English language versions of the film) is suitable. Keep in mind, 'suitable' means that it won't traumatize or disturb youngsters, not that it is necessarily a good thing for them to watch. But even with all its would-be razzle-dazzle and its cast consisting of four giant monsters, "Godzilla vs. Megalon" is an absolute chore to endure. Up until recently, I hadn't seen the movie in years. I was willing to give it another chance, now that I had the Japanese print in my hands. Sometimes, awful dubbing can break a movie. "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" was one of those cases for me. But this film is just as horrible no matter what language pops from the soundtrack.It's a shame, since there is some premise to go along with the dreck-elements. One of the titular monsters, Megalon, is a terrific premise for a monster: a biped resembling a stag beetle and featuring drill-like appendages for hands, which he can use to burrow through the earth or batter an adversary with. And the special effects used to create Megalon are fairly good. The suit has some good flexibility and yet some sturdiness: it appropriately does not move like a human being. Whenever he's not flying (where his wings are plainly not moving), Megalon is a visual triumph. He has a comrade to back him up. Gigan, the cyborg from the previous entry, "Godzilla vs. Gigan," makes a speedy return for reasons little more than budgetary. Gigan is a fascinating design; it's a shame that of his three appearances in the Godzilla franchise, one was a lopsided guilty pleasure and the others were two of the worst Japanese movies I've ever seen.But these two villainous monsters play second-fiddle to some obnoxious human characters and some even more obnoxious 'good monsters.' Godzilla has so little importance in the film; it's obvious he was thrown in for marketing purposes. But this is the absolute worst the fire-breathing behemoth has ever had it. Godzilla's come full circle as a hero, but not in a charming way as in the two "MechaGodzilla" pictures. Godzilla walks with a dancing sort of rhythm, beats his chest like King Kong, and plays charades with Jet Jaguar, the humanoid robot who is the real monster star. Jet Jaguar is not an attractive creature; in fact, with his narrowed glass eyes and permanent, mechanical grin, he looks rather creepy. Few things are more painful than seeing a disgustingly humanoid Godzilla holding hands with an annoyingly humanoid robot. The battle sequences with these four monsters are surprisingly dull. Only a handful of moments (such as Megalon blasting Jet Jaguar as he tries to fly away) stand out.The other big fault of the picture is its insistence on sticking with the human characters. Apart from being bland and completely uninteresting, they are rather obnoxious. Katsuhiko Sasaki has proved in two later Godzilla movies that he is a competent actor, but he's no more than a stone-faced bore here. I didn't mind Yutaka Hayashi as his, I'm assuming, best friend, but could not stand the performance of Hiroyuki Kawase as the kid brother. Mr. Kawase gave a much better performance in "Godzilla vs. Hedorah," as opposed to blubbering and whining throughout the entire picture as he does here. There are a lot of Meanwhile-in-Tokyo scenes involving these three principle characters as they attempt to fend off some secret agents from an underground kingdom, none of which are the least bit interesting.But perhaps the thing that turned me off the most about "Godzilla vs. Megalon," apart from the heroic monsters, was the unfathomably dreadful music score by Riichiro Manabe, a composer who I am thankful to report only spoiled the audio tracks for one other Godzilla movie. The music is amateurish and surprisingly unpleasant. The main theme, utilizing horns to the maximum, screams and deafens the soundtrack, occasionally mixed with irritating string plucks from what sounds like a Jew's harp. And just when Mr. Manabe's theme for Jet Jaguar seems it cannot get more irritating, it becomes louder and is accompanied by an obnoxious song. The only silver lining is we don't hear it until the end.Now, to be entirely honest, there were some things I did like. Most of them being visual tricks. I've already commented on Gigan and Megalon. I also really enjoyed the art direction used for a sequence where one of the monsters destroys a giant dam. The detail here is astonishing: the dam looks real, there are cars parked in the lots, the walls have detail, dust flies when the walls are broken, and the water pours with such velocity that the scene almost seems stolen from another movie entirely. Also, Godzilla's heat-ray looks glorious here, having been given a neon tint. It just leaves me to wonder how he can breathe these flames right after being too afraid to wander through a ring of fire before. Apart from that, I did enjoy a mid-movie car chase—the one scene where comedy is utilized effectively.This is the lowest part of the Godzilla spectrum. "Godzilla vs. Megalon" fails on all levels. And as a kid movie, it continues to flounder. A good movie for children can be examined by adults capable of remembering their youth. I like to think of myself as a young-at-heart person, but looking at this utter fiasco, I could not remember the joys of being a child. And besides, as far as I am concerned, the more 'violent' Godzilla movies are perfectly suitable for the youngsters.
