RyothChatty ridiculous rating

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

vtcavuoto I haven't seen this movie since I was 7 years old and have always wanted to see it again. I was not disappointed when I purchased it and saw it. "The Mysterians" is a very good alien invasion film. Aliens from beyond the moon want a small piece of land to live while breeding with Japanese women. There is non-stop action and the battle scenes are impressive. The DVD I have is recently re-dubbed and the audio is crisp and sharp as well as the video. Good acting, music score and dubbing(although one Japanese bicyclist has a southern accent!). I would suggest this film to all Sci-Fi fans. A well done film from the 1950s(in color too!).

ebiros2 There's something endearing about this movie. The plot is good, casting is good (with so many pretty faces, no wonder the Mystery guys wanted to come to earth), and even the score (by Akira Ifukube) remains in your head long after you see the movie. But above all there's a special atmosphere about this movie that won't let you forget it any time soon.Mogera (Of Godzilla vs Space Godzilla fame almost 40 years later) makes its debut in this movie, and it started its career as weapon of the aliens not a giant UN transformer robot.Once the fact that the Mysterians showed themselves, earth defense force ( thus the movie's Japanese title Chikyu Boeigun ) musters up all its plans for super weapons and goes on the offensive against the Mysterians (who've shacked up in Japan even before they got official permission from them ).If military technology can catch up with the aliens so quickly as in this movie, we won't have any problems. In reality from what I understand, we're not even near parity.Special effects are good, and weapons looks cool (Designed by famous Japanese sci-fi artist Shigeru Komatsuzaki. They have kind of a retro look which still works today) which all adds up to make this movie one of Toho's best.It's one of a kind movie, and highly recommended to watch.

LJ27 Many have seen this 1957 space invasion film in poorly-dubbed, panned and scanned TV versions, but if you have not seen the uncut Japanese version, in letterboxed format you have not really seen THE MYSTERIANS. Until I finally saw the uncut version, a lot of things were not very clear but MGM or someone snipped several little moments back in 1959 for U.S. release. Also, full-frame versions cheat you out of a lot of the picture as the film was framed for TohoScope (and this film was the first widescreen Japanese film). The landslide scene is much better in widescreen as is the scene where Mogera first comes out of the side of the mountain. This scene actually achieves some suspense as the soldiers flee from Mogera only to have their jeep melted. The flooding scene never made any sense in the pan and scan version. I thought a dam had broken and I missed it. The widescreen version makes it clear what is happening. Also, there is a brief appearance of a second Mogera near the end of the film comically being fouled by a Markalite falling on it as it attempts to surface. The effects are just as good as anything that the Americans were doing at the time, with excellent matte paintings and miniatures. Akira Ifukube's score sounds much better than it did in earlier versions and is one of his finest scores. Soon, we will be seeing Spielberg's $200 million alien invasion film, WAR OF THE WORLDS and it should be cool, complete with ILM effects, a John Williams score and Tom Cruise but it will never top this masterpiece for sheer fun. Seeing the MYSTERIANS again is like seeing an old friend again, looking better than ever.

gjhong I just rented "The Mysterians" which seems to be called "Earth Defence Force" in the Japanse version. The movie holds up well because it seems that the people involved treated the story seriously. When I was young I remember that the "Marcolights" were pretty cool and the music was very dramatic. The music still sounds good today but the sound quality on the tape wasn't that good. I am glad to see the writers took the job seriously and had the characters ask the questions we asked from the audience. Can the Mysterians be trusted even though they say they are peaceful? Should we ask for a nuclear strike? The Marcolights have a limited range, how can we get around that? Should we wait for the Electronic Cannon or attack right now with the giant airships and Marcolights?There were a few flaws. For example one of the characters mentioned that a fixed base was a weakness. I assume that is because you can't depend only on a defensive shield. A base must be defended by mobile fighter craft as well. The flying saucers performed that function until they unexpectedly retreated to the base during the climatic battle. The other weak point was the giant airships Alpha-1 and Beta-1. They moved like zeppelins and the standard cannon seemed weak. I guess their plot purpose was to be shot down so that Beta-2 could built for a second attack on the Mysterian base.If you saw this movie as a kid it is still enjoyable as an adult. If you've never seen it then it is probably only of interest to those who want to see the early days of Japanese monster movies. You may be pleasantly surprised to see the leader of the Seven Samurai as the head scientist.