Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

by **lhb412** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:19 pm

It's interesting to watch these movies in order and see the gradual evolution of things. What struck me most was how funny this movie was. Not the kind of slapstick funny of KK v G, but rather an extension of the comedic relief in Mothra vs. Godzilla. There is (of course) slapstick monster action, but the human characters always seem to have some witty or sarcastic comment in this film.

The initial scenes in this flick have a nice sense of oncoming dread. I love those moments in the beginning of some sci-fi or horror flick where characters realize something weird is going on but are not too removed from normalcy.

The first real hint that we're in for a more wild and woolly type of film is when the Shobijin have a TV appearance. It's so weird, but in an odd sort of way it makes sense considering how this is a world where these sorts of fantastic things are always happening.

King Kong was an icon when he fought Godzilla and Mothra was Toho's blockbuster and the focus of Mothra vs. Godzilla. By comparison, the absorption of the movie Rodan into Godzilla continuity is quick and subtle. Rodan was buried in Mt. Aso and now he bursts out and no one makes a big deal about where Rodan was from.

I suppose I'm a fan of the more whimsical side of Sci-Fi and fantasy. Sure I love 2001 and Blade Runner, but I'm not really a hard science fiction guy. I prefer Doctor Who, Hitchhiker's Guide, Red Dwarf, Discworld, Hellboy and Godzilla movies, you know? But I think that the idea of an alien descended human who's racial memory is activated by the coming of an intergalactic doomsday beast is a pretty nifty science fiction plot if I do say so myself!

Anyone want a Blue Mountain? Blue Mountain?

...exactly what is a Blue Mountain?

(My fav film is next!)

by **jellydonut25** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:30 pm

I watched this the other day and have been just waiting for you to star the talkback (somehow I feel like talback threads are your intellectual property :lol:

)

That said, I have a love/hate relationship with this film. In the right mood (which I was at the time) I love it. It's really the first movie that decides it's not a HUGE deal that monster attacks are happening. The focus is not on the fact that a monster is attacking, rather it's on how to overcome the imprending doom. (if that makes sense)

I've always wished the Rodan/Godzilla rivalry had been explored more fully at some point. I would have enjoyed a Godzilla vs. Rodan, I think. Interestingly, Rodan seems to be the first monster to be largely immune to Godzilla's breath, and Ghidrah seems to be the first monster that would have been more than a match for the big G by himself.

I've always enjoyed the monster-tea-party scene. Talk about making the monsters into characters! This movie goes way over-the-top for that and I love it!

The human drama has blah'ed a bit for me over the years, but I still get revved up inside when Godzilla and Rodan go on about how man has caused THEM nothing but trouble...awesome...

EDIT: I'd also like to know what a Blue Mountain is...and have one...

by **lhb412** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:40 pm

Also, first re-use of a Godzilla suit. The head has been tweaked, making it really look halfway between the face of the last film and the one in the next.

I really like the "human drama" in this one. I think all the human plots in the '60s films (aside from DAM) are likeable.

by **Xenorama** » Fri May 01, 2009 10:24 pm

by **gfan1984** » Sat May 02, 2009 1:36 am

by **kent** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:49 am

Up until about two years ago, I couldn't care less for the movie. I found the human drama weak and dull and the kaiju scenes the wackiest ever.

Now the film is gradually growing on me. Granted, I still think the human drama is relatively weak and the kaiju scenes pretty goofy, but I am starting to see the charm in it more.

I still prefer Monster Zero over this one and find it to be the weakest entry in the first six Godzilla films (yes, even behind GRA). Although, with time, that could change.

by **king_ghidorah** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:10 pm

by **heroforhirerob** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:22 pm

by **Legion** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:26 pm

by **Tyler E. Martin** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:41 am

by **king_ghidorah** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:10 pm

by **Tyler E. Martin** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:59 pm

by **king_ghidorah** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:01 pm

by **Legion** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:06 pm

by **The Dark Uniter** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:41 pm

I love Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster! That's my second favorite Godzilla film after Gojira [Godzilla]. The first time I watched it, it was like love at first sight. The human plot is the most interesting [to me] of some of the Showa films. It reminds me alot about James Bond in a way and I love the slapstick monster action.

by **TXKaiju** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:06 pm

by **The Dark Uniter** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:51 pm

by **TXKaiju** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:32 pm

by **The Dark Uniter** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:53 pm

by **TXKaiju** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:07 am

by **Green Dragon** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:41 pm

Showa Ghidorah is my favorite Kaiju, and has never been equalled in all of his reboots and reimaginings in the Heisei or Millennium series, not once. In fact, any attempt to do that just turned into a complete joke.

In Monster Zero, when the Controller of Planet X says (in the American version anyway) that he is "the demon of our galaxy", you believed it. This looked like a beast that could lay a planet to waste in a very short time.

The effects in GTTHM are hit-and-miss. I'm less sold on Rodan and Mothra, Goji is starting to look a little worn...the closeup puppet used for a couple scenes where he breathes his atomic ray just look like an aerosol can :lol:

, and overall, the feel is somewhat cartoony, with the silly monster antics...the " "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" " comment from the Faeries, but the Ghidorah effects more than make up for it, from his birth to that one shot when he touches down and his beams hit a torii gate in the foreground and sends it crashing down, to the Tokyo destruction scenes that ended up as stock footage in a dozen other movies....

I'm okay with this movie, I mentioned elsewhere I got to see it at the Egyptian, and seeing it on the large screen was fun.

(My only resin figure...the rest are vinyl... is the X-Plus statue of Showa Ghidorah, nearly 20 inches tall, 21 inch wingspan.... seems impossible to find anymore...and a house guest of mine knocked it over recently. :eek:

I got home and he was all sheepish, and well he should have been. :evil:

He said he would put it back together, but I told him to not go near the thing. It broke at all the joints, but remained remarkably intact, and I've been piecing it back together with 2-part epoxy and resin putty, even sculpting scales, spines and horns that were taken out.... I've got some gold and silver metallic paints and framer's wax, and before long, he'll be no worse for wear.

)

by **jellydonut25** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:17 am

Full review is done. Check it out . This movie has just gotten worse for me over time...except for the monster action which I find myself MORE awed by.

by **kiryugoji04** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:08 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Are_fr ... from_Venus

by **jellydonut25** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:27 am

by **MouthForWar** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:26 am

Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

TALKBACK #5: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster

TALKBACK #5: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster

great

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