Rating: **
Review Date: 11/20/09
Director: Ishiro Honda
Cast: Kyoko Anzai
A massive sci-fi epic from Toho and Ishiro Honda that boasts some incredibly ambitious special effects. Beings from the planet Natal have set up a base on The Moon and plan to attack and enslave The Earth. While technologically superior, the aliens are outnumbered by the people of Earth. An internationally diverse strike team is assembled to fly to The Moon, including the requisite hot babe radio operator, Etsuko (beautiful Kyoko Anzai). She is naturally terrorized by the Natalians, and requires her handsome boyfriend to rescue her. The film is weighed down with lots of questionable pseudo-science and technical mumbo jumbo, but takes itself extremely seriously. While most of the visual effects look tacky and dated by today's standards, you can't help but admire the scope and craft that went into creating them. Unfortunately, the pacing is extremely sluggish and the "people of The Earth unite!" message is overwrought. My favorite subtitle typo is "Untied Nations," which is a clever deconstruction of the film's central theme.