Godzilla Vs. Megalon (Japan 1973)

Rating: *
Review Date: 7/13/02

Another desperate environmental plea to stop the madness before we kill each other off. Nuclear weapons testing has angered the underwater civilization of Seatopia, and they decide to retaliate by sending Megalon to destroy Tokyo. Fortunately, Godzilla is now the friend of Mankind and comes to Tokyo's aid. This film also introduces the creepy robot Jet Jaguar, and the film is really all about him. Godzilla doesn't even show up until an hour into the film, and then it becomes a tag team wrestling event between Godzilla, Jet Jaguar (who can conveniently make himself monster sized), Megalon, and Gigan. Monster movies don't get much worse than this, as Jet and Godzilla shake hands and Godzilla finishes off Megalon with a gravity-defying flying kick maneuver. Utterly embarrassing and extremely juvenile. The traditional Godzilla theme has been replaced with the whimsical carnival music from "Godzilla Vs. Hedorah" (1972), and the final showdown is accompanied by banjo music. The film also borrows almost all of its destruction footage from previous Godzilla films, which creates a continuity nightmare. It's really sad when the best scenes in the movie are lifted from other movies. Only one original scene is worth noting, and that's when Megalon destroys a dam early in the film. Godzilla gets another makeover which gives him a softer and less menacing look. He also resembles Don Rickles, which is weird. Overall, it's best to avoid this one.