Talkback Thread #13: Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

[JVM]

I can't make up my mind whether this is overrated or underrated.

I mean, I consider it the worst Godzilla film aside GR and G98, but I love it to death, if mostly because GoodTimes left me a nice package of nostalgia.

[Arrow]

I can't make up my mind whether this is overrated or underrated.

I don't think it's either. Most anyone who loves it admits that it's not a good movie. Yet, I see Godzilla vs. Megalon receive a lot of praise within the fanbase. It's easy to see why - a lot of people saw it as kids, it still manages to be entertaining, and it features some nice action scenes. On the other hand, whenever someone wants to justify GINO of GFW by knocking down another Godzilla movie, their first target is usually this one. And more than anything else, it's Godzilla vs. Megalon that's accused of "ruining Godzilla". So it goes both ways.

[Ethan]

Oh I love it. It's such a fanstastic guilty pleasure. Richiiro Manabe's music is awesome, and the Jet Jaguar song is so freaking addictive...

The sun came up. They were fighting clear through the night. Honestly though, Godzilla vs Mothra and Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla are much worse with this. It goes from night time to daylight in a single shot in both films.

Which Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla? I don't recall that happening in Godzilla vs. Mothra except when Battra dies. I didn't find all that abrupt though. The biggest offender is Godzilla vs. Gigan with that crude blue tint they added.

[Legion1979]

Which Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla?

The Heisei one. It's pitch black out up until the moment Godzilla and Baby turn to wade into the ocean, which at this point looks like early daylight hours. The same thing happens in Godzilla vs Mothra. It's black as night when Mothra and Battle carry Godzilla out of Yokohama but the very next time we see them (which is seconds later) it's daylight. I know why this happened - because the later scenes were shot outdoors in sunlight at the big pool - but the change from day to night is far too abrupt.

I don't recall that happening in Godzilla vs. Mothra except when Battra dies.

See above.

[DaikaijuSokogeki!]

...and I know there's plenty of stock footage in MEGALON, but not as much as in, say... GODZILLA VS GIGAN, which I'd still enjoy more than "the later entries"...

At least Godzilla Vs. Gigan shot new footage for the city destruction scenes...

Anyways, this is a fun film although flawed to the MAX. It has a strange quirky charm to it. It's rarely boring and, much like Gigan, makes sure that the characters don't get in the way of the action. The music is another Manabe score I can't help but dig, and the theme song sung by Masato Shimon is downright legendary. The suits look strange yet inventive, although I don't like the new squished face look Gigan touts. The villains are bland, the stock footage usage lazy, and the acting desirable. But it's a short children's movie that doesn't enforce a half-assed moral onto the audience. There is SOME effort here, but it was the toughest times Toho had ever seen. It was the best they could do with the budget they were given.

So overall, it's a mindless and entertaining kaiju flick that means no harm.

[Goji]

...and I know there's plenty of stock footage in MEGALON, but not as much as in, say... GODZILLA VS GIGAN, which I'd still enjoy more than "the later entries"...

At least Godzilla Vs. Gigan shot new footage for the city destruction scenes...

Yeah, BARELY. Most of the stuff is still stock footage, with a few new (brief) shots of Gigan f'kin stuff up. I don't count the oil refinery as "city destruction". There are also a few shots from THE LAST WAR, which came out 11 years prior...

I love this damn movie. A guilty pleasure all the way. Great monsters, lots of action, and an awesome funky (and unorthodox) soundtrack. Yes, the movie is clearly awful, but it's also extremely entertaining, definitely more so than most of the stuff we got in the 90's-on.

[Hellspawn28]

I wish I still had my old VHS type of the movie. I remember back in 95 that I got the good times double pack of the movie.

http://www.tohokingdom.com/articles/ima ... dtimes.htm

[HedorahLives]

I'll be the voice of dissent. I like ALL of the 90s movies better than this one. =)

Godzilla vs Megalon has two things going for it, IMO. First, the nuclear testing pissing off the Seatopians kinda brings the series back to its anti-nuclear roots, with emphasis on kinda. Two, this is the only cinematic appearence of Megalon, who truly looks like a guy in a suit far more than a cockroach, but he's still a cool dude nonetheless. I like his battles with the military and the dam scene was fun times.

Anyway, if any Godzilla film was practically tailor made for MST, it's this one. One can only marvel at its dumbness. All the lame elements are here---stupid villains, illogical inventions, annoying kids, loads of stock fottage, cheesy 70s fashion, tedious plotting, bad James Bond-esque chase scenes, a final fight that more resembles a professional wrestling exhibition than a real life or death struggle (at least Godzilla vs Gigan had that going for it), and, to top it off, the most cutesy looking Godzilla ever committed to cinema.

Oh and Jet Jaguar. I shake my head is exasperated shame whenever he's on screen. I probably like him better than King Seezar, but that's not saying much.

So yeah, a terrible movie, but when you're in the mood to make fun of something mercilessly, there's few better, I suppose.

[Hellspawn28]

I hope for a decent DVD release soon, and too bad Classic Media does not have the rights to the movie. As a kid, I would watch it a lot and even made up by own a sequel where it deal with Megalon brother. Megalon always been my favorite monster, and I wish he return for a new movie one day.

[Guardian7]

I have to admit. GODZILLAvMEGALON is a guilty pleasure of mine.

IT certainly isn't perfect. But frankly speaking so few of them are. Though we still find them entertaining!

MAJOR BAD POINT FOR ME? No female lead (which is really a cryin shame). I personally wouldn't have minded seeing Kumi Mizuno (Who played Daiyo in GvE/EhotD) get another part in a G-Film.

Not enough background on Goro Ibuki (Katsuhiko Sasaki) Jet Jaguar's inventor, Hiroshi Jinkawa (Yutaka Hayashi) Goro's buddy and nothing mentioning what the relationship between Goro and Rokuro Ibuki (Hiroyuki Kawase) is. At least in MOTHRA they took the time to establish the relationship between ethnologist and linguist Professor Shinichi Chujo (Hiroshi Koizumi) and his younger brother Shinji Chujo (young actor: Akihiro Tayama). The relationship between Goro and Rokuro is left open. Which makes me assume that it is his possibly a younger brother or nephew.

It definitely has that 70ish camp JBond thing going on. The car chases are actually kind of fun (to me). I wonder what he was going to do if he had caught them? Was he armed? or just a butt kicker like Tomoko Tomoe-artist Gengo's girlfriend (Yuriko Hishimi) from GODZILLAvGIGAN?

A lack of the Military and the lead characters interacting.

A lack of a Military leader taking the forefront (Other than stock footage).

Not enough of the actual Seatopians and too much of their agents (Same problem I have with GtTHM and Princess Mas Selina Salno of Sergina (Akiko Wakabayashi) and her country's lack of screen time).

BUT... I do like Megalon. I thought the suit design was awesome, if not a bit on the Giganish side.
Megalon is definitely a powerhouse and has an impressive array of attacks and defensive skills, including flight. Though it was never shown. One could likely assume that Megalon would have been at home in the water as well (As it seems most Kaiju are - including Toho Kong). Plus... with his masters having a name like Seatopians... well come on.

Gigan of course is a welcome edition to this film. It would be his second to last appearance (see my Zone Fighter Spoiler for the whole story - viewtopic.php?f=4&t=622).
I like Gigan. He is crafty, likes to fight and is a bit on the posturing side! (But then again... everyone was in this film).
I still would have liked to have known exactly what he was. Where his species came from (Though I feel the same way about Ghidorah).

Jet Jaguar. Well I love him. I always have since I watched this particular movie when it was televised in the 70s.
Though JJ may come on the heels of such great characters as Ultraman and Inframan. I wasn't really much aware of them at that time. SO... for me he was the first. Yeah I know how it works now. But it doesn't change my opinion about him. I thought his abilities were cool. I think he has a kick ass look as well. GREAT COLOR SCHEME!
THOUGH... as with many people I wouldn't have minded knowing a bit more of the "WHY's & How's" where JJ was concerned. How did Goro build such a hugely intelligent... virtually sentient AI program?
How did he alter himself? (Where did all that extra mass come from?)
How did he reprogram himself?
Questions that were never answered... and to be honest Goro himself seemed rather perplexed about the whole thing. Especially JJ's independence.

Godzilla is of course in heroic mode in this film to a HUGE degree. But I don't mind that. I love it when he does the same thing in Zone Fighter and continued to do it in GODZILLAvMECHAGODZILLA and TERRO OF MECHAGODZILLA.

I can tell you... the Japanese version of this film is not much different than the American one. I am not even sure if I saw many differences. I will have to look again.

The movie was simplistic and lacked a lot on many levels. But it is still a good film in my eyes. Plus it has that nostalgic hold over from my childhood.

I guess as movies go it really isn't anything to write home about. Still. It is a Godzilla film nevertheless so that is good enough for me!

G7

[Shadowplay]

I am honestly surprised that it has not been released in the US yet. From what I remember from Godzilla on My Mind and various other sources, due to an aggressive marketing campaign, this was the movie that shaped the American public's perception of Godzilla and kaiju films in general. Which makes sense, really, given that this takes the camp and cheese found in most kaiju films and takes it up to absurd levels, so of course this is the movie that gets stuck in the public's collective memory.

[Mini-Godzilla]

The only 70's film that is too bad to be "so bad it's good." Space Hunter Nebula M lends Gigan's stock footage over to underground dwellers who have had enough of those H-bomb tests. Meanwhile, the bland humans construct an Ultraman knock-off to stop Gigan and his giant bug pal, Megalon. Oh, and for some reason, Godzilla is here, probably mistaking this movie for an episode of Zone Fighter. One of the worst films in the series, watchable only with MST3K's assistance.

[Dash 7]

I think this one deserves a bit more of a liking. With a bit better writing and less stock footage, it could have been good. Elaborating on the Seatopians would make the film seem a lot less simplistic. Turning them into a foe with similar intent and power as the Mu civilization from Atragon would make the film a lot better IMO.

[TokyoVigilante]

It should have stayed a Jet Jaguar film. It wouldve been an obscure little peice of Tokusatsu, with an eventual release by Media Blasters. But now it's an incredibly poor Godzilla movie. As a TV pilot, it would be awesome. I would love to watch this show (probably more so then Zone Fighter IMHO).

I will give it this credit: it basically had its budget dedicated to making 4 new suits. Which is damned impressive by any standard.

[Mini-Godzilla]

You're on-the-money there, TokyoVigilante. The irredeemable factor of this film is the inclusion of Godzilla. His mere presence sets the bar higher than this film can reach because of the quality standard associated with his name.

[Legion1979]

Megalon is irredeemable because Godzilla is in it? That's a new one.

[TokyoVigilante]

It's true. This doesn't play out like a Godzilla film. It's more like a long TV show, especially in the production values. If this film was Godzilla-less, we wouldn't have the same expectations, wouldn't have gotten the same exposure, and I think it wouldve strengthened th film as a result.

Simplier put; it's an especially bad Godzilla film. But as a Godzilla-less film, it's just an average little super robot movie. Other then the stock footage, it's really not much more elaborate then the average episode of Ultraman.

[Legion1979]

But that's pretty much what it was supposed to be: a full length giant hero movie that just happened to co-star Godzilla. I doubt there was anyone in Japan who expected anything else.

[TokyoVigilante]

It was SUPPOSSED to be that. But Godzilla was added to bring in more money. And it shows, as Godzilla before and after this (not counting Zone Fighter) was never quite this blatantly super-heroic.

It's kinda like GINO. The general concensus is that it's a good monster movie but a bad Godzilla movie.

GvsMegalon is a good super robot movie, bad Godzilla movie.

[Arrow]

It was SUPPOSSED to be that. But Godzilla was added to bring in more money. And it shows, as Godzilla before and after this (not counting Zone Fighter) was never quite this blatantly super-heroic.

A sign of the times. For what it is, I like Godzilla vs. Megalon. It's not a masterpiece, but it's an entertaining children's movie featuring some great suits and monster action. I prefer it to a majority of the films coming afterward.

It's kinda like GINO. The general concensus is that it's a good monster movie but a bad Godzilla movie.

I thought the general concensus outside the G-fandom is that GINO's a terrible movie. Hence why it's still considered a failure even with the money it made.