Following Franksetin vs. Baragon (1965), actor Nick Adams would return to Japan to get his shot in a Godzilla film thanks to Henry Saperstein. As a result, this would mark this as the first American coproduction of a Godzilla film. It was also the first to introduce the “Alien invasion” to the franchise, which would become a major plot line for future films. So, you pair that with a great cast and strong crew with director Ishiro Honda at the helm, the maestro Akira Ifukube on the score, Shinchi Sekisawa penning the story and Eiji Tsuburaya handling the effects with assistance from Teruyoshi Nakano. Even future director for The Return of Godzilla (1984), Koji Hashimoto, was involved here as an assistant director working with Honda. An incredible crew like that mixed with American flair from Adams? There is a lot to love about Invasion of Astro-Monster (known in the States as Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, which is the version being reviewed here): a lively Toho science fiction adventure that combines an alien invasion, memorable characters, humor and kaiju action.
In terms of the plot, two astronauts, Fuji and Glenn (Akira Takarada and Nick Adams) are en route to a newly discovered planet beyond Jupiter called Planet X. Once they arrive, they quickly discovered that it’s inhabited by an alien race called the Xiliens. Their leader known as the controller (Yoshio Tsuchiya) meets with asking for permission to obtain Godzilla and Rodan from earth to rid of King Ghidorah, known as Monster Zero on Planet X.
Glenn and Fuji are immediately suspicious of the request, believing the Xiliens may be up to something after exhausting their planet’s water supply. Nevertheless, they return to Earth, where the Earth Council enthusiastically agrees to the proposal.
Meanwhile, Fuji’s sister Haruno (Keiko Sawai) is desperate for her brother’s approval on her boyfriend, good hearted inventor, Tetsuo (Akira Kubo) who recently invented a device that makes an obnoxious noise heard across the street. His invention is bought by a toy company headed by Miss Namikawa (Kumi Muzino) but is shut out cold on the results of his invention. Fuji sees Tetsuo’s occupation as undependable to take care of his sister. To make matters worse, Tetsuo discovers that Glenn is dating Miss Namikawa, further deepening his frustration and confusion over the company.
Glenn later suspects that he saw the Controller while on a date with Namikawa and takes Fuji to investigate. Their suspicions grow when they witness Xilien spacecraft emerging from the lake. Despite being criticized for arriving on Earth without permission, the Xiliens transport Godzilla and Rodan from their hiding places, along with Glenn, Fuji and their chief scientist, Dr. Sakurai (Jun Tazaki), back to Planet X. Upon their arrival, Godzilla and Rodan immediately battle Monster Zero, easily driving the monster away. While this is happening, Fuji and Glenn sneak away to search for evidence that something is wrong behind the scenes. Before they are caught, they discover that all of the Xilien women resemble Miss Namikawa. Although the Controller is angered by their actions, he chooses not to press charges since they are his guests.
As a gesture of gratitude for allowing the Xiliens to keep Godzilla and Rodan, the Controller gives the astronauts a recording containing what he claims is a formula capable of curing all diseases. When they return to earth, though, they discover the recording is actually a threat demanding earth to surrender before they make an official attack. Glenn immediately visits Namikawa who confirms she is an Xilien but has been changed by the kindness Glenn has showed her. She is then killed by the Xilien Earth Commander for having such emotions, and Glenn is imprisoned along with Tetsuo who was imprisoned earlier for following Namikawa to their hideout. The Xilien’s gives earth 24 hours to surrender before they unleash Godzilla, Rodan and Monster Zero upon the cities. Now Fuji and Sakurai race against the clock to figure out how to get the monsters out of the Xilien control.
Reflecting on the story, this is often seen as one of the better acclaimed Godzilla features in the Showa series. It has just a little bit of everything. Alien invasion, giant monster chaos, captivating cast and characters, outer space, a little romance, some genuine humor, a greatly layered story. I felt like doing a review for this based off a conversation from some modern fans of the franchise who expressed frustration that this film had very little to do with Godzilla who was treated as supporting plot device against the bigger picture. In hindsight they are right. Although part of the series, this feels much more of a Toho alien invasion story with Godzilla, King Ghidorah and Rodan playing second fiddle to everything. Now as a kid I did find it “slightly” boring though always fascinated and mostly entertained by it. It was one of the first Godzilla films I owned thanks to my older brother’s friend (thanks Tanner) so it was a frequent watch. Now as an adult, I look at it very fondly with the familiar cast and appreciating the story more. Everyone is given something to do and doesn’t quite neglect the use of its characters which is great to see.
There’s really no surprise even for the first time viewer that the Xiliens are up to something and the story doesn’t make too much of an effort to hide this. This ends up helping from a narrative angle to support Glenn and Fuji’s suspicion of them early on. The Xiliens, arguably the most famous of all Godzilla alien invaders, are quite memorable thanks to their uniforms, stoic attitude and cautious view though they seem to relish explaining their culture.
The one section of the story that felt particularly out of place was the scene where Fuji and Glenn search Planet X for clues to support their suspicions. When the Xiliens discover them, the two simply run away. But where were they going to go? They were on an alien planet with nowhere to escape, so why risk escalating the situation in the first place? It is the one moment in the movie where I found myself thinking, “What were they thinking?” The scene could have been handled very differently.
I also wish we had seen more scenes between Glenn and Namikawa. For Namikawa to defy the Xilien code and risk execution is a significant development, and I would have liked more time devoted to their relationship to better establish what changed her feelings toward the Xiliens and how Glenn managed to reach her without knowing her true identity. We get enough of their relationship to understand what happened, but I really wish the film had given us more time with these characters.
In regards to the role of the monsters, it’s more appropriate to go in to this expecting it to be a Toho sci-fi story rather than a full-fledged Godzilla film. Even with that said, every time the monsters are on screen, it is very effective and we are given a few of the most memorable Godzilla moments of the series. The battles are short but sweet, and the city smashing is the best on the franchise since Godzilla Raids Again (1955) while they all look great as well. My only issue, and this come from watching the movie in high definition, is you can see strings very notably in some shots that can take you out of the moment (one of the versions I prefer to watch is my Simitar full screen VHS).
From a character development perspective, the human story surrounding the relatively few monster scenes is highly entertaining. The characters cleverly figure out how to counterattack the Xiliens, responding to the threat with urgency while working together against a common enemy. In many ways, the characters are what make the film work, and it is clear that considerable thought went into giving each of them a distinct role. For example, early in the film, Dr. Sakurai speaks with Glenn and Fuji from the World Space Authority via satellite. When Fuji asks about his sister, Sakurai turns around to see Haruno gesturing that she does not want to speak with him. Sakurai calmly plays along and pretends she is not there, demonstrating the rapport he has with his staff and the care he has for them. He is also an intelligent and capable scientist who comes up with some of the best methods for combating the Xiliens.
The American astronaut Glenn brings a certain American confidence and attitude to the story, while also contributing strongly to the group’s discussions about the situation. He is a team player who makes an effort to include everyone, particularly the meek Tetsuo, with the two eventually working together during the latter half of the story. Tetsuo may even have wished Glenn would become his brother-in-law. Speaking of, Tetsuo essentially serves as the film’s comic relief. He is kind-hearted and deeply passionate about his work, becoming genuinely frustrated even after being paid for his invention because he wants to know when it will actually be put to use. Rather than simply taking the money and moving on, his dedication shows how much thought and effort he put into his invention, much to the frustration of the Earth-based Xiliens. As for Fuji, he serves as the necessary straight man of the story while also being passionate about his work. He carries himself with strong dignity throughout the various situations he encounters and consistently looks out for his sister. Namikawa may be the film’s most popular and frequently referenced character. The limited time we spend with her is memorable, although, as mentioned earlier, her emotional turn away from Xilien life could have used more development. Even so, her role and appearance remain particularly memorable to this day.
Ultimately, each character serves an important purpose. Sakurai and Fuji act as the grounded figures racing against time to stop the Xiliens. Glenn is the outgoing American with strong suspicions who is ready to throw a few fists when necessary. Tetsuo provides a believable goofy personality, while his inventions ultimately provide the potential means to defeat the Xiliens. Namikawa, meanwhile, provides the tragic romance of the story while also becoming pivotal to the Xiliens’ downfall.
As for the acting, the cast is wonderful and like their characters are giving a strong purpose with moments to shine on their skills. Takarada has the “mature” part which he does well. At 31 years old he certainly carried himself much older and had great chemistry with Adams. In fact, Adams is one of the more famous aspects of Invasion of Astro-Monster. At the time, a legitimate Hollywood actor who at one time ran around with James Dean and Elvis Presley to appear in a legitimate Godzilla film which by today is likely his most famous and probably most watched role. While there was still a major language barrier, Nick really sold it. He convincingly acted along everybody and gave the same energy, chemistry and strength to each character. His hyper active, cool and brass exchange with Namikawa before her demise was one of the more unique human scenes of the franchise up to that point in a great example of what makes human element stand out from this film.
For Jun Tazaki, it is one of my favorite characters he plays. Unlike the harsher roles he’s known for, he plays a more compassionate, softer and extremely competent scientist which brings out maybe an unexpected side of acting. The movie may also be one of Akira Kubo’s signature roles. While he has done a great deal of “serious” roles before this (between Matango, samurai and war films), it was refreshing to see him in a lighter part where he plays a very normal, goofy, and hard-working human being caught up in the adventure. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the part but he seemed to have a lot of fun to do it. Keiko Sawai in sadly her truly only large acting part in her career does well as the sweet Haruno. I found no issues with her performance with what was presented in the story. For Kumi Mizuno, this is her most recognizable character. Again, I do wish there was more development with her story but it still had an impact nevertheless and did well to show her versatile nature as an actress. Yoshio Tsuchiya has happily been one of Toho’s dedicated actors. He has no issue hiding behind the mask and becoming the character. He takes his role as the Controller very seriously, with the unearthly hand gestures, stoic posture and suspicious facial expressions. It’s one of the many great roles of his career that may have not been as memorable if anyone else played the part.
Changing gears to talk special effects, in general they and the monsters are a major improvement over Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Unfortunately, the strings are quite noticeable during a few of the Planet X shots, but otherwise, Godzilla, Rodan and Ghidroah look amazing. There are only two kaiju battles scenes, but they are absolutely memorable. Outside of a few details this is Tsuburaya at the top of his game, which would be the last Godzilla feature he’d have full hands on before focusing on his studio. The monsters do have very little screen time and are hardly the focus most of the time, but they are surrounded by an entertaining invasion story and every time they are on screen it’s not wasted.
Akira Ifukube also gives us one of his best. He goes for a more upbeat, science fiction score with the music playing during the final act between the monsters attacking the towns, and the “Monster Zero march” playing during the Xiliens demise are absolute examples of Ifukube’s master score, to heighten the mood of the action. His soundtrack perfectly captures the energy of the story.
This is one of the few Godzilla features I do prefer dubbed. The original is great of course, but it just feels incomplete without Nick Adams‘ actual dialogue (for me at least). And the dubbing is greatly done with dialogue and delivery that takes its role, characters and story very seriously.
It’s a movie where the monsters may not play the main part, but it’s rightfully an extremely entertaining sci-fi invasion/kaiju story of its day with great characters, fun special effects, a wonderful score and dedicated cast members.
