Charge of the Monsters,
known famously as Destroy All Monsters,
is the ninth Godzilla film, and arguably one
of the most well known. This film was meant
to be the all-out finisher, the one where
we stare at the screen and cheer it on, and
feel sad when it's over (before Toho decided
to make the rather infamous All
Monsters Attack (1969) the following
year). As a Godzilla fan, this movie holds
a a special place in my heart. Now that I'm
revisiting it, I have an opportunity to comment
on how it functions as both a Godzilla movie
and a science fiction story.
The year is 1999. Technology
has advanced greatly, and Earth's scientists
have contained the earth's monsters on an
island they call Monster Land (a proto-Monster
Island). When aliens calling themselves the
Kilaaks decide to conquer earth, the monsters
are set free and begin attacking the major
cities of the world thanks to extraterrestrial
mind control. Can the humans mount a counter
offensive?
Yeah, it sounds pretty awesome
on paper. How it's executed is another thing.
Since Toho at that time decided this would
be the last Godzilla film, they squeezed in
most of their monsters that had appeared up
until that point. Eleven altogether, a true
feat; only broken many years later by Final
Wars with a total of 14, not including the
opening stock footage montage. The monsters
include Godzilla of course, everyone's favorite
spiky armadillo-like ankylosaur: Anguirus,
the supersonic horror of the sky: Rodan, the
cutesy Mothra larva, Godzilla's son: Minya,
King Kong's adversary from the year prior:
Gorosaurus, the serpent that terrorized the
Gotengo: Manda, the giant spider of Solgell
Island: Kumonga, the horned dinosaur that
battled Frankenstein: Baragon, and Varan,
the unbelievable. Wait, that's only ten! We
can't forget the King of Terror himself, the
space demon King Ghidorah.
This is the reason why we're
here, the monsters. Sadly, we have to endure
minutes and minutes of boring plot and sub-par
acting. Our hero Katsuo is a nice guy, but
lacking.....something. The other humans are
unintentionally funny.
"Now if you'll excuse
me, I'm tired." That pretty much sums
up the blunt and sub-par script (yes, that
was a quote from the film). Maybe
it's the dub's fault, but one day you might
just faint from hearing the word "right"
so often.
The Kilaaks are okay; their
leader does well with what she's given. They
have nothing on the Xiliens though. See, the
thing in Invasion
of Astro-Monster (1965) is that while
Godzilla himself was not the main focus, it
was an engaging science fiction story. Destroy
All Monsters is very similar in plot
and tone, but the non-monster scenes are boring
and fail to capture the viewer's interest.
Now, let us get onto the fun
part. The monsters themselves are portrayed
wonderfully; they're full of distinctive character
and sheer awesomeness. There are some great
destruction sequences, such as Manda attacking
the bridge, Gorosaurus coming out of the ground
to attack Paris, and Godzilla firing his atomic
ray at a ship.
Sadly, there are major disappointments
with the monsters. Baragon and Varan do NOTHING
during the film; it felt like they were thrown
in just to say they had more monsters. They
didn't fight at all, they had no destruction
scenes; it was just sad for fans of those
monsters. Baragon at least got to appear in
another film after this, while Varan was never
seen again outside of stock footage in GFW
(2004). Also, and I don't know if this was
the fault of the dub, but Gorosaurus was called
"Baragon" in his Paris scene, an
infamous error.
The soundtrack, oh my gosh,
the soundtrack! I cannot get over it; the
dramatic music truly adds suspense. Rodan's
theme, Godzilla's theme, Ghidorah's theme
are all used handsomely. Like, when you see
Rodan flying and then the dramatic cue plays,
nothing beats that. The military theme is
also solid, but it's a bit funny every time
they use it, 'cause we always know just how
little they really mean to the monsters.
For a 1968 film, the effects
are pretty darn good. This was before CGI,
folks; just suits and props. The beam effects
are pretty awesome; Godzilla's atomic ray
being a highlight. It's kind of sad when you
look at some of the later Showa films and
compare those effects to this movie, the older
film actually wins out (it's not always about
the age, people).
The final fight between earth's
monsters and Ghidorah is truly a spectacle
to behold. Never have I felt myself having
such a better viewing experience, it was an
intense, no holds barred brawl with excellent
battle music, and that IS why we
all signed on. The fight is worth the money
alone. You just can't compete with this. Forget
big explosive effects, this is a fight that
doesn't have to rely on that kind of visual.
Punches, bites, beams, double kicks, webbing;
it's brutal and beyond the word "epic".
This IS the best scene from any Godzilla
film, and it saves the movie. You forget all
about the boring and just find yourself swept
up in a euphoric fit of smiling and cheering.
In closing, Destroy All
Monsters isn't the great film that people
often claim it to be. It is similar to Invasion
of Astro-Monster (1965) in plot and
tone, but that film is far superior in acting
and pacing. Still, the final fight in Destroy
All Monsters is worth it, and the destruction
scenes with our favorite monsters are great.
With a better script and better pacing, the
film could have been unstoppable.
|
(3.5/5)
