Another film in which the people of Earth could face potential destruction, starting with an encounter that endangers the whole of Japan, The Mysterians is an amusing, if lesser, film in the extensive selection falling under the Toho banner. Those who enjoy the output from the company will find enough to enjoy here, but it doesn't have a main monster to serve up as a big highlight.
The plot is quite simple, and quite absurd when you type it out in plain text. A group of aliens land on Earth, negotiating for an area of land and the right to marry human women. They live in a seemingly-indestructible dome, can also send out a giant robot to cause some carnage (the closest the movie comes to serving up a monster), and hope to find a way to continue their race after being poisoned and changed by the death of their home planet. It soon becomes obvious that the Mysterians have other plans though, and the people of Earth need to find out a way to stop them.
Developed from story idea to final film form by Jôjirô Okami, Shigeru Kayama, and Takeshi Kimura, names you will recognise from other Japanese sci-fi/monster movies from this era, this is silliness of the highest order. And when I say it's silliness I actually mean that it's complete bobbins. If you don' believe me then please just re-read the last paragraph. It's still fun though, and everyone onscreen shows the right level of stress and concern, all working under the sure and steady hand of director Ishirô Honda.
The cast is also full of familiar names/faces if you've been watching any other Toho films from this period. Akihiko Hirata, Momoko Kôchi, Takashi Shimura, and Kenji Sahara are no strangers to battling for the integrity of Japan, and the safety of the people, and the the same can be said for the likes of Yumi Shirakawa, Susumu Fujita, and Hisaya Itô, all helping to fill out the central cast. Yoshio Tsuchiya also deserves a mention, playing the vital role of "Leader of the Mysterians".
It's a shame that there aren't too many positives to single out here, although I am not saying that the film is actually bad. There just aren't any real treats, nothing in line with the kind of thrills and spectacle you can find in a number of the other movies in the same vein. The stomping robot feels like a poor substitute for some fantastical creature, the destruction feels relatively tame, and the Mysterians themselves are just depicted as people in various coloured suits (pretty much Power Rangers decades before they were a thing).
It's no surprise that this isn't mentioned much by film fans, and I doubt we will ever see the day when it gets a much-heralded restoration and revival. I liked it, and I have to stress that after seeming so dismissive of it, but I can't imagine anyone loving it. It's there, it's amusing and cute, and it's something to watch once and then almost immediately forget.
6/10
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