Space Amoeba (1970)

It seems that I just can't see one of these kaiju movies that I don't really enjoy recently. I'm either in the midst of a golden period for these things or I'm just completely accustomed to what they deliver, and how they meet the expectations created by the film-makers over the years.

While the title of this film is Space Amoeba, and while it does contain something that could indeed be called a space amoeba, this is a great adventure that presents a variety of giant creatures, all made powerful and aggressive by the titular entity. The main human who ends up endangered by these creatures is a photographer named Kudo (Akira Kubo). 

While it seems like the obvious choice to once again praise director Ishirô Honda for his work here, and he always deserves praise, Space Amoeba has a very fun premise fleshed out by prolific writer Ei Ogawa. Starting with the sci-fi element that almost feels like a curveball once the alien lands on Earth, Ogawa knows exactly what people want to see, but he delivers everything in a way that feels more playful and interesting than some of the movies that just recycle a lot of footage from earlier monster battles.

Kubo is a perfectly decent lead, and I'll also give nods to Atsuko Takahashi, Yukiko Kobayashi, Kenji Sahara, and Yoshio Tsuchiya. They're all good at looking on in disbelief, and/or panic, as giant creatures get busy causing havoc. 

The featured beasties here include a giant cuttlefish, a giant stone crab, and a giant mata mata (which I really wanted to use in some groan-inducing pun, but I will behave), and it's a pleasant surprise to find that they are all equally enjoyable to watch.

I didn't think I would have too much to say about a film titled Space Amoeba, and I was correct. It's not as slight and silly as the title may suggest, but it's also not re-inventing the wheel. The effects are nicely done, it feels like it attempts to fulfil the potential of the premise, and the heroes struggle to come up with a plan that will turn any sea/shore-dwelling monsters into sushi. Basically, it does everything that you hope it will.

8/10

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Destroy All Monsters (1968)

This is cinema. This is joy. This is a contender for the most deliriously fun kaiju movie of all time, although I am saying this with a number of other great films still to check out. Destroy All Monsters feels like a joyous celebration of a cornucopia of wonderful movie creations. Some may be critical of the fact that it doesn't really feel like a proper movie, but those people are simply not fans of joy.

All of the monsters on Earth have been housed peacefully in a location known as Monster Island. There are various safeguards in place, and the situation is being closely monitored. Everything changes when the monsters manage to overcome the safeguards though, heading off for a stomp and a stamp through some major cities. This is all down to a race of aliens who want to give Earth a major headache, and things will culminate with one other famous monster being brought along to join in with the fighting.

I have known people who are happiest when they are viewing films without having to think about reviewing them, mainly because they can just sit back and enjoy the film without thinking about how they will critique it after. I have never had that problem, but that's mainly due to the fact that sometimes I just put my critical faculties to one side. Some films need a lot of exploration, some need to be discussed in an ongoing conversation that brings up the positive and negative aspects, and some are just an absolute blast that should be viewed as an absolute blast. Destroy All Monsters falls into the latter category.

There are some human actors, of course, but they're even less consequential than usual. They do what they have to do, and move the plot forward, but this is all about Godzilla and co. Whether they are being shown just chilling out on Monster Island, smashing up some cityscapes, or fighting against a common enemy, they are as full of personality and life as they have been in any of their previous movie appearances. Nothing really matters, aside from the chance to spend time in the middle of all of these wonderful creations.

Ishirô Honda is the man at the helm once again, and he also helped to write the screenplay with Takeshi Kimura. You couldn't really ask for safer hands on the wheel, and they know exactly how to make use of all of the monsters without moving them too far away from how they have come to be viewed as the movies have progressed to more lighter and family-friendly fare. If you want fierce beasts then you'll need to look at other eras of these films. This is all about the cuteness, as far as I'm concerned.

I could easily watch this on a loop, and it sits up there with the very best kaiju movies. I am pretty sure that many will agree with me, but for those who don't like their creature features to be quite so wonderful and silly . . . there are dozens more to opt for instead.

9/10

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Son Of Godzilla (1967)

Sometimes, quite often actually, I watch movies that are a lot of fun, but prove to be very difficult to consider reviewing. But part of the reason I watch many movies is to also review them. Son Of Godzilla is one of those movies. I had a blast with it. I'm not sure how much I have to say about it though. Let's give it a go anyway.

Written by the prolific Shin'ichi Sekizawa and less prolific Kazue Shiba (this is the second of only two screenplays that they worked on), what you have here is a kaiju movie that feels even more aimed at children as the last one I recently watched. Some may view that as a bad thing, but it depends on what kind of Godzilla movie you want on any given day. I enjoyed this, and I am glad that I am finally discovering it now, along with the many other kaiju movies I am finally catching up with.

The story concerns a team of scientists who are busy doing weather-related science stuff on an island. Of course, that's not all that happens on the island. There's a mysterious woman (played by Bibari Maeda) living in the jungle, some large praying mantises, a large egg set to hatch a baby Godzilla, and some kind of giant spider that should be avoided. All of these elements come together as a reporter (played by Akira Kubo) finds himself in the middle of a bigger story than anything he could have imagined. Oh, and Godzilla is due to turn up, of course.

Director Jun Fukuda returns to this long-running movie series with an instalment that clearly revels in the variety of creatures and adventures available. The script may be silly, but it's also undeniably fun, and often feels more like a Jules Verne adventure than a Godzilla movie for most of the runtime. I understand why that may displease some, but I loved it.

Both Maeda and Kubo are decent human players in the middle of the madness, and joined by some familiar faces (including Tadao Takashima, Akihiko Hirata,  and Yoshio Tsuchiya), and they react convincingly enough to the parade of wonderful creatures who end up on the island alongside them.

The style here is cute, as opposed to anything approaching fearsome or realism, and I can't say that I mind cute being the aim when a story involves both giant praying mantises and a giant spider. While it's all safe and clearly fake, it's also still easy to appreciate as something put together by people working hard to put a variety of practical effects onscreen in a way that captivates and entertains younger viewers. Very young viewers might still get a bit scared by a couple of scenes, but most should be just fine, and there's no maximum age limit on enjoying this kind of thing, thankfully.

6/10

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Invasion Of Astro-Monster (1965)

Right, someone should have really kicked my butt years ago to get me making my way through all of the Godzilla films. Each new favourite seems to be equaled by another new favourite lately, and I am just loving it.

The plot this time around concerns some spacemen who find alien life on Planet X. These aliens are humanoid, and have to shelter whenever the surface of their planet is being attacked by King Ghidorah. Knowing how he was defeated before, the aliens would like to “borrow” Godzilla and Rodan, only requiring them until Ghidorah is no longer a threat to them. That’s the starting point anyway, but there may be another reason for wanting access to the kaiju residing on our planet.

We’re back in the safe and capable hands of director Ishirô Honda here, working once again with writer Shin’ichi Sekizawa, and the end result is as much fun as you could hope for. Okay, some may prefer these movies to feel a bit more tense, the large scale of the threat somehow makes it all seem less likely to end badly for the main characters, but this is well-paced and full of unexpected delights, whether it is seeing Godzilla and Rodan airlifted through space or watching Godzilla shuffle around in front of Ghidorah like a fleet-footed boxer.

Akira Takarada and Nick Adams play the two astronauts who encounter alien life on a far planet (located on the other side of Jupiter), and the two men do a decent job of looking bemused while remaining determined to do whatever is in the best interest of humanity. Yoshio Tsuchiya is the apparent leader of Planet X, a role he plays well enough as he is viewed with suspicion, eventually accepted, and then in charge of the grand plan that relies on controlling the kaiju. Jun Tazaki is the requisite scientist, and Kumi Mizuno does a great job as the lovely, but perhaps untrustworthy, Namikawa.

The effects displaying the moments of destruction are perfectly fine, neither the best nor the worst seen in these movies, but this works as well as it does because of the personality of the creatures. Following on from the depictions we saw in the last movie, a slight softening of Godzilla and Rodan to make them more acceptable reluctant “heroes”, this underlines why so many of us film fans will always maintain a soft spot for the performers in the rubber suits who brought these creatures to life.

Perhaps it will slide down my rankings as I continue to make my way through the main Godzilla movie series, but I am happy, for now anyway, to rate Invasion Of Astro-Monster as another fantastic monster mash. 

8/10

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