I've seen all the Godzilla movies....this one keeps me coming back. Godzilla flying through the air with a kick never gets old! I know this is about as bad a film can get, but this is the one I watch over and over.

If you're Godzilla fan, you 100% must see this. It is the one of the best films out of the entire franchise of Godzilla. XD. You have to know that it is purposefully goofy and hilarious. The acting, the plot, the sound effects, the special effects, all of it is so bad it's good. This is a unique kind of terrible. It somehow manages to be an amazing work of art. ·Two cool kaijus are introduced in this one: Megalon and Jet Jaguar. ·KSL (Kaiju Sign Language) is shown with Jet Jaguar and Godzilla communicating with their hands. ·Costumes are actually very well done. Some of the best of the Showa era. ·The sets are beautiful and gigantic. ·Unless you don't possess a sense of humor, you can't not laugh viewing the awesome awfulness. You can easily tell the cast and crew had fun making this. ·If things are bleak in your life and you want some drug-free temporary pure joy, please watch Godzilla vs Megalon. And watch it with a friend or a loved one. Shared laughter can be the best.

In this, the 13th film in the franchise, Godzilla movies hit rock bottom. The much maligned "All Monsters Attack" (1969) could be excused as (maybe) being a parable in which the kaiju are imaginary, but "Godzilla vs. Megalon" is a straight-up kaiju film and as such, is abysmal. Even taken as a kid's movie (although the word sh*t appears in the subtitles), the story is ridiculous, the music horrible, and the production sloppy. Briefly, Seatopia, an underground (underwater?) civilisation, is threatened by man's nuclear weapon testing and sends Megalon, a giant bug-like monster to purge the surface with help from Jet Jaguar, a flying robot that Seatopian agents have hijacked. After some pointless car chases etc., human control of Jet Jaguar is re-established and the robot is sent to Monster Island to recruit Godzilla. The Seatopians in turn contact Space Hunter Nebula M and request that Gigan be sent to Earth as a reinforcement. Needless-to say, much monster mayhem follows, interspersed by filler concerning the robot's inventor and his little brother. Although the opening scenes of a lake draining following an earthquake are moderately well done (as is the later destruction of a dam), the bulk of the special effects are dire (at least those that aren't just clips from earlier films). Even by suit-mation kaiju standards, Megalon is ludicrous looking, especially when inexplicitly hopping about (?!) or flying (the monster has wings but does not seem to use them when in flight). Gigan, who has a similar uncanny flying ability, is as ridiculous looking as he was in his first outing (Godzilla vs. Gigan, 1972) while Jet Jaguar is clearly a cheap knock-off of Ultraman and Godzilla has completed his metamorphosis into some kind of heroic, child-friendly puppy-lizard muppet. The fight scenes between the titular kaiju and their allies are staged once again on undetailed, cheap-looking 'rural' sets and are goofy in the extreme (with spinning robots getting dizzy, monsters shaking hands, clapping, 'high-fiveing' etc., and of course, Godzilla's infamous flying drop-kicks). Overall, the movie has few redeeming qualities and, as it is relatively well-known in the west, is likely a big reason for the general low regard with which the kaiju genre is viewed outside Japan. Note: because the film slipped into the public domain, multiple versions of varying lengths and qualities (mostly crappy) are in circulation - the version on which I am commenting is pretty good: the Media Blasters DVD (83 min.), which I watched in Japanese with English subtitles.

Don't forget that Seatopia has existed for 3 million years...Godzilla vs. Megalon really should have two separate ratings: one for nine year old Jack and one for 32 year old Jack. The former would probably rate this 9 out of 10 stars, with one star taken off for those moments in the first half where things got a little slow (there's a car chase, largely with two cars going down a steep hill, which is surprisingly dull); the latter has to give it 7 stars, but knows that somewhere deep inside 9 year old Jack still remains. I know this is a bag of Doritos that I got shipped in the mail from Japan, but gosh-darnit, I'll eat the hell out of them! This is a fun movie for kids, and it doesn't get any more complicated than that. And if you're an adult, you're not looking for Robert Bresson or Sergei Parajanov! It's about a couple of guys and their little kid sidekick who create Jetto Jaga (or Jet Jaquar), and how some mad-villainous whoever creates or summons Megalon, a thing that looks like a cockroach and a fly got blended together with two giant drills for arms and hands. Jet and Megalon get to fighting, but with Gigan also in the mix (I just finished the movie and I don't friggin' know exactly how it's summoned, probably I'd know if I saw the other movies it's in), Jet is told, "Hey, we're in Good-Guy Godzilla phase now with these movies, go get him!" So Mr. Jaguar does, and the last 20 minutes are a battle royale.Jet Jaguar was also created as part of a *fan contest* that Toho put on that originally had nothing to do with Godzilla, it was for something else that might or might not involve one of their group of monsters. It was when marketing looked at the numbers and realized a character created by a literal seven year old wouldn't cut the mustard on its own that Godzilla needed to be added in, and one can tell it's kind of an afterthought almost. But to the filmmakers' credit, they end up making amazing use of him, as the actor in the suit has the time of his life doing lots of crazy arm and hand motions, and does most if not all of his signature moves against this warped-quintessential-Godzilla-villain-monster giant insect.It's performed and delivered to its audiences with such sincerity that anyone with a proper conscience can't help but smile and laugh as Godzilla goes into over-drive (with Jaguar's help) and fulfills the dreams of every 6/7/8 year old boy (or girl, let's not be sexist here) who ever wanted to see these things kick the crap out of each other. At the same time I get why this would end up as one of the early entries in Mystery Science Theater 3000's roster (this may be one of those rare times I see the movie as is before I see it riffed too). Don't go in for any deep themes or messages like the original Gojira, which is a completely different tone anyway. If you have a young child this is actually a great place I'd think to start with the franchise, possibly more than the original 54/56 movies. It's bright, colorful, stupid, and features a man in a giant bug costume smashing through a dam. What more do you want?