IMDb RATING
4.8/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
An inventor creates a robot that is seized by an undersea kingdom to guide their monster god in attacking the surface as retaliation for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society.An inventor creates a robot that is seized by an undersea kingdom to guide their monster god in attacking the surface as retaliation for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society.An inventor creates a robot that is seized by an undersea kingdom to guide their monster god in attacking the surface as retaliation for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society.
Gentaro Nakajima
- Truck Driver
- (as Gen Nakajima)
Kenpachirô Satsuma
- Gaigan
- (as Kengo Nakayama)
Ralph Jesser
- Antonio's Aide (Radio Operator in White)
- (as Rolf Jessup)
Teruo Nigaki
- Radon
- (archive footage)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhile the film was all but ignored in Japan, becoming the least attended entry at the box office, it was a huge hit in the United States and is often regarded by fans as one of the main reasons why the Godzilla franchise has become so misunderstood in the west. Its American distributors, Cinema Shares International, built up a large advertising campaign around the movie, and a drastically shortened version that cut the film down to around 40 minutes premiered on prime-time TV on the NBC network. The film's VHS releases were also mistakenly believed to be in public domain, which made it more easily accessible and adding to the movie's notoriety in the US. Despite the film being disliked by the majority of fans, the movie actually received positive reviews from critics upon its initial release in the States. Vincent Canby praised Godzilla's development stating that "the dragon has become St. George" and wrote that the film "demonstrates the rewards of friendships, between humans as well as monsters, and it is gentle." Variety also praised the special effects work and the miniatures work as superb and "reflecting a creative understanding of the camera". The English film critic Phil Hardy also lauded the film's visuals as expertly done.
- GoofsWhen Godzilla is bouncing Megalon up and down, the Megalon suit is empty (the legs bend and collapse, showing no one is inside the suit).
- Quotes
Antonio's Aide: We've got a message coming from Star Hunter "M" Universe. "We are sending you the monster Gaigan, as requested."
- Alternate versionsThe German dub of the film infamously renamed Jet Jaguar to King Kong in an attempt to fool audiences, but it also contained other differences. Most importantly, Goro was changed from being Rokuro's much older brother to his father. And instead of contacting the aliens of M Space Hunter Nebula, the Seatopian people contact a certain "Alpha Base".
- ConnectionsEdited from The Mysterians (1957)
Featured review
The villains of this film are beings from the underwater kingdom of Seatopia, frustrated with humans' nuclear-bomb testings, which ravaged their kingdom. Therefore, they sent their monster god Megalon, an over-sized cockroach, to destroy mankind (pretty sensitive, couldn't they just reach out to the humans and let them know they live downstairs, so therefore, quit with the bomb testings?).
Toho utilized the overused alien-invasion plot again, making this film the a rush-through production job. Tons of stock footage were used and the plot was very plain. This film is basically an "aliens and monsters invade Earth, and Godzilla and a robot arrives and defeats them and saves Earth story." There are no subplots, significance, irony and female leads. What made up for this movie, though, is the monster wrestling-like battle at the climax. After getting pretty beaten up by Gigan at the previous fight in "Godzilla vs. Gigan," Godzilla this time really gave Gigan a taste of his own medicine. Even giant-beetle Megalon couldn't hold up a strong battle against Godzilla. Jet Jaquer was Godzilla's partner-in-crime, a giant robot made to capitalize on the Ultraman and Zone Fighter trilogies that were popular in Japan by the time this movie came out, so I guess Godzilla deserves the right to have a robot as his sidekick at least once. Unfortuntately, Jet Jaguar wasn't emphasized enough. There should have been more scenes depicting him as a "superhero" (like saving a life or stopping a robbery like most superheros do). It still bothers me why the Seatopians need to steal Jet-Jaguar and use it to guide Megalon to Tokyo. In previous Godzilla movies, monsters just find their way to the city and start trampling. Why the heck does Megalon need a tour guide?
To sum it all, a rushed film with lots of stock footage and sub-par characters. But, an exciting monster battle at the end.
Grade C
Toho utilized the overused alien-invasion plot again, making this film the a rush-through production job. Tons of stock footage were used and the plot was very plain. This film is basically an "aliens and monsters invade Earth, and Godzilla and a robot arrives and defeats them and saves Earth story." There are no subplots, significance, irony and female leads. What made up for this movie, though, is the monster wrestling-like battle at the climax. After getting pretty beaten up by Gigan at the previous fight in "Godzilla vs. Gigan," Godzilla this time really gave Gigan a taste of his own medicine. Even giant-beetle Megalon couldn't hold up a strong battle against Godzilla. Jet Jaquer was Godzilla's partner-in-crime, a giant robot made to capitalize on the Ultraman and Zone Fighter trilogies that were popular in Japan by the time this movie came out, so I guess Godzilla deserves the right to have a robot as his sidekick at least once. Unfortuntately, Jet Jaguar wasn't emphasized enough. There should have been more scenes depicting him as a "superhero" (like saving a life or stopping a robbery like most superheros do). It still bothers me why the Seatopians need to steal Jet-Jaguar and use it to guide Megalon to Tokyo. In previous Godzilla movies, monsters just find their way to the city and start trampling. Why the heck does Megalon need a tour guide?
To sum it all, a rushed film with lots of stock footage and sub-par characters. But, an exciting monster battle at the end.
Grade C
- OllieSuave-007
- May 17, 2003
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- King Kong - Dämonen aus dem Weltall
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $760,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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